I gave up. This is now my driving diary

[yvannairie]

Van's Goldielocks Guide to Passing a Motorcycle on the Highway:

1) If they're driving significantly slower than you, assume they're not doing it for fun. Road conditions matter a lot and going slower than you think you can is one of the best ways to maintain control over a bike. They might be experiencing crosswinds, poor traction, or any number of "oh fuck if I speed up I'll definitely skid out" conditions that a car won't.

2) Group early to indicate you wanna pass, but leave some space. Bikes don't actually have a shorter braking distance, but they do brake faster than a car, and you want to be able to react if something happens, too. If the bike is hogging the lane instead of grouping to give you space, assume something about the road conditions is forcing them to take that line.

3) If you drive an SUV, a pickup or any other heavy car, remember that you, too, create a bow wind. If you're passing someone fast, they might need to correct for it, so leave as much sideways room as you can. Use the whole neighbouring lane.

4) Have patience, especially in rough weather. Rain on a bike is even worse than in a car, but gusty wind can be just as dangerous and even harder to anticipate. The most common reason a bike is wobbling aggressively is gusty crosswind, which takes a lot of focus to deal with, and might make it impossible for the driver to react to you passing by giving room and slowing down.

Nobody who's slower than the traffic flow on a bike is interested in racing you. If we wanted to outrun you, we probably would have, but there's tons more reasons why we might be slower than a car, the majority of which only increase the difficulty of driving safely.

Comments

[hellofriendsiminthedark]

These are good to know, thanks!

[yvannairie]

XD if I got one frivolous wish, it would be that all car drivers learn to pay attention to wind conditions. There's one straightaway on my day to work where I have to slow down and my entire focus is usually on staying upright and wouldn't you know half the time someone immediately springs to overtake me.

[hellofriendsiminthedark]

I feel that. My car is pretty small and gets buffered around a lot if it's windy out with no tree cover, and it takes a lot of focus not to swerve. I can only imagine how much worse it is with even less weight.