Do Riders Make For Better Drivers?

Unlike many who operate a car or truck, I’ve never claimed to be a good driver. Competent? Yes. Usually safe? Yes, again. But to carry a label of “good” requires a driving record better than mine.

In nearly 46 years of driving, I’ve had a few accidents. As a teen driver, I backed into a pine tree and crushed the rear end of my mom’s 1966 Ford Mustang, which resulted in a repaint from boring gray to bright blue.

I also managed on another occasion to take off the right side of the Mustang when I reached down to retrieve a burning cigarette that I’d dropped. My worst crash involved a 1976 Datsun 280Z, also belonging to my mother. It was totaled.

Chalk up these early mistakes to inexperience, youthful arrogance and a feeling of invincibility.

Now that I’m in my 60s, I’m constantly aware that my reflexes and reactions aren’t what they used to be, so I try to be even more aware and careful as a driver, and try to anticipate potential hazards. After a few years of riding, it struck me that riding has improved my driving awareness – even as my skills begin to wane.

A new study Carole Nash bike insurance firm just released in the U.K. supports my belief. It shows that motorcyclists know the rules of the road much better than drivers. Polling hundreds of motorcyclists and drivers, the results showed that 16 percent of drivers but only six percent of riders would fail their written driver’s test were they to retake it.

A test of eight road signs showed that 83 percent of riders correctly identified them, while only 68 percent of drivers could so likewise.

The MotorBikeTimes quoted Rebecca Donohue of Carole Nash as saying, “Motorcyclists scored so highly because they must have their wits about them at all times.”

Meanwhile, VisorDown quoted Karen Cole of the Motorcycle Industry Association as saying, “Many motorcyclists are also car drivers and what this survey shows is that experiencing the road using different modes of transport makes you a safer road user.”

If this is true, and the evidence seems to support this, shouldn’t drivers who also ride get a discount on their car insurance?