Police Motorcycle Training - Motor Officer Alertness by Sgt. Allan Attanasio, Mountainside, New Jersey.

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Motor Officer Alertness
Motor Officers who develop their skills of observation and reaction will have a lower risk of being involved in a collision than those who fail to develop these skills. While on patrol, motor officers need to constantly be alert for hazards. Their ability to quickly react to hazards depends on their alertness as well as their riding skills. By scanning both the roadway and the surrounding environment for changing traffic conditions the officer will reduce his/her perception time thus allowing for a faster reaction time. A minimum of a 2 second following distance should always be adhered to.

Motor officers have the ability to see more than officers in cars as they sit higher and have greater flexibility in their lane positioning to obtain a better view. Officers can improve their alertness by learning to look everywhere and observing what may be a potential hazard. This can be accomplished by scanning a 12 to 14 second path of travel ahead of you by moving your eyes in all directions and checking your mirrors for changing conditions behind you. Officers should watch for:

Turning vehicles
Occupants in parked cars who may swing a door open
Idling vehicles that may pull into your path
Pedestrians
Animals
Potholes
Loose gravel
Shaded areas for icy spots
Fluid spills
Debris
Driveways
Roadway paint
Manhole covers
Water
Rail crossings
Roadway joints

You should adjust your lane positioning to avoid any of the above-mentioned hazards. In addition to lane positioning you should continually predict what potential hazards might do and make a decision of how you will deal with the condition. Should a potential hazard become a hazard you can immediately carryout your decision.

Your ability to observe your surroundings during night hours is greatly diminished. Officers should wear clear eye protection, as tinted lenses can distort your vision. You should always be able to stop your motorcycle in the distance illuminated by your headlight. While scanning at night, officers should watch for the angle of approaching headlights to determine the direction of approaching traffic. Roadway reflectors, streetlights and leading vehicle taillights can give a clue to the direction that the road travels. You can increase your scanning distance by utilizing the headlights of vehicles in front of you. Headlights shining into your eyes can affect your night vision. This can occur in a left hand bend, when approaching traffic fails to dim its high beams or from vehicles with poorly adjusted headlights. You should not look directly into the light but rather look slightly down and to the right. You will still be able to observe the road ahead of you and will reduce the affect that the blinding light has on your night vision.

The weather can have a great affect on both you and your motorcycle. When riding in fog or rain your ability to scan a 12 to 14 second path of travel may be greatly reduced. As a result you should adjust your speed. The use of your high beam headlight in these conditions will cause a dazzling effect, which will reduce your vision more than with the low beam. In cold weather, shaded areas can cause ice and wetness to linger. Officers must dress properly for the weather to prevent their core body temperature from dropping. Studies have shown that on a 65-degree day traveling at speeds of 40 to 45 M.P.H. a motorcycle rider will experience a chilling effect equivalent to 33 degrees (only 1 degree above freezing). Failure to dress properly can result in hypothermia, which will reduce your alertness.

Roadway conditions and bad weather are often cited as the cause of collisions. Unfortunately, the real cause is often the rider's failure to adjust his/her riding for the conditions that exist. Alertness, proper speed, a safe following distance and riding within your limits are all crucial for safe riding and will decrease your chance of being involved in a collision.

This month's featured training article was written by Sergeant Allan Attanasio. Sgt. Attanasio, a 20-year veteran, is the motorcycle instructor for the Mountainside Police Department in New Jersey. He is an accident reconstructionist, a police traffic engineer and a Motorcycle Safety Foundation instructor.

If you are a police motorcycle instructor and would like to share some of your knowledge with your fellow officers, please let us know.