Rider behavior and interaction with other road users
Domain 2 is about how you ride among others: lane position, distance, communication, and the blind spots and habits that cause motorcycle crashes. Questions are usually short scenario descriptions ending in "what do you do now?", and they reward the defensive answer over the assertive one.
Be seen, be predictable
- Ride with dipped headlight on; motorcycles must show a light at all times.
- Pick a lane position that puts you in a driver's mirror rather than a blind spot. On a multi-lane road, the left part of your lane keeps you visible in the mirrors of the car ahead.
- Signal before you move, cancel afterwards, and avoid unnecessary weaving - a stable rider is easier to read.
- Make eye contact where you can, but never treat it as a promise.
Distance
- Minimum two seconds to the vehicle ahead in dry weather, three to four in rain or darkness.
- Behind a lorry, add distance: if you cannot see the driver's mirrors, the driver cannot see you, and you cannot see the road ahead.
Large vehicles
- Lorries and buses have large blind spots in front, along the right side and directly behind. Never travel alongside a cab.
- A lorry turning right swings out first; do not slip into the gap on its inside.
Cyclists and pedestrians
- Overtake cyclists with generous lateral clearance - the law requires sufficient distance, and 1.5 m is the practical benchmark outside towns.
- Give way to pedestrians at crossings and to anyone already on the carriageway.
Worked example
A lorry ahead of you brakes and edges slightly left as it approaches a side road on the right. The correct response is to assume it is turning right, drop back instead of passing on the right, and wait until the trailer has cleared the junction. Passing on the inside of a turning lorry is how riders get crushed.
Traps
Believing an indicator guarantees the manoeuvre. Sitting in a blind spot "just for a moment". Overtaking a queue that is slowing near a junction. Pushing through a gap because you have right of way - physics does not respect priority.