Sharing the Road with Other Vehicles
This domain tests your judgment around the vehicles most likely to hit a motorcyclist: cars turning left across your path, trucks with large blind zones, and drivers who simply are not looking for a small profile.
Left-turning vehicles
The most common car-versus-motorcycle crash is a car turning left in front of an oncoming bike. Watch front wheels and drivers' heads, not just turn signals. If a car is waiting to turn, slow, cover the brakes, and adjust lane position to widen the gap and keep an escape route.
Large trucks and buses
Trucks have large no-zones on both sides, directly behind, and directly in front of the cab. If you cannot see the driver's face in the mirror, the driver cannot see you. Trucks need much more room to stop and swing wide - sometimes into the adjacent lane - before a turn. Do not move into the space a truck has opened for its turn, and never pass a turning truck on the side it is turning toward.
Following, passing, and being seen
Stay out of blind spots; when you pass, pass decisively and get out of the zone rather than cruising alongside. Position yourself so you appear in mirrors. Use your headlight, and remember that a driver's glance does not equal perception.
Worked example
A truck ahead signals right but drifts left. Reasoning: the driver is setting up a wide right turn and needs the left side of the lane. Passing on the right would put the rider in the path of the trailer as it swings back. The correct response is to hang back, let the turn complete, and keep clear of the trailer's off-tracking path.
Traps that cost marks
Passing a turning truck on the inside; riding in a blind spot because it feels protected; assuming a signal means the driver will turn immediately; treating a lane as shared when Massachusetts does not permit lane splitting.