What is the safety bubble?

What is a safety bubble, and can it keep riders safer on the road?

A safety bubble, also known as a safety buffer, is often the simplest way to ride defensively. It’s like an imaginary forcefield that surrounds the rider and their bike, to give them space should hazards arise.

The more space a rider has, the greater amount of time they have to react when hazards arise, and the safety bubble gets smaller. In a situation where the safety bubble gets smaller, the rider should reduce their speed as well.

There is confusion amongst some riders about using the safety bubble system in corners; the line around the corner is actually dynamic depending on the hazards around the rider, so they should be aware of this.

Motorcyclists will find that their riding will flow better using the safety bubble system.

Ralph’s story

After many years of riding, Ralph shares his story about how the safety bubble system transformed his riding on the road.

“I began my riding journey on dirt bikes as a teenager, because I lived in the country in northern NSW and that was great fun,” Ralph said.

“I got onto road bikes as soon as I could get a licence and rode pretty consistently from the age of 18 to about 28 – during this time I always had a bike in the shed.

“At one point I said ‘right-o, we’ve got to go and do some defensive rider training’, and one of the things that was a good pick-up was the whole safety bubble system – I’d clearly forgotten all about that. I was riding to the line in the corner rather than considering the oncoming traffic…

“I don’t want to be injured, I don’t want to hurt myself – I don’t want to hurt anybody else,” he said.

Ralph’s experience highlights the importance of regular training and practice, even for mature riders and how a simple system such as the safety bubble can assist to stay out of trouble on the road.

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