TARGET FIXATION

By Ken Archibald

AGWA Illinois Chapter “H”

I believe I’ve written a riding tip about target fixation before; however, a rider should never forget about this phenomenon.  We are starting a new riding season, and what better time than now to review this tip.

            I thank James R. Davis, of the Master Strategy Group, from whom I’ve used some direct quotes.

            Target Fixation by definition is when a motorcyclist often inadvertently looks at an object and finds himself/herself headed straight for that object.  This is target fixation and must be avoided.

            Sometimes we riders tend to minimize the risks we hear about.  Take, for example, what every student of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation has heard about – ‘target fixation’.  Fixating on something means not being able to take your attention (your eyes, for example) away from it.  In the case of riding motorcycles, for example, this leads to the phenomena wherein our motorcycles tend to go in the direction we are looking, and is usually described with an example familiar to all – that if you see a pothole in the street ahead of you and don’t take your eyes off it you are likely to hit it.

Another classic illustration of target fixation lies in the very high number of motorcycle fatalities involving riders who miss corners/curbs and run into lampposts, usually when the rider’s motorcycle fails to get around a corner.  Think of it; about how narrow a motorcycle is, and how very narrow a lamppost is.  Yet the motorcycle impacts the post with deadly accuracy.  Reasoning that the motorcyclists looks at the post and doesn’t want to hit it, his vision is locked on the threatening object – and promptly hits it.

            While that is true, it is too trivial an example to get our attention appropriately.  We are left with the opinion that ‘target fixation’ is of trivial concern because we all know that we can, if we try, avoid that pothole or lamppost.  Following are a set of messages that will change your opinion about ‘target fixation’ for life.

            In the case study we talk at great length about tragic consequences possible from thinking that target taxation is a trivial problem.  You are strongly encouraged to read that case study.  While it is more graphic than most will be comfortable with, I can think of nothing that will better make the case for respecting the danger of target fixation.

            Now it’s easy to say: “Drag your eyes away from the object you want to avoid” but doing it isn’t as easy as it sounds.  After all, one’s instinct is to keep an eye on a threat to one’s life.  Saying “don’t fixate” is all well, but once it starts, you need a positive technique to get yourself out in one piece.  So once you are in trouble, use target fixation to save your skin.

            Don’t look at the oncoming truck/tree/ pothole; figure out where you would rather be and fixate on that instead.  Probably, the solution to this problem is, as well, instinctive, and to look for an escape route.  Obviously, the best and least dangerous escape route you can look for is along the road you are traveling.  So, look at where you want to go.  Ninety nine percent of the time, this will work.  Your bike will prove to have more in reserve than you thought and it will get around a corner that you entered too fast, or avoid the 2 by 4 lying in the road ahead.

In fact, those of you that have taken the MSF classes know that ‘target fixation’ is an excellent way to control skids – fixate on a point dead ahead on the horizon, and you’ll be well on the way towards automatically correcting most skids.  Even if your bike doesn’t get around the corner, or road hazard, you are more apt to low side (the bike falls down and you slide off it and slide to a shocked stop) than to impact upright into the deadly, unmoving lamppost.

            Unfortunately, many riders look directly at the danger, they fixate on the targets of their concern, and find themselves trying to rebuild both body and bike after taking bad falls caused by hitting the very objects they were trying so desperately to avoid.  There is no magic to this phenomenon of target fixation; it is purely a product of physics.  When a motorcycle rider turns his head to look at an object or in the direction of travel, he also pushed the machine’s handlebars in the same direction and leans in that direction, however subconsciously.  The motorcycle then simply obeys the laws of physics to respond.

If you need more proof:  try it on your Bicycle.  When you make an error, less bodily harm, and less financial risk is at stake.

HAPPY RIDING, and have a great riding season.

Ken Archibald