Two factors that are totally in your control that will work together to save your skin are Lane Position and Following Distance. I am forever thinking of these two factors when I am riding. They come into play more often on surface streets than on highways but they are equally important on both.
Lane Position. By placing yourself in the proper lane position you can give yourself a bit more time to react to a pending disaster. Riding to close to a vehicle you are overtaking will bite you eventually. You should be at least in the center of the lane when overtaking another vehicle, supposing for some reason they decide to acquire your lane. If you are just a few more feet away you gain precious fractions of a second to respond.
Always position yourself in a visible place, when riding straight in the slow lane past an exit ramp place yourself in the left hand side of the lane. This will allow you to be seen by people wishing to get on the off ramp from behind you.
When riding past an on ramp position yourself at least in the center of your lane and possibly to the right depending on your comfort factor.
When following a large vehicle such as a truck or a bus in the slow lane you also want to be on the far left side of the lane. This will allow you to be seen by any vehicle they may overtake and allow you to appear in the mirror of the vehicle you are following. Please always keep in mind you also want to be seen by the vehicle you are following.
Following Distance. A proper following distance will work hand in hand with a proper lane position in giving you precious time to respond to a road hazard. By following too closely you loose visibility, not only your ability to see but also your ability to be seen. You also loose response time forcing you to react.
This is a post I made on another forum which I can only credit my Lane position and following distance for coming out of this in one piece.
An event that occurred south of Colorado Springs on my return trip from Denver, just north of the Colorado New Mexico border, in a road construction zone. Traffic was closed to one lane while the left lane was being resurfaced, the lanes were uneven pavement and the change of levels was impassable on a motorcycle as the grade was very steep. The highway department had coned off the left lane and there was heavy equipment applying the new surface. I was the last vehicle in a long line of traffic rolling along at the posted 45 MPH leaving a two second gap between myself and the small black pickup I was following. Because of the winds and the large change in grade to my left I was riding in the center lane position along the freshly oiled surface.
Ahead of me at about the third car up I noticed a belly dump coming on the access road. I watched as the three vehicles ahead of me rolled past the dump and preceded to do the same.
As soon as the truck ahead of me cleared the dump the 18-wheeler gunned it and hung a sharp left so as to clear the double cone and gain access to the higher road surface, only problem was I was exactly at the spot he was trying to drive through.
I pressed hard on the bars to the right throwing the wing to the left then pulled as sharp of a left I could on the oily surface taking out a double cone with the top side of my front fender and left headlight. The cone rolled over and the base of the cone ground its way under my exhaust to my left foot bending my shift lever. On my right I watched in horror as the backside of an 18-wheeler front bumper passed within a foot of my wing and body. After completing the hard left and hitting the change in road surface head on I found myself having to counter with a hard right to maintain the highway. Completing the right I pulled off the side to review the damage. The undercarriage of the wing is a bit crumpled and the shift lever is in a new position.
The driver of the 18 wheeler was most apologetic and offered to bring his boss into the conversation but I knew I had a long day ride ahead of me and all the damage was cosmetic and at the time I felt lucky to be alive so we shook hands and I rode on.
