When you are riding you are vulnerable. One of the best strategies is to avoid trouble in the first place.
This means you have to watch what is happening around you, anticipate what might happen and make sure you are nowhere near it if it does.
Trouble from behind
The only way to avoid trouble from behind is to use your mirrors. Given the acceleration of even small capacity motorcycles you are more likely to be rear ended when you are slowing or stopping.
Be aware of what is behind you at all times. Not only what is behind you, but how close it is. Know how fast something is travelling as it approaches. You can only do that by looking in your mirror twice and seeing how much the gap has closed.
If you have to stop check your mirrors as you do. If the vehicle behind is slow to react prepare to take evasive action. This might mean releasing the brake (if you can) or aiming between cars as if you are filtering. The last place you want to be is between a stopped car and one that isn’t.
This is where you need to anticipate. If you knew the vehicle behind you was projecting it was in danger of rear ending you, you can change lanes well beforehand. Then, instead of being the filling in the sandwich, you get a ringside seat for a spiffing rear end collision.
And from the front
See that guy overtaking the caravan in the oncoming traffic? The one towing a ‘van himself? Chances are he isn’t going to make it.
Roll out the throttle now (after checking your mirrors first, see above). He might not have seen you (he’s too busy watching his mirrors to see if the ‘van starts swaying) or he thinks there’s enough room.
Either way, your better off shaking your head than you are having to do an emergency stop. The dashcam sites are full of this sort of thing, your GoPro footage is better there than part of a police enquiry.
You survived that one and, as you come into town, there’s a car with its indicator on, wanting to turn right so it will turn in front of you. You need to get fuel and the servo is just behind him. You look in your mirrors (see above) and put on your indicator to turn right…
…and the car turns right in front of you. WTF?
Did the car driver think your indicator meant you were turning down the side street before the servo?
It doesn’t matter. An experienced rider would see the bigger picture and realise their use of the indicator could cause confusion. A better plan might have been to wait until passing the car before indicating. Or going to a servo on your side of the road. That’d be safer for returning to the traffic flow as well.
Another scenario. The car in front is stopped, signalling to turn right. There is enough room for you to pass on his left. There is a car coming the other way, also signalling to turn right. Is it still safe to proceed?
Anticipate. You can see what is happening. Could the oncoming drive think the car in front of you will hold up traffic so they can make their turn?
Sure, keep going, but do so in anticipation of having to stop.
Let’s not forget the side
You’re tootling along on a dual carriageway. There is a car beside you. They’re about to come up behind a slow moving vehicle. What could possibly go wrong?
What if the two lanes of traffic are moving freely, and a car up front in the other lane starts braking? Hard?