What driving skills has riding a MC taught you?

For those of who drive cars/vans/SUV/trucks/etc, what skills have you
acquired as a driver of these vehicles that resulted directly from your
experience as a MC rider?

#1 Pay attention to the road.

#2 Check the ego in the trunk before you get behind the wheel.

I've picked up some skills that are quite useful in autocross.

I'll tell you what you _can't_ do in a cage - lanesplit

Well, you CAN, but it usually winds up involving a lot of
loud and unpleasant noises....;-)

Bob M.

Situational awareness. I know my rear view mirrors as well as the windshield.

We all know that there are bad, average, and good drivers of cages out
there with most folks in the bad/avg camp which are very close to each
other skill-wise.

Are you a good driver? No accidents in the last 5+ years? No tickets?
Few, if any, close calls? Enjoy the best insurance rates?

No accidents. Tickets are another matter. What that has to do with
being a good driver I have no idea.

One of the tenets of MSF was that if you're a bad car driver, you are
likely to be a bad MC rider. Do you agree with that?

It can be argued if you're a risk taker it doesn't matter what vehicle
you're in. As a flight instructor I see this all the time.
Invulnerability is a hazardous attitude.

No. If you fall off a bicycle a lot though that is a different
matter. I can't count how many spills I've taken on my mountain
bike. Motorcycles just seem to want to lie down. It takes a
different sort of skill to ride one well vs driving a car.

I do believe that starting off, even if you are a "good" car driver,
you can still be a bad MC rider - at least for the first 6 months or
so... I'm proof of that >:)-

I believe that if you take chances with cars, you may be more prone to
take chances on a bike - even unwittingly, *but*... since riding a MC,
my car driving skills have improved noticably.

I push my car as hard as I can in autocross. I'm not good enough to
reach its limits. I am even further away from realizing the full
potential of my bike. I don't push as hard on my bike simply because
of the fear of physical injury and damage to the bike. But I do exceed
my limits more often than I would like.

I find that flying and superslabbing on a nice sport-tourer is very
similar in many respects.

That said, let it be known that it is *not* advisable to spot a
slow-moving vehicle ahead and attempt to perform a barrel roll around
it whilst one is riding a motorcycle....

A lot of lazy driving habits are being broken. I now anticipate in my
car as I do on my bike and have to fight the urge to honk at folks
waiting to pull out like I would on my bike. Most times, I figure they
see me in my truck.

I'm pretty good at anticipating what cars will do. But not perfect.
This is a skill that I learned long ago in my car. I apply it to the
bike with the assumption that I am harder to see and it is more
difficult to guess my speed.

I also don't let myself go off into that relaxing, self-hypnotic state
that momentarily shuts down your total awareness now and then. I fight
it more when driving in my car now. On my bike, I don't experience it
much - too many sounds and sense-provoking things going on.

That's pretty easy to do in a cage, as they've become more of a coccoon
insulating you from the road. Plus the distractions of cell phones,
CDs, satellite radio, etc taking your attention off the road. You don't
have the same margin for error on a scooter, but then again like you
mentioned there's a lot more sensory stimulation happening when you
ride. Isn't that why we do it? : )

How about you? Are you a much better driver as a result of riding MC's?
If you are, isn't that a major side-benefit to riding a MC that seems
to go unspoken more often than not?

Much better would be an exageration. A bit better would be accurate.

OK, I guess what I'd really like to know is if insurance data bears out
my hypothesis that MC riders who also drive other vehicles are better
overall drives of those other vehicles than those who do not ride MC's.

I know I am.

I ride like my pants are on fire! I am constantly looking for ways to
separate myself from traffic. If I have to ride in traffic I am
passive/agressive. I don't tailgate but I pass people quickly. Stay out
of blind spots and watch those intersections.