but do you ride on the road kwak.....think about it , i am riding down the road your sat behind me , then you tap me , shout whatever, your gonna take my concentration off whats in front of me, plus i may turn my head to see whats up..ie putting me and you in danger !!!!!

  For instance on a motorway, if something is coming up behind us, in the next lane moving into the space the rider is about to move into, then I think I'll distract the rider to let him know we're both goina be under the wheels if he pulls over into that lane.                                                                                                                                                                             

how would you know whats coming up behind you....and at speed on a motorway, the last thing i would want is distracting by my pillion.....                                                                                                                                                                             

If any pillion ever distracted me during a maneouver, then that pillion would be a pedestrian at the next services.  How does the pillion know if the rider hasn't already seen the other vehicle.   The rider has to be in full control of the bike especially during a maneouver.   The pillion waits for an opportune moment to distract the rider.   A distracted rider looking over his/her shoulder to find out what an interfering pillion has to say has significantly more chance to being involved in an incident.                                                                                                                                                                             

  How would I know? I LOOK and glad I do too.    The last thing I worry about is distracting the rider when I'm trying to get him to stop killing both of us.     Blue I don't see it as interfering, it's MY LIFE and I'll protect it whenever I think it needs it. If I bruise a man's ego in the process of saving my life then tough!                                                                                                                                                                               

if your riding with a pillion kwak, and on a motorway...your turning round just to see if something is coming...surley thats dangerous.....why would you want to be turning round, you would not believe how that would panic the rider !!!!!                                                                                                                                                                             

Kwak,   Your opinion is from the aspect of a pillion and I fully appreciate your will to live, same as it is the prime concern of the rider.  On a bike, the rider is in control and should have 100% concentration at all times. As a rider, I cannot (and will not) accept any pillion distracting me unnecessarily as I'm trying to avoid all the other numpties on the road. The pillion should trust the rider and should never get on the back on a rider whom they don't have complete trust in.                                                                                                                                                                                 

The best pillion (to me) is one that the rider can safely turn round to at the end of a journey and say 'I didn't even realise you were there!'                                                                                                                                                                             

The best pillion (to me) is one that the rider can safely turn round to at the end of a journey and say 'I didn't even realise you were there!'   Then I've proved my point   I don't distract a rider unnecessarily, I inform them of a potential hazard.   I aint goin to argue this with ya all nite. I have to let riders know that their next move could be their last one and I won't sit there and let a rider kill me.                                                                                                                                                                              

?????? @ kwak                                                                                                                                                                               

Ditto with the ???'s                                                                                                                                                                             

I agree the rider is in control but 4 observent eyes are better than 2 . Set ground rules first ,Like a tap on the back means no to any manover you are thinking of doing . As an experianced pillion may have seen something you may have missed  .Also if having a pillion on a regular basis y not fit an intercom ? Only my opinion                                                                                                                                                                               

Wright just watched this twice! The person in the Leon doesnt indicated, so thats wrong, didnt see any indication from the rider plus the rider was riding in a dumb position for the car driver to be able to see what he's doing, the rider is also way too close! Personally i tend to flash the vehicle in front with my indicator going just so i get their attention and they know im intending to overtake. Bikes being as quick as they are you can stay back from the car, gives you a better idea of what else is going on ahead! I driver 40 ton trucks for a living and they are the worst thing in the world for trying to keep an eye on everyone else! Massive blind spots and the need for alot more room than other vehicles to make simple lane changes and turns. On bikes  we tend to treat car drivers as idiots in a truck everyone is treated that way!!! Think its time people were educated on all types of vehicle that maybe encountered whilst on the road.                                                                                                                                                                             

i think 2w has a good point, if we all had a go driving different vehicles, we would rspect other drivers and what they had to deal with re massive blind spots etc                                                                                                                                                                             

Hi Ian welcome back , hope you had a good bdb !this thread has revealed some interesting viewpoints regarding Geoff's question...as far as a pilly is concerned the only times i dont mind a dig in the ribs is when i might be going a bit too fast or when i'm needed to pull over for a leg stretch , some people rightly fear excessive speeds and the rider must heed this a nervous pilly is very unsettling at all times .

Kwak, I think you have just elected yourself to the rank of pedestrian. I have carried both experienced and inexperienced pillions and adjust my riding to suit my passenger, slowing the pace, cutting down on overtakes, low acceleration, gentle braking as necessary. In thirty some years I have only once dumped a pillion at a bus stop, that was a pillion who constantly squirmed about and kept thumping me to point out vehicles a hundred yards away that I had already seen.  I had to leave the pillion as a matter of safety as apart from distracting me and unsettling the balance of the bike thus putting both of us and other road users at risk there was also a strong chance I would have strangled her and ended up in jail.                                                                                                                                                                              

kwak......i would still give ya a lift...just tie ya hands up first lmao                                                                                                                                                                             

As both a rider and a regular pillion i find its too completely different mindsets.When i get on my bike i am in control and responsible for my actions,when i get on the back of someone else i am handing that control and responsability over to them.If i don't have complete faith in that rider i don't get on.I can agree that when you also ride it becomes more difficult to be a pilly as you can't help seeing things from a riders point of view and its very hard not to react,(i find i'm exactly the same as a passenger in a car)but you just have to sit tight and have faith.       The ONLY time i distract the rider is if i need a break in which case i will wait for traffic lights or some other appropiate time,on a motorway i simply point to the services sign.                                                                                                                                                                             

well said that lady.....reflecting my point                                                                                                                                                                             

Quite right Cassie, I am a terrible pillion and it frightens the life out of me. Even when It's someone whos riding I know and trust they still brake in the "wrong" places, miss easy overtakes, take risky overtakes etc.    At the end of the day the rider/driver is responsible for safety, in a car even if I have asked my passenger to spot left for me at a junction I still dont pull out just because they have said "clear" I'm driving so it is up to me to check and ensure it's safe.    Nobody likes a back seat driver, in a car they are annoying, on a bike they can be lethal.