well since I still havn’t managed to get my bike…I can’t say that I’ve improved my driving due to my riding. but for the past 4 years I’ve had to drive a cargo van to and from customer’s houses as part of my job, and prior to that I spent a good 2 years driving a security vehicle on mobile patrol. but the cargo van has DEFINATELY affected how I drive. It corners like a pregnant cow, it’s slow on the uptake, it’s slow to stop, and it’s so huge that sudden lane changes are difficult. I had a trainee stop playing the “bet you a dollar that suv’s going to cut me off” after he owed me about $15 in less than an hour. now when I’m riding with a co-worker or a supervisor I constantly get “how come you never get cut off like everyone else?” well…it’s because I can tell when someone’s going to cut them off and react long before they do, usually by giving them enough space that they don’t HAVE to cut me off. oh there’s still the occasional idiot out there that comes out of NOWHERE, but it’s rare. in my cage I drive much like I’m in my van, except I’m a bit more likely to make a sudden lane change.
I think what I’m trying to say is that for me, driving the van as much as I have, and do, will instead make me a much safer rider. I have a very well developed sense of situational awareness, much better, I’d argue, than most cagers. and really when you learn that a huge white van with red and blue lettering all over it is invisible to these SUV soccer moms, you learn that you’re invisible no matter WHAT you’re on/in.