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Step 1
Inspect your bike. As a riding enthusiast, the best thing you can do to stay safe on the road is to keep your motorcycle maintained. If you've taken a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course, then you have some basics on what to look for. If not, take it to a trained expert to maintain for you. Losing your brakes on a turn could mean losing a limb or your life.
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Step 2
Wear motorcycle riding gear. Too cool to wear a helmet? Most motorcycle fatalities are caused by head injuries due to impact from not wearing a helmet.
And consider this as you're speeding off down the road: that tee shirt you're wearing will last for approximately ten feet of road burn should you have an accident and be thrown from the motorcycle. After that your skin is the next to go. -
Step 3
Take a motorcycle rider's safety course. Whether you're brand new to riding, or a seasoned motorcyclist, it doesn't hurt and just might help you to stay safe while riding. But, never think just because you aced the course that you are now an expert on the road. It takes years of driving experience to learn the pitfalls of the open road and the hazards that can befall you, but it is a starting point for new drivers, and a refresher for those whose safety skills may be lax due to excessive comfort in the saddle.
Drivers over forty may want to take a motorcycle safety course to test their reflexes. Preventing motorcycle accidents and fatalities depends on quick reflexes in crucial moments. -
Step 4
Stay sober. Drinking and driving or while under other intoxicants can severely incapacitate a motorcycle driver. Just as driving under the influence is a major cause of car accidents, so too, is it for motorcycles. The difference is: there's a whole lot less protection.
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Step 5
Be awake and alert. This is good advice for a driver of any motor vehicle, but a tired motorcyclist will have limited ability to make defensive moves should a car pull out, or stop short, in front of him.
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Step 6
Make yourself visible. Learn to use your horn, signals, lights, and whatever other tricks you can come up with to make yourself be seen by drivers of other vehicles. "I didn't even see him !" is a common phrase used by the driver of a motor vehicle who has just hit a motorcycle rider.
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Step 7
Slow it down. Excess speed is one of the major factors for motorcycle accidents and fatalities. Needless deaths, each year, occur because a driver can't negotiate a turn due to speed. Don't become a fatality. The need for speed could cause you to lose your life.
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Step 8
Get your eyes checked. Vision problems can play a major role in motorcycle accidents. Night vision, particularly, can be affected. Because as a rider you also have factors such as fog, night flying bugs, and headlights to contend with, it's important to make sure you can see as well as possible.
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Step 9
Be realistic. Know when it's time to give up motorcycle riding. If you can't adhere to safe driving principles then you are putting yourself, and your passengers, at risk for a motorcycle accident. The losses you may suffer are not worth it.
Comments
ruf1950 said
on 6/25/2009 Preventing motorcycle accidents and fatalities is an important subject. Thank you for an informative, excellently detailed article. 5*****
HardworkinJudy said
on 6/23/2009 We just recently had a motorcycle fatality in our area. There's nothing to protect the rider from the traffic.
Shirley, you've offered wonderful advice. Thanks!
bossypants said
on 6/22/2009 Sobering advice! The freedom of riding a motorcycle must be exhilarating and I imagine it might be easy to forget just how vulnerable you are. I hope your article is widely read! Thank you for the thorough checklist of safety measures.
dengineer said
on 6/22/2009 Excellent post, very detailed information that can make bike riding safer.
Thanks,
kristara said
on 6/21/2009 Motorcycles scare me. My husband owns a towing company and he gets to see the aftermath of careless drivers. We all need to be more aware of what's on the road around us.