Many people love riding motorcycles. Some do it purely for transportation purposes, while others do it as a hobby. Some do both.
While the individuals who ride motorcycles enjoy it, there’s an inherent danger element that goes along with it. California sees 500-600 motorcycle deaths yearly. The more populated states usually equal that.
Motorcycle riding carries that inherent danger element because when you’re on a motorcycle, you don’t have a metal frame and padding around you like you do when you’re in a car.
If you’re riding on a motorcycle, you have nothing but open air around you. If a vehicle hits you, it can easily injure you badly or even kill you.
While you can never enjoy 100% safety when you’re on a motorcycle, you can still create situations where you’re relatively safe. It’s worth talking about what you can do to get to that point, so we’ll do so right now.
Wear a Helmet
Probably the first and foremost thing you might do to stay safer while riding a motorcycle involves the proper gear. You can wear a helmet every time you take your bike out for a ride, with no exceptions.
In some states, you must legally wear a helmet when riding your motorcycle. In others, you have no such law you must follow.
Regardless of what the law says, if you buy a comfortable, reliable motorcycle helmet from a reputable brand and keep it in the same place you keep your bike, then you should always remember to wear it when you go out. Having a helmet means that if you fall off your bike, or if a car hits you, you’re protecting your head. You must protect your head and brain, or you could injure them when you strike the asphalt.
If that happens, then you can suffer a concussion, or even a TBI. Traumatic brain injuries can change your entire personality. You might suffer loss of speech, motor functions, etc.
You can also look into wearing some additional padding when you take your motorcycle out. Elbow and knee pads can help, or you can also get padded jackets that protect your torso.
You might find these extras extraneous, but make sure to wear a helmet at a minimum. If you have a family, then they will probably feel a lot better about you riding if you do this.
Go Out Riding with Other People
You can also stay safer when you ride your motorcycle if you go out with other people. If you ride solo, then if anything goes wrong, maybe you can’t call for help. Even if you have a smartphone on you, if you hit your head, break some bones, or something similar, perhaps you can’t get help before losing consciousness.
If you go out riding with several friends, or at least with a buddy, then if something hurts you, then they can get help on your behalf. They can call an ambulance or ride to the nearest town or gas station to tell them what happened.
Plus, if you go out riding with other people, you will probably enjoy that. You can see some sites as a group. Maybe you will hit a national park or some other area of interest to see what it’s all about.
Have a Smartphone on You at All Times
You can also have a smartphone with you every time you go out for a ride. Maybe you can’t always go riding with people, particularly if you take your motorcycle to work as your primary form of transportation. If so, then your family can at least feel better knowing that you have a cell phone.
If a car hits you or you run into some other kind of trouble, then you will have a way to call for help. Assuming you have cell phone reception, then having that phone might be a potential lifesaver.
Don’t Go Out Riding at Night
You can also avoid going out riding at night. When you have a motorcycle, you don’t take up as much space on the road as a car. That might not mean much to you, but at night, it can make more of a difference than you’d anticipate.
You have a single headlight when you’re on a motorcycle. A driver should see it, but it’s easier for a careless motorist to miss that single headlight or the relatively small motorcycle emitting it. A drunk driver might also not see you as well, and drunk motorists frequently drive after sundown if they’re heading home from a bar.
If you try to go riding only during the day, you and the drivers around you have better visibility. It should help both you and them to avoid some accidents that would take place much easier after sundown.
There’s also the animal factor. Some nocturnal animals only try to cross roads or highways in darkness, and you might not see one in time if you’re riding your motorcycle at night.
Don’t Go Out Riding When There’s Bad Weather
You can also avoid riding when you have a bad weather situation. Depending on where you live, you might see heavy rainstorms. You may have snow, ice, sleet, hail, or a wintery mix. Maybe you have strong winds sometimes that make staying upright on a motorcycle difficult.
If you encounter any of those, then you might crash your motorcycle. Driving rain impacts your visibility, while ice makes it difficult for your wheels to find purchase on the road.
Look at the weather forecast before riding. If you see there is bad weather coming your way, then don’t go out unless you feel you have no other choice.
If you’re going to run some errands, then put it off. If you must go to work, then see if you can get a ride from someone else. If you have a car, then take that instead.
These practices definitely lessen your accident chances.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Olivia Poglianich
Content Strategist
Olivia Poglianich is a nomadic brand strategist and copywriter in the motorcycling and adventure space who has worked with brands such as Visa, Disney and Grey Goose. Her writing has taken her all over the world, from a Serbian music festival to a Malaysian art and culture event. Olivia is a graduate of Cornell University and is often writing or reading about travel, hospitality, the start-up ecosystem or career coaching. Her latest interests are at the intersection of web3 and communal living, both on and offline.
