Safety is essential to any driver’s daily life. However, when it comes to motorcycles, the more at-risk nature of the riding makes it crucial that you keep your safety practices as perfect as humanly possible. For those that are just beginning to ride motorcycles, knowing what to do can be difficult. Thankfully, we’ve put together a guide that covers eight important safety tips every beginner motorcyclist should know:
1. Always Wear Safety Gear
No other step on this list is as important as wearing the property safety gear every time you get on the road. Not only will it protect you in case of falls or crashes, but a proper helmet is essential to allowing your vision to stay protected and optimized. This step will give you more control over your environment and bike, allowing you and everyone else on the road to be much safer.
2. Do Not Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Especially when you’re just getting started with cycling, you mustn’t quickly jump out of your comfort zone. Riding in places where you can easily handle your motorcycle, and where you understand the road you’re riding on, will help you get all the basics down before you go on busier, more complex routes. Knowing your comfort zone is critical to building your skills up to a point where you can safely ride on the interstate.
3. Inspect Your Motorcycle Before Each Ride
A mechanical issue on a motorcycle while driving can cause you to experience a hard-to-prevent crash or accident. To avoid this unfortunate and potentially deadly situation, you must inspect your motorcycle to ensure it’s safe for the road every time before you go for a ride. Doing so will also help you prevent costly maintenance and repair needs down the road as well.
4. Always Use Your Turn Signals
No matter what type of motor vehicle you’re driving, using your turn signals every time you make a turn or adjustment is crucial. Even in parking lots, using your turn signals will ensure those driving around you understand where you intend to go. This practice will keep you more aware of your driving habits, and ensure that all other drivers on the road can safely drive around you, which will, in turn, make the driving environment around you much safer.
5. Never Share Lanes
Motorcyclists will frequently share lanes, but just because it’s a common practice does not mean it’s safe. On the contrary, it’s incredibly dangerous to share lanes. Doing so greatly diminishes the room you have on the road, and the room the person sharing the lane with you has as well. Not only this, but the practice is often a violation of traffic laws and can get you into financial and legal troubles.
6. Be Aware of Your Surroundings
When you are on a motorcycle, you have to be extra careful about road safety, as you’re much more in danger of serious or deadly injury in case of an accident. All the other steps on this list will ensure your surroundings are fully aware to you, so be sure to perform them every time that you hit the road. While this seems like a minor or obvious tip, beginner (and experienced) cyclists need to perfect it. If you find yourself in a situation where you are in an accident that is of no fault of your own, you should contact the legal professionals at rosenfeldinjurylawyers.com/motorcycle-accidents.html as soon as you can to ensure you get the restitution you deserve.
7. Do Not Listen to Music
Another mistake many motorcyclists make is listening to music while driving their motorcycles. Unlike car drivers, listening to music while on a motorcycle greatly diminishes your ability to understand what your surroundings are. Once again, this is also a traffic law violation in some areas, so you must avoid this dangerous practice altogether.
8. Be Aware of Driving Conditions
Hazardous weather is a common cause of motorcycle accidents. Heavy rain, winds, and snow are all incredibly dangerous for motorcyclists. To ensure you do not put yourself in a completely avoidable dangerous situation, you must avoid getting on your bike if you can not fully ensure that your bike can handle it (and that your driving skills can handle the weather as well).
Motorcyclists Must Stay Safe
Staying safe as a biker will keep both you and everyone else on the road as safe as possible. When you’re first starting out, baby steps are important to perfecting the skills and habits you’ll need to be a safe, expert motorcyclist. There’s an art to biking that’s quite different from driving a car, so don’t be afraid to take the time you need to warm up to the cool but often-dangerous practice.
