Riding a motorcycle is dangerous. Luckily, bikes also give you the best possible tools to avoid crashing, incredibly powerful brakes, obstruction-free vision, excellent handling and very grippy tires. Here’s how to use those tools, and your very own brain, to avoid one of these common motorcycle accidents. Motorcycle Safety: Want to reduce your odds of dying in a crash? Get educated. New riders should complete a basic rider course from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation or similar while advanced tuition is available at race tracks. It can be cheaper than you fear. Safety gear doesn’t just help prevent injury in a crash, it can also make riding more comfortable, put you in better control of your bike, and help you be seen by other drivers. Bright colors on your helmet and jacket/suit will help car drivers see you, potentially avoiding some of the common accidents detailed below. 1: A Car Turns Left In Front Of You The most common motorcycle accident. A car fails to see you or judges your speed incorrectly, turning in front of you at an intersection. Blame inattention, distraction, blind spots and even psychology; a driver looking for cars perceives merely an absence of cars, not the presence of a motorcycle. How To Avoid It: Simple, you just need to see it coming. Part of your job as a motorcyclist is to develop a precognitive sixth sense. Look for signs that could indicate someone may turn in front of you: a car is at an intersection waiting to turn, there’s a gap in traffic near an intersection, driveway or parking lot. In either situation, slow down, cover your brakes and get ready to take evasive action. Yes, you do need to take something as innocuous as a car waiting in a turn lane as a major and immediate threat to your life. You also need to account for objects outside of your vision. Gaps in traffic indicate the possibility of someone coming through that gap, even if you can’t see them. Again, MAJOR THREAT, PREPARE FOR EVASIVE ACTION. And once you’ve identified said threat, you can work it through levels of severity. Is the driver clearly able to see you, without obstruction from their window pillars, trees or signs? Is that person actually looking? Are they looking at you? How are they situated in the road? What is their speed? Where are their wheels pointing? Look at their wheels, not the car – they’ll give you the first clue of movement. During all this, also be aware of what’s behind and to your side. Should you need to take evasive action, you’ll need to know your routes of escape. It’s no good braking in time to avoid a turning car, only to be swatted from behind by a tailgating SUV. What’s the road surface like? Is it going to be able to handle the full force of your brakes or are you going to lock them? You do know how to use the full ability of your brakes, right? Under no circumstances should you “lay the bike down.” Your best chance of survival comes from shedding as much speed as possible pre-collision, and you’re going to be able to do that best with the bike completely upright, using both brakes. Even if you only have time to lose 10 or 20 mph, that could be the difference between going home with bruises and going home at all. 2: You Hit Gravel In A Blind Corner You’re out riding the twisties when, seemingly without warning, you round a corner to find a patch of sand/gravel/leaves/horse dung/ whatever in your path. You put your front tire in it and wipe out. How To Avoid It: Don’t hit it in the first place. Ride at a pace where your reaction time and ability to take action fit within your range of vision. On the road, “Slow In, Fast Out” is an effective rule of thumb. Enter a corner wide, to increase your vision and at an easy pace. You can pick up the speed on the way out, once you can see. Trail braking is a slightly more advanced skill that you’ll need to learn and practice on a track before applying on the road. Using it, you brake all the way to the apex using the front brake before swapping brake for throttle. Since you’re already on the brakes and the bike’s weight is distributed forward, compressing the front suspension and increasing the size of the front tire’s contact patch, you can easily tighten your line by applying a little more brake or widen it by letting off. Doing so should help you avoid obstacles such as gravel. Another advanced skill, which is oddly controversial in rule-loving America, but which is taught by advanced police riders abroad, is to maximize vision by using the full width of the road, regardless of lanes. Vision equals safety equals speed. Again, learn this from a trained professional before trying it yourself. 3: You Entered A Corner Too Fast And now it’s unexpectedly tightening and you’re just not going to make it around. Oh no. How To Avoid It: Don’t be a dummy. Only ride as fast as you can see and use visual clues like telephone polls and signs to judge a road’s direction, even if that road is disappearing over a blind crest. If you do find yourself going too fast in a corner, the best approach is to trust the bike and try to ride it out. The bike is likely more capable than you are, so it’s really you that’s not capable of making it around. Take as much lean out of the bike as possible by hanging off, look where you want to go and be as smooth as possible on the controls. Do not whack on the brakes, chop the throttle or do anything else that may upset the bike and cause a loss of traction. Don’t panic if a peg or knee or something else touches down, just try to hold that lean angle, look for the corner exit and ride it out. This is another situation in which trail braking can be a real help, allowing you to safely shed speed while already in the corner. 4: A Car Changes Lane Into You You’re riding in traffic when a car in another lane suddenly veers into the space you’re occupying. Remember, our tiny motorcycles can easily fit into blind spots and drivers looking for cars aren’t psychologically programmed to see motorcycles. How To Avoid It: Be aware of where blind spots lie and spend as little time in them as possible. If you can see a driver's eyes in their mirrors, then they have the ability to see you, too (But remember that still doesn't always mean they're looking). Beware of situations where lane changes become more possible. Is highway traffic slowing, with one lane moving faster than others? People are going to want to be in that lane. Don’t be where they want to be. Look for signs of a car changing lanes: turn signals, wheels turning, the car wandering around its own lane while the driver checks his/her mirrors and, of course, the driver’s head moving. Be aware of all that, in all the cars around you, at all times, and you’ll be good. 5: A Car Hits You From Behind You come to a halt a stop sign/cross walk/intersection/to avoid a family of baby ducks when, the driver behind you doesn’t see you or isn’t trying to and plows into you at high speed. The most common car accident is a “fender bender.” A fender bender can kill a motorcyclist. How To Avoid It: Use cars as your very own crumple zone. A single car stopped at a multi-lane stoplight, with more cars coming from behind? Pull in front of it (wave nicely) and you’re cushioned from any subsequent impacts. Between a line of cars works just as well. No free crumple zones available? Stop to the side rather than the center of a lane, rapidly flash your brake light by tapping a brake lever, keep the bike in gear and your right hand on the throttle. Pay attention to what’s coming up behind you and be prepared to scoot away should it appear someone’s about to come plowing into you. Be particularly aware in situations where there’s bad visibility, at times when drunk driving is prevalent (do all the bars around you let out at 1am?) and when stops are unexpected, such as at pedestrian crosswalks on very busy streets and stuff like those cute baby ducks crossing the road. 6: Your Riding Buddies Are Idiots You’ve seen it happen. A group is out for a ride when one of them stops suddenly or something similar. His buddy is too busy daydreaming to realize and hits him from behind. This has happened to us; it can happen to anyone. How To Avoid It: Make sure everyone is aware of proper group riding etiquette and knows to ride in a staggered formation. You’d be amazed how many people are unaware of this simple technique. Doing so increases vision and moves bikes out of line with each other, meaning a temporary lapse in attention wont’ result in a collision. Pick smarter riding buddies or do what I do: ride alone. 7: You Locked The Front Brake Oh no, a deer/cute girl/cop/stopped traffic. You grab a fistful of front brake and, next thing you know, you’re lying on the ground, watching your bike cartwheel down the street. How To Avoid It: Learn to use your front brake. It might seem counterintuitive, but that front brake is the most powerful and difficult-to-master component on your motorcycle; it can alter your speed much more quickly than your engine. If you’re just learning to ride, have simply never mastered this skill or bought a new bike and need to learn it, find a big, empty parking lot and start practicing. From a set speed (say, 30 mph), start braking at a certain mark, then repeat ad infinitum until you’ve reduced your braking distance as much as possible. You should be able to feel the tire on the very edge of locking up and the rear wheel lifting off the ground. Then go and practice at higher and higher speeds until you can employ the maximum braking ability of your motorcycle reliably and safely. Or just buy a bike with ABS, remember you have it, and squeeze the lever as hard as you can when you need to make an emergency stop. 8: A Car Opened Its Door The biggest gap in traffic was between a line of parked cars and a stationary line of active traffic. So you go scooting through it when, all of a sudden, Nathan-no-look swings his door wide open right in front of you. How To Avoid It: Never, ever, ever, ever ride between an active traffic lane and parked cars. Not just because of the opening doors thing, but because pedestrians step out, cars pull out so they can see, and for a million other reasons. Just don’t do it. If you do, somehow, find yourself in a door-opening situation though, follow all the advice above and brake as hard as possible. Even if a collision is inevitable, shedding even a small fraction of your speed can really help. Riders call the area next to parked cars, within a door's width “The Death Zone” for a reason. 9: It’s Slippery! Stuff is coming out of the sky! That stuff is cold, wet and, surprise surprise, slippery. Listen to experienced wet weather riders and don’t panic. How To Avoid It: Does your bike have decent tires on it or were you silly and decided that running track rubber on the road was a good idea? Hint: it’s not. So long as you’re running reasonable tires and those tires aren’t worn out, you’ll be surprised at how well a motorcycle does in wet or even snowy conditions. Just slow down and be as smooth as possible on the controls. In the wet, stuff like manhole covers become super, extra slippery and you’ll need to watch out for oil and diesel on the road as well. Look for patches of rainbow and avoid those. If it hasn’t rained for a while, the first hour or so of rainfall is the most treacherous; it lifts all the oils and whatnot out of the pavement, floating it on top. Treat yourself to a hot cup of coffee and wait for a solid downpour to wash all that junk away. Also beware of the limited visibility rain creates for other drivers and their general ineptitude; car drivers don’t seem to understand that slippery conditions necessitate longer following distances and earlier braking. I advocate keeping revs up in the wet. The thinking is that, should your rear spin up, you’ll be using a smaller amount of throttle opening, allowing you to regain traction much easier than if you’re riding at 30mph in 6th, at wide open throttle. 10: The Most Common Bike Accident According to the Hurt Report — the largest study ever conducted on motorcycle accident causation — alcohol is a factor in 50 percent of all bike wrecks. How To Avoid It: Don’t drink and ride.

5 Tips for Surviving Intersections Added 7/21/2019 Intersections are very dangerous places to be. The reason drivers collide with motorcycles is because they either don’t see us or they misjudge our approach speed or distance. Here are some tips to help you become more visible at intersections. 1. Don’t Hide. Select lane positions that put you in open view so drivers can see you. This means not tailgating the car or truck in front and riding in the left or right portion of your lane to make sure drivers waiting to turn into or across your lane can clearly see you. 2. Move Within Your Lane. Even if you are in plain sight, don’t assume drivers see you. People see what they expect to see and a motorcycle may not register in their consciousness, even if they are looking at you. Another reason drivers can look at you but not “see” you is because of “motion-induced blindness” where stationary objects disappear when surrounded by a moving background, such as busy traffic. Realize that you appear stationary if you approach a driver straight on. Even if drivers do see you they may not be able to accurately judge closing speed and approach distance because of your bikes relatively narrow frontal area. One trick is to move across your lane as you approach drivers at intersections to visually “present” the broader side area of your bike. For a more dramatic display, weave back and forth in your lane to “sweep” your headlight across drivers’ field of view. You don’t need to go crazy; swerving a few feet left and right a couple of times should do the trick. And weave only if it’s safe to do so. 3. Be Bright. It’s smart to wear brightly colored riding gear that gets attention and separates you from the busy background. This includes wearing a light-colored helmet and jacket or vest, as well as putting reflective material on your bike and riding gear for being seen in low light situations. Don’t rely on noise. While loud pipes get attention, sound is not reliable for telling drivers exactly where you are. Not only that, but loud pipes direct most of the exhaust noise rearward rather than forward where the majority of dangers materialize. Selective use of an aftermarket horn is as effective and a lot less annoying to others. 4. Be Ready. Even after using these measures you will likely encounter drivers who invade your right or way. Being mentally ready makes you more likely to approach cautiously and respond skillfully when someone cuts you off. Being ready means actively looking for trouble, slowing down and covering your brakes before approaching intersections even when everything looks to be in order. But, don’t be a victim. Instead, reflect on your part in any close calls. You may find that (if you’re truly honest and willing) most times you can identify at least one thing you did or didn’t do to prevent the incident. 5. The best riders predict that a driver might cut them off (or whatever) and are already prepared by covering their brakes and positioning themselves to give maximum time and space to respond. All the best practices in the world sometimes cannot prevent some crashes. We can’t change the behavior of careless drivers. All we can do is minimize the risk. And wear good protection in case the unavoidable happens.

How To Choose The Right Kind Of Motorcycle A motorcycle is a two-wheeled motor vehicle used for an easy and fast way of transportation. It is relatively more prevalent in developing countries of the world because it is relatively cheap to maintain and operate. With the advancement in technology in recent years, the motorcycle is also specialized in multiple styles. Today’s motorcycle are much more advanced than the past. It is a token of happiness in the family. But this key of happiness is not in finding the best motorcycle available in the market rather than to find right kind of motorcycle for you which depends on upon your requirements and type of riding you want to do. Some motorcycles are specially designed keeping in mind the particular segment of the market while some are general and can be used by anyone. For e.g. some motorcycles are more suited for young generation than the older one and vice versa. For a new rider, a lightweight motorcycle is always better while learning. Similarly, it is always encouraging to place both the feet on the ground while stopping the motorcycle. Though the experienced rider can stop the motorcycle even by using one foot on the surface. There are hundreds of models of motorcycles that are available in the market, and the user must narrow down their search to find the right kind of motorcycle. Choosing the Right Kind of Motorcycle It is always a tough decision to choose the right kind of Motorcycle when so many styles and models are available in the market. In fact, I believe that one type of motorcycle is not enough to meet all the requirements of the rider. Therefore, while choosing the right kind of motorcycle for you, you must first analyse and review the basic purpose for which you will use the motorcycle. There are a lot of options available in the market and the decision primarily depends on upon what you want to do with the bike. It depends whether the rider wants to ride it on the road or off the road. Once the purpose of the motorcycle is decided on then only you can choose the right kind of motorcycle for you based on the below parameters: • Analyse the reason of buying a motorcycle • Types of roads on which you are mainly going to ride the motorcycle • Budget of buying the motorcycle Five Basic Styles of Motorcycles There are different types of motorcycles available in the market. These can be broadly classified into five categories as follows: 1. The Naked or Standard Bike This is the basic type of motorcycle which puts the user in an upright position but not able to cope with the blowing wind. Advantages of Standard bike • Standard Bike is available in variety of models with engine displacement • It is easy to ride and controllable • It is well-suited for the ride within the city which may or may not have an even surface. Disadvantages of Standard Bike • Standard Bile is not able to cope with blowing wind • It makes the rider tired when driving for long periods of time This type of motorcycle is ideally suited for daily commuter and who can use the motorcycle only occasionally for the long distance ride 2. Cruiser There are many companies that manufacture cruiser type of motorcycles. Advantages of Cruiser • In Cruiser, riders are in more relaxed riding position • Good Pickup – Most of the models of this type of motorcycle are 100 cc or more. • It is highly comfortable for long rides • This type of motorcycle consists of a windshield, luggage makes it a safe vehicle for long distance rides. • It is primarily used for touring purposes. Disadvantages of Cruiser • It is having more room for the leg. Therefore to reduce this, suspension has to be raised 3. Touring This type of motorcycle is designed in such a manner so that it remains comfortable for the rider when riding long distances. This type of vehicle is available with large displacement engines. Advantages of Touring Motorcycle • Touring Motorcycle has more fuel and luggage capacity. Therefore, it can go for ong distances hassle-free • It is equipped with windshield provides extra protection to the rider • It is equipped with sound systems used for entertainment purpose during a long ride Disadvantages of Touring Motorcycle • It is more expensive as compared to other types. The price of this type of motorcycle is equivalent to the small car. • Touring Motorcycle is also heavy in weight which makes it difficult for new riders. 4. Sport Bike It is another type of motorcycle primarily used for racing purpose. It is the legal version of motorcycle used for competition. Advantages of Sport Bike • Riders can lean in the forward direction and ride it comfortably. • High speed vehicle • Excellent pickup. As this type of motorcycle is used for racing purpose, it normally comes in 600cc or more Disadvantages of Sport Bike • It is not suited for new riders 5. Dual Purpose / Adventure Touring This is the last category of motorcycle used for dual purpose i.e. touring as well as for riding the normal motorcycle. Advantages of Dual Purpose Bike • It is most versatile motorcycle among all the different categories of motorcycles available in the market • Rider can ride the motorcycle in an upright position • These are designed for different road conditions. For e.g. rider can easily ride dual purpose motorcycle in highway having smooth road as well as in city having uneven surface, or even off road Disadvantages of Dual Purpose Bike • It is not very comfortable while riding for long distance Conclusion The two most important points always need to be kept in mind to a new rider is light weight of the motorcycle and able to touch both feet on the ground while stopping. Luckily, seat height and weight of the motorcycle is always mentioned against each model has key features on the motorcycle manufactures website. Therefore, the rider can always glance at the given motorcycles specs carefully to find the right kind of motorcycle for your intended riding style. Once you decide the purpose of usage of your motorcycle, the above guidelines will help you to find your dream motorcycle which will be the right fit for you.