May is Motorcycle Safety Month. It’s a good time to review a few safety tips to help us Share the Road.
Warmer weather means many things including lots of motorcycles hitting the road. Unfortunately, motorcycles are hard to see, meaning you need to be extra careful while driving. Every year thousands of riders are injured and killed in motorcycle crashes. It’s an alarming fact that must be addressed.
Tips on Sharing the Road
For motorists:
- NEVER tailgate a motorcycle. Allow extra distance to increase everyone’s margin of error.
- Most accidents happen at intersections. Crashes typically happen when a driver does not notice a motorcycle and turns into its path.
- Motorcycles are very small vehicles so they may be much closer and moving much faster than you expect. Always give a motorcycle extra room and extra time.
- Many motorcycle turn signals are not self-canceling and occasionally a biker may forget to turn them off. Always wait for a cyclist to actually make a turn or you might end up crossing paths.
For motorcyclists:
- Follow the rules of the road.
- Avoid riding in poor weather conditions.
- Avoid traveling in a vehicle’s blind spots. Make yourself as visible as possible.
- Use turn signals for every turn or lane change.
- Wear protective gear.
Protect Yourself with the Right Gear
Trading the wind in your hair for safety might seem to defeat the purpose of having a bike, but motorcyclists are 58 times more likely to be killed than passenger vehicle occupants on a per-trip basis. However, motorcycle helmets reduce deaths due to head injuries by 42 percent.
