You started riding motorcycles when you were 16 years old. You were one of the original rebels of your family and took the label rather seriously. Although you took every opportunity to worry your parents, over the years you mastered the skills your cycle had to offer. After 20 plus years of riding experience you can legitimately say that you’ve become one with your bike. You no longer have to think about how to move, it just happens—sort of like autopilot. However, you can still cause the occasional panic spell from your parents and wife, but that’s part of being a rebel.
Unfortunately, your son agrees with you. He has recently informed you and your wife that he wants to buy a motorcycle just like yours.
Dang.
Suddenly the rebel attitude that you’ve nurtured for most of your life, seems a little too dangerous. It’s perfectly fine when you’re causing the panic, not so much when you’re the one panicking. In a blink of an eye you turned from a biker rebel, to an overprotective square father. You quickly realize the hypocrisy, but you can’t just accept the decision and move on. After all, you have decades worth of experience dodging dangerous situations, he has only ridden along with you around the block a few times. The least you can do is make sure he’s properly trained before he buys his first hog.
Unfortunately, since safety and reflex maneuvering has become second nature to you, you’re not quite sure where to start the safety training.
Which maneuvers should you teach him to help him stay safe?
Motorcycle Safety Tips
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 200,000 bikers a year fall victim to severely injurious accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that motorcyclists are 35 times more likely to become injured in traffic accidents than normal passenger vehicles. As a result, bikers need to take additional safety precautions and perfect specific bike maneuvers to avoid an accident before it occurs.
The four most important maneuvers you should master are:
- Cone weaves. Cone weaves are tight swerving maneuvers from the left to right. The object of the weave is to make sure that you can remain upright while weaving in and out of a line of traffic cones. This move is important to perfect because it can provide you with the skills to weave through and avoid potholes, road kill, or other materials that could potentially cause you to wipe out.
- Quick stops. Being able to control a quick or sudden stop could make the difference between a short skid and a complete impact disaster. Once you’ve mastered the feel of the velocity change, as well as how to keep your bike upright, you can avoid wipe outs, head-on collisions, and panicked crashes.
- Stop turns. The velocity of a moving motorcycle allows a smoother transition when turning than a stopped motorcycle turn. Much like a regular bicycle, when you stop or slow down, the bike’s center of gravity shifts, making it harder to keep upright. Therefore, to prevent your motorcycle from falling over, you must be able to control your vehicle when turning from a stopped position. This will help prevent wipeouts when turning, and will also give you an escape option if a car is about to collide into you at a stop.
- Obstacle swerves. Since motorcycles are less stable than four-wheeled vehicles, the size and placement of debris, obstacles, and road imperfections can have catastrophic effects on your bike’s ability to safely run over them. If a car’s tire runs over a piece of rubber, it has three other tires to stabilize itself. If a motorcycle tire runs over the same piece of rubber, it loses 50 percent of its traction. This is why it is extremely important to know how to safely and smoothly swerve to avoid obstacles in the road. Not only will this help prevent you from causing an accident, but it will also improve your maneuverability skills to avoid oncoming collisions.
Staying Safe Before and After an Accident
Although protecting yourself, knowing safety guidelines, and staying alert will decrease your odds for an accident—it may not be enough. The majority of motorcycle accidents cause catastrophic injuries that are not only extremely scary, but also stressful, painful, and expensive. Therefore, you not only need to have a plan to avoid such accidents, but you also need a plan for when you can’t avoid them.
After an accident, no matter what treatment or specialized care you require for your injuries, an experienced lawyer can make sure your settlement covers the necessary expenses. Don’t put your recovery in jeopardy because of the cost. Contact us today for a free consultation. We’ll be happy to discuss your treatment options, costs, and what we can do to get you the settlement you deserve. Don’t hesitate, call now.
Did this article help answer your questions? Help us raise motorcycle safety awareness by posting this page on Facebook or Twitter. As the seasons change, your fellow bikers’ risks increase. Make sure they have the tools to create a proper safety plan.
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