If you’ve never travelled by motorcycle, we strongly encourage you to give it a try and see what you’ve been missing all these years. Riding a motorcycle is one of the most liberating experiences you can have in life. Your safety is sacred, thus you must take all reasonable precautions and efforts to prevent getting into an accident in the first place or suffering as a result of someone else’s negligence while driving. If you are unfortunate enough to lose your balance and have an accident, you may keep yourself safe and shield your body from physical harm by always wearing motorcycle safety gear.
There are a few mistakes you should never make in addition to being safe with branded motorcycle riding gear like a helmet and gloves. The seven frequent errors that frequently result in accidents have been gathered. Examine them to avoid them at all costs.
- Don’t tie shoelaces in loops: Have you ever wondered why riding boots for motorcycles lack lasers? It’s because the laces could obstruct you from applying the brakes or changing gears, or they could tangle in the brake lever and cause an accident. Even if you have to wear a pair of lace-up everyday boots, take care to avoid tying the laces in loops that could get caught in the foot pegs or on the gear lever. For further security, it’s a good idea to tie the loops under your heel and keep it tucked within the boot.
- Don’t watch the speedometer, watch the road: Your attention should always be on the road when you are riding a motorcycle. Many people make the error of keeping an eye on the speedometer when travelling at high speeds just for their own satisfaction. Because you don’t have much time to correct errors, if any when you’re moving quickly, it’s one of the most frequent blunders that you should avoid. Even if you must check your speed to comply with posted speed restrictions, do so swiftly and return to the road as soon as you can.
- Watch the tires of the vehicle in front of you( Don’t trust brake lights blindly): It’s possible for someone to abruptly decide to change lanes without adequately notifying you while you’re sharing the road with several other vehicles travelling in separate lanes. By carefully observing the road, you can prevent the accidents that are frequently caused by this. You should pay attention to the wheels of the vehicle, which will turn slightly before making the lane change, rather than the brake or signal lights of the car in front of you. This will allow you enough time to take evasive action and protect yourself.
- Don’t change speed in the middle of the corner: Changing the motorcycle’s speed in the middle of a corner is another typical error that motorcyclists need to avoid making. Determine whether the bend is suitable for the pace you are travelling at. If you believe you are travelling at a speed that the motorcycle cannot handle, slow down before entering the corner and adopt a lean angle that will allow you to control the motorcycle. Avoid changing your line once you’re in the turn since there is a very significant probability that you will lose your balance and crash the bike.
- Change gear before an overtake, not during an overtake: In the same way that you must keep the motorcycle moving at a constant pace while rounding a corner, you must do the same when passing another vehicle. A sudden gear shift in the middle of an overtake will cause the RPMs to drop, which will slow you down and could result in a car-ramming you from behind! Reduce the gear one step, follow the torque curve, gather speed, and then pass the moving object. Change the gear after your manoeuvre is finished.
- Do not use high-beam in traffic: A driver in the oncoming lane may become completely disoriented and lose their bearings if a bright light shines straight into their eyes. If this happens, the vehicle may jump the divider line and strike you tragically. The vehicles directly in front of you will find comfort in a brilliant beam of light since it will reflect in their rear-view mirror and fall squarely on the rise, potentially causing them to brake suddenly and put you in danger of hitting them from behind. Since you are riding a motorcycle, you are more likely to suffer catastrophic injuries if that occurs. Because of this, it is your obligation to be safe. Never use your high lights in bumper-to-bumper traffic or even in lane segments that are closely spaced apart.
- Avoid riding behind the centre of a car: Cars and other four-wheeled vehicles arrange their wheels so that the middle of the vehicle travels over potholes while the wheels entirely avoid them. You run a good possibility of unexpectedly crashing into a pothole if you are riding exactly behind the centre of a four-wheeler. Always leave adequate space between you and the car in front of you so that you have time to negotiate such unexpected road hazards, but if you must follow a car closely due to unforeseen circumstances, make sure that you are riding behind the wheels rather than the centre of the car.
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