10 Tips to Staying Safe

[Shaman]

Got this through another group; thought I'd share...
 
10 Ways to Be Safe on a Motorcycle
 
1.) Assume Drivers Can't See You: Ride assuming that you and your motorcycle are totally invisible to motorists. That means you must never assume that drivers can see you. The odds are, they can't so believe it yourself and always have an "out" for dangerous traffic situations.
 
2.) Maintain Safe Spacing: Leave plenty of space in front and back and to the sides from all other vehicles. Be an island. Stay away from traffic as much as possible. This gives you more visibility and more time to react to situations.
 
3.) Anticipate Trouble: Anticipate trouble situations and know what to do when you see them. Analyze what vehicles are doing and try to predict the outcome. Then make sure you're ready to avoid a bad traffic situation.
 
4.) Beware of Oncoming Left Turners: Beware of oncoming motorists turning left in front of you at intersections. This is the leading cause of death of motorcycle riders. I'm deadly serious here. I have personally lost many friends to this accident. If you only remember one tip here, let it be this one. Slow down before you enter an intersection. Have an escape route planned. Stay visible. Don't travel too close to cars in front of you.  Position your bike so it can be seen by the left turner. Eye contact is not enough.
 
5.) Ride Your Own Ride: Don't try to keep up with your friends who may be more experienced. Know your personal limits. Ride your own ride.
 
6.) Watch Out for Curves: Beware of taking curves that you can't see around. A parked truck or a patch of sand may be awaiting you.

7.) Don't Give In to Road Rage: Do not give in to road rage and try to "get even" with another rider or motorist. If you follow these tips, most likely you won't fall victim to road rage. It's better to calm down, slow down, and collect your thoughts first. Then continue on and enjoy the ride.  That's what we're all out there for in the first place.
 
8.) Don't allow Tailgating: If someone is tailgating you, either speed up to open more space or pull over and let them pass. Life is too short.  Remember that a bike can stop faster than a car so you don't want a truck on your tail when you find yourself trying to brake to avoid an accident. Also, don't tailgate the vehicle in front of you. Oncoming drivers can't see you.
 
9.) Don't Be Blinded by Sun Glare: Beware of riding your motorcycle into sun glare. All it takes is turning a corner and finding the sun either directly in your face or passing straight through your windshield. Some helmets have shields to block the sun. Face shields help somewhat. But sometimes you just find yourself blinded by the light. Slow down, pull over, shield your eyes and look for a way to change direction.
 
10.) Avoid Riding at Night: Avoid riding at night, especially late Saturday night and early Sunday when drunken drivers may be on the road. It goes without saying that you shouldn't drink and ride. Going bar hopping?  Leave the bike at home and find a designated driver.

What Am I Trying To Say?
 
The best way to be safe is to take a Motorcycle Safety Course to learn the basic ways to control your motorcycle and to learn how to recognize traffic situations that you need to be ready to handle.
 
Always wear protective clothing and a helmet. A tiny beanie helmet held on by a thin strap and affixed with a fake DOT sticker is not enough.
 
Maintain your bike so it is safe too. Keep records of the intervals when you replace tires, chains, clutch cables, batteries, brakes, etc. You don't want an equipment malfunction to contribute to a motorcycle accident.
 
Practice riding under all kinds of traffic situations. Ride with a buddy if at all possible. Avoid riding long distances alone.
 
Become a member of any of our Motorcycles forums and read what other experienced riders have to say about how to ride safely.
 
I want you to become an aged motorcyclist because you know how to survive on a motorcycle. I don't want to read about you in the newspaper or on a motorcycle forum or mailing list as yet another motorcycle statistic. Learn how to be safe and responsible on a motorcycle. That's why this Web site and forums exist and that's why I'm writing these tips. The rest is up to you.
 
 Be safe.
 
From Walter Kern, Your Guide to Motorcycles. April 18, 2005

[flash]

Cool, I like these memo's

[wes-ninja250]

Wes' Corollaries and Addendums:

1) It's true, nobody else can see you.. except for the cops. The people who REALLY can't see you are dick heads pulling out of places like the Ambassador. And they'll usually pull into the wrong lane.

2) Maintain safe spacing.. except when riding in town during rush hour.  In which case, safe spacing just means getting cut off repeatedly. Instead, stay as far back as you can while staying close enough to the cage in front you to keep people outta there. Usually "just enough room to avoid potholes" is the target. Plan your escape route ahead of time. There's lots of room between the cars. Better yet, do everything you can to get ahead of the pack, but slow down cresting hills. Especially hills with intersections on the other side.

3) Anticipating Trouble is great.  I can often tell when somebody is going to pull a bone-headed before even they do..

4) Left Turning cages, oh yes, the scourge of riders everywhere.  Roll off the throttle and make sure you have a clean pavement path in case you need to stop quickly because of one of these bastards.  I'm trying to learn how to stoppie my bike while flipping the bird. It's harder than it sounds.

5) Ride your own ride. Yeah. Every year I get slower. I think it's because I can't see anymore.  I want to go to the eye doctor, but I'm afraid she'll rat me out to the MTO. I don't want to wear glasses and a full face lid on my commute. Or maybe I'm just getting old. Or maybe I've had one too many close call...

6) Watch out of curves. Damned straight. That's best part of riding. I even go looking for them on Google Maps. If you find some really good corners on #10 this year, count on having to traverse something akin to Mare Tranquillitatus on the other side.

7) It's okay to get a little road ragey in heavy traffic. SUVs can't lane split. When somebody does something stupid, make sure you use your horn for at least 10 seconds. And hold as much of your ground as you think you safely can. That way, maybe, just maybe, they'll realize how stupid they just were.

Tailgaters are very, very evil people. Give your bars a good shaking, most cagers will think you're about to crash and back off. They don't want to get blood on their precious assault boxes.

9) Sun glare sucks. Taylor-Kidd near sundown is particularly evil. Pull your lid down a little bit to cast a shadow over your eyes.

10) You can find drunks any time.  I once faced down a crap head in front of the fire station on Brock street, driving the wrong way, at four o'clock in the morning on a week day. I got in his lane, flipped on my driving light and high beam and leaned on the horn. That was pretty funny, he almost crashed into the school, got out of his truck and yelled slurred words at me. Too bad I didn't get his plates before I high tailed it outta there.

Wes