Three Basic Ways To Stay Safe While Riding A Motorbike

Roads can be dangerous places for car users and bikers alike, but if an accident is to occur it’s the biker that usually comes off worse. Tell anyone you’re getting a motorbike and it’s likely that the first thing to come out of their mouth will be something along the lines of how dangerous it is, but riding a motorbike needn’t be a death-wish if you ride with both skill and judgement. Here are three basic ways to stay safe while riding a motorbike. 

• Wear the correct gear
  The human body simply wasn’t made for protection and it most definitely wasn’t made to fall off of something going fast along a hard, abrasive, surface. It is therefore essential to provide your body with the protection it needs to survive what you may be forced to put it through if things go wrong. Although no-one plans to fall of their motorbike, accidents happen – so what would you want to be wearing if that decision was taken out of your control? At the very least, get yourself the best helmet you can afford to protect your head and face, but there’s a reason why bikers wear leathers and with the average road surface able to remove 1mm of skin for every 1mph travelled over 30mph, also consider investing in proper protective clothing.
  
• Cover your back
  With the roads getting busier one of the biggest hazards to bike riders are other road users and learning to predict what others are going to do and how they are going to react around you is a skill that all bike riders have to learn. Despite experience and foresight it’s impossible to compensate for the idiocy of others all of the time and you may find yourself in a collision that wasn’t your fault, which is why you should consider purchasing a helmet camera to film your ride. Helmet cameras can not only  provide you with the evidence you need to prove if an accident wasn’t your fault but they’re also generally good fun to look back on if you were riding a particularly beautiful route.

• Check your speed
  The biggest killer of motorbike riders isn’t their motorbike, it’s their speed. Travelling at a high speed requires greater focus, quicker reflexes and extremely good control of your motorbike – even the experts get it wrong. Many riders get addicted to the adrenaline rush of going fast but by doing so they are seriously putting their lives at risk. If speed is what you want to ride for then ride in places that are designed for it, such as on race tracks. The road is simply not the right place to ride faster than the speed limit and by doing so you put yourself and other road users at risk. 

Anyone can ride a motorbike but it takes someone with great skill to ride one safely. Don’t allow yourself to become another safety statistic, stay safe and enjoy what is one of the most exhilarating and liberating feelings in the world.