Riding a motorcycle is a thrilling experience for a lot of people. They love the beautiful sights that would be difficult to appreciate from a car, the feeling of the wind blowing across their skin and through their hair, and so much more. However, motorcycles bring just as much risk as they do fun so it’s important to understand how to mitigate this risk while riding in less-than-ideal road conditions.
This article is going to cover the various risks associated with riding in certain conditions and offer advice on how to stay safe during those riskier rides. Even if you’re following all of these tips and the rules of the road, you may still end up in an accident, so make sure you have South Carolina motorcycle insurance to cover the costs should this happen.
Night Riding
Riding at night can be just as exhilarating as riding during the day. In some ways, night rides are easier than day rides, with less traffic on the roads and fewer visible distractions, but don’t let these perks fool you—night rides can still be dangerous. There are a few ways you can mitigate this risk, though.
For one, ensure you use an untinted, clean, and scratch-free visor—tinted visors are similar to sunglasses; they make it easier to see on bright days by using dark lenses which can be a detriment at night as it’s already dark. Scratches and dirty visors can also be distracting and can reduce visibility, so if you don’t have a pristine clear visor try to avoid riding at night when possible.
You should also wear reflective clothing and keep your headlights clean since dirty headlights can dim the light they provide, reducing visibility to a dangerous degree while also making it harder for other vehicles to see you. Reflective clothing will bounce even the smallest bit of light back and allow drivers to see you better.
This makes them aware of your presence and can help them identify that you are a motorcycle rider and not another car or truck on the road. While these steps can be tedious or seemingly unfashionable, failing to do them puts you at great risk, especially if you’re unaware of your rights about motorcycle crash claims should an accident occur.
Winter Riding
Riding in winter isn’t something every rider does, and many people prefer to use their vehicles as it gets colder for many reasons, with staying warm usually being the main one. You can still ride in winter, though; it just requires a bit more preparation to do so safely.
The biggest thing to do is to bundle up since it may be cold outside, and moving fast will create wind that presses against your skin, which makes the actual temperature colder while you’re in motion. You’ll need to wear multiple layers of warm clothing and possibly even a wind and waterproof outer layer to stay as warm as possible.
Even with this precaution in mind, you’ll still need to pull over at a rest stop or gas station every now and then to take a break and warm yourself up for a bit. Don’t continue riding if you’re too cold, as you’ll start to shake or even lose feeling in your extremities; you could even develop frostbite if this continues for too long. Remember, you’re riding to have fun, not to get sick or hurt.
Foggy Weather
Fog reduces visibility and makes it dangerous to drive in, even when you’re in an enclosed vehicle. Combine this with the natural inherent danger of motorcycles, and you’ve got a potentially disastrous situation ahead. One of the first things you should do before embarking on a foggy ride is to make sure your brake lights are working—if they aren’t, then don’t ride until you can remedy the situation.
Faulty brake lights would prevent other drivers from knowing that you’re slowing down or stopping, and they may not be able to react in time in this scenario. You should also wear bright clothing to increase your visibility and drive in the left lane. Bright clothing may feel unfashionable, but it could save your life.
It would make you visible in the fog and allow the driver behind you to recognize that a motorcyclist is in front of them, which allows them to give you more following distance and take other precautions necessary to keep you safe. Driving in the left lane has many advantages, from allowing you to safely drive a bit slower to providing more room for evasive maneuvers, should this be necessary.
Honestly though the fog will eventually clear up as the day gets warmer, so the safest way to stay safe in foggy weather is to avoid driving in it when possible.
Other Safety Tips
There are other ways to stay safe on the road no matter the weather conditions, though these take a bit more planning than some of the others we’ve mentioned thus far. One of the best things you can do is to perform frequent maintenance checks.
Doing this will allow you to clean any dirt buildup and spot any problems early which will help make every ride safer. For example, maybe you decide to do a check-up and discover that the tires need to be reinflated. Doing this will provide more traction and possibly even prevent you from experiencing a flat tire.
Another tip is to keep a close eye on the weather, which will help you watch for severe weather, such as thunderstorms or ice events, and tell you which days you may want to keep your motorcycle safely stored in the garage and which ones may be good for riding.
Keep in mind that the weather changes quickly and frequently, so keep an eye on any weather that is close to you in case something changes and it becomes a problem for your area or ends up missing you altogether.
Staying Safe on Your Motorcycle
These are just a few of the essential safety tips you should remember when trying to ride your motorcycle in less-than-ideal conditions. Despite these tips, the best way to avoid danger is to avoid riding in any of these conditions at all.
However, we understand that this isn’t always possible, so at least you now know how to stay safer while riding at night, in winter weather, and even in fog.