Motorcycle and Bike Safety is something that some of us think about, some of us worry about, but many of us do too little or nothing about it! For many of us, it seems that protective clothing is too restrictive, or is much too hot in the summer heat. Just look at your average rider rolling down the boulevard all cool, collected and casual. Tank tops and brain buckets are the norm with this group. I've been there, done that, how about you? And don't forget the sport bike missile rider that launches past you in the hammer lane at 100+ mpg! I haven't done this one, but what about you? These are two of many types of riders that are riding in denial. It is these two types of riders that are contributing to the increasing death rate for motorcycle riders here in the USA and worldwide. While we are contributors to our own accidents and injuries on a motorcycle, we are also victims of actions we had nothing to do with.
One of the greatest causes of death or injury, and the leading mortality factor for bikers, is not being seen by nearby motorists. Many of us have died simply because another motorist didn’t see us. It’s not that people in cars can’t see us, they just don’t see us. Motorist get into the habit of driving "in zone" and not necessarily in a full awareness mode. We are all guilty of it. Driving becomes so second nature that it’s almost a reflex rather than an activity. When we drive our cars, it becomes especially easy to drop into the zone while we sing along with our favorite CD, play with the cell phone, or dine on burgers and fries while engaging the highway or interstate. While in the zone, mostly only big objects tend to enter our Zone and call attention to themselves. Think about it… Do you know anyone that had an accident when they were truly making an effort to drive cautiously? Probably not. All my mistakes in my 35 years of driving came from being in the Zone. The zone is bad for the driver but it can be critical when a motorcyclist meets up with someone "in the zone."
As a motorcyclist, if you want to avoid being injured or killed by another motorist, stay out of their zone! The best way to stay out of the zone is to call a lot of attention to you, your bike, and your presence. A huge Mack truck does a pretty good job of staying out of the zone. Most motorists will absolutely see a Mack truck. Your itsy bitsy tiny motorcycle is another story completely. It easily, very comfortably, hides in the zone and calls little attention to itself. Often, a motorist appears to look right at you and still pulls out in front of you. We bikers need a much bigger zone presence and anything you do to increase your zone presence can save your life!
Thankfully, there are a few inexpensive things you can do to increase your Zone presence and some of them only require a few minutes of your time. First, do you ride in daylight with your high-beam on? Is your high beam properly adjusted for maximum legal beam height? Most bikers are riding in daylight with the low beam. Furthermore, many bikes have a misadjusted headlamp, pointing way too deeply into the asphalt. Next time you see an approaching biker group, pay close attention to the pack. After you get over the fact you’re not riding with them, look at the pack and pick out the bikes that command attention to their zone. They are the few, believe me. You will notice which bikes have great zone presence and which bikes have weak and non-existent zone presence. It is these bikes that are more easily involved in left turn collisions with cars.
Some bikes are very noticeable while others can easily disappear into the Zone. Which bike do you have? If you have a properly aligned headlamp (high beam always on in daylight) and properly aligned running lights, you can easily increase your zone presence to that of a much larger vehicle. It's hard to left turn in front of a biker when his headlamps are blasting bright rays into the windshield of the left turning car. Take immediate action now and adjust your headlights, and use them always on high beam and running lights on during the day. It can greatly improve your chance of not getting hit!
For all that believe "loud pipes save lives," I say to you that "loud lights save more lives!"
When you combine a brightly lit high beam head lamp and two properly positioned running lights, your zone has suddenly become loud, noisy and maybe a pinch irritating to oncoming traffic. This is the perfect scenario to break through the zone and get the attention of the motorist. Simply put... Maximize your frontal zone appearance and you decrease chances of suffering the number 1 cause of mortality in our brotherhood.
The back of your bike is a problem too. Being rear-ended is a "not fun" activity. If you have a tiny, measly and anemic brake light, as do many stylish models, replace it immediately or consider one of the Halogen brake light bulbs from J.C. Whitney for about $10.00. These halogen brake lights are about 35% brighter and can add a little visual noise to the rear of your bike and help call attention to your brake when applied. Also consider installing rear running lights that also supplement your brake light. Three bright lights on the back of your bike are much safer than a single anemic brake light. It only takes minor changes to generate a huge safety payback. Correct bike lighting is your first defense against being rear ended during a quick stop maneuver.
And while on the subject of lighting, consider adding side lights as well. Side lights are much more effective in night riding and they can help avoid being taken out on your left or right side when approaching an intersection. There are an assortment of extremely bright LED illuminators that can be mounted under your fuel tank and cast a warm light glow on the asphalt below. These super bright LED lights can create quite a large lighted space on the roadway and can be seen for several hundred feet away. Check with your state laws to determine legal colors and requirements first, but if legal, add them!
For nighttime riding, I strongly recommend reflective materials both on your body and on your bike. A well illuminated bike is going to bring you to the attention of a motorist that is within striking distance, especially if you ride with multi-color reflective items. My favorite configuration is a large and bold reflective helmet graphic kit, a reflective vest or jacket, and you can even buy an assortment of reflective motorcycle graphic kits. I suggest that you investigate reflective products and pay close attention to items that can be permanently attached to your helmet or motorcycle. My favorite place for reflective motorcycle graphics and helmet decals is Streetglo. They have a very impressive photo at this site that demonstrates the effectiveness of reflective helmet decals and reflective motorcycle graphic kits. On my own bike, I have a large racing stripe configuration on my helmet that is visible from the left, right and rear of the helmet. On my motorcycle itself, I have at least 144 square inches of highly reflective graphics in the form of decorative pinstripe and gas tank flames and fender flames. These graphics have a custom painted on look in the day, but they are explosively bright at night. With the right combination of reflective decals permanently installed, you are still pretty well protected even when you forget to bring along a reflective vest or jacket. Reflective materials are especially important if you have a typical bike such as dark reds, blacks and blues. If you are not willing to consider reflective decals on your bike, and if your bike is a dark color, you might want to consider airbrushing with contrasting bright colors on your fenders and tank. There are a number of really nice airbrush sites on the Internet that can give you ideas for your own bike. The point that should be taken here is dark colors don’t reflect light very well. If you want to ride safe, you must take all available actions to make sure your bike is seen, especially at a 90 degree angle when riding at night.
If you have a black bike or other dark color, consider adding contrasting and bright color to your bike. It’s almost always possible to add a bright contrasting color to your bike with airbrushing or vinyl graphic decals. If you visit the Motorcycle Index below, there is a large listing of airbrush sites. Have a look at some of these airbrush sites to get an idea how to make your own bike much more noticeable on the street. While airbrushing can be very expensive it can add great visual impact to your ride not to mention some designs can make an ordinary bike an extraordinary one! If something less expensive is on the agenda, consider vinyl graphics which are relatively inexpensive. If you go the route of vinyl graphics, then select Reflective Vinyl Graphics over any other type. There are several companies that specialize in reflective vinyl graphics. You can completely customize your bike with reflective graphics for less than $100 including really bright helmet decal designs. Having your head illuminate like an alien spaceship when a car is within striking distance of you is a pretty cool idea!
To maximize your appearance at night with reflective graphics, we suggest a combination of items including large and bold reflective helmet decals, reflective pinstripe and reflective motorcycle graphics. You can find really attractive tank flame graphics or other tank graphics to suite your taste. Combine them with attractive fender graphics for a totally illuminating experience! If you are a sport biker rider with factory graphics, consider overlaying reflective graphic designs to make a multi-color graphic. There are some ready to install kits or you can order a custom kit for not much over $100 or even less. If you aren’t much into decorating your bike, consider same color reflective tape. While this will do little in the daytime, it can save your life at night. Same color reflective tape sells for about $5 a roll and it won't change the appearance of your bike.
If you can’t find exactly what you are looking for in ready made graphics, consider having it custom made. From all accounts, custom made graphics are extremely affordable. Decide what you like and at least request a quote from a reflective graphics company. Custom graphics can be provided in single or multiple color designs.
There are many other things you can do to improve your chances of surviving your next motorcycle ride. First, realize your own mortality is in your hands every time you mount your bike and pull out of your driveway. Realize that your greatest threat is not being seen, followed by your own ignorance of not anticipating turns and bends in the road. If you find yourself entering a turn too fast understand that experience may be the difference between completing the turn or rocketing over the shoulder or into oncoming traffic. If you haven’t taken a safety course, take one now. Safety courses aren’t just for the beginner. Personally, I prefer to ride in light traffic situations. I’m not an interstate rider and I don’t enjoy 70 mpg cruising. My point is that you should ride your comfort level and don’t go beyond it. If you stay in your comfort zone, you are more likely to avoid an accident and you’ll enjoy your ride much more. And don’t forget to check your lighting and make the necessary adjustments. Take action now on your bike to make it naturally safer with visual effects. It can keep you out of the Zone and this is a good thing!
One of the greatest causes of death or injury, and the leading mortality factor for bikers, is not being seen by nearby motorists. Many of us have died simply because another motorist didn’t see us. It’s not that people in cars can’t see us, they just don’t see us. Motorist get into the habit of driving "in zone" and not necessarily in a full awareness mode. We are all guilty of it. Driving becomes so second nature that it’s almost a reflex rather than an activity. When we drive our cars, it becomes especially easy to drop into the zone while we sing along with our favorite CD, play with the cell phone, or dine on burgers and fries while engaging the highway or interstate. While in the zone, mostly only big objects tend to enter our Zone and call attention to themselves. Think about it… Do you know anyone that had an accident when they were truly making an effort to drive cautiously? Probably not. All my mistakes in my 35 years of driving came from being in the Zone. The zone is bad for the driver but it can be critical when a motorcyclist meets up with someone "in the zone."
As a motorcyclist, if you want to avoid being injured or killed by another motorist, stay out of their zone! The best way to stay out of the zone is to call a lot of attention to you, your bike, and your presence. A huge Mack truck does a pretty good job of staying out of the zone. Most motorists will absolutely see a Mack truck. Your itsy bitsy tiny motorcycle is another story completely. It easily, very comfortably, hides in the zone and calls little attention to itself. Often, a motorist appears to look right at you and still pulls out in front of you. We bikers need a much bigger zone presence and anything you do to increase your zone presence can save your life!
Thankfully, there are a few inexpensive things you can do to increase your Zone presence and some of them only require a few minutes of your time. First, do you ride in daylight with your high-beam on? Is your high beam properly adjusted for maximum legal beam height? Most bikers are riding in daylight with the low beam. Furthermore, many bikes have a misadjusted headlamp, pointing way too deeply into the asphalt. Next time you see an approaching biker group, pay close attention to the pack. After you get over the fact you’re not riding with them, look at the pack and pick out the bikes that command attention to their zone. They are the few, believe me. You will notice which bikes have great zone presence and which bikes have weak and non-existent zone presence. It is these bikes that are more easily involved in left turn collisions with cars.
Some bikes are very noticeable while others can easily disappear into the Zone. Which bike do you have? If you have a properly aligned headlamp (high beam always on in daylight) and properly aligned running lights, you can easily increase your zone presence to that of a much larger vehicle. It's hard to left turn in front of a biker when his headlamps are blasting bright rays into the windshield of the left turning car. Take immediate action now and adjust your headlights, and use them always on high beam and running lights on during the day. It can greatly improve your chance of not getting hit!
For all that believe "loud pipes save lives," I say to you that "loud lights save more lives!"
When you combine a brightly lit high beam head lamp and two properly positioned running lights, your zone has suddenly become loud, noisy and maybe a pinch irritating to oncoming traffic. This is the perfect scenario to break through the zone and get the attention of the motorist. Simply put... Maximize your frontal zone appearance and you decrease chances of suffering the number 1 cause of mortality in our brotherhood.
The back of your bike is a problem too. Being rear-ended is a "not fun" activity. If you have a tiny, measly and anemic brake light, as do many stylish models, replace it immediately or consider one of the Halogen brake light bulbs from J.C. Whitney for about $10.00. These halogen brake lights are about 35% brighter and can add a little visual noise to the rear of your bike and help call attention to your brake when applied. Also consider installing rear running lights that also supplement your brake light. Three bright lights on the back of your bike are much safer than a single anemic brake light. It only takes minor changes to generate a huge safety payback. Correct bike lighting is your first defense against being rear ended during a quick stop maneuver.
And while on the subject of lighting, consider adding side lights as well. Side lights are much more effective in night riding and they can help avoid being taken out on your left or right side when approaching an intersection. There are an assortment of extremely bright LED illuminators that can be mounted under your fuel tank and cast a warm light glow on the asphalt below. These super bright LED lights can create quite a large lighted space on the roadway and can be seen for several hundred feet away. Check with your state laws to determine legal colors and requirements first, but if legal, add them!
For nighttime riding, I strongly recommend reflective materials both on your body and on your bike. A well illuminated bike is going to bring you to the attention of a motorist that is within striking distance, especially if you ride with multi-color reflective items. My favorite configuration is a large and bold reflective helmet graphic kit, a reflective vest or jacket, and you can even buy an assortment of reflective motorcycle graphic kits. I suggest that you investigate reflective products and pay close attention to items that can be permanently attached to your helmet or motorcycle. My favorite place for reflective motorcycle graphics and helmet decals is Streetglo. They have a very impressive photo at this site that demonstrates the effectiveness of reflective helmet decals and reflective motorcycle graphic kits. On my own bike, I have a large racing stripe configuration on my helmet that is visible from the left, right and rear of the helmet. On my motorcycle itself, I have at least 144 square inches of highly reflective graphics in the form of decorative pinstripe and gas tank flames and fender flames. These graphics have a custom painted on look in the day, but they are explosively bright at night. With the right combination of reflective decals permanently installed, you are still pretty well protected even when you forget to bring along a reflective vest or jacket. Reflective materials are especially important if you have a typical bike such as dark reds, blacks and blues. If you are not willing to consider reflective decals on your bike, and if your bike is a dark color, you might want to consider airbrushing with contrasting bright colors on your fenders and tank. There are a number of really nice airbrush sites on the Internet that can give you ideas for your own bike. The point that should be taken here is dark colors don’t reflect light very well. If you want to ride safe, you must take all available actions to make sure your bike is seen, especially at a 90 degree angle when riding at night.
If you have a black bike or other dark color, consider adding contrasting and bright color to your bike. It’s almost always possible to add a bright contrasting color to your bike with airbrushing or vinyl graphic decals. If you visit the Motorcycle Index below, there is a large listing of airbrush sites. Have a look at some of these airbrush sites to get an idea how to make your own bike much more noticeable on the street. While airbrushing can be very expensive it can add great visual impact to your ride not to mention some designs can make an ordinary bike an extraordinary one! If something less expensive is on the agenda, consider vinyl graphics which are relatively inexpensive. If you go the route of vinyl graphics, then select Reflective Vinyl Graphics over any other type. There are several companies that specialize in reflective vinyl graphics. You can completely customize your bike with reflective graphics for less than $100 including really bright helmet decal designs. Having your head illuminate like an alien spaceship when a car is within striking distance of you is a pretty cool idea!
To maximize your appearance at night with reflective graphics, we suggest a combination of items including large and bold reflective helmet decals, reflective pinstripe and reflective motorcycle graphics. You can find really attractive tank flame graphics or other tank graphics to suite your taste. Combine them with attractive fender graphics for a totally illuminating experience! If you are a sport biker rider with factory graphics, consider overlaying reflective graphic designs to make a multi-color graphic. There are some ready to install kits or you can order a custom kit for not much over $100 or even less. If you aren’t much into decorating your bike, consider same color reflective tape. While this will do little in the daytime, it can save your life at night. Same color reflective tape sells for about $5 a roll and it won't change the appearance of your bike.
If you can’t find exactly what you are looking for in ready made graphics, consider having it custom made. From all accounts, custom made graphics are extremely affordable. Decide what you like and at least request a quote from a reflective graphics company. Custom graphics can be provided in single or multiple color designs.
There are many other things you can do to improve your chances of surviving your next motorcycle ride. First, realize your own mortality is in your hands every time you mount your bike and pull out of your driveway. Realize that your greatest threat is not being seen, followed by your own ignorance of not anticipating turns and bends in the road. If you find yourself entering a turn too fast understand that experience may be the difference between completing the turn or rocketing over the shoulder or into oncoming traffic. If you haven’t taken a safety course, take one now. Safety courses aren’t just for the beginner. Personally, I prefer to ride in light traffic situations. I’m not an interstate rider and I don’t enjoy 70 mpg cruising. My point is that you should ride your comfort level and don’t go beyond it. If you stay in your comfort zone, you are more likely to avoid an accident and you’ll enjoy your ride much more. And don’t forget to check your lighting and make the necessary adjustments. Take action now on your bike to make it naturally safer with visual effects. It can keep you out of the Zone and this is a good thing!
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