At Kass & Moses, PC we have been representing victims of motorcycle collisions for more than 20 years. Accordingly, we have a tremendous amount of experience on why riders are involved in collisions. The tips below, provide some excellent advice to follow when you ride.
- Take a motorcycle training course – This is probably the single, best thing you can do from a skills development standpoint. I know many seasoned riders who continue to do this every year or so, just as a refresher.
- Never ride when you are tired – this may seem obvious, but always make plans ahead of time to avoid riding when you are feeling fatigue
- Never ride when you are …(angry, not feeling well, etc.) – make sure your head is right before you ride!
- Avoid alcohol when you ride – the statistics are clear, if you have 2 beers you are 11 times more likely to crash your bike (and you are still legal to ride). On a related note, if you have one beer and are in a collision, very few experienced lawyers would want to represent you)
- Wear some real, good gear – Full-face helmet (no half-face or skull cap), actual riding gloves, an armored jacket, and boots.
- Avoid riding in the rain – Just another situation where the risk factors are increased. If you’re riding in the rain, tone it down.
- Make sure you’re tires are properly inflated and have plenty of tread – Most of the time you’ll know when you’re tires aren’t inflated properly ’cause your bike will ride like crap. More often I see people with tire that have dry rot and/or little to no tread.
- Avoid listening to music, especially while riding in traffic – Rocking out to Ronnie James Dio does not improve your ability to keep track of the things happening around you.
- Make sure your passenger knows how to be a passenger – Your passenger needs to know some basic things, which largely related to physics: lean when you lean, don’t move around too much, no sudden movements, etc.
- Ride very carefully right after installing new tires – Go easy for the first 50mi or so. New tires are extremely slick when they come out of the factory. Give them some easy wear before you start ripping it up.
- Ride very carefully right after you’ve washed your bike – I recently made the mistake of having a little too much fun a few mins after washing my bike; remember, your tires are wet/cold for the first few minutes of post-wash riding, which means much less grip.
- Swallow your pride! Yes, the punk in the giant SUV may have cut you off, but there’s really no need for you to accelerate to 120mph so you can catch up to him and blow right by him while you extend the bird!
This a good overview of steps to take to avoid being injured in a collision. If you or someone you know have been involved in a collision, there are a few very important things for you to do to preserve your rights.
First, make sure a police report is made and the name and phone/addresses of witnesses is taken down. Second, make sure you see a doctor as soon as possible. Right after a collision it is difficult to determine how serious your injuries are due to adrenaline flowing and the state of shock you may be in. Do not make any statements (other than to the police officer). Finally, call our office to speak to a qualified motorcycle accident lawyer for advice.
Ride. Be Safe. Have Fun.
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