Are You Being Courteous to Motorcycles? 5 Tips for Passenger Vehicles

Ryan Scott — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:58:07 GMT

Motorcycle riding has become more popular in recent years, appealing to a new group of enthusiasts, consisting of older and more affluent riders. At the same time, motorcycle fatalities have also been climbing, reaching their highest level in 2006 since 1981.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2006 4,810 people died in motorcycle crashes, up 5.1 percent from 4,576 in 2005 to the highest level since 1981. Motorcyclists were 35 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash in 2006, per vehicle mile traveled, and eight times more likely to be injured.

With motorcycle crash fatalities increasing every year for the past nine years, the NHTSA and several other motorcycle safety organizations have come together to offer safety tips to other motorists in an effort to stem the tide of fatalities involving motorcycles and passenger vehicles.

Here are five quick tips from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation that all car and truck drivers should know:

1. Because of its small size, a motorcycle may look farther away than it is. It may also be difficult to judge a motorcycle’s speed. When checking traffic to turn at an intersection or into (or out of) a driveway, predict a motorcycle is closer than it looks.

2. Because of its small size a motorcycle may seem to be moving faster than it really is. Don't assume all motorcyclists are moving as fast as they look.

3. Motorcyclists often slow by downshifting or merely rolling off the throttle, thus not activating the brake light. Allow more following distance, say 3 or 4 seconds. At intersections, predict a motorcyclist may slow down without visual warning.

4. Turn signals on a motorcycle usually are not self-canceling, thus some riders, (especially beginners) sometimes forget to turn them off after a turn or lane change. Make sure a motorcycle's signal is for real.

5. Stopping distance for motorcycles is nearly the same as for cars, but slippery pavement makes stopping quickly difficult. Allow more following distance behind a motorcycle because it can't always stop "on a dime."

By observing these easy tips, we can help to reverse the disturbing trend of higher motorcycle crashes and fatalities. Who knows, one these easy tips may prevent a crash with one of your loved ones.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ryan Scott

Motorcycles--Freedom of Movement

Jeanie Oliver — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:02:09 GMT

I came across an interesting mention at the National Safety Council website about the fact that May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. There just seems to be so much freedom on a motorcycle. That freedom can be a lot safer if we in our SUV's will pay a little more attention to the situation when cycles meet the bigger dogs of vehicles on the roadways. Probably the most interesting aspect of the article was that it linked to a list of 10 suggestions for all of the rest of us on the road: the list put together very nicely by the MSF-Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

As I skimmed the list, I was captured by the last one. I am going to discuss it first. It encourages all drivers to look at a motorcycle in motion as a person. You know I don't think that I've ever thought of it like that. Do we really ever get in the vehicle and think of the other machine as a person? We should. All too often, you will hear coffee shop talk about a cycle crash and someone will remark,"Well, what do you expect, they took their chances riding out like that without the protection you could get in a truck". Well, I guess that's true that they aren't as surrounded by steel as I am in my Explorer, but what if we changed our perspective a little. What if 18-wheeler drivers considered that someone in a Volkswagen just chose not be as protected? Where does this attitude stop?

Back to the list, it is set up as ten quick things that car and truck drivers should know about motorcycles. It contains information that I was not aware of, like the fact that cyclists may slow down by "rolling off the throttle", or downshifting. The importance of this fact is that we, as car or truck drivers are watching for the brakelights of other vehicles to clue us that they are slowing down. Someone on a cycle, though, may approach an intersection with no visual clue for us that their speed has diminished.

I won't go over all of the tips as you can link here if you are interested. Perhaps if we all as drivers took a moment to read safety tips, the definition of freedom of the road would become a little clearer.

Recap-May-Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

Motorcycle Safety Awareness Tips

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeanie Oliver

Jonesboro Personal Injury Lawyer - Motorcycle Accidents

Are You Being Courteous to Motorcycles? 5 Tips for Passenger Vehicles

Motorcycles--Freedom of Movement