ALT-4 Motorcycle Safety
Ways to be safe on a motorcycle: Zero, Zilch, Nada, there are NONE! Motorcycles are in and of themselves perpetual suicide machines! There is absolutely no safe way to ride one.
There are, however, many things a rider can do to enhance his/her personal safety when astride the proverbial crotch rocket.
The first and foremost way to increase your chances of getting to point B from point A on a motorcycle is to make sure you pay attention to your surroundings. By this I mean stay alert to other people on the road around you. Believe me, other motorists are not looking for motorcycles when they change lanes or do something stupid. The first thing most people hear from a motorist who has just run over a motorcycle is, "I didn't know he was there!" People are not looking for something five or six feet long and 3 feet off the ground, they are looking for another car or truck or larger! It is very easy for a motorcycle to hide in a rear view or side view mirrors' blind spot. Make sure when you get ready to pass a car or truck by all means pass them and do not tarry where you can be missed in a mirror blind spot. Just as in a car, do not follow too closely. It is one thing for someone to stop short and then you hit them from the rear in a car and quite another when you are on a motorcycle.
The second is also very obvious and that is personal safety equipment. In quite a few states it is legal to ride without a helmet and some states have even repealed helmet laws. To me, this is very irresponsible legislating by these state lawmakers. True, in a severe enough accident a helmet is not going to keep you from breaking your neck or having massive head injuries but, in the survivable ones a helmet could mean the difference between life and death.
I, personally, would never put myself on a motorcycle. If I were to do so I would never wear shorts or t-shirts or any other flimsy outer garment. I would want something substantial between me and the asphalt. At least a pair of heavy jeans instead of shorts, at least a long sleeve shirt instead of a T.
I know most people who ride will tell you helmets and heavy apparel are too confining. What I always ask someone who has just told me this is: Which do you think is more confining, a helmet or a coffin?
