By: Hillary Fishler, for Hayes + Associates, Inc.
Unlike the author’s father (front) & his best friend in the early 1980’s, all motorcyclists should wear a helmet, long protective clothing, and closed-toe shoes.
August reminds me of my late father, who would’ve been 65 this month, and who liked to celebrate his birthday by taking a ride on his 1976 Harley Davidson Shovelhead. Both of our birthdays, in the last week of August, often marked a change in the weather, when the air was finally cool enough to take the motorcycle out during the daytime. “Too hot to ride,” he’d say throughout midsummer, keeping the majority of his leisurely excursions for early fall, when the sun didn’t compound the heat on the tail pipes and put us in danger of burning our legs or hands on the surface of the bike.
As a child, riding on the back of his motorcycle in rural Michigan, I trusted him implicitly. I believed that no harm could come to me when my father was around, even when engaged in a reasonably dangerous activity like motorcycling. In my 20’s, I became a little more wary of the dangers of riding a motorcycle, having had a few close calls with cars on my road bike, and one crash that landed me in the hospital. I was more apprehensive than in childhood, realizing that my father was just a man, and that surrounding traffic did not bend to his will – he just rode defensively and with hyper-vigilance.
He despised seeing other motorcyclists who didn’t practice basic safety measures while they were riding, and automobile drivers who didn’t understand how to look for and drive near motorcyclists. I despised knowing that once he retired to a state without universal protective headgear laws, my father’s helmet also retired. For riders and their families – we know that motorcycle safety is two-fold.
Motorcyclists make the choice to ride, and need to take their safety and injury potential seriously. They also rely on drivers of personal vehicles, semi-trucks, and other automobiles to consider them unique operators. Motorcyclists require special safety precautions, and need the consideration and community-mindedness of other road users to ensure that traffic is safe for them. The following tips for motorcyclists and personal vehicle drivers nod to the symbiotic relationship in the prevention of serious or fatal motorcycle injury & automobile crashes.
The author’s father in 2017.
Motorcyclists:
1. Wearing a helmet is the foremost form of protection against traumatic brain injuries in the event of a fall.
2. Wearing protective clothing, closed-toe shoes, and eyewear will shield your body from the extreme heat of the engine, tailpipes, and protect against flying objects while riding. In the event of a fall or crash, protective clothing can minimize damage to skin when in contact with the pavement or road.
3. Properly outfitting and informing companion riders on your bike or in your riding group of emergency procedures, medical identifications, meeting spots, and hand signals should the ride not go as planned.
4. Zero-tolerance for substance use for operators and companion riders during rides.
5. Installing loud tail pipes or engaging in engine revving is an auditory signal for riders in residential areas, busy streets, or areas where traffic might be precarious or unpredictable. This alerts drivers and other users of the road that you are nearby. While they may not see you, this sound encourages non-motorcyclists to be aware of your presence.
Drivers of Cars and Other Vehicles:
1. “Look twice, save a life.” Be aware of blind spots. Motorcyclists ride in 3 zones of a driving lane, and so you may not see an approaching motorcycle when your view is obstructed, or when you change lanes. Make a habit of checking the shoulder, center, and innermost third of the lane before pulling out into traffic, or making a lane change.
2. Give considerable following distance to motorcyclists riding in front of your vehicle. Because of the construction of the bike and the inherent skills needed to ride, motorcyclists may need to react quickly and maneuver to make turns, and avoid obstructions or potholes.
3. Avoid splitting a group of riders by pulling out in front of the riders in the sweep, (the back of the group). These riders may be putting distance between themselves and the group, but being cut off from other riders may deleteriously impact their safety and cause them to lose track of their riding companions.
4. If you decide to pass a motorcycle, pass with extreme caution, preferably only in a designated passing lane. If there is no passing lane, you’ll want to make sure there is enough space between you and the motorcycle to create a considerable distance when you overtake them. They should not need to react to your passing maneuver to adjust their speed or distance between your vehicle and their bike, but be able to continue at the same pace.
5. Extra caution is needed in wet weather when driving near motorcycles. Though rain is an unwelcome and unpleasant experience on the bike, braking and avoiding hydroplaning becomes quite difficult in inclement weather. Many riders will wait out a rainstorm because of the increased danger of riding, but for those that don’t – give even more following distance and slow your own vehicle when approaching a motorcycle during weather events.
While the choice to ride and immediate safety precautions lie with the motorcyclist, these unique road users rely on community protection through the acknowledgment and precautions of other drivers. As collisions between motorcycles and other vehicles are often the result of driver negligence or aggressiveness in the presence of motorcycles, more education surrounding their unique safety measures can reduce the likelihood of serious or fatal injuries on the road.
Hayes+Associates, Inc. (https://www.hayesassoc.com) is an expert witness and consulting firm based in Corvallis, OR. The company brings more than 75 years of collective experience in academic research, university teaching and forensic testimony to practice areas that include vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.