Motorcycle Safety Part 3: Know Your Bike!
In the first two parts of this series on Motorcycle Safety we covered helmets and proper eye and face protection. Now, in the third and final installment, let’s talk about knowing your bike with instructions courtesy of the New York DMV.
- Make sure your bike fits you; get guidance from a professional bike shop. For starters, your feet should be able to touch the ground while sitting down.
- Your bike should without exception have: a headlight, taillight, brake light, front and rear brakes, turn signals, and a horn. While New York State law mandates only one mirror on a bike, having two mirrors is highly recommended.
- Be comfortable with all controls before riding on busy roads. Practice riding at slow speeds in a quiet area, like an empty parking lot.
- The owner’s manual is not for geeks; it’s a document essential to your safety — read it!
- Establish a thorough routine to check every component of your bike for safety problems prior to all rides.
- Avoid borrowing or lending out your bike. Crashes often occur with beginners or those riding unfamiliar motorcycles. If you do lend your bike out to a friend, ensure that he or she is experienced and licensed.
- Always ride exceptionally careful on any new motorcycle or in unfamiliar terrain. The NY DMV reports, “more than half of all crashes occur on motorcycles ridden by the operator for less than six months.”
Despite the safety measures, motorcyclists are incredibly vulnerable to accidents and serious injury. If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident in New York due to what you believe was negligence on the part of another driver, contact the Manhattan motorcycle accident attorneys with Wingate, Rusotti & Shapiro, LLP for a free case review. Call 212-986-7353 to speak with an attorney today.