Cars and Motorcycles Need to Safely Share the Road
Our roads are meant to be shared by everyone who possesses a license to drive, and that includes motorcyclists. Therefore, safety tips for sharing the roads with motorcyclists should be a major concern of every driver in this country.
At Service King Seattle in Seattle, WA we stress safety in many of our blogs and that's why we're sharing this with you.
Motorcyclists are often very disrespected and the consequences can be dangerous. In theory, certain safety accessories such as full-face helmets and protective boots can provide protection for those who choose any two-wheel mode of transportation, but motorcyclists often get the short end of the exchange when involved in any type of accident. Three years ago, 88,000 out of 8.6 million motorcyclists were injure,d in accidents, which is six times the fatality rate for people driving cars.
There are a lot of safety tips out there that pertain to motorcyclists, so here are the three we believe are among the most important.
1.) Allow more spacing between motorcycles and cars
Motorcycles are agile machines that consistently give the operator the ability to navigate adroitly between tight spaces at high speeds. Despite that, motorcycles are also extremely vulnerable to elements that are of less concern to other drivers, such as gusts of wind, for example. If you're driving a car, motorcycles always need a full lane’s width to move around safely. ,
2.) Keep the importance of turn signals as part of motorcycle safety
In many cases, motorcyclists forget to turn off their turn signals. As a car driver, notice a motorcycle with a turn signal on and exercise caution at all times because there is a possibility that the turn signal has simply been disengaged. Whenever changing lanes near a motorcycle, turn on your turn signal then allow for enough amount of lane-changing space before starting to merge. If another driver adversely affects your attempt at merging, the motorcyclist will still have enough space to steer towards safety.
3.) Adapt for weather conditions
Weather can seriously hamper driving, which also goes for motorcycles, only twice as much. Wet road conditions, rain, snow, hail and fog can spell a drastic change in the handling of any motorcycle. Visibility is a major factor to consider when riding a motorcycle in inclement weather because car drivers need to see motorcyclists and vice versa. So, in every case, give motorcycles enough room to allow for corrective actions.
Service King Seattle in Seattle, WA
Sources: DefensiveDriving.com and NHTSA
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