Many motorcyclists try to avoid riding in the dark. When the sun goes down visibility of both you and the surrounding motorists decreases dramatically. This greatly increases the odds of getting involved in an accident.
You can also encounter additional hazards at night such as drunk drivers, cold temperatures, and nocturnal animals. If you have to head out on your bike at night time, here are a few tips to keep in mind that could help keep you safe:
Increase the Visibility of Your Bike
A person riding an all-black motorcycle with blacked out rims is going to be much harder to see than someone riding a bright neon green bike. While getting a new paint job is cost-prohibitive for most, there are a few things you can do to make your bike light up like a Christmas tree at night:
Reflective tape – Many bike shops sell reflective tape that picks up even the faintest beam of light. Riders will often put the tape on their front forks and even around the rims of their wheels. Your bike will look like a much bigger object at nighttime when the tape starts to reflect light.
Auxiliary lights – Adding additional LED lights to the front and back of your bike will significantly increase your visible presence at night. Some lights can even be programmed to strobe when you apply your brakes.
Honda performed a study in which they found that adding LED lights in a pattern that mimics the human face increased other motorist’s ability to judge the distance of a bike by 10% and how fast it’s traveling by 20%.
Increase Your Visibility
Wearing brightly colored clothing or neon helmets can exponentially increase your visibility at night. You can also add strips of light reflective tape especially made for clothing to help other motorists see you better.
People are instinctively hard-wired to recognize the colors yellow or orange as cautionary colors and wearing clothing in this color will immediately call attention to yourself. You could also enroll in a motorcycle safety course which will teach you additional ways to make yourself visible at night time.
Slow Down and Use Caution!
Riding at slower speeds at night will greatly increase your chances of getting to your destination safe and sound. All sorts of hazards exist at night, and if you’re traveling too fast, you may hit them before you have a chance to react.
Staying out of the blind spots of other motorists is also critical when riding at night. People tend to become sleepy at night and the chances of other cars checking their blind spots before making a lane change tend to decrease at nighttime.
It’s almost impossible to avoid the blind spots of cars at night, so try to pass them safely and quickly and don’t linger in the general area. All it takes is one negligent turn of the steering wheel to cause a 1-ton car to come careening into your lane without warning.
Motorcycle Law Firm in Tacoma
The best advice you can follow when riding your motorcycle at night time is only to go as fast as you can see ahead. Keep in mind the higher the speed you’re traveling at, the greater the distance that will be required to come to a complete stop.
If you have been involved in a car accident and would like to speak to an attorney regarding your rights, give us a call at (253) 472-6000 or contact us via our website.
At Evergreen Motorcycle Attorneys, we not only help motorcycle accident victims seek justice, but we’re also passionate bike riders ourselves. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you put your life back in order after a bike accident.