5 SKILLS MOTORCYCLISTS SHOULD PRACTICE To Reduce Their Risk of Accidents The weather hasn’t completely cooled off so there’s still plenty of time for motorcyclists to ride. It’s imperative that motorcyclists take every precaution to remain safe on the road. This includes refreshing yourself with some essential riding skills. Below you will find five skills that every motorcyclist should practice to reduce their risk of being involved in an accident. Head & Eyes: Look Where You Want To Go This is one of the most critical motorcycle safety skills, yet it is one that many riders rarely do. When riding, you should look where you want to go, not just with your eyes, but by turning your body and pointing your nose where you want the motorcycle to go. Riding this way will allow you to ride more smoothly and make sharper and smoother U-turns. Following Distance A safe following distance is keeping a minimum of 2 seconds of following distance between you and the vehicle in front of you. Keeping this distance helps you see what’s ahead of you on the road rather than only being able to react to other vehicles as you immediately encounter them. Slow-Speed Skills Slow-speed maneuvering practice helps motorcyclists develop clutch and throttle control, body control, and head and eye placement, all while reducing risk while being out on the street. Emergency Braking Emergency braking is a fundamental skill all riders need to know and master. Other people using the roads often will make poor and even stupid decisions that will impact your path of travel. To have the skill when you need it, you must practice it ahead of time. Cornering The Motorcycle Safety Foundation teaches a simple and effective technique for riders turning their bike into a corner. It’s the slow, look, press, roll technique. Slow when approaching a corner, look after you slow down, press on the hand grips to make your turn, and roll on the throttle to increase your speed or keep your maintenance speed through the corner. Practicing these five skills will help any motorcyclist stay safer on the road. If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident and don’t know what to do, give us a call.
PREVENTING P WHAT CAN WE DO? Pedestrian deaths increased by 30% in Massachusetts last year. It wasn’t just Massachusetts that saw an increase in accidents resulting in pedestrian deaths though. As a country, we experienced 7,485 pedestrian deaths in 2021, which is the most we have seen in 40 years. These numbers become even more eye-opening when you consider that there were fewer drivers on the road due to the pandemic. So why did we see such an increase in pedestrian deaths last year? One of the biggest risks is speed. In 2020, the percentage of deadly pedestrian accidents involving speeding rose to 8.6%, about a 1.5% increase from 2019. The faster someone is driving, the more likely a pedestrian could be killed in an accident. If a driver is traveling 23 mph and strikes a pedestrian, there is about a 10% chance that the pedestrian will die, but if they’re driving at 58 mph, that percentage increases to 90%.
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