Now that winter is over, a lot of new motorcycle enthusiasts start planning long road trips for the upcoming warmer months. Some of them may be planning multi-day excursions through several states. If this sounds like you, you'll want to be sure to check the helmet laws of each state you will travel through.
While this is definitely important to help reduce the seriousness of injuries from a motorcycle accident, there are a few other important things to consider that can help reduce your risks of being in an accident, especially since this will be your first long road trip. Here's how staying hydrated, trip planning, and being aware of your surroundings can help reduce your risks of being involved in a motorcycle accident.
Delve Deep Into Planning the Trip
With this being your first road trip on a motorcycle, you may not realize that trips can take a toll on your body, especially when you aren't used to sitting on a motorcycle for long periods of time. When you book hotel rooms for the overnight stays, consider ones that have hot tubs and/or Jacuzzis in case you want to soak your muscles and bones before you head to bed.
Plan the route based on your level of experience. That means you'll want to avoid curvy and hilly roadways since you are a beginner. Sometimes, these types of roads have cinders and/or gravel on them that can easily make you lose control of your motorcycle when going around a turn or up a hill. If you aren't sure, check the street view of Google maps in various areas of concern when you plan the route you'll take.
Buy a Wearable Hydration Pack
Being hydrated is crucial to being safe on the road, especially when riding a motorcycle. Researchers have found that dehydrated drivers are similar in their capabilities to drivers with a 0.08% blood alcohol level. Dehydration can cause a reduction in cognitive ability and concentration, and impair your alertness. Being dehydrated can lead to an accident because your reaction time can be slowed due to these reasons.
Of course, it's difficult to drink from water bottles and other types of containers while riding motorcycles. Fortunately, there are wearable hydration packs that resemble thin backpacks and hold enough water to keep you hydrated throughout the day, which is typically 9 cups of water for women and 13 cups of water for men. These packs have straw-like hoses, some of which can be attached securely to the inside of your helmet for easy use. Be sure to purchase one that is specifically designed for motorcycle riding.
Learn & Practice Situation Awareness
As they say, practice makes perfect. Of course, there is no such thing as perfection, but you do want to get as close to perfect as possible when it comes to accident prevention while riding a motorcycle. Therefore, learn and practice situation awareness before you take your long road trip. Situation awareness is being constantly aware of your surroundings and being ready to respond to changes in the situation at any moment.
It means you need to get used to watching the heads of drivers ahead of you so you can tell if they are looking in their rearview mirrors to see you. It means looking at cars that are sitting in intersections and noticing which way their wheels are turned, as a way to anticipate when they will move forward into traffic. Another example of situation awareness is when you keep an eye on the traffic behind you and to see if they maintain an equal distance or not when you apply your brakes.
The last thing you'll want is for your excursion to end with a trip to a motorcycle accident attorney like Scherline And Associates, which is why it's important to understand the risks that are involved when you don't plan your route, stay hydrated, and practice situation awareness.
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