RE SAFE RIDING

• Every time you ride, give your motorcycle a quick visual inspection for things like loose parts, leaking fluids or obviously low tire pressures. Regularly, give it a more complete check, using all the necessary tools.

• Clear your mind before you even start your bike. We all get preoccupied by work, issues at home, even the outcome of a basketball game. But when you’re on the bike, you have to focus on riding. Each time you switch on the ignition key, switch on your brain, too.

• Another exceptionally valuable technique is also one of the simplest: Look where you want to go, because the bike will go where you look. Don’t stare at that upcoming pothole—instead, look at the clear pavement next to it. Don’t fixate on the car turning left in front of you—instead, focus on the opening being created as it moves past, since that’s your escape route. At times, it may take a real mental effort to pull your eyes away from an obstacle, but if you can see your way through trouble, chances are you can ride there.

• It should go without saying, but don’t get on your bike if you’ve been drinking. Your odds of being involved in an accident go up enormously

• Need to tune up your skills after a winter layoff or to get more comfortable on a new bike? Find a deserted parking lot and do some tight figure-eights and brake tests before you face the real world. Keep at it till you feel truly in control of the machine.

• Be aware that nailing the brakes isn’t the only way to avoid a crash. Sometimes, swerving or even speeding up will get you out of trouble more easily

• With those kinds of hazards in mind, play the “what-if” game as you ride. What if the car you’re following slams on its brakes? What if the car on the cross street doesn’t stop for the stop sign? What if the truck on your right suddenly swerves into your lane? Could you avoid it?

• What’s the best lane position for riding? The left tire track? The right tire track? The center? You can get all kinds of answers, but your real priority shouldn’t be lane positioning at all. It should be “traffic positioning.” Try to create a bubble of space around you. If there’s a car exiting a parking lot on your right, move to the left. If there’s an oncoming car that could turn left, move right. If there’s traffic around you, position yourself so you have the maximum cushion on all sides.

• Most traffic tends to move in clumps, separated by open spaces. Instead of rolling along in the middle of a clump, speed up or slow down to get yourself into one of the open spaces.

• You can use traffic positioning in other ways as well. On crowded roads, don’t just stare at the back of the car in front of you. Put yourself in a position where you can look through its windshield at cars farther ahead. Or move to a spot that lets you see around a truck or car that blocks your vision.

• Changing lanes? Always use your head. Swivel your neck to check your blind spot so you don’t change lanes into someone else.

• Remember that all other vehicles have blind spots, too. This is a particular problem around semi-trailers. As a demonstration, organizers at a recent rally placed four police cruisers and 28 motorcycles behind and to both sides of a parked semi. Not one could be seen from the driver’s seat. If you can’t see the driver’s rearview mirrors, the driver can’t see you.

• Construction zones are another hazard associated with summer. If you find yourself on a multi-lane road that’s being paved, and one lane is an inch or so higher than the other, try to ride in the higher lane. It’s easier to move from high to low than the other way around.

• Sunset and sunrise can create severe visibility problems. If you can see your own shadow ahead of you, the drivers of oncoming cars will be staring right into the sun. Anticipate that they can’t see you.

• Of course, rain is a hazard anytime. Be aware that roads will be slickest shortly after it starts raining as the water combines with oil on the road surface. Especially slick are lane markers and other lines painted on the road.

• Riding with a group of motorcyclists can be fun, but remember to ride your own ride. If you’re not comfortable with the pace, slow down. Don’t rely on anyone else to make safety decisions for you.

• The most dangerous places on surface streets are intersections. As you approach an intersection, scan in all directions so you know what’s likely to happen. But before you slow down, also check your mirrors to see what’s coming up behind you.

• When you stop at an intersection, leave enough room between you and the car in front so that you can pull to the left or right in an emergency. Keep your bike in first gear, so you’re ready to take evasive action if a car behind you isn’t going to stop in time.

• Finally, if you’re feeling tired during a long day on the road and can’t decide whether you should stop and take a break, that’s a sure sign that you should stop and take a break.