Driving at night is one of the
most dangerous aspects of driving, whether in a car or on a motorcycle. New
riders are constantly told to practice driving at night as soon as they own or
have access to a motorcycle. It is a fact that more accidents occur at night
than during the day, even though there are fewer vehicles on the road. So it is
essential for motorcycle riders to always be on their guard when they're
driving at night.
What to do to
Keep Yourself Safer at Night
Make yourself extremely visible
Clothing that you wear during
the night has to be far more brightly colored than the clothes you wear during
the day. Try your best to wear white or yellow jackets and a bright helmet than
the black helmet you would normally wear.
There are now even motorcycle
clothing options that have built-in lights, so you are more visible to those
around you. Some even have reflector strips that illuminate brightly when a
car's headlight shines on it.
If you are
riding at night and it starts to rain, then you could be in real danger. If you
hear about rain in a weather report at night, but you still want to go, then be
sure to wear motorcycle rain gear so you can keep safe and dry. If you already
have a rain jacket, then wear a pair of waterproof motorcycle pants.
Practice more defensive driving
Although you should always
practice defensive driving, as you never know when a bad driver or
life-threatening obstacle could appear, you should increase your defensiveness
at night. Approach intersections more slowly, slow down a bit more around
curves on freeways and on roads, and stay six car lengths behind a vehicle if
you can help it. Remember that the fewer people around you, the better. You
must even practice more defensive driving at intersections that have lights.
Drunk drivers can easily drive through red lights, and you don't want to be in
the middle of the intersection when that happens.
One great
way to increase your visibility to others on the road is to add reflective biker vest patches onto your vest or jacket.
Watch out for animals
You definitely don't want to
spoil your night time ride by running over a cat or a raccoon. So train
yourself to see dark moving objects in your peripheral vision. The most common
areas for animals to dart out into the road are by highways that cut through
wooded areas or residential neighborhoods that only have two lanes.
What are Some
of the Dangers That You Need to Watch Out For?
First of
all, you should always have on a motorcycle jacket with armor.
The armor will keep your torso safe if you go flying in the event of a crash.
Low visibility
Not all dangers are the result
of another person. Nighttime itself is dangerous where drivers and riders are
not able to see well in front of them. Motorcycles and vehicles have
headlights, but it is a poor replacement for the sun. Many people do not see problems
that are next to them because they are so focused on the road in front of them.
Obstacles and road issues that you would generally be able to see during the
day become almost invisible at night. So it is crucial to approach
intersections and road curves more cautiously then you would during the day.
Drunks
Although drunk driving does
occur during the day, it is most common at night. Those who drink and drive at
night believe that they are better drivers when they are drunk and that they
will not be caught by the cops since there are fewer patrols at night. The best
way to identify a drunk driver is to watch their vehicle or motorcycle drive in
a single lane. If their vehicle is swinging back and forth and going into the
other lane, that is a high indication that they are drunk.
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