Staying Safe On Your Next Motorcycle Road Trip

TGR Staff - 10/04/2024

Embarking on a motorcycle road trip is an exhilarating way to explore the country and beyond. The freedom of the open road, the absence of car constraints, and the ability to absorb the route and environment and navigate traffic make it a thrilling and liberating experience.

While the allure of a motorcycle road trip is undeniable, it's important to remember that it's not without its risks. Motorcyclists are 28 times more likely to die in a road traffic collision than car drivers. This stark statistic underscores the paramount importance of safety on your next two-wheel road trip.

Check Your Bike

In the first place, you want to ensure that your bike is up to the task and can sustain your journey and not tap out, leading to an increased risk of accident or injury, not to mention huge repair bills. Safety first means ensuring that your bike is safe for the road and doesn't need any significant repairs that can increase the risk you're already facing.

Practice Defensive Driving (Riding) and Safe Braking

You can ride, you know that. However, you need to also be in charge of your riding and your habits to improve safety on the roads. You need to be aware of other road users' limitations and ensure that you drive defensively to boost your chances of safety and avoid other road users' bad driving habits. Always assume the worst and that other road users won't see you, and anticipate their actions before they do so you can make better judgments.

Wear The Right Gear

You need to wear the right gear when riding your motorcycle, and it's highly likely that you already do. However, checking the condition of your leathers can help you uncover any issues so they protect you should you be in an accident. Your helmet, gloves, and outer layers must be in good condition and not show signs of wear or damage to offer complete protection.

Emergency Details

You need to have something on your bike to store your emergency details. Be it a slip of paper in a pocket in your clothing or something attached to your bike in your belongings, but whatever it is, you need to have emergency details in case of an accident so you can get the right help for any medical conditions you might have, or your loved ones can be contacted easily. You must include your name, address, medical conditions, medications you might be taking, emergency contact details, and doctor's details if you wish to.

Other information to include could be your insurance company, your mechanic for any repairs or a good repair shop you can use, a rescue service like AAA, and a lawyer who can help you if you sustain a motorcycle injury that wasn't your fault.

Staying safe on the roads during your road trip needs to be the culmination of many small actions and details put into place that help you be a better, more alert road user to help limit issues and stay safe at all times.