Last updated on December 13, 2015
In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed. –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Speed may create safety in some circumstances, such as ice skating on thin ice, but for motorcycles it’s not exactly the same. Sure we need some form of speed to stay upright on two wheels without falling over, but eventually that speed becomes dangerous. Beyond the speed of a motorcycle, there are endless obstacles and dangers that every rider will confront at some point while on the road. Hopefully, the driver is nimble and quick enough to avoid an accident, but often times an accident can occur which is outside the ability of the driver to avoid.
Either way, it should be more than evident that every rider needs to wear proper safety equipment in order to stay safe. There are a wide range of products available for motorcyclists, but really they all fall into one of 7 categories. If you want to be as safe on your motorcycle as you could possibly be, just ensure your gear covers these items. From head trauma and road rash to broken bones, these safety items can ensure if an accident were to occur, you would be far more protected than had you not been wearing them. So without further ado, let’s get into this list.
Motorcycle Helmet – If you had to choose only one piece of protective gear, your obvious choice ought to be a helmet. Helmets nowadays come with a wide range of features, including but not limited to; rear view mirrors, fans, vents, and headphones. As convenient as those may be, there is only one things you should be concerned with for your safety. And that is that the helmet has a DOT certification. A DOT certification tells you that the helmet has passed a series of strict safety and stress tests. Be sure to not buy a helmet without this, because if it hasn’t been thoroughly tested, you mine as well be riding with a milk carton on your head. You could well have just as much protection.
Motorcycle Jacket – A motorcycle jacket may not exactly protect you from broken bones very well, but it does provide one crucial and essential benefit. Road rash and abrasions caused by sliding on pavement can be debilitating and extremely painful. It’s understood that during the summer, it may be too hot to ride wearing a jacket. But that should come with the territory, because even a less than severe fall can become terrible if you’ve slid and tumbled and were not wearing a jacket. Ideally, leather has been the trademark as it does an extremely good job of protection from road rash. Additionally, many jackets come equipped with sectional pieces of hard plastic to protect your spine which is a worthwhile investment.
Motorcycle Pants – Protective pants may be one of the least considered items as they may seem excessive. But again, road rash is certainly something you want to avoid. Leather again is the optimal material to use. There are also pants made with protective sectional pieces as well. This is often useful for covering your knees, hips, and thighs as they can be banged up quite a bit while tumbling.
Motorcycle Boots – Have you ever seen a person riding a motorcycle in flip flops? Have you ever thought to yourself, “What an idiot?” That’s because riding a motorcycle in flip flops is stupid. In fact, the smartness of your footwear steadily increases until you finally reach what should be worn on motorcycles… that being boots. Heavy, durable, and reliable boots. The only thing that helps to keep a motorcycle upright beyond forward motion are a person’s feet. As such, you want your feet to be well equipped to be able to handle a situation when it arises. Whether that be from the motorcycle sliding out, or for when you are creeping forward using your feet to keep you up. Wearing the wrong shoes can cause you to roll or even break your ankle.
Motorcycle Goggles – It’s pretty well known that when you are driving at a high speed, anything that happens to hit you in the eye is going to hurt. That can be a piece of gravel, a leaf, or even a small insect. Point being, the only reason you are able to drive fast is because you are able to see where you are going. When your sight goes out, especially when already moving quickly, any number of other problems can occur. Even if you aren’t worried about losing site while driving, the threat of having permanent eye damage due to something striking you is high and well worth avoiding by having a proper pair of glasses or motorcycle goggles.
Motorcycle Gloves – Whenever you fall to the ground, what can you imagine is one of the first things you are going to do? I would bet that many will say to put your hands out in front of you, and that is exactly why when riding a motorcycle, you should wear gloves. There is no doubt when you take a spill you are going to use your hands to direct where and how you fall which means without protection, they are going to take quite the beating. Beyond protection, gloves are useful for providing better grip and reducing hand fatigue. People that don’t ride very often will soon realize that a single afternoon out will create many blisters, which is all easily avoided.
Motorcycle High Visibility Indicators – Finally, for those who want to be especially careful on the road, and is more of a precaution against getting into an accident than reducing the damage done after one, are high visibility indicators. Essentially, these are generally jackets and helmets which are brightly colored, and usually adorned with reflective material to help be more noticeable at night. They certainly won’t scream being hardcore or cool for the most part, though that is not always the case. That said, it is still worthwhile for people who are concerned with not being noticeable on the road, whether that be during day or night.
The author of this article is Damien Wilhelmi and writer for ShafnerLaw.com. If you enjoyed this piece you can follow me on Twitter @CustParadigm. When I’m not writing about safety tips for a motorcycle accident attorney, I can generally be found out riding my own bike… enjoying the open road.
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