10 Ways to Be Safe Riding a Motorcycle

I get Google Alerts every day telling of motorcycle accidents all over the world. The most disturbing accounts describe the deaths of riders because an oncoming motorist turned left across their path and the motorcycle struck the car.

Folks, most every rider has not yet got the message of the danger of left-turners.

Please read my 10 Ways to Be Safe on a Motorcycle. It describes the left-turner as well as nine more ways to be be safe on a motorcycle.

These tips are also included in my new Kindle book, Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle.

So, get educated and read my 10 Ways to Be Safe on a Motorcycle.

Women are Riding Motorcycles in Greater Numbers

More and more women are getting off the back seat and climbing on the front seat of a motorcycle. Most are learning in special training classes. Here's an excerpt from a story and video from FOX 13 TV in Tampa Bay:

"Tammy Perkins is enamored when she gets on her motorcycle. 'It is freedom,' she said. Perkin's husband bought her a bike for Mother's Day. It is something she has wanted since she was a kid. Now that she is 40, and the youngest of her kids is out of high school, Perkins thinks she deserves it." -- Ken Suarez, FOX 13 News Polk County Reporter

Read more of this story and watch the video.

For more about women riders, check out Women in Motorcycling.

Military Personnel Advised to Ride Safe in the Spring

It's May Motorcycle Awareness Time again. All the major publications are advising motorists to watch out for motorcycles. But the military has the same problem on its bases. At Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, they take extra precautions to train their personnel in safe riding techniques and to promote safe riding including wearing proper protective riding apparel. Here's an excerpt from an article on their website by Staff Sgt. Carlton Anthony:

"No one expects to be seriously injured or die in a motorcycle mishap when Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst warriors begin hitting the roadways. Unfortunately, every spring the number of motorcycle mishaps spike due to several factors: inexperience, risky riding, alcohol, speed, distractions and fatigue. All these factors are preventable and may lead to fewer accidents during this time of year." -- Staff Sgt. Carlton Anthony

Read more of this article.

Learn How to Ride a Motorcycle

I receive a lot of questions from people who want to learn how to ride a motorcycle but don't know where to start or what steps they should follow.

There is no magic process to learn how to ride a motorcycle. Every rider follows a different plan to learn how to ride a motorcycle.

I have written a 5-part article that tells you what you have to do to learn how to ride a motorcycle.

Part 1 is an introduction to motorcycles.

Part 2 tells you how to get started learning to ride a motorcycle.

Part 3 discusses getting the training you need to ride a motorcycle.

Part 4 talks about buying your first motorcycle.

Part 5 discusses becoming a motorcyclist.

This article gives you my viewpoint on what it takes to become a proficient motorcyclist. Check out How You CAN Learn to Ride a Motorcycle

Consumer Reports and Motorcycles

Well, I've been a subscriber to Consumer Reports (CR) for longer than I can remember. I even pay for subscriptions for my three adult children. Today, I saw that CR is now possibly getting into the business of evaluating entry-level motorcycles and scooters.

Here's an excerpt from an article Motorists Move to Scooters and Motorcycles to Save from the Consumer Reports Blog:

"Consumer Reports is researching this segment and is looking into developing a test protocol to evaluate scooters and entry-level motorcycles. We approach these products with grave concern for rider safety and caution readers against a hasty decision to move to two-wheeled transportation without proper training and safety gear."

Motorcycles and Consumer Reports. I can hardly believe it, but I'm happy at the same time. Let's hope they spend lots of time talking about Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) training and wearing proper apparel. We certainly don't want a whole new segment of riders who are only riding to save on gas money.

Motor Scooters -- Are You Ready for One?

Almost every day, I'm seeing more and more articles about the advantages of owning a motor scooter in a world of ever increasing gas prices.

Here's an excerpt from an article, Born to Be ... Fuel-Efficient, by Jonathan Welsh of the Wall Street Journal that sums up the current economic thinking about motor scooters:

"Chris Casal, a Brooklyn, N.Y., elementary-school teacher, used to drive to work almost every day, mainly because it took 12 minutes compared with an hour by subway. But rising fuel and parking costs made the trip 'kind of ridiculous,' he says. So last year he bought a Vespa GTS scooter that uses about $7 of fuel every two weeks instead of the $30 his Honda Civic consumed. He parks free in the schoolyard, and the two-wheeler impresses his students."

Of course, there are other considerations beyond the price of gas. There's the need to learn how to be safe while riding a motor scooter. Motorcycles are very hard to see as it is and motor scooters are even smaller visual targets for the average motorist.

The average non-motorcyclist has a lot to learn about riding on two wheels. I remember all the scooter accidents I saw while in Bermuda by newbie riders. I think I got a one-minute lesson before I rented my scooter.

I've just revised my article, Motor Scooters - Have Fun While Saving Gas, that summarizes all my motor scooter resources that may assist in introducing motor scooters to the masses.

Don't put your life on the line by getting a motor scooter without proper training and wearing apparel.

Have fun and save gas if you get a motor scooter but remember to first BE SAFE.

Picture ©2004 Lonnie W. Cavenee