The 7 Most Common Motorcycle Accidents & How to Avoid Them

Reduce your odds of getting into a motorcycle crash with these tips.  The more educated you are about motorcycle safety, the lower the chance of being injured or killed. Safety gear is helpful but doesn’’t necessarily prevent injury in a crash.  Below is a list of seven common accidents and how you can prevent them.

1. A car turns left in front of you.  How to avoid it: make sure to stay out of their blind spots and look for signs that they may be taking a left without knowing your presence.
2.  You hit gravel, sand, leaves, etc in a blind corner. How to avoid it: ride at a pace where your reaction time is higher when turning corners.  Tail braking and using the full width of the road can he helpful.
3.  You enter a corner too fast. How to avoid it: Only ride as fast as you can use visual clues to judge a roads direction.  Trust your bike and ride out the corner and lean out of your bike as much as possible.  Do not slam on your brakes or anything that may upset the bike and cause a loss of traction.
4. Car changes a lane into you. How to avoid it: be aware of blind spots and make sure the driver can see you at all times.   Look for their turn signals, wheels turning and wandering in the lane as indicators they may move in your direction.
5. Car hits you from behind. How to avoid it: When you are stopped at a light and cars are coming behind you, move to the middle or side so they are not heading straight in your direction.  Pay attention to what’s coming behind you and be prepared to scoot away if someone doesn’t look like they are going to stop.
6. A car opened its door. How to avoid it: never ride in between traffic lanes and parked cars.  There are tons of reasons why it is called “the death zone” for cyclists.
7. It is slippery outside. How to avoid it: make sure you have reasonable tires for the condition and slow down to be smooth on the controls.