Motorcycles are fun. It’s just you, the machine between your legs, and the road – well, at least until something goes wrong. Since motorbikes don’t have a protective shell around you as a car does, your body will take the full brunt of the collision if you don’t know how to handle yourself immediately before and during the crash.
By mitigating damage and injury, you will not only increase your recovery period but also keep costs and damages low. You still have to get the best motorcycle accident lawyers in Los Angeles to help you get fair compensation deals regardless of whether you were in the right or the wrong. Here’s what you should do:
Always Wear Full Protective Gear
Wearing good quality protective gear will keep you safe from bruises, fatal breakages, and knocks to sensitive parts of the body. Never skimp on anything even if you are going for a very short trip around the block. A simple topple at low speeds could be harmless if you are in riding armor, but the tarmac could scathe your hands or legs if you decided to skip riding gloves or take that short trip in a pair of open shoes.
Ride Responsibly
Yes, motorcycles are fun when pushed to the limit. However, when in regular traffic, you should know your skill limits and factor in unexpected things other road users might do. If you love the speed, wait until you get to clear stretches or a racing track. Keeping your bike within speeds where you can safely react to the unexpected will reduce your chances of being involved in an accident.
Brake and Select a Crash Point
Braking responsibly cuts your speed, minimizing the impact of the crash. However, you shouldn’t slam the brakes as this will lock the wheels and make your bike skid out of control or even flip. Apply the front and rear break gradually as you would on a regular emergency stop.
While braking, scan different places on your trajectory and choose the best spot for your impact. Once you choose the spot, stop braking and steer towards it as it is easier to make quick adjustments to your trajectory without skidding without the brakes on.
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- Do not head into on-coming traffic. Steer to your side of the road if you can
- Avoid hitting obstacles head-on. Steer so that you collide sideways with obstacles
- You will have to make the moral decision between colliding into people or choosing to hit other objects. For instance, some people will feel better taking a harder crash to avoid hitting a child. That is your choice.
Stay on the Bike Until the Crash
Many people think ditching is the best way to survive the crash. It isn’t. Keeping on it until it crashes means that its frame will take some punch off the crash, giving your body less impact to absorb. You also won’t slide or roll for too long to end up knocking down people or rolling onto coming traffic.
Riding safely and obeying these crash rules will make your collisions less severe. However, you should still try to avoid accidents at all costs by riding responsibly.