I know that you might be obsessed with bikes. I know you might have thought of driving it at night. Some night riders have loved the experience of driving at night at it provides them with the freedom of driving how may ever they want along with solitude.
While others do not like the experience at all and prefer day time driving because of the low light and loss of vision and distinction. Now your experience may also depend on the type of road you were driving on. But this is for our night riders. I know you are crazy about your motorcycle and love to take her out, but you know what they say? Safety comes first.
Night riding hazards:
Now there is a number of factors that makes riding your motorcycle at night quite tricky. One is drastically reduced vision. Some people are not able to see with low light, and it becomes difficult to differentiate between objects and distances. The other reason is temperature changes. As night falls, the temperature drops and water begins to condense, which may make your roads slippery.
A very major reason why riding your motorcycle becomes dangerous at night is the extra glare from other vehicles. The light coming from the headlights of other vehicles reduces your vision and can even cause you to blur out.
Bugs may get attracted to your headlight and may approach you, causing a disturbance. You might have seen drunks come out at night. They do not bother for you to pass and just love dying in front of your motorcycle.
Tips to help you drive safely at night:
As there are so many dangers in riding your bike at night, so here are a few tips to help you get along with riding and being safe:
1. Headlights are a must:
Always remember to make sure that your headlights are working. You cannot at all take the risk of riding without turning on your headlights. Turning on your headlights ensures that the vehicle or person or an animal, knows about your presence and it can get out of your way or watch out for you.
2. Keeping your speed low:
One thing to keep in mind is controlling your speed. Do not exceed a specific speed limit and drive slow. Low speed gives you a better grip on the road due to increased friction. Moreover, low speed gives you more time to react against night-time hazards or accidents.
3. Keep your helmet on your head:
Always wear your headgear as night time driving can be dangerous, and es
pecially when going on higher speeds. Some people do not prefer wearing a helmet at night due to already reduced vision. So what you can do is keep wet wipes with you to clean the visor of your helmet screen.
4. Reflective tape:
You can really use reflecting tape to keep you safe. Apply some at the back of your motorcycle seat and near the gear so that any approaching car may know about your presence and watch out for you. You can even buy a cheap reflective vest to help vehicles detect you. If you want something groovy, you can put LED lights on the tyre of your motorcycle or even trying attaching it on your helmet.
5. Plan your route properly:
While riding your motorcycle at night, you should always have a route in mind. Avoid dark and curvy roads. I f you do choose curvy roads, make sure to lower your speed near turns and curves to provide you with the right amount of friction and give you a better grip.
6. Incoming light from traffic ahead:
There might be a time when you are blinded by the full-beam headlight of a car coming towards you. It is really hard to focus that time, and you lose your vision. So in a situation like this, what you can do is focus on the white line near the edge of the lane and keep moving straight ahead unless the vehicle passes and your vision is restored.
7. Anti-fogging solution:
If you are driving on a foggy day, then water droplets will start condensing on your helmet visor, and that dramatically reduces your ability to see. So what you can do is spray some anti-fogging solution on to the screen and simply continue with your journey.
8. Your indicators:
It is crucially important to have indicators in your motorcycle, especially during the night. It is a humble way of letting the vehicle or person behind you to know that you are about to lower your speed to turn either ways so that he can be careful.
These were some of the very simple tips to help you stay safe while driving your motorcycle at night. I hope that you found it helpful.
Any thoughts on the subject? Leave your comments below.
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