Motorcycle Safety Tips to Help Avoid Wrecks and Serious Injuries

A recent motorcycle accident resulted in the rider's death in Pulaski County, Virginia (VA). This brings the total for motor bike rider deaths in VA to at least 20. Nineteen of them had occurred prior to May 7th of this 2010, which is a 27 percent increase over the same period in 2009. 

The goal for VA motor bike riders is to reverse the trend and cut down on the number of serious motorcycle wrecks and deaths.

In order to help achieve that goal, here are a few motorcycle safety tips: 

• Always wear a helmet and protective gear (gloves, pads, clothing that covers bare skin, for example).
• Do not speed. The same speed limits and traffic laws that apply to cars also apply to motorcycles.
• Do not weave in and out of traffic. Stay in your lane, and signal all turns and lane changes properly. 
• Leave a safe amount of distance between your motorcycle and the cars in front and behind you.

These are just basic safety tips, but you'd be surprised at how many horrific motorcycle accidents are caused by these simple guidelines being ignored. This needs to change. Riding a motorcycle is fun and I understand the desire to put the pedal to the metal and mimic what you see in movies. Unfortunately, this type of behavior usually leads to a major motorcycle crash and very serious injuries.