How often do you check your mirrors to see what’s around you? Chances are that you don’t check them often enough!
According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) 5,154 people died in a motorcycle accidents. How many of those accidents could have been prevented if a motor vehicle driver would have properly checked the space around them? Quite a few I’m sure.
Not all of those 5,154 accidents in 2007 were motorcycle to motor vehicle accidents, but I’m willing to bet that quite a few were. It’s no secret that riding a motorcycle is significantly more dangerous than driving a car, but that doesn’t stop a large portion of the US driving population. Motorcycle’s are a lot of fun and are generally in the hands of respectable drivers but every now and then you can come across someone who should not be driving a motorcycle.
If you come across someone like this on the road the best thing to do is not to get angry or flustered, but to avoid that rider as much as possible; increase your distance from him or her and if possible, find an alternative route to your destination. That way you can avoid the possibility of a nasty crash caused by an irresponsible driver.
The same thing goes for motorcyclists too, often times they are tailgated or not given enough room to maneuver.
If you’re driving anywhere near a motorcycle please do your part to keep our roads safer by being courteous and give them the room they need. There’s nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing this and it shows your fellow motorists a good example to follow, and we all could use people like that!
So remember this little tidbit about driving near motorcycles and who knows, the life you save may be your own!