The purpose of this essay is to inform the reader about motorcycle safety and the many important aspects of motorcycle riding in North Dakota.
Some of the content I’ve listed here is commonly overlooked or disregarded. I believe this information should be important to readers who recently have moved to the state and have the common ambition to purchase and begin riding a motorcycle here. I started riding motorcycles several years ago and have firsthand experience on it and have attempted to convey that using facts, logic and other source material.
For feedback I would like to know if i should add more factual reference material from third party sources and reduce the material from firsthand experience or continue to build on both. Is there anything you think I should add to this essay? Should I shift around key points and paragraphs within the essay to make the messages flow more easily?
When I first arrived in North Dakota I had in my mind the Idea that I would buy a motorcycle.
I knew that Sturges fest, one of America’s biggest motorcycle rallies, was held just a few hours south of Minot, North Dakota. I was quite ignorant about the level of safety I would need to take into consideration as a new motorcycle rider. There were so many things I found myself unaware of later on. In this brief reporting essay I will be going over the important aspects of motorcycle safety i’ve learned and have become accustomed to throughout my time riding in North Dakota.
It’s important to remember that motorcycle riding is very dangerous. In 2018, there were 210 motorcycle related accidents and 78% of all reported accidents resulted in injury or death. (NDDOT page 19). It’s not like driving a car. You shouldn’t get in an accident and think to rely on an airbag to protect you from the impact from another vehicle or the road. If you get hit by a car you are more likely to become fatally injured than driving a motor vehicle such as a car or truck. In fact the NHTSA reports that “13 cars out of every 100,000 are involved in a fatal accident, but motorcycles have a fatality rate of 72 per 100,000 accidents” (Kutner para 6). It is important to understand that you are more vulnerable on a motorcycle in the event of an accident than within a motor vehicle such as a car or a truck. You simply don’t possess the level of protection that passenger vehicles offer on a motorcycle.
When riding a motorcycle you are vulnerable to the elements such as rain, snow, or hail. This can cause your traction to falter and could also cause a needless loss in maneuverability on the road. Riders should seek to take their time and only ride within their ability during these kinds of conditions.
“Ignore the tendency to jerk the handlebar and grab a whole bunch of brakes. Because slippery conditions make it easy to spin the rear tire and lock up the brakes (especially at the front wheel), it’s best to operate all controls– throttle, clutch, and both sets of brakes– with a slow, steady hand. Remember that jerking any of these controls can lead to embarrassing wheel lock and an unintentional non-stationary horizontal movement”
New riders should take the time to research the correct maneuvers to perform during these kinds of conditions and practice them in a controlled environment preferably under the supervision of a more experienced rider.
I think the greatest physical component to being safe on a motorcycle is the addition of a helmet. Helmets are responsible for saving many lives on the roads during motorcycle crashes.
“Helmets saved an estimated 1,859 lives in 2016 and If all motorcyclists would have worn helmets in 2016, 802 more could have been saved.
I don’t think this should be just a suggestion. I believe helmet use during motorcycle transportation should be mandatory whether it be for recreational use or any other use. It should be a nationwide requirement and your requirement!
“helmets are the only strategy proved to be effective in reducing motorcyclist fatalities, but some opposition to such laws exists, and only 19 states currently have them”.
Another important piece of equipment one should consider bringing along on their ride is a Motorcycle jacket or suit. Motorcycle jackets should be made of heavy course material to avoid skin contact with the road in the event of an accident. It is preferable to purchase a jacket tailored specifically to motorcycle riding as they offer certain features more complement it. (Murphy para 4)
In conclusion, the information I’ve provided here is meant to give new motorcycle riders some ideas to become safer riders. I’ve listed some common hazards riders face and some equipment one should see as mandatory during their motorcycle riding. It’s important to do as much research as possible before getting into this common and exciting recreational activity and mode of transportation. I hope this short essay has given you an idea of the core components of motorcycle riding as well as the hazards involved.
Automobile Black Box System For Accident Analysis Based On Raspberry Pi. (2022, Apr 25). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/automobile-black-box-system-for-accident-analysis-based-on-raspberry-pi/