Motorcycle Safety: Gearing Up
Motorcycle safety is a must, especially with riding season here and many people getting back on their bikes or trying riding for the very first time. Motorcycle safety gear is one of the most important parts to riding a motorcycle and shouldn’t be overlooked.
Having the right gear can mean the difference between a serious injury and walking away from a crash. Unlike a car, you aren’t surrounded by a metal cage with air bags and seatbelts that can help protect you in the event of an accident. Having the correct gear acts as your protection when riding, and should be just as essential as the motorcycle itself. Having the right gear may be costly or expensive, but your life is priceless. In order to help you be the safest on the road we’ll review the kind of gear you should have from head to toe.
Helmet
A helmet may very well be the most important and most essential piece of gear you own. Making sure the helmet fits properly and meets safety regulations for the province you live in is a great place to start. Typically, DOT (Department of Transportation) certified helmets meet the minimum safety standards in most areas, and are certified with the DOT sticker on the back. Helmets are typically only good for 5 years after the manufactured date as the glue in the helmet begins to degrade. Also, a helmet is only good for one crash, no matter how small or big the accident. Even if there doesn’t seem to be any major damage on the outside, it’s the material on the inside of the helmet that protects your head. Don’t take any risks with your head as it is one of the most important parts of your body and its safety shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Gloves
Gloves are just as an essential as a helmet when riding for protecting your body. Our natural reflex when we fall is to put out our hands to help ease the impact. Additionally, as humans we rely on our hands for many of our daily tasks and an injury can make the easiest of tasks difficult. Investing in a good pair of gloves can help prevent or limit the injury to our fragile hands. A leather pair of gloves with armor in the knuckles and palms, which also have straps that wrap tightly around the wrist, are most effective in the event of an accident. The strap will keep the gloves on your hand and the padding on the palm and knuckles will help ease the abrasion and impact on your hands. Also, unlike a car, our hands are more involved in riding a motorcycle. Having gloves that can also keep your hands warm in bad weather or just from the wind chill as they are more exposed can help make your ride more enjoyable and safe.
Road rash
Road rash isn’t fun. The right motorcycle jacket and pants can help protect you from serious road rash, injures, and reduce abrasion from any speed crash. Your legs, stomach, back, and chest make up the majority of your body, so it would make sense to invest in the right gear to protect it. There are many types of material to choose from and typically speaking, a heavier material like leather will be able to best protect you in an accident. Much like the helmet, the jacket and pants should fit snugly as to not move around too much in the event of an accident. While the material the jacket and pants are made of will help with abrasion, the body armor in the jacket and pants are what will help with impact in the event of an accident. When looking for a jacket and pants typically the armor should be CE (Certified European) rated and should fit snug around your joints.
Footwear
Lastly, don’t underestimate the importance of shoes or boots when riding a motorcycle. Your ankles and bones in your feet are fragile. In the event of a crash a motorcycle is very likely to land on your legs, ankle and/or feet. In order to help protect your ankles and feet, having proper motorcycle riding boots can help reduce the risk of injury to those areas while riding.
Although it may seem pricey and expensive motorcycle gear isn’t something to be skipped. These items are essential to being safe on the road and can help prevent or mitigate the risk of injury in the event of a crash. Make sure to do research on gear that best suits your type of riding and take time to find gear that fits properly.