How is your motorcycle safety knowledge? Do you think you know all you need to be safe on a motorcycle? Why don’t you find out by taking the Motorcycle Safety Quiz? The quiz was developed by the Naval Safety Center as a way to identify where service members need more training, but it’s also a good way to check yourself. If you miss any of the questions it’s a good idea to do some follow up learning of your own.  The questions pertain to things like crash prevention, crash causes, safety information, and motorcycle operations.

I stumbled upon a post today over at Motorcyclecruiser.com by Art Friedman. The Deadly Dozen: 12 Motorcycle Safety Myths and Misconceptions outlines 12 Deadly Myths that even the best riders might think are true. Check out the article to see what myths you believe have been busted and why those myths aren’t true. The best way to protect ourselves on the roads is to know what’s fact and what’s not. How many of these myths have you heard so much you’ve believed them? Here is an example of just a couple of those myths.

#5 A Helmet Won’t Help in Most Crashes
#10 It’s Better to Stay in Your Lane than Split Lanes

A couple weeks ago I mentioned some of the dangers we face on the roads while we’re riding.  I don’t know how many times I can stress that the most important thing we riders have to look out for are other drivers.  That point was proven yet again yesterday.  An 18 year old South Carolina guy was riding in Greenville.  He was found laying on the side of the road with his R1.  At first it didn’t appear there was anything that interfered with his riding to cause the wreck, but it was later discovered that his wreck was caused by a truck that pulled out in front of him.  The motorcyclist had no choice but to hit the brakes hard, and he lost his life because of the truck’s driver.  The driver of the truck is now facing vehicular manslaughter charges.

A majority of motorcycle accidents are caused by other drives in cars.  Why?  Because those drivers claim they “didn’t see the motorcycle”.  Just because we can’t operate the vehicles for those 4 wheeled drivers doesn’t mean we can’t take precautions to ensure a safe ride.  As always wear your riding gear.

My DH is the perfect example of what can happen if you ride without your gear even if it’s only for a short period of time.  He spent 3 weeks out of work and 6 weeks on crutches with a broken foot because he wrecked wearing tennis shoes instead of riding boots.  His tennis shoes flew off his feet when he collided with a guardrail.  If he had been wearing his riding boots, his shoes wouldn’t have came off, and he most likely would have walked away with just a few bumps and bruises.

Make sure your riding gear has reflective material on it.  Both my leather jacket as well as my textile jacket have reflective material.  If your riding gear isn’t reflective consider purchasing some reflective tape to make your own strips.  Reflective material not only makes you visible at night, but can also make you more visible during the day.  The sun reflects off your jacket, other drivers are more likely to look for the object the sun is reflecting from.

Last but definitely not least, keep your eyes peels for other vehicles at all times.   There’s a really good chance you will see other drivers before they see you.  If you see another car waiting to pull into the road, slow down.  Don’t automatically assume the other driver sees you.  Prepare yourself to stop if needed.

I ordered hubby a new pair of riding boots yesterday that are going to be his Christmas present. I’m actually kind of jealous because he wanted the same pair I want, the Icon Field Armor Boots. I ordered them from the dealership because even though I’ll have to wait a week to get them, I didn’t have to pay for shipping and I got a 15% discount.

I also tried to buy him a set of Teknic leathers off Ebay yesterday, but I hate trying to buy any riding gear on Ebay. I got sniped with 3 seconds left to go in the auction. I’m almost positive the guy was using one of those sniper programs because He bid $1 over my highest bid amount, not the actual current bid amount. Considering I was winning the auction at $178.50, but I had said $200 as my highest bid, I don’t see how someone randomly chose to set their highest bid at $201 unless they were using the program to see what my highest amount was. Pisses me off man!

I totally reported the guy. Within an hour of winning the auction he had taken the other guy’s picture and relisted the leathers with a higher starting bid. I seriously don’t see how these people get away with it. If you’re going to buy something cheap just to resell it, at least wait until you’ve got it in your possession!