You’re riding your motorcycle on the usual path to work. You take a familiar corner, a speed you know your bike can handle, but there’s a patch of gravel that wasn’t there before. Suddenly, your bike is sliding out from under you, and you’re sliding across opposing lanes of traffic.
This kind of accident happens to motorcyclists a lot. If you were lucky enough to survive such an incident, you should be thankful, no matter what kind of injuries you’ve incurred. If you’ve never had an accident like this before, this article will help you avoid one in the future.
Gravel on a blind corner: How to deal with the problem on a motorcycle
Patches of gravel, leaves, sand, dirt, mud and ice can show up unexpectedly when you’re riding your motorcycle. These are obstacles dangerous enough when you’re riding in a straight line. They’re extremely dangerous when you’re taking a corner because your bike can easily slip out from under you. Here’s how to avoid this kind of accident:
- Scan ahead and look where you’re going: Sometimes you can see these patches ahead of you and you can take appropriate action to avoid a calamity. If you see any kind of obstacle in the road, slow down, ride around it, and come to a full stop if necessary.
- Ride your bike slower in corners: Blind corners are especially dangerous. Even if you’re familiar with the road, conditions can change, a truck could dump some debris, ice could form, or wind could blow leaves or sand into the roadway. Always ride slow enough so you can stay in control of your bike and react fast enough to a last minute, unseen obstacle. Adopt a “slow in, fast out” policy. Go slow into corners, and gradually speed up on your way out of them.
- Go wide: The wider you’re able to enter a curb or turn, the better. This will increase your visibility for potential obstacles that could be waiting for you around the bend.
Never stop improving your motorcycle safety knowledge
Some motorcycle riders who get hurt in crashes will have the ability to seek financial compensation and justice in court. However, the preferred course of action is to avoid motorcycle accidents and not get hurt in the first place. As such, Kentucky bikers may want to take regular motorcycle safety courses to improve their safety knowledge.