Importance of Protection for Motorcycle Riders: - By: Leah Fitzgerald

Introduction

Protective clothing, such as a jacket, boots, and gloves reduce rider injury severity and, therefore play an important role of preventing or at least decreasing the degree of injury should a crash or fall occur. Another idea that comes to mind is weather protection and not mentioned above is protection from the elements. PPE provides protection from wind, rain and cold. The Department of Transportation recommends using the following protective gear for safety: DOT (Department of Transportation) approved motorcycle helmet with a high safety rating, good quality leather jacket, thick leather chaps or leather trousers to protect your legs, leather gloves to protect your hands, and leather boots to protect your feet and ankles. Protective clothing and equipment serve a three-fold purpose for motorcyclists: comfort, protection from the elements, and some measure of injury protection. Remember that the passenger needs safely gear as well.

Stay Visible: Extreme Visibility is Very Important

One of the main reasons motorcyclists are killed in crashes is because the motorcycle itself provides virtually no protection in a crash. Also it is no surprise that the majority of motorcycle/automobile accidents are due to poor visibily. Make yourself visible: Choose protective gear that will increase both the rider and passenger visibility in addition to providing protection in the event of a crash. LED lighting improves motorcycle visibility, and horns provide sound warnings to keep others on the road aware of your presence. Remember to utilize the use of bright colors, white, neon colors, or reflective material, a means for other motorists to see the motorcyclist and also the passenger.

Protect Your Body: Jackets and Trousers

Jackets and trousers should be made of heavy-weight, durable material like leather or denim. Clothing worn when riding a motorcycle should provide some measure of protection from abrasion in the event of a spill, accidental contact with the hot parts of the motorcycle, nasty bug splats, and also in case of fire occurring as a result of the crash. The most common leather used for motorcycle wear is from cattle such as beef. Horse leather is sometimes used and also provides excellent protection. Originally, motorcycle leathers were adapted from tank corps gear immediately following World War I. Thick, tough leather provides the most abrasion resistance in a crash, but fabrics such as cordura, kevlar and ballistic nylon provide significant protection too. Airbag system technology is now available to be fitted to jackets and vests for accident protection and impact protection for both riders and passengers. Trousers should be made of the same material as jackets, usually including special protection for the knees and hips. Increasingly, motorcyclists are choosing protective equipment constructed of man-made textiles rather than leather due to their improved weather protection, from heat, cold, and water. These garments tend to provide greater convenience in terms of pockets and vents. Eventhough becoming popular, PPE constructed of textile fabrics offer much less protection for abrasion than leather does.

Protect Your Feet, Ankles, and Lower Legs

Proper footwear for motorcycle riding gives superior protection for the feet, ankles, and lower parts of the legs. Sandals, sneakers, and similar footwear should not be used since they provide very little to NO protection from abrasion or a crushing impact. Despite their toughness and protection, most boots are very lightweight. Tough, strong, moderately flexible boots with stiff rubber, oil/chemical resistance soles with a good grip provide the rider protection from a number of risks. A safety oriented, protected motorcyclist will wear boots with heels that fit on motorcycle foot rests (pegs) that also provide ankle support. Tough, strong, moderately flexible boots with stiff soles provide the rider protection from a number of risks. If the boots have heels, they should be low and wide to provide a stable base when standing with the bike. Extensive research has shown that heavy leather boots or boots designed specifically for motorcycle riding are the only types of footwear that offer any foot protection in a crash. Choose boots that are classified as motorcycle boots, because they are constructed with special seams and techniques for the greatest abrasion, tear, crush protection, and thus provide excellent injury prevention. Besides the obvious abrasion, as you probably already know, on most motorcycles there are many hot parts that reside near your feet and ankles: Motorcycle boots help prevents unnecessary injury to these areas by placing a thick barrier between your lower legs, feet, and ankles. The choice of buying boots with reflective tapes or placing some on the boots yourself, (this tape can usually be purchased very easily at a number of online merchants or if you prefer to fight traffic and shop around some department stores also "should" stock it).

Protect Your Hands

Besides abrasion protection, gloves usually offer a better grip on the controls, especially in extreme weather and when riding on rough surfaces. They also provide some level of protection against flying objects, such as rocks thrown by traffic or insects (yuck). Motorcycling gloves are typically gloves made of leather with some type of padding. Gloves provide more safety if they cover the wrist area and fingers, this provides extra support in case of a crash or fall.

Protect Your Head. The Most Important Protection: The Helmet

Most bikers know that helmets add protection and most states require that every biker and passenger use one. Maybe I'm wrong but I thing that the simple act of putting on a helmet is a reminder that you are about to participate in a very dangerous activity and this simple act places your unconscious mind in safety mode. A helmet also provides eye protection and decreases wind noise which allow the rider to see and hear better. The major function of the motorcycle helmet is to prevent injury to the head. Full face helmets, however, also protect the lower jaw. There is a new helmet on the market now that incorporates a full face helmet for better protection in which the face/jaw shield portion can be lifted up and opened. This feature allows for better communication function ability while also making the helmet as easy to put on and take off as the popular open faced models, When purchasing a helmet, look for those that meet a high protection standard as indicated on a tag or on the helmet itself, Unfortunately there are helmets being sold that do not meet the Department of Transportation (DOT) standard and do not provide the level of protection needed while riding your motorcycle, much less offer safety from injury should a fall or crash occur.

Keep Yourself Safe by Keeping Your Motorcycle Safe: Please Remember the Safety Checks

It is very important to remember to check that all lights are working properly on your motorcycle; this should include the headlights, tail lights, signal lights, brake lights. Be sure to also check the motorcycle horn before each ride as well, if present. If you don't have one purchase one and make sure it is properly installed. Visually assess the condition and routing of control cables, making sure they move freely, also check that cables are not so tight as to interfere with steering. Make sure the cables have no sharp angles and replace any frayed cables found immediately. Check to make sure your throttle moves freely, with no sticking and snaps closed when released. Remember to check forks and shocks, making sure they travel freely and are properly adjusted. Any attached load should be inspected and reinspected periodically to make sure it is securely fastened, and that any straps are tight, have no loose ends, and not freely moving. Last but not least, every safe rider should practice being aware of her/his surroundings and observation skills. Enjoy the freedom, the ride, the great outdoors, but stay alert and concentrate on riding safely as well. Happy riding!

Written by Leah L Fitzgerald.com

Copyright April 6, 2008, Fitzmart.com

About the Author

Leah Fitzgerald is a Registered Nurse who enjoys writing informative articles. To checkout our related products CLICK HERE Here is a special coupon for 10% off at checkout: 2361540bff To get our newsletter simply type "sign me up" in an email to newsletter@fitzmart.com

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