Different Factors That Impair Your Ability to Ride a Motorcycle Safely

If you are a motorcyclist and while riding your bikein heavy traffic for a considerable time makes you
you notice a hint of early warning signs ofabsorb too much carbon monoxide and later on feels
impairment, don't ignore it! The main idea with almostwoozy. A full face helmet can seal out gasses that
any kinds of impairment is to recognize that you arecome from vehicles around you. You also get the
starting to get affected. Any impairment can cloudsame effect of dizziness,headaches and shortness of
your thinking and limits you from recognizing danger.breathe due to oxygen deprivation if you venture
It's a no brainer that you should not ride athrough elevated mountain roads like the Rockies or
motorcycle if you are tired or fatigue or underSierras where there is thinner air. The solution is to
emotional upheaval.ride your motorcycle downhill immediately. Heat and
Riders under this particular conditions are harmful ondehydration can also disable a rider and weakens his
the road and to other vehicles. Operating a machineryjudgment.
or vehicle should be approached cautiously if you areRiding and drinking alcohol will never go together. If
hungry,sick,tired,upset or distraught. If you willyou drink alcohol past the legal limit, you are likely to
continue to ride or drive things might get worse. Thisspeed and less likely assess danger. The eight hours
is where road rage and accidents mostly happens.bottle to throttle rule should be the minimum to
And since there is no way to measure fatigue onconsider.
crash victims, these impairments should be everyIf you have colds or flu and taking over the counter
motorcyclist's major concern.drugs can also compromise your riding ability. These
When you are tired almost always your peripheralconditions can de-tune your senses and slow down
vision starts to deteriorate and it serve as as ayour reflexes. Taking prescription as well as illegal
warning that it is time to park and rest for awhile.drugs and host of other chemicals can make you
Your sight should be your priority in keeping things indrowsy, impairs your vision and weakens your
check because everything you do on a motorcycle isjudgment. If you don't want your next ride to be
based on what you see. If you see things clearlyyour last one, be warn not to operate a vehicle while
ahead of you, you will have more information(consuming them.
minutes or seconds earlier) make good split secondBee sting or plant particles can be source of allergies.
decision and would be able to deal with situationsIt can be disabling. Riders with severe allergic
more easily and you will have fewer surprises. If youreactions to insect sting or plants can be real threat.
spot an animal in the bushes about fifty yards aheadThere are potential dangers that you should prepare
or notice a thin layer of sand, oil collecting at thefor and also understand how the antidote will work
intersection or a patch of wet leaves or black iceand affect as well.
before the bridge of if you notice the subtle headNight solo riding also reduces the quality and distance
movement if the driver indicating a left turn, you areof what you see. It will be harder to determine the
able to deal with them easily well before you evenroad's direction and surface at night. If you are
get there.confused, stop. Don't guess. Keep an even and light
As we advance in age, our vision will graduallypressure on the throttle and give yourself some
deteriorate. One way to know this is to have anroom to react. Riding in the night can easily leave you
annual eye exam. One quick visit to your eyein autopilot mode. You may not react to hazards
specialist can diagnose any problem. If you havequickly as you would during the day. Take regular
astigmatism which you are more likely to bebreaks and stretch your muscles. Eat snacks. These
disturbed by glare or blinding lights caused by HIDwill ward off fatigue and drowsiness on long nighttime
headlights. Astigmatism can be corrected by wearingtravel.
prescription eye wear or better yet soft contacts.Any hearing loss is permanent. Which is why you
Soft contacts eliminate the reflection and distortionneed hearing protection. Most riders think that most
that eyeglasses make to your field of vision. Softof the noise comes from the motorcycle itself. Well
contacts don't dry out like hard contacts do. They willthat's part of it. But wind noise created by air
improve the quality of your vision. We live in an eraturbulence produces almost all noise and can exceed
where technology is keeping pace with thethousand times the sound level of ordinary
gravitational pull and deterioration of our anatomy.conversation. Wearing a full face helmet will not
The latest is laser eye surgery.completely cut it. What you need are earplugs. It will
Another way to take care of your line of sight isreduce the amount of sound reaching your ears.
routinely wipe off smudges or surface defects onYou can choose foam earplugs, which are disposable
windshields,dirty and scratched faceshields andor the re-usable foam earplugs using technology
goggles. Always carry in your tank bag a piece ofsimilar to that found in gun user's earplugs. The
clean soft cloth and plastic polish, so you can buffcustom molded earplugs is the creme de la creme of
your faceshields or goggles and remove grime,dirtall earplugs. It can last for years. And it is made just
and dried bugs.for your ear canal's contours. So it fits perfectly. Now
There are environmental factors that can impair yourgo hit the road already.
ability to ride your bike safely. Riding your motorcycle