Riding A Two-wheeler at Night: Top 5 Safety Tips

People who ride long distances, especially those who cruise or travel long distances for work and have to ride when it becomes dark. There are certain factors that you must take into account when the sun goes down to stay safe on the road. Here are five of the top safety tips that you can use and reach home without any incident.

Don’t Ride At Night!

At night you have to deal with the menace of drunk drivers and then on top of that there are wild animals that can jump straight in front of you from behind the bushes. Also, the biological clock in your body wants you to rest and that makes you feel sleepy.  Therefore, try not to ride after sundown. To prevent risks of riding at night, plan your rise properly and make sure to start early at around 6 a.m. and end your rides by 6 p.m. at most.  In one off cases, when you have to ride at night make sure that you follow the tips below.

Be Careful Of ‘target Fixation’

Target fixation is a real thing that can cause accidents. What this essentially means is that you are more likely to go in the direction that your eyes are following. So, when you are riding at night try not to look directly at oncoming traffic because unknowingly your body will provide inputs to the motorcycle to head in that direction which may become fatal. Always make sure to look away from directly coming traffic and focus on the open space through which you can navigate safely.

Reduce Stopping-Distance Speed To As Far As You Can See

It is important to ride slowly at night.  A good tip to do that is to maintain your speed so that you can stop your two-wheeler within the distance that is being illuminated by your headlights.  Also, take into account the braking performance of your two-wheeler.  If the brakes are not at the top of their performance, reduce the speed even more so that you can bring your two-wheeler to a stop in case of an emergency.  You can also consider upgrading the motorcycle headlights with auxiliary lights that you can find that any bike accessories shop near you. While purchasing auxiliary lights do not go for the flashy LED lights that just increase the foggy whiteness instead of giving you a proper and clear vision of the road ahead of you.  Also, LED lights make it uncomfortable for oncoming traffic to see you clearly, and they can come and hit you instead!

Clean Your Visors And Wear Night Riding Goggles

Always make sure to keep your helmet visors clean of dust and other road grime so that light from oncoming traffic does not create a glare.  In most cases the dust on the visor diffracts the light and creates a haziness that makes it very difficult to see clearly.  It is very common for night riders to lift their visors in order to see clearly, and if you also happen to use this technique, make sure that there is a second layer of protection over your eyes. Purchase a pair of night riding goggles that will allow you to lift the visor without any risk to your eyes.

Bright Riding Gear And Reflectors

High visibility reflective tapes are easily available at every bike accessories shop.  Purchase red and yellow reflective tapes and use them on your motorcycle as well as on the back of your bike helmet to make yourself more visible to traffic behind you as well as in front of you. You must also purchase a bike riding jacket that has reflective surfaces and bright colour which will make you clearly visible for other drivers on the road.  

Ride safe, use your best judgement, and whenever possible avoid riding at night! Invest in high quality branded helmets and night riding gears for added protection.