Riding motorcycle at night has its own set of challenges. It can be pretty bright during the day, but once the sun sets your visibility changes. You need to think about all kinds of things you normally wouldn’t have to deal with when riding at night such as how to see the road in front of you more clearly, how to make sure that you are properly visible to other vehicles, etc. Night riding hours are the prime time for a motorcycle crash. Nighttime riding is risky because drunk drivers are an imminent threat to motorcycle night riding enthusiasts.
Visibility is the single most important thing for any rider when it comes to driving at the night. There is no doubt that night riding has a lot of appeal to it because there is less traffic and a motorcyclist can have a free run on the highway or even the urban streets when they and their motorcycle have more room to breathe. Ride slower to enjoy cooler temperatures just a few extra seconds when there are no worries just you. But if one is not careful of the safety hazards that come along the way, a rider instead of having a lot of fun and adrenalin rush can meet with a fatal accident on the road at nighttime. Country roads are tricky and it is not always possible to detect speed limits at night due to bad light conditions. Headlight bulbs, headlight lens and anti fog visor should be top priorities for night riding enthusiasts. Here are a few things that a rider needs to keep in mind for while night riding:
“Do’s” for Riding a Motorcycle at Night
1) Make your Motorcycle More Visible
2) Wear Reflective Motorcycle Gear
3) Wear a Bright Colored Helmet
4) Add Reflective Tape to your Motorcycle
5) Make your Presence Heard with a Loud Exhaust
6) Add More Light to your Motorcycle at Night
7) Make Sure your Motorcycle’s Headlights are Clean
8) Increase your Vision
9) Keep your Visor Clean
10) Always Ride Slowly & With Caution
Make your Motorcycle More Visible
The number one reason why most motorcycle accidents happen at night is because of lack of visibility and the following reason is drunk drivers. The night ride is fun and challenging at the same time.
This is why it has become important that motorcyclists make their motorcycles more visible at night by using reflective gear, lighting, and other equipment.
Wear Reflective Motorcycle Gear
Another way to be seen better on the road during nighttime is by wearing light-coloured clothing instead of darker colours which absorb all kinds of light rather than reflecting them back to its source – for example, a white T-shirt reflects far much better than a black one.
It also helps if your motorcycle jacket or pants have reflective striping or piping as well as metal-free zippers so they do not reflect headlights from motor vehicles behind you.
Wear a Bright Colored Helmet
The helmet of a motorcyclist is one of the easiest objects to spot from a distance if not the easiest.
So, you can opt-in for a bright-coloured helmet that can be well spotted by other riders or car drivers. The Neon blue or yellow are some of the cool-looking ones that are available in the market today which are highly visible during the nighttime.
You can even add some reflective tapes to your helmets as well for the purpose of increased visibility.
Add Reflective Tape to your Motorcycle
Adding reflective tape to your motorcycle has become an increasingly popular trend among motorcyclists who are serious about being visible on the road at night, especially if they have dark-coloured motorcycles which blend in with their surrounding environment when riding after sunset or before sunrise.
Adding strips of tape with high visibility material such as fluorescent yellow colour can also help motorcyclists to be seen at night.
Even though you might think that your motorcycle is already well-lit, adding more strips of tape helps greatly in increasing the visibility and safety of motorcyclists on the road.
Make your Presence Heard with a Loud Exhaust
Having a loud exhaust can also make motorcyclists stay visible during nighttime as it alerts other drivers about their presence even from far away distances.
It will give them enough time to adjust speed or take necessary actions before they approach one another too closely and collide with each other which could cause serious injuries or fatalities. Especially when going through curves where vehicles cannot see you until they are right up close, a loud exhaust during nighttime helps riders a lot.
Add More Light to your Motorcycle at Night
Increasing motorcyclists’ visibility during nighttime becomes even more important because motorcycles tend to be driven faster and therefore, riders need that little extra time to safely maneuver or stop when they notice a vehicle approaching right behind their backs and not giving way until it is too late. High beam lights are a great choice for and offers great sight distance during the night for motorcycle riders.
This is the primary reason why increasing the lights of motorcycles greatly helps in preventing accidents from happening especially if you are riding alone on a rural road where there might not be any other light source around except the headlights of your only motorcycle that the lights are coming from.
Make sure your Headlights are Clean
Having dirty headlights can greatly reduce motorcyclists’ visibility at night.
This is why motorcyclists also need to make sure that their headlight lenses are always clean so they will shine brighter and further on the road ahead of them while not causing any reflection or glare for other drivers which could cause an accident.
Increase your Vision
Driving a motorcycle at nighttime is already difficult enough for us to see the road ahead of us. This is why motorcyclists should always make sure that their vision is crystal clear while riding on a motorbike during nighttime.
If possible, they should use some night-vision gadgets or glasses to further increase their own visibility so that they do not have any problem in seeing what lies ahead of them, and in doing so, they will be successful in avoiding any fatal accidents.
Make Sure your Visor is Clean
The visors of motorcycle helmets are usually attached to frames that come in different shapes or sizes. They all tend to be designed aerodynamically so air flows over them smoothly when motorcycles move with great speed.
When these visors become dirty due to dust, dirt, or oil deposited by exhausts, riders cannot see properly because the visor will reflect light right back to motorcyclists’ eyes.
This is why motorcyclists need to make sure that their helmet’s visors are clean all the time so they can have a clear vision of what lies ahead of them while riding on motorbikes at night.
Always Ride Slowly & With Caution
Even if motorcyclists are wearing the best motorcycle accessories that can increase their visibility during nighttime, motorcyclists should still ride slowly and with caution because they might not be able to see objects on the road ahead of them properly.
This is why motorcyclists need to make sure that they always drive safely by looking out for any possible dangers or obstacles on the road while staying alert all throughout their trip.
Always remember that the thrill of speed can come to a sudden end, in a matter of split seconds. So, never compromise on your life.
“Don’ts” for Riding a Motorcycle at Night
1) Do Not Drive into the Glare of Oncoming Traffic
2) Do Not Ride Outside the Range of your Headlights
3) Do Not Use Dark-tinted Visor
4) Do Not Stop at Empty Stretches of Roads
Do Not Drive into the Glare of Oncoming Traffic
Do not drive blindly into the glare of the other lane of the road because motorcyclists cannot see properly if their eyes are blinded by bright light.
This is why motorcyclists need to make sure that they keep a safe distance between them and any other vehicle ahead of them so they will avoid driving straight into another motorist’s headlights, which can greatly reduce motorbikes’ visibility at night.
Don’t Ride Outside the Range of your Headlights
Riders should also remember never to ride outside the range or reach of their motorcycle headlight beams especially during nighttime when there are no street lamps around on which the riders could rely, for additional illumination.
This is because motorcycles have limited lighting capacity since it only comes from one single source which tends to be very far-reaching.
This is why motorcyclists need to make sure that they are riding within the range of their motorbike headlight beams at night or in any other dimly lit environment so motorbikes’ visibility will not be compromised. This will in turn avoid any fatal accidents from happening.
Don’t Use Dark-tinted Visor
It is also important for motorcyclists never to use dark tinted visors because these can reduce riders’ vision even further during nighttime.
Visibility is everything during nighttime. A dark-tinted visor could potentially become dangerous if motorcyclists cannot see clearly enough what lies ahead of them through those visors while driving on a motorbike.
Do Not Stop at Empty Stretches of Roads
Motorcyclists should also make sure never to stop at empty stretches of roads because motorbikes’ visibility is very limited during nighttime if nothing else.
Also, if anything gets stuck to the tire of your motorcycle, or you suddenly encounter an obstacle, do not get off your bike but try to move into a locality as early as possible. At night on long and empty roads, the chances of snatching also increase exponentially.
Conclusion
Riding a motorbike at night, or in any dimly lit environment for that matter should always be taken seriously and motorcyclists need to make sure that they are driving safely all the time.
This is why motorcyclists must know exactly what not to do while riding during nighttime as well as knowing how to go about it the right way. Always remember that avoidance remains a priority over speed & thrills!
This is why motorcyclists need to make sure that they are not compromising on their own life and the lives of other road users by taking unnecessary chances or risks while riding a motorbike during nighttime. Always drive safely, no matter how much fun it may seem like you’re having.
