Five Things Motorcycle Passengers Should Do to Stay Safer
Riding as a passenger can be cool, romantic, or just plain fun. There is no doubt about the appeal of taking off on an odyssey of self-discovery similar to that of Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Jack Nicholson in “Easy Rider.” But although it wasn’t covered in the movie, there are risks of being a motorcycle passenger.
Crashing on a motorcycle can be 30 times as likely to end in death because there’s no protection between you and the ground. Riding as a passenger increases the chances of having an accident if the driver tries to run full throttle to give you a thrill or scare.
Safety: Your First Concern when Piggybacking on a Motorcycle
The following tips cover what you should do as a passenger to ensure safety.
1. Have Confidence in Your Driver
You can’t have confidence in your driver unless you ask some questions about their safety practices. You should also ask the driver whether they have experience riding with a passenger. It is an important question because riding with a passenger changes the whole dynamic. It’s foolish to trust your life to a newbie rider with zero experience with passengers.
Ask about whether the driver has any safety gear you can use. An experienced motorcycle driver is aware that a passenger may increase the risk of a crash, so they usually go through some details that include not making sudden moves, trying to match the driver’s moves, and being extra careful on curves.
2. Work Out an Escape Plan
Riding as a passenger terrifies many people, so it’s important to work out a plan to opt out if you can’t handle it. The driver should agree to end the ride at your request.
Responsible drivers will halt the ride as requested because an uncooperative passenger increases the danger of crashing. If you are afraid to return home, the driver should stay with you until a friend, taxicab, or Uber picks you up.
3. Gear Up
It’s dangerous to ride as a passenger without the standard safety gear that the driver uses. Looking cool is not your top priority –safety is. That means wearing protective clothing even when it’s hot outdoors. Sandals, cutoffs, and t-shirts aren’t safe to wear for passengers.
If you expect riding as a passenger to become a regular activity, you might invest in glasses or goggles, leather gloves, and a perfectly sized helmet. Most motorcyclists keep a spare helmet for passengers.
Never agree to ride without a DOT-approved helmet, the most critical type of protective gear. Even a pair of jeans provide little protection against rashes if you fall off the bike and slide, so leather protection is preferable.
4. Know the Weather Forecast
It is critical to know the riding conditions you’ll face before getting on a motorcycle as a passenger. The lack of a windshield intensifies any discomfort from wind, cold, and precipitation. Exposure to rainfall while riding can easily up the risk of doing something stupid that may cause a crash.
5. Keep Your Feet on the Foot Pegs
Once you mount up, you should place your feet on the footpegs and keep them there throughout the ride. Moving your feet during the ride is one of the easiest ways to disrupt the pilot’s balance. The pilot can move their feet freely because they know how to compensate for the changes in balance.
Responsibilities of a Driver to the Passenger
Before a ride, a motorcycle driver has a duty of care to ensure that passengers get briefed on basic safety precautions. Sharing rides with friends can be fun, but the entire process should involve some forethought and preparation. If the driver doesn’t take all the necessary safety measures to ensure passengers stay safe, they could be held liable for a motorcycle accident. You can read more here about motorcycle accident liability.
About the author:
Early in his journalism career, Kerry L. Tucker had a revelation: there were not enough experts reporting on law issues. Legal matters are part of daily life. Yet, there seems to be a general aversion towards them. One of the main reasons for this is that the convoluted legal language is difficult for many people to follow. Therefore, he decided to change how the law is perceived by the public. Throughout his career, he met with many people who shared their personal stories with him. Some of these hit him harder. One of the cases that stayed with him and influenced his future career development was a car accident case involving a child. From then on, he decided to zero in on car accident lawsuits.
