The Importance of Safety Gear for Motorcycle Riders
When you ride your motorcycle, you want to look good, feel comfortable, and stay safe. The essential list of safety equipment for motorcycle riders usually includes a helmet, heavy-duty jacket, long pants, boots, gloves, and goggles if your helmet doesn’t come equipped with a visor. And while some might view this as a dress code for riding, or an opportunity to make a fashion statement, there’s actually a very good reason why anyone who rides should dress accordingly. Afterall, it’s called “safety” gear for a reason.
Cycle Trader checked in with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) to find out why this gear is more than just a way to look good while out on the road. Keep reading to learn more about the importance of safety gear for motorcycle riders.
Helmets
The federal government started requiring states to enact universal motorcycle helmet laws through The Highway Safety Act of 1966. The incentive was to give each state access to certain federal transportation funds. It took a while to catch on, but by 1975, universal helmet laws were in effect in 47 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The only states that don’t have a universal helmet law are Illinois, Iowa, and New Hampshire.
Just as it was when the U.S. required all front-seated passengers to wear safety belts in cars (again, except in New Hampshire), many motorcyclists didn’t like being REQUIRED to be safe. But according to the NHTSA, a detailed analysis of 900 motorcycle crashes found that helmeted riders showed significantly lower injury frequency. A more recent analysis from the Crash Outcomes Data Evaluation Systems (CODES) from six states demonstrated that helmets were 35% effective in preventing death and 67% effective in preventing injuries. Riders without a helmet are three times more likely to suffer a brain injury in a crash versus those wearing a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 218-compliant helmet.
Eye Protection
If you’ve ever gone down the road with your motorcycle and have been hit in the face by a bug or had a small pebble kicked up from a vehicle in front of you, you understand how important eye protection is. A good visor, goggles, or sunglasses can help reduce glare and wind from affecting your vision, and they can protect you from eye injury—both while riding or during crashes.
Garments
If you’ve heard the term or experienced road rash before, you know it’s good to stay covered up while you’re riding. Leather jackets, pants, and chaps have been a staple for riders since the beginning of motorcycles for a good reason. According to the NHTSA, the most frequent injury to motorcycle riders during a crash is abrasion. And if you hit the ground hard enough, that extra layer of protection might be the difference between a stiff shoulder and a broken one.
That’s why gloves are important, too. It’s only natural to put your hand out in a fall to brace yourself against the impact, so riding gloves can not only help keep your hands and fingers working the way they are supposed to in colder weather, they can protect you from injuring your hands in a crash.
Good boots are also important. With your feet just inches from the pavement while you’re screaming down the highway, how well do you think a pair of tennis shoes are going to protect your ankles or feet if they get dragged along the road at 60 miles per hour? They might go a few feet, but you’re on your own after that. Wearing boots is also a good way to support your ankles and protect your bones during a crash, especially if you are tumbling.
Rain Gear
Riding in the rain is usually not recommended. However, if you get caught in a storm while you’re out on the road, having a good rain suit will not only help you stay dry, it can protect you from hypothermia. When your clothes are wet and you have a fast breeze blowing over you from the motion of the bike, your core body temperature can drop quickly, which could be dangerous.
Ride Safely
Now that you know what to get and why it’s beneficial, you’re ready to get suited up and go riding. If a motorcycle is one of the items you need to add to your shopping list, CycleTrader.com has a wide variety of makes and models to choose from, whether you’re looking for a new or used bike. Come ride with us.
Barrett Baker
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