The days will soon be shorter and the night will fall earlier
thanks to the end of Daylight Saving Time, and everyone will have
to remember to be extra careful on the road in the dark –
especially motorcyclists.
Hollister – The days will soon be shorter and the night will fall earlier thanks to the end of Daylight Saving Time, and everyone will have to remember to be extra careful on the road in the dark – especially motorcyclists.
Dangerous conditions for motorcyclists don’t necessarily increase during the nighttime hours, but they are harder to recognize, according to motorcycle rider and California Highway Patrol officer George Ramirez.
“Because of the lower light conditions, (bikers) aren’t able to see debris, diesel, or slicks from a big rig on the road at night,” Ramirez said. “They might see it and think it’s water or a shadow and not be able to tell that it’s not.”
Other potential hazards could include patches of gravel on the road or items that have fallen off the back of a truck in front of the motorcycle, according to Motorcycle Safety Foundation spokesman Mike Mount.
Ramirez said dusk is also a high-risk time to ride.
“(The motorcyclists) come around the corners and they can be blinded. And if it’s a blind corner, the car coming from the other direction might go a little bit over the yellow line when they turn. They don’t mean to, but they could hit you,” he said.
If you do ride your motorcycle at night, Mount and officer Ramirez have a few tips to minimize your risk of an accident.
“Mostly it’s pretty common sense stuff,” said Mount. “Slow down, reduce your speed a little bit. Especially if you don’t know the road. You can use the headlights of the car in front of you to scan the road ahead of you, and if you see a car’s tail lights moving up and down in front of you, it means there’s uneven pavement.”
Mount also suggested wearing reflective clothing to be more easily visible to car drivers, wearing a helmet with a clear face screen rather than a tinted one, and increasing your following distance, or the distance between your motorcycle and the car ahead of you, “so you have more time to react.”
Ramirez’s tips include using your highbeams when applicable, making sure you have a good visual horizon and can see far ahead down the road, and being aware of your surroundings.
“Especially if you’re out in a rural area, you need to be aware of animals,” Ramirez said. “In areas like the Santa Cruz mountains, we’ve had deer jump out and the motorcyclists crash into them.”
South County Organized Rider Education instructor Jim Pereyra recommends taking a formal class to help lower your risk for accident.
“Low visibility, winter driving, all that stuff is part of what we cover in our classes. The key is, you can’t eliminate hazards, that’s not the kind of world we live in. But you can manage them,” he said.
Jessica Quandt is a staff writer for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at
jq*****@fr***********.com
.
