With motorcycles not having the barrier like a car between you and the road if you were to have an accident it is very important for you to be extremely road conscious. The courses that you go on before even being able to ride a motorcycle should teach you most of what you need to know but some of what you need to know or be aware of is common sense to most riders. It is important for you to learn what to expect from all kinds of roads not just town roads where most carry out their training. Here are some examples of what you should know:
Country roads – The main advice given on riding motorcycles along country roads is to make sure you go slowly round corners to avoid hitting any on coming traffic. This is especially if the road is very narrow, however, it is possible for you to read the direction of the road by things like the trees or bushes along the side of the road. - Over taking – When over taking on a motorcycle you need to be aware of the space between you and other vehicles, you need to take into consideration how much space you have to the side of the vehicle your over taking and how much space is in front of the vehicle for you to move into. As well as space you need to take into account the direction of the road for example if the road was going round a corner it wouldn’t be a wise idea to over take any vehicle no matter how much space you think you have as you can’t see clearly what is round the corner. Also with hills its not advised that you over take any vehicles because you won’t have a clear vision of what is on the other side of the hill.
Visibility – Making sure you are visible to other road users when riding a motorcycle is essential because it’s when you aren’t wearing any high visibility clothing that accidents happen. There are plenty of products available from jackets to high visibility strips that you can attach to different parts of clothing such as the back of your jacket or leg of trousers.
Before riding a motorcycle make sure you have all the required qualifications and training before going on the road. The main test you need to ensure you have is your CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) certificate and you will also need to have passed your theory test before being able to legally ride a motorcycle on the roads.