Motorcycle Safety Tips for Cold Weather

Rs Law Offices/Our blog/Motorcycle Safety Tips for Cold Weather

Motorcycle Safety Tips for Cold Weather

02/01/2023

Driving any vehicle in cold weather and especially snow is going to make for a much more difficult time than driving in dry, comfortable weather. With enough preparation and all of the right gear, it is possible to mitigate many of these problems, but without them, you run the risk of a deadly accident. Before you head out in the snow or in cold weather, always get your bike checked by a trusted mechanic to make sure the machine itself is ready for cold weather riding. Here are some general tips for safe motorcycle driving in the winter.


Preparing Your Bike for Winter

Your bike is likely going to take longer to start in the colder weather, as most motorcycles are equipped with batteries and fluids suited for riding the other three seasons of the year.

  • Equip your bike with a cold weather battery,
    especially if yours struggles to start in the cold
  • Make sure your oil is also suited to cold
    weather – if not, your mechanic may recommend a thinner oil
  • Your mechanic will also be able to recommend any
    other cold weather fluids your bike might need

Preparing Your Gear for Winter

If the bike is ready for cold weather, you need to be ready. Helmets, pads, jackets, boots and gloves are all important, year-round, but you should suit up with temperature-appropriate gear, too.

  • Whatever you have, get the warmer version of it
    – this goes for the jacket, boots, gloves – everything
    • The wind makes the air feel colder, especially once
      you’re up to road speed – make sue everything is insulted
    • You run the risk of frostbite or hypothermia in
      windy, cold, exposed conditions
  • Consider heated gear, if possible, to better
    protect from the cold
  • A standard-issue visor may fog up in the cold, so
    consider a full-face helmet for the cold, preferably with an anti-fog visor or electric
    defrost built in

Winter Motorcycle Riding Tips

You know that driving on ice and snow it degrees harder than riding on a dry street, but there are some basics you should keep in mind if you are stuck out there:

  • Don’t ride in the snow – you can usually wait it
    out, or simply wait to ride when there’s no snow, even if its cold out
  • Drive slower – you can’t risk skidding out or
    being unable to brake fast enough, causing an
    accident
  • Keep more distance between yourself and other
    vehicles
  • Wear high-visibility gear and lights to avoid
    being hit

Check in With Yourself

You should keep an eye on how your body is reacting as you ride, too. If you’re cold, there’s a chance you won’t have the best control of your bike. Your sensitivity can be dulled and your reaction times can be slower.

  • Don’t ride if you aren’t feeling up to it – the
    cold could be the difference between a safe ride and a dangerous one
  • Check in with other riders on group rides to
    make sure everyone is okay to continue
  • Take breaks if anyone is uneasy or tired during
    the ride

blogs

You might like

Five Helpful Facts About Dog Bites

Dog bites are not only relatively common, but they can be incredibly dangerous. If you’re bitten by a dog, you run the risk of the obvious wound to your flesh or bone, but you also are at risk for an infection, including tetanus and rabies. It can be helpful to know how to treat such […]

19/09/2022
Read more

Top 4 Personal Injury Myths

Personal injury cases are more rampant than you can ever imagine. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, about 31 million of the injuries that occur every year often call for medical care.  Considering their prevalence, it comes as no surprise that there are so many myths and misconceptions surrounding personal injury. Think you got […]

16/11/2020
Read more

Top 5 Reasons Why You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer

Accidents happen almost every time and sometimes so fast that you don’t have time to figure out the way forward. True, you might end up feeling stressed up because of the piling medical bills. The pilling finances might drain you, thus rendering you unable to work. Statistics reveal that more than 31 million people are […]

28/12/2020
Read more

What You Need to Know about Pain and Suffering in a Personal Injury Case

After a personal injury, you’re typically entitled to claim compensation for two types of damages; economic and non-economic. Economic damages are usually easy to quantify, and commonly include medical bills and lost wages. Non-economic damages on the other hand are difficult to measure, and often include pain and suffering. But what exactly is pain and […]

25/06/2021
Read more

Winter Rideshare Safety Tips

Winter driving is no joke in general. Everyone needs to slow down and be sure to take the proper winter driving precautions, but if you drive a rideshare, your point-to-point driving makes you more vulnerable to getting in an accident than if you were simply driving to and from work. Add to this the dangers […]

27/01/2023
Read more

4 Common Mistakes that Ruin Workers Compensation Claims

Thousands of workers are injured annually while at the workplace. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one worker succumbed to workplace injuries every 99 minutes in 2019, while over 99,000 others retained non-fatal injuries. Despite the prevalence of workplace injuries and the increasing number of workers compensation claims, only a few victims are usually […]

25/01/2021
Read more

How Dangerous are Ride Shares?

Everyone with a smartphone now has access to the next generation of personalized, private transportation. It used to be a matter of calling and reserving a cab or, in some places, hailing one from the side of the road. Since ridesharing is a new phenomenon, however, all of the kinks are still being worked out, […]

02/11/2022
Read more

Rearview Cameras and You

While it was in 2018 that the rearview camera requirement went into effect on all new vehicles, the whole debate started in 2008. That was the year Congress passed a law for automakers to take steps to increase visibility. The debate was prompted by a horrible tragedy where a father accidentally backed over his infant […]

13/08/2021
Read more

Safety Tips for Rideshares

Companies like Uber, Lyft, and others have changed the game when it comes to the gig economy, the taxi industry, and, of course, just getting around in general. For most of us passengers, these ridesharing companies offer an increase in convenience, especially in California where public transport is not entirely dependable. Besides the convenience issue, […]

21/08/2021
Read more

Cell Phones and Accidents on the Road

We have all done it. Even with the headsets, the hands-free devices, and the ability to connect your phone to your car, all of us have reached for the phone while driving. Whether it’s checking a quick text at a stoplight or messing around with your maps app while driving in a new place, the […]

20/12/2021
Read more

contact form

Get in touch

By providing your phone number, you agree to receive text messages from RS Law Offices. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. View our Privacy Policy.