Some Cardinal Rules For Motorcyclists


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Rule 1- Never overtake from the left because car drivers will flick to the left in an emergency and from a legal point of view they will have no responsibility. The car may only get a dent but the biker may die in that scenario.

Rule 2-Wear your helmet always. Preferably a branded,full faced helmet. Light colours are the best. I use a yellow colour which can be easily picked up in the background. Light coloured clothing is best suited.

Rule 3-Never zip around traffic at high speeds and in traffic snarls avoid driving into the opposite lane risking head on collisions. Ride behind a car maintaining a safe distance.

Rule 4-Rely on both brakes. First the back then the front. Back brake alone will not stop the bike while front alone will result in a fall.

Rule 5-Use hand signals for right turns.

Rule 6-Give priority to other vehicles never insist on right of way.

Rule 7-On narrow roads if a vehicle is approaching never try to squeeze through just stop and let him pass.

Rule 8- Try to stick to sub urban two lane roads and when on 4 lane roads never drive on the right track throughout. Overtake,signal left join left track. For highways I recommend driving on the left track always.

Rule 9- At intersections use horn and slow down and visually check for oncoming traffic.

Rule 10-Select a bike that suits your skill. Unless highly skilled stay away from high cc bikes as our roads are not developed for them. Last not the least check vital parts like brakes, indicators,tyres,chain etc before a ride.

These points are hardwired into my brain thanks to the experiences I had on our roads for years. It is sad that we have driving schools but motorcycle safety is unheard of here. In the west motorcycling is a passion and they have mandatory safety courses. Here the roads are more dangerous but no safety courses. One wrong move and the biker is dead that's how serious motorcycling is. I still ride my beloved RX100 because of my passion for motorcycling. Motorcycles are more fun than any car but they are inherently unsafe so riding a motorcycle is a skill that requires a lot of patience and proper judgement.
 
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You have really managed to jort it down in a very easy to understand way. I always follow these 3 things

1. Dont do anything that will make you fall (you/ your bike) --->>> overspeeding, sudden braking, hard cornering, blind overtaking etc
2. Dont do anything that will get you (your bike) in contact with any moving/stationary object --->>> blind overtaking, zig zag style riding, not keeping distance with opther vehicles on road, driving fast in school lanes/busy roads etc
3. Follow traffic rules as much as possible (keeping in mind the above 2 points).

Cheers
 
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Roman, you have nicely wrote the points related to bikers safety. I would like to add one more rule,

Rule 11 - Switch on your headlights in low beam when there is cloudy weather, your visibility is your safety. Don't ever ride by keeping headlights switched off at night times.
 
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my bit - frequently have a look at the rear view mirrors so as not to get hit from behind. also while making a turn make sure that there is no vehicles near your rear.
 
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Never overtake a vehicle at a limited time and space, it is best to calculate the speed of the ahead moving vehicles + the time which we need to overtake (depends on torque) + the opposite oncoming vehicles time as fast as possible. This is where we Indians make a major mistake.

Switch off the indicators when you have finished turning as this can be confusing for vehicles behind you when it is not switched off. (Facing this problem every day because of the vehicles before me not switching off).
 
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Sad to see Indian motorcyclists riding disregarding safety. Though I am very passionate about riding I am concerned about safety. Pillions should also be made to wear helmets. The way Indian women sits behind in sarees makes the bike highly unstable. I dream about most Indians driving cars to work and motorcycles being used by passionate riders on weekends not by the aam admi as a mode of transportation on busy four lane roads. We need something similar of the U.S MSF course in India. Once I had a chance to meet Mr RishiRaj Singh the then commissioner of Transport and had a chat with him on this aspect he was really interested in starting a safety course on the lines of MSF and expressed his displeasure on the current state of affairs.

I think this concern for safety of motorcylists drove Ratan Tata to work on Tata Nano. I really hate car manufacturers for cutting corners on safety but with the Nano, tata did a noble work,trying to make Indian families shift from bikes to nano. Nano is much safer than a bike in the hands of an average Indian. I personally still call nano India's model-t despite it's failures considering the firm's noble intentions. I think Indians should stop using bikes as their primary mode of transportation and rely on cars like nanos and 800s.
 
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my bit - frequently have a look at the rear view mirrors so as not to get hit from behind. also while making a turn make sure that there is no vehicles near your rear.
+1.
But the actual situation today is alomost 90% bikers remove the mirrors on the same day they take delivery of the bike. [frustration]
I hardly see any bike on road which has got rear view mirrors.
 
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Some from my end too:

1. When in jam Thou shall not clog the space but pushing the bike as fas as it goes.
2. When in jam on single lane road thou shall not block the lane for incoming traffice
3. Thou shall not drive on footpaths
4. Thou shall not hit the cars rear view mirrors while in slow moving traffic.
5. Thou shall drive in wrong directions on road
6. Thou shall not have more than two people riding on one bike.
 
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and some from me this is for biker groups especially. as the group rides have increased now a days. its become common to flood the roads when there is a group ride.
1. always maintain a line while riding in the group so that it doesnt cause problems to other motorists.
2. always use hand signal to communicate with the rest behind you.
3. always wear safety gears while riding.
4. please do not go as a group covering all the lanes of the road when doing a group ride which creates a nuisance among public.
5. Always respect other motorists the road is theirs as much as it is your's.
6. do not overtake on turns. this might be dangerous.
 

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