Riding a motorcycle in the city is not the same as riding on the open road—not even close. When on the open road, the only things you have to worry about is the wind, the cars behind you and maybe a deer crossing your path. When in the city, you have to worry about cars on all sides of you, pedestrians stepping out into the middle of the street, bikers, street vendors, pigeons and potholes. Fortunately, you can protect yourself from these city hazards by investing in the right motorcycle apparel and following a few safety tips.

Stay On High Alert

As a biker, you always need to be on high alert, but as a biker in the city, your alert level needs to go from orange to red. Make like a bobble head and scan your environment—ahead of you, your mirrors, your blind spots, side to side and back to front—over and over again. Your neck may get a workout, but that’s much better than your body taking a beating.

Stay Visible

Do this in two ways. First, deck yourself out in the brightest colors available. Neon green is your friend, and orange is the new black. If you look like a traffic cone, you’re safe. If you look like the pavement, you may end up meeting it.

The second way you can stay visible is by riding in the open. If possible, stay ahead of the packs. Stay out of blind spots at all costs (have you seen the way those taxi drivers drive?!), and whenever possible, avoid the flow of traffic.

Watch Surface Conditions

Sometimes it’s not the other drivers that are the problem, it’s the roads. City roads collect a lot of water, debris and damage. During your bobble head cycle, make sure to scan the road at least a hundred feet ahead, that way if there is a danger you can safely avoid it.

Of course, gear plays a huge role in keeping you safe. Shop the motorcycle helmets for sale and more at BikeBandit.com to protect yourself when vigilance is not enough.

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