Motorcycle Awareness Month creates awareness around bike safety

POLOKWANE – May is Motorcycle Awareness Month and the focus is on creating awareness around bike safety among motorcyclists and motorists alike.
Review spoke to former Sapa Yopa motorcycle club president, Sarel Nong, on the subject. He said that riding a motorcycle is a lifestyle for many but there are safety measures each biker should take. He also stressed that riding a bike comes with responsibility and that there are serious consequences to riding dangerously.
“Being a biker means you first and foremost have a duty to be the best driver, keeping yourself and other bikers safe. With this in mind, there is a biker code that will never allow a fellow biker to ride recklessly and it is a responsibility to get bikers that do misbehave in check. If you ride two wheels, you are a biker and you need to get with the programme and take an oath to be safe and keep the roads safe,” Nong said.
He urged all road users to be aware and safe as they go on different journeys and to look out for each other.

Arrive Alive has also been creating awareness on this matter, giving safety tips for bikers and other motorists on the road.

These include:

1. Passenger car drivers must allow greater following distance behind a motorcycle.

2. Drivers must also show extra caution at intersections. Most crashes occur when a driver fails to see a motorcyclist and turns left in front of a motorcycle.

3. Drivers should never try to share a lane with a motorcycle. Always give a motorcycle the full lane width.

4. Motorcyclists should avoid riding in poor weather conditions.

5. Motorcyclists should position their motorcycles to avoid a driver’s blind spot.

6. Motorcyclists must use turn signals for every turn or lane change.
riana@nmgroup.co.za