Friday, 8 April 2011

Why You must Get A Motorcycle Safety Vest

By Seamus Smith


All our family members are into sports. We either bike, jog, swim, play tennis or hike. We love having an active lifestyle and be physically fit. Since we want to stay that way, these activities are made as safe as possible, especially when biking or jogging on the road. When my son was very young, biking was our family's favorite pastime. We bike around the neighborhood even until the sun goes down. Though this wasn't that long ago, we didn't have any protective gear. We simply got on our bikes and whisked away! However, things nowadays have changed all that.

I hate to accept it, but the world is not safe - with cars rushing at full speed and negligence. When you get in the car, you have to exercise defensive driving - and that goes the same for biking and jogging. Even though I prefer doing these activities on the hills and alleyways, there are risks still. Therefore, to lessen the likelihood of being harmed, I persuaded all the family members to wear a protective head gear, and a reflective vest if done during nightfall, late in the evening or at sunrise in particular. Most often, we do not ride on the road at nights.

There are more precautionary measures you can take to ensure your safety on the road. Obviously the goal is to avoid getting hit or run off the road. You want to be as visible as possible, so adding a headlight to your bike will help. Helmet lights too are important since you can gaze at the driver to make certain he sees you. There are many countries that require bells on bikes, so adding a horn is a good idea. If you have to take off, slow down so that the incoming car won't hit you. Watch out for drivers getting out of parked cars, don't ride on sidewalks, against the traffic, stop behind a car at a stop sign or light instead of beside it - this makes sure you are seen by other drivers, use your mirror before turning, never ever move without looking behind you first, don't weave in and out of traffic or parking lots and never make a turn without using a signal. Make sure that your headlight and taillight are on whenever you ride at night. Use a vest that reflects lights. Choose streets that are spacious, streets with slow traffic and side streets on weekends. Obeying the traffic laws and making sure you have the proper protective gear and equipment will give you the best possible odds of avoiding injury.

A lot of safety tips in biking can be applied in jogging as well. Wear a gear with reflectors, take off your headphones (applicable to biking also), and be alert always of your environment. Sharing the road with traffic whether you are a jogger or biker also presents the hazard of respiratory problems due to the fumes from exhaust. You can inhale a lot of carbon monoxide in a very short time including dirt and debris. However, it is rarely the only choice people have.

So the best thing to do is to protect yourself as much as you can and the one of the best ways is to make sure you are seen on the road and an orange or yellow reflective vest will provide safe visibility.




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