It was a typical Thursday afternoon when Pueblo police got the call. There was another motorcycle crash off of Interstate 25, at least the second in three weeks. When they arrived at the scene, they found a 26-year-old motorcyclist dead, and a distraught driver. The woman said she hadn’t seen the motorcycle. This is an all too common occurrence for riders: unfortunately, drivers are more tuned into other cars on the road than motorcycles, but there are things you can do to help yourself be seen while you’re out riding.

7 Tips To Make Sure Your Motorcycle Gets Noticed

1. Wear Bright Colors: Motorcyclists themselves make up most of the visible parts of a motorcycle, so making yourself bright and colorful automatically makes your bike stick out a bit more.
2. Have A Bright Paint Job: When you choose your bike, or you get a paint job for your bike, make sure the color of your bike is bright and eye-catching. People are more likely to notice a bright red bike over a black or gray one.
3. Add Some Lights: Many people will talk about how light strips or auxiliary lights are tacky, but at night they broadcast your presence like nothing else. If you can’t get more lights, consider slapping some reflective tape on your bike to enhance your night time profile.
4. Tap Your Brakes: Brake lights are good at alerting the drivers behind you about situations ahead, so if you see that traffic is slowing down ahead, make sure to tap a little warning out to the vehicle behind you so the situation doesn’t surprise them.
5. Brights On: Another trick to increasing your visibility is to run your brights in the day time. Though high-beams can blind people at night, they don’t have the same effect during the daylight, and they might actually make you a little more noticeable.
6. Avoid The Blindspots: Staying in a vehicle’s blind spot is like leaving your life in that car driver’s hands. If the driver can’t see you, then they don’t think you’re there, so never linger in areas where you know drivers would have a tough time seeing you.
7. Don’t Spare The Horn: We’re not saying lay into your horn every time a situation is sketchy, but a light “toot toot” never hurt anyone, and it tends to draw attention to where the sound came from. For a similar effect, some riders also put noisy exhaust systems on their bikes, but some cities ban loud exhausts, so sticking to the horn is probably best.

A message brought to you by the motorcycle accident lawyers at the Metier Law Firm.