7 Dangerous Mistakes Two-wheeler Commuters Make in The Philippines

Do you use a motorcycle for daily commutes? Millions of people around the world, especially in Southeast-Asia and Asia-Pacific (including the Philippines) use two-wheelers for commuting to their places of work. If you see the statistics, accident involving two-wheeler riders often happen because of a few simple mistakes that can be easily avoided by being aware of time in the first place. With that in mind, here are 7 dangerous mistakes that you should never make especially if you ride a two-wheeler.

1. Riding without safety gears 

The most common and most dangerous mistake people make not using the proper writing safety gives. The most essential and minimum of all riding gears is a branded premium helmet. In addition to that, you are also going to need other riding safety gears such as a glove and riding jacket. But if you do not want to spend money on those yet, do not assume that a helmet is also optional! Do not cut corners when it comes to motorcycle Riding safety gears. Save the money and invest in a premium motorcycle helmet, and other riding safety gears as well. These will last your lifetime and keep on protecting you against the dangers on the road. the only thing that you need to look for is reliable brands, and relevant safety certifications that are applicable in your country. 

2. Crossing lanes without signaling 

Many motorcycle riders, as well as two-wheeler riders often cross lanes, or get out of a side road without signaling properly or waiting for other people to have the time to see that you are trying to change the Lane. Just signaling is not enough, it is always important to check the rear-view mirror for approaching vehicles and give them enough time to respond to your intentions as well. Only when everything is clear and safe, change the lane. This also depends on the average speed after road you are on. When you were riding on a high-speed motorway/highway, every vehicle is at high speeds so the brakes might not be as effective in bringing down the speed quickly. That means, you will have to wait a little bit longer for other motorists to acknowledge and respond to your intention of changing the lane. 

3. Removing rear-view mirrors 

In crowded road conditions, it might seem like a smart decision to remove the rearview mirrors in order to squeeze past small gaps in the traffic easily. However, that is a deadly mistake that should never be made. Without the rearview mirror you cannot look behind you for vehicles approaching at high speeds. Whenever making loose speeds maneuvers come up with in the city, the danger might not be as grave, but when you are riding at high speed on the highway, the inability to check for everything vehicles behind can lead to fatal accidents! Instead of completely removing the rear-view mirrors, you can opt for aftermarket options that are smaller and yet give you a clear view of what's behind. Do not remove the rear-view mirrors even if other people you know are doing it, because you never know when a vehicle behind you is distracted with their mobile phones - an if they cannot see you, at least you have to see them in order to avoid hitting them. 

4. Listening to loud music while riding 

Making long distance commutes daily might be a boring endeavor! In order to avoid the boredom, many people use earphones to listen to music when they're riding a motorcycle! That is one of the most fundamental mistakes of riding a motorcycle. Situational awareness can make the difference between life and death on the road. If you are completely distracted by loud music blaring in your ears, you cannot hear other vehicles in and around you which can lead to a bad decision, or a complete mistake which can put you right in front of another vehicle because you could not hear them! Premium branded helmets with Bluetooth connectivity make it simple for you to stay connected with people on the go, as well as to listen to music, but always make sure that the volume is down so that you can hear everything happening around you.

5. Riding under the influence of alcohol 

Do you often find yourself making the mistake of riding a motorcycle under the influence of alcohol? Many people are guilty of taking that they can overpower the chemical effect of alcohols on their brain! This overconfidence often leads to accidents. While we are not totally against drinking or having fun, you should not definitely mix it with riding a motorcycle-or even driving a car. If you had a little too much to drink, consider keeping the motorcycle powered safely where it is, and take a cab home. 

6. Being invisible to other motorists 

Both visibility and being visible to other people is extremely important especially when you have a small footprint operating a motorcycle. Other motorists, especially those on taller vehicles cannot easily see people riding motorcycles or bicycles, which is why it becomes even more important for them to make themselves even more clearly visible. One way to do that is to wear brightly colored bran-new motorcycle riding gears and attaching reflective tapes on the surface after motorcycle. You can also attach a little bit of reflective tape on the backside of the Premier motorcycle helmet so that it lights up when headlight falls on it. Do not make the mistake of wearing dark motorcycle riding gears and black helmets while riding in the dark. Being visible to others is even more important in places where the street-lighting infrastructure is inadequate. 

7. Expecting others to protect 

Do you make rash decision eventually jumping in front of other vehicles and expecting them to apply emergency brakes to save you? Well, that might work once in a while, but there is no guarantee that somebody might not see you and hit you instead! Do not expect others to protect you or leave your safety in the hands of strangers. Everyone has their own priority of reaching destinations as fast as possible, and if a motorcycle rider suddenly jumps in front of them, it might be too late for them to apply the brakes which will result in a catastrophic accident and since a motorcycle is less protected then a car, the motorcycle rider will be the worse for it!