The Texas Department of Transportation’s “Look, Learn, Live” motorcycle safety and awareness campaign offers great tips, practices, and reminders for drivers and riders alike. These three simple themes offer statistics and techniques that can save lives.

The majority of motorcycle and vehicle crashes occur when an automobile driver turns left in front of a motorcycle rider. It is easy for a driver to misjudge the motorcycle’s speed and distance if they see the rider at all. This is why it is so important to look before making a left turn, especially at intersections by double checking the cross traffic.

Drivers should always double check their blind spot. This is an important rule for the safety of all commuters, but especially so when it comes to motorcycles. The narrow profile of a motorcycle can easily wind up out of your line of vision, and the sight of your mirrors.

While motorcycles take up less space in a lane, they still require the same amount of time to react. Never tailgate a motorcycle rider. Allow for the same amount of space as you would any other vehicle, a four second following distance.

There's no substitute for a good teacher. It has been proven that riders with training crash less often, and survive crashes more often than untrained riders. Most states require that you take a class to receive an motorcycle endorsement on your driver's license. For instance, you are required to take The Course for Motorcycle Riders to receive a motorcycle driver’s license in Texas. To find out if a motorcycle safety course is required in your state, please contact your local DMV branch.

In any case, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation provides a Basic RiderCourse for new and beginning riders. This class will improve your riding skills and teach maneuvering strategies for escaping unsafe situations, and how to avoid them altogether. And more experienced rides can take the Experienced RiderCourse. This course offers teams of seasoned riders that all provide their own equipment and lesson in high speed maneuvering, traction, control, and emergency braking are taught.

But most of all, the most important thing you can do is wear a helmet and other protective gear such as appropriate footwear, gloves, and long pants. In addition:

• Wear brightly colored clothing
• Always have your headlights on
• Always signal
• Actively scan
• Never ride impaired
• Conduct a safety check before every ride

The next time you get behind the wheel, or start your bike be prepared to look, remember what you’ve learned, and live.

Our industry takes pride in advancing safety in all aspects of life. Deep South Crane & Rigging, LLC's marketing team has prepared this content with the intent that it be shared as potential safety topics used to start meetings industry wide. We have used website resources that are sourced via links throughout the article and do not claim to be an expert on this topic.