If you have a group or solo ride the next morning, your rest today (in the form of a good night sleep) really helps out to stay alert the next day. When you ride, in addition to staying alert, you also need to alert others of your presence to be safe on the road. Here are some tips on these aspects of motorcycle safety.
1. Sleep matters
Your alertness and focus on the road while riding is directly proportional to the quality of sleep you had on previous nights and body fatigue. In my case, if I don't sleep well for a night or few nights and still get up early morning for a long ride then I will surely get sleepy at certain hours of the day. I will yawn and bouts of sleepiness will hit me at around 3pm—4pm or early morning hours. Overall, tiredness from lack of sleep affects focus and concentration while riding.
Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that eating improper food (such as spicy cuisines or eating too much) can affect the sleep later that night.
The lesson to learn here: Try to get good sleep the night before a ride next day. On long rides, if sleepiness hits you badly then find a place and take a nap. Sleepiness will take away your alertness and slow down your reflexes.
2. Attack the senses
Your survival on the road also depends a lot on others being aware of your presence. If you don't want to be hit or crushed accidentally by other vehicles then their drivers should be aware of your presence when you are around or approaching them. And, they will know about your presence only when their senses are alerted of you being in the vicinity.
The two most active senses are eyes and ears when someone is on the road. So, I always prefer to have a loud horn and bright lights on my motorcycle. I don't care what others tell me on this subject or what the legal technicalities are. In India, especially in the Northern parts, others are not going to be courteous and lay down rose petals for you to pass them. They will be aggressive and forcefully make way for themselves. They will not look whether you are behind them, they can turn in any direction in front of you or even brake suddenly to check their phone. Some behaviors are just bizarre.
The roads in India are extremely dangerous and anybody can jump on the road from anywhere, anytime. People are also aggressive and overly assertive on roads. You must use your bike horn and lights to attack their senses at all times, for your own safety. The more they see and hear you, the less are the chances that they will come too close to you or make a sudden move near you. After all, nobody in his right mind would want to kill you or hit your bike. Now I don't ask you to blare your bike's horn non-stop or flash all your bike lights on people's faces. In that case, for sure someone will want to run over you and your bike.
Sometimes, you pass through a blind 4-side intersection where you can't see what's coming from the right or left side roads, always blow your horn. Sometimes, when you overtake between two trucks or between a large vehicle and the median (the middle wall/section that divides roads), always, remember ALWAYS, alert others of your presence before overtaking or crossing a blind intersection.
You could also wear high-visibility fluorescent jacket, pant, helmet or put stickers on the motorcycle and accessories for greater visibility, especially at night.
The lesson to learn here: When you are out riding, always alert others of your presence. Expect people and vehicles to appear suddenly in front of you or from the side, and when you sense such a possibility, reach out to your bike's horn or high-beam/aux light button, and let them know your presence by attacking their senses.
3. Loud motorcycle exhaust helps
This is a bit of a catch-22 situation, a paradox. On the one hand I love the sound of loud exhausts on inline -3 and -4 engines but on the other, I really get annoyed with them if I hear them for long, especially on long road trips. Also, it is not legal to have them on most Indian roads. Moreover, most superbike riders are Chapris who have no civil sense and will use loud exhausts to compensate for their low self confidence level.
From the safety point of view, I would absolutely prefer having a loud exhaust on my motorcycle. Most drivers here behave like a Buffalo. I am not even sure whether most of them have active senses while driving. They can turn in any direction ahead of you and when you are about to overtake them, they can suddenly decide to smash you to the side like you are a mosquito. So, to wake them up from coma and let them know that you are near them, your motorcycle's loud exhaust can save you in addition to having a loud horn and bright lights.
But, beware, loud exhausts can also lead to accidents.
Learn about the pros and cons of having a loud aftermarket exhaust on your bike by visiting this section later, article coming soon.
The lesson to learn here: Loud exhausts can act as an additional layer of protection by letting others know that a fast motorcycle is coming. Make sure your arrival is heard and felt by other drivers on the road, especially before you overtake them. Nobody would want to hit you intentionally, so jiggle their senses a little with a loud motorcycle exhaust.
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