There’s nothing like riding a motorcycle at any time of day, but riding at night presents specific safety challenges that you should prepare for. Safety needs to be the highest priority for every rider.
As the sun goes down, visibility decreases. Since motorcycles are harder to spot than larger vehicles, it’s your job to make sure everyone else on the road can see you coming—and not to take any additional risks. Here are some of our best motorcycle night riding safety tips in Las Vegas, NV.
What to look out for
- Drivers under the influence: Living in or traveling to Las Vegas can be fun, but with that reputation for fun comes a lot of people driving when they shouldn’t be. Driving at night increases the risk that you’ll encounter drunk drivers, especially between the hours of 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. If you see someone who looks like they should be driving, get around them as soon as possible and report them, if you can.
- Animals: Nocturnal animals use the nighttime hours to look for food, among other activities, but sometimes this leads them into the road. Be aware that you may suddenly encounter an animal frozen in your headlights, and remember not to put yourself in danger by swerving to avoid them.
- Obstacles and road hazards: Since your vision is limited at night, it’s much harder to see road hazards in enough time to fully avoid them. Potholes, gravel, sinkholes and debris can lurk in the darkness—as much fun as it might be to speed, following traffic laws while riding a motorcycle at night in Las Vegas, NV is far safer.
How to make yourself visible
- Reflective tape: Since your bike is smaller than most other vehicles, it’s harder for other drivers to see you. You can add reflective tape or stylized decals to your helmet, bike, jacket and backpack to make sure you’re easily spotted when in range of headlights or streetlights.
- High-visibility clothing: It’s never a bad idea to make yourself more visible from head to toe, even in the daytime. Many companies make high-visibility clothing in Dayglo or reflective options (often both) to ensure that everyone sees you coming and going. Wearing high-visibility clothing can reduce your chances of being involved in an accident by 37 percent.
- Lighting: Thanks to LED lights and other aftermarket technology, there are also plenty of lighting options available for your bike. Of course, your bike should have all the legally-required lights, but you can amplify or otherwise improve them. For example, LED headlights are brighter and burn significantly longer, while some headlights send out a low “pulsing” light, making you more visible to traffic. There are also LED flashers and auxiliary lights to ensure that others can see you, and you can see the road.
There are many more nighttime motorcycle riding tips to be had in Las Vegas, NV—learn more about best practices and get ready for the trip of a lifetime when you reach out to the team at EagleRider today.