It is a great feeling to ride on a road under the moonlight and feel the calmness in the environment. In metropolitan cities, although you have to ride with the traffic alongside you even if it is late at night so you need to know a lot about motorcycle riding at night. Our complete guide would give you a number of tips that will be useful for you to drive properly even if there is no moonlight available to accompany you on the road. The vision is quite limited during the night so you have to be extra careful. There are some tips you can follow and enjoy a safe comfortable ride even after dark as you have to make small adjustments.
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Why Is It Hard to Drive at Night?
The human eyes have limited ability to see during the night as the ability to see at a distance gets minimized. Whenever a bright light or high beam hits our eyes we lose vision for a split second in an ordinary situation which could lead to fatal accidents. Once you have experienced the bright light of another headlight it would take some time for you to adjust to the darkness which also makes it harder to drive. So it is better not to look straight at the headlight of a vehicle coming from in front of you and trust on your capability to steer away from any vehicle coming straight towards you.
Change in Your Gear
You can change your gear while traveling at night and use the fluorescent gear which is easily visible to other drivers. You can also use fluorescent clothing that can be seen from a distance and help the other drivers to know about you being on the road. Use reflective panels on your bike to eliminate the factor of any driver hitting you because he/she wasn’t able to see you in the dark. The fluorescent clothing comes in different colors and even if it doesn’t suit your style it does save your life.
Use LED Lights
Using LED lights on your motorcycle will increase your vision as compared to the standard bulbs. LED lights require less power and they produce more light amplifying your chances to have a clearer vision ahead of you. When you replace the bulbs with LED lights you may have to change the flasher too as electronic flasher works with these lights instead of a standard one.
Riding Within the Light
When you are traveling at night your headlights would only give you a clear vision for a limited distance. Try to follow the light and avoid over speeding even if your motorcycle has an incredible stopping power because you need a safe distance from the vehicle ahead of you. Don’t out-ride your light and just focus on traveling within the limited distance being lighten by your headlight.
Take Care of Your Visor
The visor becomes much more important during the dark hours so you have to make sure its scratch free and clean. You can use a cleansing solution for this purpose and don’t use any hard material to wipe out the surface as it would leave scratches. Take advantage of the headlights of the vehicles ahead of you and use their movement as a caution to know about any problem in the road like a pothole.
Using the High Beam
Whenever you feel that your vision is limited which can be dangerous you need to turn on the high beam to get a better vision. It doesn’t mean that you need to use the high-beam all the time as it could be an issue for the other drivers but you can use it for a while and then turn it off. It helps you in quickly responding to any situation ahead of you because of clear visibility.
Don’t Ride If You are Tired
Whenever you feel tired while riding at night you can always take a break and clear your head before hopping on the bike again. Sometimes you can feel sleepy at night while riding so keep an energy drink with you so that you can freshen up on the go. You can use any other thing you prefer to stay alert as a moment of inactiveness on the road could turn into a fatal accident.
Use of Fog Lights
Fog can definitely be a problem for any rider especially at night so you have to make sure your fog lights are working all the time. Although the vision still remains limited with the fog lights they can at least give you better visibility within few yards which is impossible if you are using simple lights.
Avoiding Blind Spots
One of the most dangerous situations on the road is when you are in the blind spot of any other driver. Try to avoid it by using fluorescent clothing and letting the other drivers know about your position by pushing the horn. Do turn on your signals while changing lanes so that you can save yourself from getting involved in a collision.
