At The Dickerson & Smith Law Group, we have seen and represented plaintiffs in a lot of different motorcycle accident scenarios. In many of these cases, even though other parties were at fault, we have seen evidence that the injured motorcyclist might have had a better chance of avoiding the accident and injury if he or she had employed better braking technique.
Here are a few pieces of motorcycle braking advice that we hope will assist you in avoiding an injurious crash:
— Use your front and back brakes appropriately: According to most motorcycle experts, when braking, bikers should apply 70 percent of the pressure to their front brakes and only 30 percent to the rear brakes. This is because, as the bike slows down, more weight goes to the front wheel, helping it to dig in with good traction.
— Some bikes can handle more rear brake: If you have a big chopper or cruiser, you can apply more pressure to your rear brakes because the saddle and weight distribution on these bikes result in more weight and traction on the rear wheel. Conversely, sport bikes stop safer with more front tire braking.
— Know the braking performance of your bike: Every bike brakes differently. As such, you should regularly practice and explore the braking potential of your bike. Try stopping repeatedly and get a feel for when your tires want to lock up and slip. Practice stops with just the front brakes and then the rear brakes. This practice will help your know the limits of your bike.
These are just a few pieces of advice to help you brake better when you’re riding your motorcycle on Virginia Beach roads, and hopefully the suggestions could help you avoid crashes in the future. If you end up getting into an injurious motorcycle collision due to no fault of your own — and despite your safe biking practices — you might want to investigate the possibility of filing a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver in the crash.