Motorcycle Skid Control Tips

Most of our roads are not safe and have uneven surfaces, bumps and potholes that have led to quite a few accidents in the past, more so due to skidding. While you do have insurance for your 2-wheeler to protect you from potential damages to your bike, it is better to first find out how you can stay safe on the road. Here are some other important reasons why there might be a bike skid accident.

• Prompt Change in Direction

Sometimes, while riding your bike, you may suddenly have to change your direction for reasons such as avoiding collision with another bike or car or another pedestrian or some animal running across the road at the last minute. Even if you are not riding your bike at a very high speed at such a time, this sudden shift can cause a motorcycle skidding.

• Applying the Brakes Too Often

Even if you don’t want to do so, you may have to use your brakes way too many times when riding your bike on Indian roads. This could be due to any reason, but having to suddenly apply the brakes hard can cause your tyres to get locked tightly. This may be one of the reasons for bike back wheel skidding and can be quite dangerous, especially if you’re riding quite fast.

• Wet Roads during Monsoon

During monsoon, the roads are wet, and vehicles are anyway instructed to drive safely. Apart from that, if you’re riding your bike through small lanes with houses and shops on both sides of the roads, the surface can be wet due to wastewater being thrown on the road. If you apply the brakes too hard on such roads, there could be a lack of traction between the road and the bike’s tyres, and it can cause a bike skidding on the road.

• Leaning Too Much on the Side

Taking a turn on a bike is not the same as your car taking a turn; your body’s balance and your bike have to coordinate at times, such as when you’re taking a turn. At these corners, your bike has to be slightly tilted to the side, depending on how sharp the turn is. This happens if you, the rider, lean too much on the side to tilt your bike, which can cause your bike to skid.

• Sudden Application of Brakes

Most wheel skids happen with sudden breaking - whether you are taking a turn or simply stopping in a straight line. Applying sudden pressure on the brakes makes the wheels lock and skid. Bike’s front wheel skidding is dangerous and causes the most gruesome accidents. However, the motorcycle rear wheel skid is more common, particularly when riding solo.

Bikers or even vehicle drivers, in general, prefer to avoid stressful situations on the road when they are travelling. However, a slight skidding of the bike can easily scare anyone and cause them to panic.

At such times and when your bike loses control, it can become difficult for you to handle the skid since you are already quite anxious and unable to think clearly. And this can lead to a bike skid accident. Here are three skid control tips to help you along the way:

• Stay Away from Sharp Turns

Sharp turns are generally dangerous for all vehicles, let alone a bike. But at times, there will be sharp turns on your route that you cannot avoid. In such situations, slow down your bike and maintain your balance as you tilt your bike to take the turn. That way, irrespective of the road’s condition, you can safely avoid skidding during a sharp turn.

• Reduce the Use of the Clutch

Use the bike’s clutch only when it is necessary. For braking, it is always safer and smarter to use engine braking and the brakes. Downshift the gear if you want to reduce the bike’s speed. That way, your bike’s speed will slowly come down, which may cause a slight jerk, but it can be much safer than sudden braking, which causes your vehicle to skid.

With the help of these simple yet useful skid control tips, you should be able to work your way through mildly rough weather conditions and bad roads to prevent your bike from skidding. But with a Tata AIG bike insurance policy, you will always be a step ahead of any probable damages to your bike that can ruin your day. With a host of bike insurance plans that we have to offer, you can simply compare two-wheeler insurance policies to understand which plan works the best for you!

Your safety is, first and foremost, your responsibility. To protect your bike and yourself from any damages or injuries, you should always be on the lookout for ways to ride your bike safely so that you can continue your road trips and your bike and you can avoid the hassles and trauma of a potential mishap. Since a bike skidding on the road can cause an awful accident, we recommend following all the tips given above.