Motorcycle Safety

Per mile traveled, motorcyclists are many times more likely to die in a crash than people in cars. Riders have no seat belt, airbag or steel frame. Safety depends on the rider’s skill and gear and on car drivers actually seeing motorcycles.

• Motorcyclists
• All drivers

For riders: gear

• A helmet meeting the federal DOT standard (look for the DOT label). Full-face helmets protect the face and jaw
• Eye protection: face shield or goggles
• Abrasion-resistant jacket and pants, with armor at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees
• Full-fingered gloves
• Over-the-ankle boots
• Bright colors and reflective material

Helmets are estimated to prevent a large share of deaths among riders who crash. Helmet laws vary by state, but the physics doesn’t.

For riders: skills and habits

• Get a motorcycle license or endorsement, and take a rider training course. Many states waive the skills test for course graduates.
• Practice emergency braking and swerving in a parking lot.
• Ride sober. A large share of riders killed in crashes had been drinking.
• Ride within your skill and the bike’s limits; take curves at a speed you can control.
• Position yourself in the lane where drivers can see you, and assume they don’t.
• Do a pre-ride check: tires, brakes, lights, controls, chain and fluids.

For car drivers

• Look twice for motorcycles, especially before turning left and changing lanes. A common deadly crash is a car turning left in front of an oncoming motorcycle.
• Motorcycles look farther away and slower than they are because they’re small.
• Leave at least 3 to 4 seconds of following distance; motorcycles can stop faster than cars.
• Don’t share a lane with a motorcycle. Give the rider the full lane.
• Watch for riders swerving around potholes, gravel and debris.
• Turn signals on motorcycles often don’t cancel automatically; wait to be sure the rider is turning.

Lane splitting

Riding between lanes of stopped or slow traffic is legal in some states and not others. Where it’s legal, drivers should not block riders; where it’s not, riders shouldn’t do it.

Mopeds, scooters and e-bikes

Many of the same rules apply to scooters, mopeds and e-bikes: helmets, visibility and defensive riding. See Pedestrians & Cyclists.

Last updated: October 1, 2026