Safety Tips to Follow When Riding Two Wheeler with a Pillion Rider
When riding a two-wheeler you have to take care of your pillion rider as well. You need to stay in an upright position and have full control over the motorbike so that the pillion rider can sit comfortably. To ensure full control ask your co-passenger to hold you tightly. It will prevent them from falling off or dashing in in case of a hard stop. It will clear them from the fear of falling off when they speed up.
To ensure that you and your pillion rider are safe you can follow the steps given below. But before that have your vehicle covered with a 2-wheeler insurance policy to cover up for any unforeseen circumstances on the road.
Make Sure that your Bike can Handle any Extra Weight
You need to be confident with your riding skills before you ride with a pillion. When you ride with an adult in the backseat, their added weight impacts the braking, acceleration, and suspension. Your bike should have passenger footpegs for the rider. Also, when acceleration is out of control, your bike brakes should be working correctly when to handle the weight of an adult at the back.
Familiarize Your Pillion with Some Basic Riding Rules
Every vehicle driver should acquaint their co-passengers with some basic rules of riding on a bike. One thing that they need to be careful of is to avoid leaning backward. When a pillion does so, the entire weight is shifted backward, and the rider finds it difficult to turn at sharp corners. And all this increases the chances of an accident. Also, ask your pillion rider to avoid dismounting from the bike unless it is at a complete halt, and you have both your feet on the ground.
Pillion Should Keep His Feet off the Hot Exhaust
Also, ensure that your pillion rider knows the location of the hot exhaust. In some cases, the entire trip has been spoiled due to the burns suffered by the pillion rider as a result of putting the foot on the exhaust.
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Getting on the Bike
One of the most basic things that you need to take care of is that your pillion should hop on the bike when you are ready to ride. Keep the passenger pegs down and then ask the pillion rider to mount on it from the non-muffler side. You should have full control over the bike and keep it in an upright position so that the rider can fit comfortably.
Turning
Your pillion rider’s slightest movements will impact how your bike runs and feels on the turns. Many times there is an imbalance created by the pillion riders if they lean on the opposite side of the direction in which your bike is turning. And it can lead to your bike fall. Therefore, it is imperative to tell you pillion in advance to avoid leaning and to sit straight while turning.
Hold the Rider Tightly
Ask your passenger to hold you tight. If he holds with losing grip then the pillion can fall or dash you in case of a sudden stop. One of the fears that most of the pillion riders have is the fear of falling off on speeding up. And a common mistake that most of the pillion riders make is that they hold on to the driver’s cloth and make it all the more uncomfortable for them.
Stopping
To keep the balance, ask your pillion rider to keep their feet on the footpegs before stopping your bike. Your bike can tip over if you both put your foot down, and can lead to imbalance. When your ride ends, and you have stopped you can ask the rider to get down from the non-muffler side, the same way they got onto it.
Communicating
On a noisy bike, it can be difficult for the rider and the pillion to hear each other in the engine and the noise of the wind. Interestingly, you can communicate via signals and actions or a Bluetooth headset to convey any danger, discomfort, sudden break, or acceleration.
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In a nutshell
It is important to be cautious when driving a bike but you also need to be extra careful if you are driving with a co-passenger in your backseat. Any damage or injury suffered by the co-passenger can reduce the fun of your ride and therefore, you need to be sure about the safety of your pillion. Hope the above-mentioned tips can help you to keep yourself and your ride safe during the long-distance rides and make sure that your trip is an enjoyable one.