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BEING IN SHAPE TO RIDE
BEING IN SHAPE TO RIDE
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Riding a motorcycle is a demanding and complex task. Skilled riders
pay attention to the riding environment and to operating the motorcycle,
identifying potential hazards, making good judgments and executing decisions
quickly and skillfully. Your ability to perform and respond to changing road and
traffic conditions is influenced by how fit and alert you are. Alcohol and drugs,
more than any other factor, degrade your ability to think clearly and to ride
safely. As little as one drink can have a significant effect on your performance.
Let’s look at the risks involved in riding after drinking or using drugs. What to
do to protect yourself and your fellow riders is also examined.
WHY THIS INFORMATION
IS IMPORTANT
Alcohol is a major contributor to
motorcycle crashes, particularly fatal
crashes. Studies show that nearly 40%
of all riders killed in motorcycle crashes
had been drinking. The rest had only a
few drinks in their systems — enough
to impair riding skills. In the past, drug
levels have been harder to distinguish or
have not been separated from drinking
violations for the traffic records. But
riding “under the influence” of either
alcohol or drugs poses physical and legal
hazards for every rider.
Drinking and drug use is as big
a problem among motorcyclists
as it is among automobile drivers.
Motorcyclists, however, are more likely
to be killed or severely injured in a crash.
Injuries occur in 90% of motorcycle
crashes and 33% of automobile crashes
that involve abuse of substances. On
a yearly basis, 2,000 motorcyclists
are killed and about 50,000 seriously
injured in this same type of crash. These
statistics are too overwhelming to
ignore.
By becoming knowledgeable about
the effects of alcohol and drugs you
will see that riding and substance
abuse don’t mix. Take positive steps to
protect yourself and prevent others from
injuring themselves.
ALCOHOL AND DRUGS
IN MOTORCYCLE
OPERATION
No one is immune to the effects of
alcohol or drugs. Friends may brag
about their ability to hold their liquor
or perform better on drugs, but alcohol
or drugs make them less able to think
clearly and perform physical tasks
skillfully. Judgment and the decision-
making processes needed for vehicle
operation are affected long before legal
limitations are reached.
Many over-the-counter, prescription
and illegal drugs have side effects that
increase the risk of riding. It is difficult to
accurately measure the involvement of
particular drugs in motorcycle crashes.
But we do know what effects various
drugs have on the processes involved in
riding a motorcycle. We also know that
the combined effects of alcohol and
drugs are more dangerous than either
is alone.
ALCOHOL IN THE BODY
Alcohol enters the bloodstream
quickly. Unlike most foods and
beverages, it does not need to be
digested. Within minutes after being
consumed, it reaches the brain and
begins to affect the drinker. The major
effect alcohol has is to slow down and
impair bodily functions — both mental
and physical. Whatever you do, you do
less well after consuming alcohol.
