To increase your chances of being seen at an intersection, use your headlight and ride in a lane position that creates the best view of oncoming traffic. Maintain a space cushion around your motorcycle that allows you to take evasive action.

Riding with a sidecar increases the weight of a motorcycle and increases the braking force needed to stop the motorcycle. Slowing and stopping take longer when riding a vehicle downhill than when riding on a flat surface.

If you are following a car, the driver is most likely to notice you if you position yourself behind them in the center of your lane. This lane position places you in the driver's rearview mirror. Most drivers check their rearview mirrors much more frequently than they check their side mirrors.

If you need to stop quickly, apply both the front and rear brakes at the same time.

Use both brakes every time you slow or stop, regardless of the condition of the road.

A properly chosen lane position should provide a number of benefits, including an increased ability to see others and to be seen. It should help you avoid wind blasts, other drivers' blind spots, and surface hazards. Your lane position should discourage other drivers from trying to share your lane and provide you with an escape route, should a hazard arise.

It is recommended that you change gears prior to entering a turn.

A motorcycle must lean to make a turn. To make it lean in the appropriate direction, press the handgrip in the direction you want to turn.

Heavier items should be loaded in front of the tank bag. You should try to place the load over or in front of the rear axle. Putting the load behind the rear axle may affect your control.

A windshield is not an adequate substitute for the protection offered by goggles or a face shield. Most windshields will not protect your eyes from the wind.

In Oregon, it is illegal for motorcycles and mopeds to pass between two moving vehicles on a multilane highway or one-way street.

Motorcycles have blind spots just like any other vehicle. Always turn your head and look over your shoulder to check for traffic in your blind spot before changing lanes.

A number of surfaces can provide poor traction for tires. Wet pavement; roads covered in loose gravel or sand; muddy, snowy, or icy areas; painted lane markings; and metal covers and plates in the road can be more hazardous for a motorcyclist than dry pavement.

A sudden change in handling may indicate that a tire on your motorcycle has failed. If you feel a change in the way your motorcycle handles, pull over safely and check your tires.

Distances are difficult to judge in the dark because visual cues (like shadows and light contrasts) can be missing or distorted. You should allow a longer following distance when riding at night than you do when riding during the day.

Instead of or in addition to mechanical turn signals, operators may use hand signals to indicate turns or stops. If an operator's left arm is extended straight out to the left, it means the operator plans to turn left or change lanes to the left.

The front brake lever is generally located on the right handgrip. Make sure that you are aware of the locations of all your motorcycle's controls before beginning to ride.

The liver burns alcohol at a set rate, and there is nothing you can do to speed along the process. The only way to lessen the effects of alcohol is to give your body the time needed to remove it.

Most motorcycle crashes happen on trips that are shorter than five miles in length at speeds slower than 30 mph.

The weaving motion that occurs when a motorcycle rides over rain grooves or bridge gratings is generally not dangerous. If you experience weaving when riding over one of these surfaces, simply relax and proceed straight across the grooves or gratings at a steady speed. Trying to compensate for the weaving motion by zigzagging is more dangerous than riding straight.

Jackets and pants made of leather offer the greatest degree of protection to those riding motorcycles.

The faster you drink, the more alcohol will accumulate in your body. It is never safe to operate a motor vehicle after drinking alcohol in any amount.

In Louisiana, a person who is below the legal drinking age of 21 is deemed to be legally intoxicated if their blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.02 percent or higher. A person who is age 21 or older is deemed to be legally intoxicated if their BAC is 0.08 percent or higher. It is both illegal and dangerous to operate a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

Always simultaneously use both brakes to stop. The brakes are most effective when used at the same time.

Riders in a group should overtake another vehicle one at a time. Each rider should complete their pass and resume their position in the group formation before the next rider begins to pass.