Summer weather has Iowans thinking of taking to the road — and high gas prices have more considering the benefits of a motorcycle. D-O-T Driver Safety Specialist Scott Falb says a rider’s best protected when you don’t just dress for the weather but layer on some heavy gear like boots and jackets.
The proper attire for motorcycling is a helmet and “very durable clothing,” Falb says. He notes a lot of people who survive are still very badly injured by the abrasion caused by the roadway. Riders nickname those injuries “road rash.”
Because this climate includes several months of winter, roadway builders make the surfaces rough enough to provide traction for the 4-wheel and two-wheeled vehicles alike when there’s snow and ice. That safety design comes with a downside when a motorcycle rider “lays it down.”
Falb says once you get off the two wheels and go sliding, the same abrasive quality of the road that helps keep you upright normally “can really take a lot of flesh off.” He says riders of any age can also benefit from training courses offered by the state’s community colleges.