Almost everyone with a motorcycle understands that riding can be a dangerous experience. The human body simply isn’t built for the heavy impacts we risk when we head out on the open road. However, experienced riders know that a few safety precautions can offer significant boosts to our wellbeing. Helmets, for example, typically save close to 2,000 lives per year.

However, the following motorcycle myths mislead people into putting their lives in danger when riding:

1. Lane splitting is always a safe practice
Lane splitting is a commonly used technique to weave through heavy traffic. This is typically done by riding the painted lines which separate two lanes. Sometimes riders will lane split when traffic is at a standstill in order to get through a jam. Other times it’s seen as a useful method to simply get to our destination faster. However, even though it’s common it’s not always safe. Even lane splitting in stalled traffic comes with some dangers. Stalled drivers often become extremely frustrated. They’ll often jump at the opportunity to get back at anyone they perceive as unfairly skipping issues they’re forced to deal with. This can result in drivers moving forward to block open space as soon as they see the rider. During heavy traffic, drivers may well stop looking at anything other than the lane ahead of them. This creates a new blind spot that riders might inadvertently enter into.

2. Full-face helmets block peripheral vision and impair hearing
Many people believe that helmets make them less safe by decreasing awareness of their environment. But in reality, helmets have very little impact on either peripheral vision or hearing. When people decide to sell bikes online, the potential buyer should always get a helmet as well. In fact, someone who decides to sell my bike online should consider adding in a helmet as well. This will help people actually give helmets the attention they deserve. Because when people give their helmet a try they usually begin to understand how little effect it has on the senses. Helmets are required to provide at least 105 degrees of peripheral vision along each side. If a helmet isn’t included then a new rider should look for other sources that sell used bike equipment if they want to reduce the total cost of their new vehicle.

3. Slow streets are safer
People often assume that residential streets are fundamentally safer than busy highways. In reality, the increased number of variables on residential streets makes them more dangerous than highways. For example, you have to contend with traffic lights, people running into the street, multiple lanes in different directions, pets, and many more issues.

4. Laying your bike down will slow your speed enough to avoid a crash
People often assume that laying a bike down before a crash will decrease the vehicle’s speed and therefore increase a rider’s safety. In reality, this simply increases the distance a rider will end up dragged over the ground. Being dragged along concrete with hundreds of pounds of metal on top of you is a greater danger than the crash people are trying to avoid.

5. Good riders never need to practice with a new bike
People take a lot of pride in their skills. And experienced riders often assume that if they can handle one bike then they can handle all bikes. But there’s a huge amount of variety in all of the options out there. We absolutely do need to spend some time getting used to a new bike before our skills can transfer over. Much of the riding experience comes down to instinct. And that’s not something we can retrain simply by thinking about it. We need to let our subconscious really get in tune with the quirks found in every bike.