Alabama Motorcycle: Practice test - Practice Test 2

To protect yourself against injury, you should wear a DOT-compliant helmet; face or eye protection; a jacket and long pants made of sturdy material; boots or shoes that are high and sturdy enough to cover and support your ankles; and gloves made of durable material.

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.

Wearing brightly-colored clothing while riding will increase your chances of being seen. Bright oranges, yellows, reds, or greens are best and are preferable to drab or dark colors.

Gloves designed for motorcycle riding are usually made of leather. In addition to improving your grip, gloves provide protection for a rider's hands and fingers.

To reduce the risk of a collision, always allow merging vehicles plenty of space to safely enter traffic. Change lanes away from the entrance ramp if there is room to do so safely. If there isn't another lane available, adjust your speed to open up space for the merging driver.

You should never take eye contact as a guarantee that a driver will properly yield to you. It is not uncommon for drivers to look directly at a motorcyclist but fail to register that they are there.

The cornering characteristics of a three-wheeled motorcycle or a motorcycle with a sidecar differ from those of a two-wheeled motorcycle. The best path for a three-wheeler to take through a curve may not actually follow the curve. For example, you may need to move from the outside of the curve to the inside of the curve before straightening out your path.

An expanded space cushion is needed when riding in conditions that are less than ideal. If the road surface is slippery, if you cannot see through the vehicle ahead, if you are traveling at night, or if traffic is heavy and another driver may be tempted to squeeze in front of you, you should expand your following distance.

Riding between slowed or parked cars can leave you vulnerable to unexpected hazards, such as opening car doors or cars suddenly pulling into traffic. If a hazard arises, you will not have room to safely maneuver. Never travel on the shoulder of a road because other drivers will never expect you to be there.