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By The Law Tigers
America's Injury Lawyers Who Ride

Staggered Riding With A Companion - Keeping Yourself & Your Passenger Safe

When you're riding in what's commonly referred to as staggered formation with a group of friends, proper motorcycle instruction will better prepare you for anything unexpected. Staggered riding with a companion or large group is done so that the group can remain together while riding, and other drivers can maneuver around one larger group rather than many smaller ones. Even if you're very experienced, you have to always be aware of other drivers, because you never know what they're going to do. When you're riding in a staggered formation, everyone in the group has a responsibility to watch out for each rider in the group.

The staggered riding formation begins with one biker in the lead. The lead rider is in the left tire track, with the second biker in the group in the right tire track. The third person in the group is in the left side again, and the pattern repeats itself every two seconds with each biker. If you've had motorcycle instruction in this type of formation, you already know that this is the safest way for a group of bikers to travel. The space used on the road is at a minimum, and the group is much more visible to other motorists, which keeps everyone safer. When a single biker is on the road, quite often a driver isn't paying close attention, and accidents happen. The analogy of safety in numbers really applies here.

A few considerations should always be kept in mind before starting out on your road trip. Before starting out, everyone in the group should know what route you'll be taking, when you'll be stopping for breaks and how frequently. You should always keep in mind motorcycle instruction that you learned when starting to ride. All of the riders should be aware of where scheduled stops will be. Everyone should be sure to have a full gas tank before setting out, and take care of any issues with their bike before getting on the road. The group should have a set of hand signals that everyone knows if you have to slow down or if there's a problem on the road and you have to ride in single file.

Everyone in the group should keep the same pace. If you aren't as experienced as some of the other riders or can't keep up the pace, you can move over to the left hand lane and ride at your own pace. The person in the lead may adjust the speed, but don't under any circumstances try to keep up if you don't feel comfortable. You'd be jeopardizing yourself and everyone else in the group. Good motorcycle instruction teaches that you should know what you're capable of and how skilled each member of the group is. When you're riding in a group, for a safer ride choose friends to ride with that have the same skill level as you.