Safe Riding - Staying Alive on Your Motorcycle: The Complete Safety Manual

I'll give this book three stars because the subject is important, and reading this book may help some clueless riders avert a crash. The author has dug through years of traffic accident reports, and found example after example of serious (and often fatal) accidents caused by motorcyclists' failure to look, listen, anticipate, and ride within their safety margins. So, yes, bikers should read this book.That said, within a few chapters you'll get tired of the author restating the obvious (over and over again), and pointing out examples of accidents caused by riders who are: drunk, or underage, or unlicensed, or riding without a helmet, or riding without lights, or speeding. It seems like two-thirds of the accidents involve teenagers or riders who have been drinking. Honestly, you can get the message just by reading the table of contents. Don't ride drunk. Don't ride without a license. Don't ride without training. Don't speed. Don't stunt. Don't ride with defective brakes. And of course, don't ride into the path of a speeding locomotive. All this is so friggin' OBVIOUS. I don't need 15 case studies to be convinced that it's not such a great idea to consume a fifth of Jack Daniels, blindfold myself, then ride off a cliff. Duh....After illustrating what happens when you do astonishingly stupid stuff on a bike, the author just carries his arguments too far. After explaining (ad nauseum) that it's harder to see stuff at night, he concludes: "never ride at night". Then, after explaining that a passenger makes the bike heavier (gee, I didn't realize that) he says: "never carry a passenger". Since rain makes the road slippery (wow, thanks for that insight Sherlock), he says: "never ride in the rain". Get the idea?? Heck he might as well say, "just sell your bike, turn in your license, and stay at home." And then he really goes too far and tells people to not ride on Interstate Highways, claiming that highway riding is more dangerous than city riding. Actually he is WRONG. On a per-mile-traveled basis, there are fewer accidents on interstate highways than on city streets and two-lane country roads.Here's what's really wrong with this book. The author, as it turns out, is a paranoid pussy. Sorry, but there's no other way to say it. He also has almost no experience on large touring bikes, and virtually zero experience with riding two up. As you read the book, the author reveals that 1) he has no experience with big bikes; 2) he has no experience riding with a passenger; 3) he doesn't ever ride at night or in the rain; 4) he doesn't tour; and 5) he is scared of freeways. As the result of his own self-imposed limits, he doesn't offer any truly EXPERT advice to folks who find themselves riding in the rain or riding with a passenger or touring on big highways. All he offers is scaredy-cat talk, the most obvious (and sometimes incorrect) warnings, and grisly statistics.This entire book could be boiled down to: "Don't do stupid stuff. And really don't do stupid stuff when high. Obey the law. Don't ride too fast for the conditions. Avoid risky situations." There, I just saved you $9.99.This book would be 1000% better if the author was really a skilled expert who could explain advanced riding techniques that help one cope with conditions that are less than ideal. But he is NOT an expert. All this guy has done, really, is ride around solo, in town, on a little entry-level bike. Honest -- he admits he doesn't ride on the highway! This guy is like a virgin giving sex advice. Since he's just a fair-weather, solo rider, he has nothing to offer dedicated riders who really want to learn something about dealing with a sudden thunderstorm, or riding smoothly with a passenger. It doesn't help the touring couple to simply be told "don't ride with a passenger". It doesn't help someone crossing the country to be told "never ride in the rain". Sometimes you have no choice!I credit the author for pulling together decades of motorcycle accident reports. But honestly, I could summarize 95% of the "wisdom" of this book in a couple paragraphs. And most of the reports fall into the "Duh, that's obvious" category -- such as drunk rider without helmet crosses centerline at excessive speed. Gee thanks for telling me not to accelerate into oncoming traffic while drunk -- I never would have guessed that! Accordingly, don't expect to really learn anything new from this author. The Chapter Titles convey everything you really need to know. All the crash reports are really there just to demonstrate the obvious. Honestly, after a few chapters, this book becomes crushingly boring and repetitive. And what is worse, when the author does start talking about specific riding operations, such braking, counter-steering, and apexing, much of what he says is plain wrong.The book serves a purpose in reminding motorcyclists that they can lose limbs or die if they ride like jerks, and/or if they ignore dangerous conditions. But riders with basic common sense, and MSF training should NOT expect to really learn much from this book -- nothing at least that isn't already obvious to any rider with half a brain.

This book is different then the others.... Williamson gets straight to the point. No sugar-coating, no nonsense. Several real-life riding scenarios are laid out and analyzed. Thanks to this book, I am able to ride much more confidently, much more safely. Thank you! 💎

Williamson's book is super clear, super concise. I've been implementing many of the concepts into how I ride, and I feel much more safe, much more secure out on the road.

Bought this for my nephew who told me it was good !

Excellent book. Covers all the basics of riding safely, on any kind of road, and in all conditions, day or night.Must read! A++++

This book to me was not worth buying. There was really no information which would further help riding and staying safe.It was very blah and had almost everything the MSF book I have. I would not recommend buying.

This is a phenomenal book that provides excellent guidance on the best practices when it comes to riding. I’m very glad I discovered it at the beginning of my riding career and recommend it to anyone else looking to become a safer, more educated rider.

"Safe Riding" is a must read! Hands down. I learned so much about safety on my motorcycle and am now incredibly knowledgeable about the dangers of the road and how to avoid situations that I would have never known before reading this book. Very helpful!