10 motorcycle safety rules to follow in south East Asia

A busy road way in Da Lat, Vietnam.

1. Slow down. Yes, there is not a strong regulatory force here, and it's likely that no one will stop you from speeding. But so many accidents are caused by simply driving too fast and it's absolutely not worth it. A traveler I know died in northern Thailand due to a head on collision. Just slow down to avoid these.

Riding a motorbike in the rainy season.... it's a lot of fun!

2. Don't expect great road conditions. 

Roads here come and go as they please, sometimes great, sometimes just a dirt road. You don't want to be searching for the apex of a hair pin-turn, knee down, throttle wide open, engine revving, when suddenly you realize- oh crap- this brand new, pristine road is about to turn into gravel.

3. Don't drink and drive. The first thing to go when we drink is our judgment. “Yea, I can make that jump.” “Of course I can do five shots in five minutes.” So we generally think that we're ok to drive when we're not, and we often take unnecessary risks with our lives. Just don't do it- it's not worth buying your rent shop a new bike, and it's not worth spending your vacation in a hospital bed. I've encountered SO MANY people who have crashed their bike while high / drunk, and some have gotten really hurt.

4. Lock up your bike. Theft is common in South East Asia, and you don't want to lose your beautiful piece of machinery. The rent shops will often demand $600 - $1500 for a replacement bike. You may also want to rent a cheap, crappy looking bike to avoid attracting thieves. I once returned a beautiful scooter because the guy told me it was well over a thousand dollars to replace if it was stolen.

Who needs an SUV to go shopping?

5. Know how to brake. Avoid using your front brake on slippery surfaces, such as gravel, dirt, sand, or mud, because it can slip out from under you and you will tumble to the ground. I like to do about 70% of the braking with my rear tire and 30% with the front, just as a habit. But remember that if your REAR tire slips out, you might be able to recover. If your FRONT tire slips out, you're going down. Also remember, braking gets a lot harder when you've got passengers or extra gear on the bike. Like this guy here.

6. Check out your machine before you rent / buy it. These rent shops will rent out a bike until it absolutely dies, and these things can have 30,000 miles on them, often times more. That's a lot of wear and tear, so make sure all the components work before you pay. I once rented a scooter and found that the front wheel alignment was off. The guy fixed this by having his friend hold the handlebars while he kicked the tire as hard as he could to correct it. I passed on the bike. Check the brakes FIRST. Then check the lights, blinker, brake light, gear shift, horn, tire alignment, etc.

This will happen to you if you ride without
eye protection. Or if you sing "Let it Go" again.

7. Wear a helmet and sunglasses. A friend of mine was breaking rule 1 (going too fast) and breaking rule 7 (no sunglasses) when he caught a few small pebbles in the eye. He spent the next day in excruciating pain, went to the optometrist, had the pebbles removed with tweezers, then had to put in antibiotic drops that were quite painful to the eye, several times a day for the next 6 days. Don't do this, just wear the freaking gear!

8. Use your horn. You are a tiny speck on the road, so that means you have to be very vocal, let people know you're there. Use it when you see someone about to pull into the road, or when you see someone merging lanes, or when going through busy intersections, as people often ignore the lights and just go.

Maybe carry less money than this...

9. Carry a few small bills in your pocket in case of a bribe. The police in some South East Asian countries are hungry for bribes, and when they see foreigners, they think money. So you should always have one or two dollars in your pocket, ready to pay up. Notice I said pocket, not wallet. You don't want to pull out your wallet and show that you have $40, because then he'll ask for $40, instead of $1. Here's a story from southern Cambodia. A friend was on his scooter and got pulled over. He had no money in his pocket, but had his wallet in his scooter cabinet. As soon as he opened the cabinet, the cop began inspecting it. He found the tiniest little piece of marijuana. Now my friend probably could have gotten away with this, had he had a 20, maybe even a 10 dollar bill, but all he had in his wallet was a clean, fresh $100 bill. The cop took the $100. So, first of all, don't travel with illegal drugs. But also, keep a few small bills on you- not in your wallet, not in your cabinet, so that you can easily just pay the $1 and not go through any additional hassle. Another friend of mine keeps two wallets on him, one that is his real wallet, and another that only has $2 in it, so he can show the cop the fake wallet and say, “Hey, that's all I have...”

10. Take detailed pictures of bike before you leave the rent shop. Not all renters are honest, and some will charge you for scrapes or scuffs on the bike that were already there. They will also overcharge for any scrape or scratch that you put on the bike, so be extra careful.

How do I love my motorbike... Let me count the ways

These are my safety rules, although I'm sure you'll add many more as you adapt to whatever city / country you're in.