When should you perform head checks while riding a motorcycle?

Performing head checks is crucial for maintaining awareness of your surroundings while riding a motorcycle, and it should be done whenever your mirrors cannot provide full visibility. This includes situations like changing lanes, turning, or navigating through intersections. Mirrors can have blind spots that may not show other vehicles, pedestrians, or obstacles, making head checks a vital safety practice to ensure you can see what's behind and to the side of you.

While you might consider head checks before turns, heavy traffic, or at the start of a ride, the most comprehensive and safety-focused approach is to make head checks whenever your mirrors fall short in visibility. This habit helps prevent collisions by enhancing your situational awareness throughout your ride, rather than only in specific scenarios or conditions.