One of the biggest dangers that a motorcycle faces on the road is other drivers. When you are riding in a motorcycle group, you are inviting other drivers to ride right next to you. Riding in a motorcycle group can be a fun, bonding experience, but you have to keep safety as your first priority. Being reckless can not only get somebody hurt, but it can also put a big wet blanket over a beautiful day of riding.
So before you head out on your next group trip, take a look at these tips to make sure that you have a safe and enjoyable ride.
1.) Plan your trip.
You don’t have to draw out an individual map for everyone in the group, you don’t have to hold anybody’s hand to make sure they are ok, you just have to make a few basic announcements. Everyone should know where you are headed, and where you are planning to stop next.
When planning the trip, it is important to know the limitations of the riders in the group. This is as much of the leaders responsibility as it is the group members responsibility. If you know that you have an unusually small gas tank, speak up, and tell the group that you can only make it so many miles before you have to refuel. 
2.) Prepare for your trip.
If you know that you are going for a group ride, you have to make sure that your bike is mechanically sound. People will understand if something goes wrong during the ride, but if that something could have been prevented, you might see a little bit of anger. Make sure to check your bike before revving up the engine.
3.) Ride your own ride.
If you have a small tank, if you don’t have the stamina of the other members in the group, or if the rest of the group is just riding to fast for you, don’t worry. You need to ride your own ride. As long as you know the final destination, don’t worry about falling behind. Pushing yourself to keep up can be dangerous for you, and for the people around you.
4.) Communicate 
It isn’t practical, safe, or effective to pull up next to a fellow rider and try to scream above the engine and the wind to communicate. Instead, use hand signals to communicate to one another. To avoid confusion, you should probably use the motorcycle safety foundations official hand signals.
It is also good to have cell phones or walkie-talkies. If you are using cell phones, make sure that you have more than one persons number. Phones run out of batteries. If you are in an emergency, you need to make sure that you can get in touch with someone.
5.) Form a formation
Riding in a group is going to bring a lot of motorcycles close together. It is important that you use the proper formation so that you can give each other as much space as possible. As a general rule, you want to ride in a staggered formation. Your most experienced rider should be in the front, in the left third of the lane. The next person follows in the right third of the lane. The third person is at least two seconds back of the lead rider, in the left portion of the lane.
When you enter twisty roads, motorcycles should fall back into a single file line. No matter what position you are in, you should always have at least a two second cushion between you and the bike in front of you. The only time you should ever ride side to side is when you are at a stop sign or a stop light, or if you are in a parade. Condensing the group at a stop light is fine. When the light turns green, allow the person in front to pull out first, then slowly fall back into staggered formation.
It is good to have an experienced rider in the front and one bringing up the rear. The sweeping rider can help anyone who has to pull over, or can help in the case of an accident.
6. Limit the size of the group.
Ideally, a motorcycle group should consist of 5-7 people. If you are 
riding in a larger group, break the group down into smaller more manageable groups. This will make a lot of things easier. From changing lanes, to fixing roadside flat tires, to keeping tabs on other members, breaking into small groups will help the whole group stay safe.
7.) Ride Your Own Ride, but remember you are part of a group.
The biggest mistake that group riders make is that they forget that they are surrounded by motorcycles. If you change lanes, for instance, you have to make sure that you give enough space for the motorcycle behind you to change lanes as well.
You should also check your mirrors constantly for fellow riders. If you notice that someone in your group has fallen back, find a safe place to pull over and wait.
Many groups will have individual rules and techniques to get all of its members to the destination safely. So listen up before the ride to find out what to watch for.
8.) Follow the leader, but not always.
It is important to keep your eyes on the rider in front of you so that you can see different signals and warnings, but do not trust everything they do. If they change lanes, do not blindly follow. You have to remember that you are responsible for you.
The same goes for traffic tickets. If the group is riding above the speed limit, that doesn’t mean that you have to. Telling a cop that you were speeding because your friends were doing it too, is pretty much never going to work.
General Tips
If possible, have one person pay for gas at stops. Bikes can be pushed through in an assembly line fashion until everyone has been filled up. Squaring up the tab at the end of the day will take a lot less time than having everyone fill up their tanks individually.
Don’t block traffic. Large motorcycle groups can form a solid line that can trap a car on one side of the highway. Break up into smaller groups, and leave gaps in your motorcycle line so that cars can switch lanes and make their exits.
Ideally, everyone should have tools, first aid, and a cell phone with them. But if they don’t, make sure that someone in the group does.
