The Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections for Hudson Valley Motorcyclists

The Hudson Valley has some of the best riding in the Northeast, and some of the trickiest hazards. Knowing where risk concentrates helps you ride those roads with your head up.

Busy suburban intersections

Westchester's heavily traveled corridors and the cluster of intersections around commuter routes are where left-turning cars meet riders. The driver looks for another car, not a bike, and turns across your path. Cover your brakes, slow on approach, and assume you have not been seen.

The scenic mountain roads

Storm King Highway, Perkins Memorial Drive, and the climbs around Bear Mountain and the Shawangunks reward smooth riding and punish target fixation. Gravel and sand collect on the inside of corners, and tour-bus and cyclist traffic appears suddenly. Look through the turn and leave a margin.

Parkways and deer country

The Taconic and the backroads of Dutchess and Putnam counties are beautiful and full of deer at dawn and dusk. Bridge gratings, including the Bear Mountain Bridge, get slick when wet. Scan the shoulders, ride relaxed across metal surfaces, and drop your speed in the green tunnels.

The common thread

Most serious Hudson Valley crashes are not exotic. They are a driver who did not look, a patch of gravel, or wet metal taken too fast. Visibility, smooth inputs, and a little extra space handle most of them.

Ride safe out there. This is general safety information for New York riders.