oldryder
Well-known member
I've been reading the posts about fallen riders like everyone else with great dismay.
However, I don't think our sport carries unaceptable risk if you as a rider take advantage of all the options you have to reduce risk.
On the extreme you have the near naked drunk rider with no training on a 1000cc. sport bike or modded out V-twin with no front brake out showing his buddies how fearless he is. that guy is doing less than nothing to reduce his risk.
COnsider:
approx. 50% of all motorcycle accidents are single vehicle accidents. To me this means I can eliminate almost 1/2 of the total risk associated with my favorite pasttime simply by making sure I don't get in over my head and paying attention to road conditions.
All the times I've heard something like "I came around the curve and there it was (stalled car, oil, gravel, cow, whatever) and there was nothing I could do." I want to berate the speaker for stupidity. that person was completely culpable, overdriving a sight line in a curve.
Or the case where something pops out from under a vehicle or falls off a vehicle and causes a crash. That rider was following too close.
Or the case where the bike hydroplanes because the rider was riding in the rain on worn tires ...
Another typical factor is the cagers claim " I never saw him"
Again the rider has multiple options for reducing this threat; hi-v-z clothing, head and tail lite modulators, and, most importantly, an acute awareness of the other drivers.
rider training and many good books are available to educate a rider on these topics. A rider that wants to survive should be making an on-going study of rider safety.
anyway thats my rant for today. I hate to see people hurt and it bugs me that so many of the crashes and injuries were avoidable if the rider was simply more proficient and more aware.
As a final note I simply choose to live with the fact that someday an automobile driver talking on the phone, reading, doing her nails, eating, texting, or whatever might run me over despite my best efforts.
However, I don't think our sport carries unaceptable risk if you as a rider take advantage of all the options you have to reduce risk.
On the extreme you have the near naked drunk rider with no training on a 1000cc. sport bike or modded out V-twin with no front brake out showing his buddies how fearless he is. that guy is doing less than nothing to reduce his risk.
COnsider:
approx. 50% of all motorcycle accidents are single vehicle accidents. To me this means I can eliminate almost 1/2 of the total risk associated with my favorite pasttime simply by making sure I don't get in over my head and paying attention to road conditions.
All the times I've heard something like "I came around the curve and there it was (stalled car, oil, gravel, cow, whatever) and there was nothing I could do." I want to berate the speaker for stupidity. that person was completely culpable, overdriving a sight line in a curve.
Or the case where something pops out from under a vehicle or falls off a vehicle and causes a crash. That rider was following too close.
Or the case where the bike hydroplanes because the rider was riding in the rain on worn tires ...
Another typical factor is the cagers claim " I never saw him"
Again the rider has multiple options for reducing this threat; hi-v-z clothing, head and tail lite modulators, and, most importantly, an acute awareness of the other drivers.
rider training and many good books are available to educate a rider on these topics. A rider that wants to survive should be making an on-going study of rider safety.
anyway thats my rant for today. I hate to see people hurt and it bugs me that so many of the crashes and injuries were avoidable if the rider was simply more proficient and more aware.
As a final note I simply choose to live with the fact that someday an automobile driver talking on the phone, reading, doing her nails, eating, texting, or whatever might run me over despite my best efforts.
