Are Crashes Inevitable?

[GoldenChild]

Good Read.

 

[mark3evo]

in a word No - not always
not wanting to temp fate, but 50,000 miles since passing my test, not dropped any of the VFR (INTERCEPTOR) and 2 busas.

( i may live to regret the above - training helps)

 

[captain]

In July of 07 when I crashed the preceeding minutes still resound with me to this day... I was going on a group ride with my father on his Goldwing (My son on the back with him) and we were headed to meet up with other riders. I remember clearly that is was about 103 degrees that day and making my son put all his gear on before he got onto the goldwing. I put my helmet and gloves on and raised my shield and told my dad it was just too hot to ride with all the gear on. We started off down the drive and I stopped, got off the bike, grabbed the rest of my gear and put it on. I had a jacket with armor, boots and pants... We jumped on the bike and less that 5 miles away a truck pulled out of a WalMart driveway in front of me. I hit them broadside at 50, I still broke my neck in 3 places, my back in one and ended up with glass and cuts on my face even though I was wearing a full face helmet... Its amazing to me how close I came to the end, there is absolutely no doubt that I would have died had I not put my gear on... I am probably the biggest advocate for gear now... 11 years on this forum watching guys crash and getting up with scratches and bruises because they were wearing gear and making good choices... I learned from others experiences and it literally saved my life....

 

[Tufbusa]

An old racer once told me "Choice, not chance determines your destiny"!

I have lived by this mind set since!

 

[superchargedv8]

one of the key elements to riding I'm my opinion is driving defensively ...everytime you ride think that everyone is out to hit you because thats a good way to stay aware of your surroundings....a full 360 degrees not just in front or behind you. You have to make yourself seen if that makes sense. Soooo like i said be aware of everything around you because its once you start relaxin and riding half asleep in rush hour traffic that you'll be in trouble....make sure you keep your distance from traffic make sure the guy in front is a good ways away as well as the guy behind you unless you wanna be part of a sandwich (not that kinda sandwich...lol)....o and btw....i think for the most part people that live in cities or very populated areas are the ones that are prone to having more accidents than the peeps that live out in the outskirts....but then again if your messing around out in the outskirts you can easily get hurt too

 

[yosvany]

All I have to said is when is going to happen is going to happen. Mine was in the curb high side with dirt in the road, 2 broken back bones one rib and a crush vertebra. Other then that I'm ready to get my girl ready for the road again

 

[Tufbusa]

All I have to said is when is going to happen is going to happen. Mine was in the curb high side with dirt in the road, 2 broken back bones one rib and a crush vertebra. Other then that I'm ready to get my girl ready for the road again

You do realize when you crash and blame it on gravel/dirt in the corner, God kills a kitten! ???

 

[merisey]

I went down at HIH2 avoiding a worse fate. I still went down though and walked away with only a bruise on my hip and a banged up bike. I still remember cracking the back of my helmet off of the concrete. Wrecks stick with you though. I'm hoping to shake the one I watched happen 3 weeks ago. watched a rider get pushed off of the road by another due to lack of space. I can not shake walking over the embankment and seeing the rider in that condition. No gear at all missed a phone pole by inches but didn't avoid the culvert pipe. Head bloody, eyes bleeding, leg snapped, and grasping for air while barely hanging on to conciousness. I call the hospital and check on him every day, they wont tell me anything other than serious in icu due to not being family. Not sure how you guys go about things like this. I have ridden my bike 1 time in the last 3 weeks. I would just hate to put my wife and family in that position.

 

[880jedi]

I went to a local "Bike Night" at our local Cycle Gear this week. Saw plenty of younger riders, and they all had a few things in common.

#1. They all had helmets.

#2. They all had bikes that had all the plastics scratched and missing fairing and windscreens.

#3. They all were wearing loose fitting sneakers.

#4. They all had bald tires and chains that never see lube.

I'm sure every one of them has kissed the asphalt, yet none of them learned how to gear up properly. Sad.

 

[HillbillyTom]

Crash season is upon us

Yes sir, it's in full swing around here.. Fatal Crash: Springfield Police have confirmed two deaths in West Bypass crash. - ky3.com

 

[RedBusarider]

There are no guarantees in life (except Death and Taxes).

Anything can happen at anytime.

It was warm here today and a lot of motorcycles were out and about.
Since this state just repealed the helmet law I would guess that today I saw about 25% of them with no helmets.
But the one guy that stood out to me was the Harley rider that not only didn't have a helmet but was also shirtless.
That made me think it won't be very long before we see shorts and sandals only

Where did common sense go?

I think that most of them that ride so unprotected probably feel that they have gotten away with it before so,
what is there to worry about. I could be wrong, but I don't think there are to many 50+ year old's that ride so unprotected.
At least I haven't seen any around here. That said I'm sure that are a few.

I like to ride as much as most of you on this forum.
But I usually live by the rule that if it is to HOT to wear the gear then I should take an air conditioned vehicle.

 

[yosvany]

I don't blame anything I'm just saying when is going to happend is going to happend no mater how good you are

 

[mistaforty]

you can hope you never will but you cant say that you wont.

 

[tracks]

From another Forum.
Although a little long, it's well worth the read!
Possibly worth being pinned?




While it may not quite be INEVITABLE, it is HIGHLY PROBABLE that any rider will experience some sort of accident the longer they ride. Ironically, a rider is at greatest risk of having an accident when they first begin riding due to inexperience. Conversely, as you gain experience you continually add to your time exposed to risk, meaning that while you have more experience to use to avoid accidents you are increasing number of opportunities for an accident to occur.

The only certain way to guard against having a motorcycle accident is to not ride. Period. If you choose to ride, you must realize that there is always the risk of an accident, be it big or small, serious or minor, your fault or not.

There. Now, that said, you do a lot to avoid accidents. Here are the main things that come to mind:

1) Training: Take ALL that you can find and then take some more. Start with the MSF courses, take them all and then find more courses to take, anything from track classes to dirt classes to advanced street riding classes to wheelie classes. Any serious, guided, organized, safety minded instruction only adds to your experience and skill set and does so in a controlled environment that allows you to be relatively safe while learning, unlike the street where, if you find that you need to do something that you've never done before, you won't get but one chance to get it right without real consequences.

2) Training: See # 1.

3) Follow at a great distance: Leave as much following distance as you can stand when riding behind other vehicles. The more space you leave, the more time you have to react to any issues coming from the vehicles ahead. If you're on their bumper and they drive into an accident, you'll be in the same accident, whereas if you're 12 seconds back, when they drive into an accident you'll calmly pull over to a safe area, call 911 and lend a hand to those in the accident. Riding with greater following distances also allows you to get a good look at the road surface and provides you with plenty of time to avoid those giant potholes or spilled fluids that would otherwise end your ride.

3a) Ride in space: When riding in traffic, create the largest cushion of space possible between you and all other vehicles. Doing so will make it easier for them to see you and give you more time to react to anything unexpected that they might do.

4) Do NOT ride IMPAIRED: If you drink, do drugs, are taking medication, sleep deprived or doing ANYTHING that may affect your mind or body, just don't ride. Riding safely requires that your mind and body both be sharp and healthy. Anything that negatively affects your perception, judgment, reaction time, ability to think, etc. should tell you to stay off the bike until you’re clean and clear. Riding impaired is a GREAT way to find an accident.

5) Avoid riding in the rain: Motorcycles enjoy many advantages over other vehicles including acceleration, maneuverability and vision. In the rain, many of those same advantages become liabilities due to lose of traction and our lack of windshield wipers and protection from the elements. Acceleration and maneuverability are instantly reduced greatly due to lack of traction and our vision is immediately compromised by the rain and fogging on our helmets/windscreens/glasses. In addition, we become much less visible to the other vehicles on the road.

6) Avoid riding at night: Why? One word: Deer. Or whatever critters you have that are local to the area and much more active at night. Animals are the one thing that we really have no good strategy to defend against. They can appear anywhere at anytime and once spotted you cannot reliably predict their movements/behavior. While animals can certainly be encountered even during the height of the daylight hours, between from dusk until dawn there is far more danger posed by the activities of our wilderness friends.

6a) If you get caught riding at night, choose the largest/most heavily travelled roads you can. Those lesser travelled great two lane roads with the twisties that cut through scenic undeveloped lands are MUCH more likely to animals that are out and about after dark. The larger roads with their noisy traffic, lights and fencing have a much lower probability for an animal encounter.

7) Ride slower. Riding motorcycles fast is easy...and dangerous. The faster you go, the less time you have to react to anything in front of you, including cross traffic, unexpected lane changers, red light runners, stop sign runners, arrogant pedestrians, driveway demons, left turners, double parkers, sudden brakers, crossing deer, decreasing radius corners, sand on your line, etc. It sucks, but the faster you go, the less time you have to be safe. As a new rider, it's PARTICULARLY important to keep the speeds down as new riders generally do not have the experience needed to make informed judgments "speed flexibility".

8) Maintain your ride: If doesn't work right/isn't reliable, then it's an accident waiting to happen. It's tough enough to ride safe with a bike in perfect condition, last thing ya need is to give yourself a handicap by riding a questionable machine. Do it yourself or pay to have it done right, but don't ride a sub-standard machine.

9) ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time): Gear up. IF something happens, there is no question that you want to be over-dressed rather than under-dressed. Less than 5% of motorcycle accidents are fatal but over 85% involve injury. If you're not dressed for it, you'll be in that painful 85%. The closer you are to ATGATT, the better your chances are of being in the 15% that walk away with nothing more than a story to share at the next rally or bike night or on your favorite internet forum.

10) Ride for yourself: Ride b/c you love it. Period. Any other reason is missing the point and distracting while riding. Do not ride to impress anyone. EVER. That includes girls. Yes, even the hot girls! It also includes parents, friends, siblings, co-workers, etc. The second you ride to impress, you run the risk of worrying more about how what you're doing looks to others and less about if what you're doing is smart or safe. Do not ride for gas mileage or the low up front cost of bikes. For most folks, in the long run, cars are cheaper and provide greater utility and are safer. The ONLY reason to ride is because you simply love it. Period.

For some interesting info regarding motorcycle accident stats, check this out: Motorcycle Accident Statistics - webBikeWorld

Here are conclusions from the report:
• Helmet use among fatally injured motorcyclists below 50 percent
• More motorcyclist fatalities are occurring on rural roads
• High blood alcohol levels are a major problem among motorcycle operators
• Half of the fatalities are related to negotiating a curve prior to the crash
• Over 80 percent of the fatalities occur off roadway
• Undivided roadways account for a majority of the fatalities
• Almost two thirds of the fatalities were associated with speeding as an operator contributing factor in the crash
• Almost 60 percent of motorcyclist fatalities occur at night
• Collision with a fixed object is a significant factor in over half of the fatalities
• Braking and steering maneuvers possibly contribute for almost 25 percent of the fatalities
• More riders age 40 and over are getting killed
• Almost one third of the fatally injured operators did not have a proper license
Based on the above conclusions, look at what you can EASILY do to lower your odds of being in a fatal accident:

1) Wear a helmet.
2) Don't drink and ride.
3) Treat corners with respect. Better to go in too slow than too fast.
4) Keep speed down.
5) Don't ride at night.
6) Get a license.

Again, the only way to ensure against a motorcycle accident is to simply not ride but if you do ride, there is a LOT you can do to stack the odds in your favor, both in terms of avoiding accidents and surviving them well if they do occur.

Best of luck!

Only a dummy would not know these things.
All the stuff above is just plain common sense but I guess some just don't have it.

 

[dadofthree]

I think this is an excellent post

 

[RedBusarider]

Based on the above conclusions, look at what you can EASILY do to lower your odds of being in a fatal accident:

1) Wear a helmet.
2) Don't drink and ride.
3) Treat corners with respect. Better to go in too slow than too fast.
4) Keep speed down.
5) Don't ride at night.
6) Get a license.

I know it said ATGATT on #9

If someone only read or remembered the conclusions above they may thing that a helmet is good enough.
Girls want to look sexy in their short shorts and halter tops not thinking about what could happen.

I guess sometimes common sense has to be learned the hard way.

 

[PaceMaster]

I have crashed 4 times....I'm soon 61..ridden since i was 15. Happily all 4 happend at slow speed. All were my fault with no collision with another object. 3 were caused by me not seeing the sand....All we can do is try to learn from ones mistakes....4th one...very lucky indeed.....passed a PU got on the brakes..hard..couldn't make the turn...sliding sideway's upright in the dirt ..heading for a telephone pole [would have hit it with my clutch cover] hopefully my leg out of the way....still at about 15-20 mph....you know it's gonna be a hard hit...i decided to steer it over a CLIFF....I just love the giant manzanita bush that stopped me about 20 feet down the cliff. I was able to ride it home..PS so far this year i have not ridden even a 100 miles...always get new season willies.. i am working on the bike right now...and intend to ride soon....Be safe all...thnx for the reminder...to do so.

 

[x-d-x]

good read! Cannot forget the dangers. Protect yourself at all times!!!