+ Why we crash +

[rizvi]

Got this off svrider.com
With all the people going down so early in the season, I thought I'd post a reminder to for the riders out there. This was taken from tristatesportbikes.com and gixxer.com. Have fun and keep the shiny side up.

1. We crash on cold tires. Respect them by giving them a few miles to warm up, especially if they're brand new. After stopping to eat or something, remember you're not the only thing that has cooled down, allow your tires sufficient time to warm up again.

2. We crash on overloaded tires. If you are new to riding or rusty after a winter layoff, applying too much throttle or brake while leaned over could be very costly. Our tires can provide amazing levels of traction but they're not immune to "lead" hands. The instinct of grabbing a handful of front brake while leaned over will put you in the guardrail.

3. We crash trying to keep up. Ultimate speed on a back road has little to do with the bike and everything to do with the rider. Once you realize this, twisting the throttle WFO to keep your friends in sight on the straights while losing them in the corners becomes a non-option. Ride your own pace.

4. We crash because we want to go fast. Sometimes, even the posted speed limit is inappropriate. Coming over a blind crest at 45mph might be too fast if you can't stop the bike before hitting the hazard you only see when it's too late. Speed reduces time to react and adds distance to react in emergency situations.

5. We crash because we bail out. How many posts have there been about entering a corner too hot, standing the bike up and running out of road before getting the bike stopped? Too hot means your brain is probably freaked out but there is still plenty of tire traction available. LOOK through the corner, LEAN the bike until hard parts drag, BELIEVE in modern tire technology.

6. We crash because we lose our focus. The bike travels 88 feet per second at 60 mph. A moment's inattention puts you that much farther into a corner. Think about the next corner, not the one you just blew. That one is over, focus on getting the next one right.

7. We crash because we rush corner entrances. Slow in, fast out works for racers season after season. It works for road riders too. Slow down a bit on your corner entrances and see how much smoother you become.

8. We crash because we can't keep up with the motorcycle. Make sure your software is the equal of your bikes hardware. The bike has the ability to go 160mph, that doesn’t mean YOU do.

9. We crash trying to look cool. If it takes wheelies, stoppies and other stunts to impress your friends...you need new friends.

10. We crash because we don't practice enough. If you are going to be riding at 100kph you should practice emergency braking at 100kph. Otherwise, how are you going to know how to do it when the situation comes up?

11. We crash because of indecisiveness. If you're going to do something, then do it. If your bud decides to go through a red light and you decide to stop, then STOP!... and vice versa.. if you decide to go, then GO!, don't stop.

12. Communication in group riding, make sure you understand what to do and what the signals mean.

p.s. Alcohol dosen't help either. Use your head.





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Motorcycle safety

Despite accounting for approximately 3% of vehicle registrations in Victoria, motorcyclists represented 14% of the road toll in 2005.

Motorcyclists have a high vulnerability to sustaining injuries on the road given their limited protection in the event of a crash.

Issues

Protective clothing
One of the most effective measures motorcyclists can take to avoid or lessen certain types of injuries is by wearing full protective gear.


Visibility
One of the most common crash types involving motorcycles involves other vehicles. A proportion of these result from other road users failing to see the motorcyclist. The use of daytime running lights and bright coloured motorcycles and clothing can help to address this issue. Methods of improving the way other road users perceive motorcyclists on the road need to be explored and acted upon.

Alcohol
Riding demands greater co-ordination, balance and concentration than driving. Effects of alcohol are therefore far more dramatic for riders, even at levels under the legal limit of 0.05g/100ml.

Experience
Inexperience amongst motorcyclists is a contributing factor in many motorcycle crashes. As with car drivers, experience is critical in making motorcyclists safer on the roads. However, whilst inexperienced drivers normally fall within the age group of 18 to 25 years, inexperienced riders can be of any age. This is partly due to individuals taking up riding later in life and partly as a result of riders taking up motorcycling again after many years of not riding at all.

[T~Bone]

+1

words to live by.

[FiReSTaRT]

Thanks for posting this up. Good food for thought before the start of my 2nd season.

[Fili-mac]

Yes good post. Too bad many will forget aboutthis when the season starts.

[JP]

Yes good post. Too bad many will forget aboutthis when the season starts.

Not if its been made a sticky

[wolfer001]

well written.
+1

[stephanieRR]

+1

love it

[pearl]

Agreed

A lot of them works hand in hand with each other, as long as you ride for yourself, not anyone else, and use common sense, you'll be fine.

Another one I've experienced many times, let it be when I was a newb to riding, skiing, driving, or even on a bicycle, don't let panic take over. Try and find an exit or make the best of the situation, but of course, this is much much much easier said than done. Everytime I get a close call, I spend 10-20 minutes thinking and analyzing the close call, so that I can hopefully be prepared if it were to happen again. (touch wood) But of course, not letting panic take over is much much much easier said than done.

[darryle]

"We crash trying to keep up. Ultimate speed on a back road has little to do with the bike and everything to do with the rider. Once you realize this, twisting the throttle WFO to keep your friends in sight on the straights while losing them in the corners becomes a non-option. Ride your own pace."
If the people your riding with are really your friends,they will ride their pace but always wait up for you before they get to far ahead

[tmcconne]

I did a rider training course about 10 years ago in Australia, Wayne Gardiner (World Champion - 80's sometime) was a guest instructor and he made the point that "you go where you look" which I have found to be so true over the years, on a few times I have found myself into a corner too fast and the old fight or flight nuerons start flooding the brain - I have found that the 'fight' opion is better, go hard for where you want to go, and as another poster said, let the technology work for you, and if that doesn't work, be prepared by wearing high quality protective gear.

[Dirtybill]

I crash because I'm on dirt

[fullforce]

I crashed a thousand times on dirt , hoping to never drop on the road , we'll see!

[johnp]

From August 21st 2008 Globe & Mail

Riders, make it easy for motorist to see you

Article Comments TED LATURNUS

August 21, 2008

According to the service manager at my local dealership, this has been an unusually bad season for motorcycle accidents. He says his shop has "tons" of busted-up bikes in various stages of disrepair all over the place and he can't recall this many insurance claims coming through in the past.

Although much of the evidence is anecdotal, some statistics seem to back up his view. According to the U.S.-based Insurance Information Institute, motorcycle fatalities are at their highest level in more than 25 years, and have been rising steadily every year since 1996.

In part, this may be because there are more bikes - and large displacement ones at that - than ever on the road these days, but it's also because there are more cars than ever out there. Our highways and byways are crowded, and riding a motorcycle or scooter is considerably riskier than it used to be.

A driver recently plowed into a group of bikes on a highway in New Brunswick, badly injuring six of them, for example, while Andrea Pininfarina, boss of the legendary Italian automotive design firm, was killed riding his scooter near Turin. There have been a rash of accidents in my hometown, Vancouver, including one on one of the busiest streets in the city. An elderly motorist turned left in front of a rider, who lost control, mounted the curb and collided with a utility pole. He died.

The most common accident scenario is one in which the motorist says he or she isn't aware of the bike: "I just didn't see him" is the refrain frequently heard by police and paramedics at these accident scenes. If you have ridden for any length of time, chances are pretty good you've been cut off by an inattentive driver who "just didn't see you." I know I have, more times than I care to remember.

According to various studies in Europe and elsewhere, part of the problem is that because a bike is so much smaller than an automobile, motorists may have a built-in sense of "safety superiority" that leads to careless attitudes and sloppy driving behaviour.

Studies also suggest that because bikes are smaller, it is more difficult for some motorists to judge their speed; if the bike is proceeding in a straight line toward the oncoming driver, the motorist is sometimes fooled about the bike's location and speed. This seems to be especially true with inexperienced and/or elderly drivers.

Despite what many riders may think, a left-turner who fails to yield the right of way is not the most common accident involving motorcyclists. It's the fourth-most common, according to the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, accounting for at least eight per cent of all motorcycle accidents. But it is the most common mishap involving another vehicle.

(The most common accidents for bikes are lone-vehicle mishaps: a rider who fails to negotiate a turn in the road, falls off the bike, collides with something, has too much to drink, or similar situations.)

In a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Transport, almost 70 per cent of all right-of-way violations between bikes and cars were caused by a motorist who failed to yield to an oncoming motorcycle. According to the widely read Hurt Report, conducted in the late 1970s by the University of Southern California and published in 1981, two-thirds of all motorcycles accidents result from a motorist "not seeing" the bike, with predictably horrific results. And they are horrific. Don't kid yourself; a motorcycle accident is a sickening thing to witness, or be involved in. I know - I've been there.

Even at comparatively slow speeds, a rider can suffer severe injury in an accident, and there's an 80-per-cent chance he or she will suffer an injury of some kind. No question that motorcycle accidents are life-changing events.

As a rider, you can take action to make yourself more visible:

A light-coloured helmet - especially white - has been shown to increase a rider's visibility by up to 25 per cent.

Fluorescent-coloured clothing will increase your visibility odds by up to 45 per cent.

Always have your headlight on, and if you have auxiliary lights, put them on too.

Remember: as far as most motorists are concerned, you are invisible. Ride accordingly and take nothing for granted.

I would also like to send a strong, loud message to motorists: A motorcyclist is not an image. That's a real person on that bike, with a real life, who is vulnerable to stupid moves by inattentive drivers. More importantly, that rider has as much right to be there as you do. How many more of us have to be struck down, lying on the street like road kill, before drivers smarten up? How many more motorcyclists have to die or suffer serious injury before people get the message?

globeauto@globeandmail.com

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...GlobeAuto/home

[WildKitty]

A very useful thread... especially for newbs like me Thank you, OP! and the above poster. Good to see this is a safety conscious community.