riding a 250cc (or less) bike on the 401 (or other major highways)

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Last I checked, the reason why you turn your head is because you have a blind spot.

And I don't believe these "motorcycles" you speak up have rear-view mirrors either. :P So the convex mirrors solve both those problems.
 
When you turn your head and take a look at the lane before you make a change, you let the people around know that you are about to do something.
 
Actually, that's what hand signals and turn signals are for. But let's not get into that.

Bottom line is that I rarely ever need to turn my head, unless there's a motorcycle beside me, because nothing else is small enough that can't be seen by my mirrors.
 
You may not believe it if you haven't been on the highway yet, but on any bike capable of highway speeds it is much safer on the highway than on any surface streets.
 
I don't believe it. But you could convince me.

Why is a bike safer on a highway?
 
Tango5 said:
You may not believe it if you haven't been on the highway yet, but on any bike capable of highway speeds it is much safer on the highway than on any surface streets.
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+1, still amazed at some of my biker friends that say "the 401 is pretty scary" to non-bikers, every time I end up in argument trying to explain why it's the safest place to be on a bike.
 
Ride_Safe said:
I don't believe it. But you could convince me.

Why is a bike safer on a highway?
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Completely controlled situation, no cross streets, usually 3 lanes so you can control your position easily in relation to the other cars (which are all going the same way), open sight lines generally...
 
I suppose. To add to that, you could just as easily be killed in an accident going 30km/h as you could going 120km/h. Plus, the trip is shorter, which means less time for you to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I don't know, though, because you have very little time to react, compared to driving on normal roads. It's also safer on normal roads in the rain, for sure.
 
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Ride_Safe said:
Actually, that's what hand signals and turn signals are for. But let's not get into that.

Bottom line is that I rarely ever need to turn my head, unless there's a motorcycle beside me, because nothing else is small enough that can't be seen by my mirrors.
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It may be that one time when your signal bulb came short, and the 585hp Ferrari on the other lane decided to go full retard.

But besides odds, I think turning helmets/heads catch more attention of others on the road than the flashing lights anyways, but that may be just me.

Also, don't put your life at stake on others' knowledge of hand signals.
 
Agreed.
Anything that gets the attention of other drivers without bothering or distracting them should always be encouraged.

But I think there is no universally 'safest place to ride', because everyone rides their bike differently.

Overall, I find that driving on the highway requires more focus, because you have very little reaction time. In addition to that, in my opinion, the majority of aggressive and impatient drivers are found on the highway, because they expect to be able to go as fast as they want. If traffic is slow, then you can bet there will be people who think they are better than everyone else and are entitled to cut other people off to get where they're going.

I also think normal roads are more safe because the hazards are predictable. You know to watch out for intersections. You know to watch out for people making left turns. But on the highway, the danger is never as obvious, because you don't know when or where someone is going to cut you off or forget to do a shoulder check.
 
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whetaus-tr said:
It may be that one time when your signal bulb came short, and the 585hp Ferrari on the other lane decided to go full retard.

But besides odds, I think turning helmets/heads catch more attention of others on the road than the flashing lights anyways, but that may be just me.

Also, don't put your life at stake on others' knowledge of hand signals.
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+1
I've had many conversations with people back in high school where they're like "I passed everything except for the hand signals".
That always worries me as to me it seems that was the easiest part. I am sure they did not learn since then as Some of my friends still don't know their hand signals.
 
LOL...I am on the 401 all the time on my ZRZ250. I ride at 130km/h all the time.
 
IT WILL ALWAYS be safer on the highway because the crappy drivers (handful of my female friends) are scared to go on the highway and they drive like shiet on local roads. Most new drivers tend to stay away from the highway, i dont know its just a noob thing - go local when you just start driving. So you'll be more prone to getting iced locally vs on the highway. Thats only from the driver perspective itself, sure you might get the aggressive drivers on the highway but you can easily blow by them since there's no traffic lights. That's just the way i see it :P non rush hour that is which is when i'm ever on the highway.
 
Ride_Safe said:
Agreed.
Anything that gets the attention of other drivers without bothering or distracting them should always be encouraged.

But I think there is no universally 'safest place to ride', because everyone rides their bike differently.

Overall, I find that driving on the highway requires more focus, because you have very little reaction time. In addition to that, in my opinion, the majority of aggressive and impatient drivers are found on the highway, because they expect to be able to go as fast as they want. If traffic is slow, then you can bet there will be people who think they are better than everyone else and are entitled to cut other people off to get where they're going.

I also think normal roads are more safe because the hazards are predictable. You know to watch out for intersections. You know to watch out for people making left turns. But on the highway, the danger is never as obvious, because you don't know when or where someone is going to cut you off or forget to do a shoulder check.
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As an auto claims adjuster I can assure you that you are wrong. 90% of the claims that come across my desk happen at an intersection. #1 is a rear ender at a red light and a VERY close #2 is the left had turn at an intersection. After that it's a cluster**** if things that you can't imagine people trying to pull off. If you're nervous about having less reaction time on the highway than that is your fault for following too closely. And as for the rain, I'd rather ride on the realatively straight constant speed that a highway provides than to have to start, stop, turn, and watch out for cars on a side street.
 
Only thing more dangerous about riding on the expressway is getting bored and sloppy. (by the way, "highway" is anything that isn't a local road).

Otherwise, as others have pointed out, fewer dangers and more predictable situation. Most people having trouble riding on expressways are just bad riders - i.e. zipping between cars, following too closely, poor lane positioning, inattention. The speeds on the expressway make consequences of bad things happening potentially worse but chances of bad things happening are far less.
 
I think a distinction needs to be made between the 401 (GTA) and the 401 outside the city. Once you're clear of the city, it's like any other highway. Within the GTA (Mon-Fri) it's a mess--tons of truck traffic, high levels of driver aggression, and lots and lots of lanes. Whether or not it's statistically dangerous, it just gives me the heebie jeebies.
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