Cable barriers

[Farmwithjunk]

FarmW/Junk, common sense ain't so common these days, but I believe you got some. I like the way you think.

According to my wife, I aughtta have a lot of it still. (She doesn't think I use what I was given at birth )

My dad told me I better use what common sense I had, 'cause I didn't have too much UNCOMMON sense. Now whatta you suppose he meant by that?

At any rate, THANKS!

 

[BTDT]

I haven't been on a street bike in years, but I can see the concern with the cable barriers. I used to race motocross, and dabbled in flat track racing, but with the flat track, I never liked the thought of hitting a fence if you fell or got forced to the outside.

 

[Colin Giersberg]

Regardless of the type of barrier in place, all of them require maintenace when hit, some more so than others. I work for the Alabama Dept. of Transportation, and while I have no claimed experience in these designs, they all work best when the vehicle hitting the barrier impacts it at the angle that it was designed to be hit at. There is some latitude, but some impact angles result in very bad accidents, and there is no barrier that I know of that can minimize the severity of all accidents.

Recently, a local small community fire chief lost his leg in an accident while riding a motorcycle. He was forced off of the road by a fellow cyclist by accident, and he hit a fence post (T-type metal) supporting a barbed wire fence. The post severed his leg, not the wire.

So, if you throw caution to the wind, don't be surprised by what happens to you.

Regards, Colin

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I haven't been on a street bike in years, but I can see the concern with the cable barriers. I used to race motocross, and dabbled in flat track racing, but with the flat track, I never liked the thought of hitting a fence if you fell or got forced to the outside.

I rode enduros and hare scrambles mostly. In later years of my "carreer" I rode a few Grand National Cross Country Series events. But my passion was those enduroes.

The one that was always my favorite was held in Princeton Kentucky. It was the "Daniel Boone Enduro". Every year there was this one section where we ran down a steep off camber hill, on a 3' wide trail, next to a barbed wire fence. By the time we got to it, you would always be running late. It was a chance to let 'er rip. Just don't look at that fence. If you did, it would draw you in like a magnet.

Us enduro riders were a little tougher than all those moto-crossers Y'all never ran a 5 hour moto!

 

[whodat90]

He was forced off of the road by a fellow cyclist by accident...

So, if you throw caution to the wind, don't be surprised by what happens to you.

Regards, Colin

Where did he throw caution to the wind?

 

[shane]

I just came in after driving through Murfreesboro traffic. I could not help but think of this thread. I just wittnessed a young man laying in the middle of the road who had been clipped by a young woman. He was rocking back and forth holding his knees, obviously in extreem pain. His bike was laying beside right beside him so the young woman who hit him must of not been going that fast.

Goes to show you can get hurt anywhere anytime. Life is risky business.

 

[JRobyn]

I'm very glad to hear that the cable barriers work that well!! They LOOK like they would work like a guitar string or a rubber band and fling anything that hit them back into traffic, or cut through anything sliding along them!

- Jay

 

[N80]

Where did he throw caution to the wind?

When he got on the motorcycle!

I'm just kidding...sort of. I've ridden dirt bikes recreationally and I've mountain biked a lot. But riding a motorcycle or a bike with cars just always seemed too risky for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that motorcycles are not a legitimate form of transportation. I have nothing against them or anyone who rides them. But the reality of the physics that exists on the American highway system is such that the motorcycle is simply underweight and underprotected.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

When he got on the motorcycle!

I'm just kidding...sort of. I've ridden dirt bikes recreationally and I've mountain biked a lot. But riding a motorcycle or a bike with cars just always seemed too risky for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that motorcycles are not a legitimate form of transportation. I have nothing against them or anyone who rides them. But the reality of the physics that exists on the American highway system is such that the motorcycle is simply underweight and underprotected.

I've been an advocate of "individual responsibility" for as long as I've known what that means. Some people have this sense of entitlement, believing they should be able to do whatever they wish, but when something goes terribly wrong, someone else should have stepped up and "saved them". There's a certain percentage of motorcyclists who seem to feel this way, just as there is with any group, culture, society, race, creed, gender, or political interest. (Not singling ANYONE out. Speaking in broad general terms here)

I ride a bike. I hold NO ONE else responsible for the outcome, other than an individual who exersizes negligence or disregard for the law that causes harm to me, should I be involved in an accident. It's not the Federal or State Governments responsibility to prevent me from harm beyond enforcing laws that protect EVERYONE.

I'd expect every REASONABLE effort be taken to create a safe path for me to ride, but it would seem UNREASONABLE to expect millions to be spent to protect so small of a portion of the motoring public.

Now for the controversial part that flies in the face of some of what I've already said....

As a long-time rider, I support laws REQUIRING helmets. I support laws requiring rider training. I support laws requiring bikes to "fit in" with the mainstream. (ie noise limits) It's up to the riders to create and maintain a good public image. We have to realize we ARE "different". We have to make consessions. We have to realize that riding IS dangerous, and that won't ever change.

 

[whodat90]

Yet again, I agree completely with FWJ. The biggest problem is that here in the US motorcycles are toys. In other countries they're transportation. I'm the odd guy out; I commute on my motorcycle.