Motorcycle fatalities with/out helmets?
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Boondox
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More and more often these days I'm finding campgrounds off limits to me when I motorcycle tour because of the loud pipes crowd. It doesn't matter that my BMW is about as quiet as a sewing machine. I've also been turned away from a couple of communities because I ride on 2 wheels.
In the end, the loud pipes argument will go the way of the right to smoke in public. Secondhand smoke or secondhand noise -- it's all the same.
Loud pipes cost rights.
Pete
Jaylegger
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Since this thread has gone a little off track I'll continue with that course. I've always felt the argument that a loud pipe offers a level of safey a bunch of hooey. There's nothing safe about a driver of a car being startled by an extremely loud foreign sound, the first thing that is done is eyes go off the road to scan the environment to figure out where and what is causing the noise, at the same time it's reflex to get the foot on the brake just in case the noise is the beginniong of a catastrophic failure of your vehicle. As said, a driver being startled erodes a level of safety not add to it.
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DK35vince
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Very well said.
The Haymaker
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Thus the reason I said anyone who believes in the loud pipes theory really needs to learn how to drive defensively. Too many people don't hear emergency vehicles, nor can they see a bike headlight as they are making a left turn in front of you. They sure aren't going to hear a rear facing obnoxiously loud exhaust that you'd have to blat when you should be grabbing a handful of brake instead.
Boondox
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Well said. Another point (not limited to loud pipes) is that any rider who believes his safety devices will protect him to the point where he can passively ride in a bubble of immunity is a crash waiting to happen. I wear red, reflective, armored clothing, a full face helmet, gauntlet gloves, heavy boots...and my bike has plenty of lights fore and aft as well as reflective strips. But my best defensive tool is my own awareness of all around me. On vacation I typically ride 600-800 miles per day to get where I'm going, and have no problem pulling over for a power nap if I find my attentiveness fading
Whatever you ride, ride safe!
Jaylegger
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Agree Haymaker, during my motorcycle years it became obvious there's nothing more important to safety than being acutely aware of your surroundings at all times and always assume everyone on the road has the driving skills of an idiot.
MossRoad
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MossRoad
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Ha! I'm 49 and have to agree with you. In the last couple years I can pretty much tell about a day before the weather changes.... my knees feel like they're in a C clamp. :laughing:
It has good information but it is 30 years out of date. It is a good read.
One of the items listed was braking problems. I would think ABS brakes may have impacted that number. The speed of the collisions seems low but the study is looking at all accidents. My area has had four motorcycle fatalities in the last few weeks. Only one was with a car but no other information was released. Of the three other deaths it was a bike only accident. I assume all riders had helmets. All were going to fast 30+ mph over the posted limit when they ran off the road. Obviously the helmet was irrelevant. The cycle fatalities I see reported usually are biker only accidents and high speed.
I wonder if MSF has helped bring down the number of accidents.
I THINK the demographics of motorcycle riders has changed in 30 years which may impact accidents.
One of the surprise was weather was not really a factor.
But what was not surprising was 75% of the accidents were with cars and that 2/3s were the car drivers fault.
Twould be nice to have a new study.
What I did find was that a large number of cycle accidents involved alcohol. I think it was up towards 70%. This I can control but 2/3s of the accidents with cars I cannot control. :confused2:
I saw a travel show that was up in Canada. I think they were in Nova Scotia and riding a coastal road on bikes. It sure looked like a nice place to ride a bike.
Later,
Dan
