Can we prevent this

[dpep]

My estimate would be that at least 90% of serious motorcycle accidents are due to one of two reasons.

1. the rider did something stupid

2. the car driver 'didn't see' the motorcycle

Keep these two points in mind and do everything to can to minimize each one every time you ride and you will probably come out all right. The first point is obvious but you can actually control the second almost as much.

Visibility, visibility, visibility. Don't dress to look cool. Dress to stay alive. Wear a hi-viz jacket and a white helmet when you challenge the freeway traffic. A lot of drivers will think you are a cop; that is the one kind of motorcycle drivers are more likely to see for some reason.

Sportbikes and cruisers are more likely not to be seen because they show the least frontal area. Touring bikes with big fairings are easiest to see coming down the road. Standards like our GSs are somewhere in between. Sit as upright as you can to to fill as much of the driver's viewing frame as possible. It will be especially effective with that hi-viz jacket on.
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[Guest]

make survivability a priority. wear the gear, all the time. assume everyone is trying to kill you, and don't let them. Practice and train, read all you can, i can recommend "proficient motorcycling" and "total control" as 2 places to start. Take rider training classes, start with the msf class, but don't stop there. track days are very good for giving the confidence and skills to ride your way out of some things. Don't be STUPID, which kills a lot of riders. Every time you get on the bike, have the proper mental attitude, for me, and this is maybe more that a little cheesy, i role play the part of a fighter pilot. as stated before, most of the time it is the riders' own fault that they let themselves get killed. sad, but true.

[tkent02]

My estimate would be that at least 90% of serious motorcycle accidents are due to one of two reasons.

1. the rider did something stupid

2. the car driver 'didn't see' the motorcycle

The left turner is bad, but more riders are killed missing corners. Both can be avoided almost 100% with enough thought, planning and effort.

[GSX1000E]

Improve your skills. Trust no one. Wear all the gear you can, as often as you can. Don't be stupid. Push your skill, not your luck. Pay attention, always. Avoid ****ing matches with cars. Learn to fall, ski, take Judo lessons, whatever you can to improve your chances of not getting hurt when you fall. Hint - landing on your hands doesn't work. Take dirt riding lessons, track days, any other form of riding that will let you learn more, and keep learning. Practice your riding skills regularly. Ride with riders better than you. When it's safe to do so, push the limits of your bike. When it's not safe, don't. When you think you are done learning, you are probably about to learn a very hard lesson indeed. Don't ride with idiots. Don't ride in large groups. Start on a small bike, master it and if you wish to, move up to a larger one. Those who learn on big bikes rarely master anything.

Don't believe everything you read about riding on the internet, there are a lot of riders who don't know a damned thing, but they can sure sound like they do.

Any advice that starts with "never", or "always", is wrong some of the time.

Don't let being legal take priority over being safe. Legally dead is worse than a speeding ticket.

All great advice. I fully believe that every street rider should spend at least 1,000 miles learning on the dirt first before ever riding on the street as it teaches you so much. And as for breaking some stupid law to survive, EXACTLY! Judges are SUPPOSED to be able to judge and should see that you did what was necessary to stay alive and not fine you anything.

[Tempted]

You have to drive every car within a quarter mile of you and ride your bike at the same time.

I was on my 2001 ZRX1200R when this happened. Notice I wasn't speeding, my headlight was on bright(look at the reflection in her tailgate) and was riding in the center of my lane. Also notice that she showed no warning, no signal lights and was oblivious to everything around her. The incident was much closer than it appears in the video because the camera is mounted on my radiator just in front of my left knee. By the time she comes into frame I had already been on the brakes and was down shifting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69IZ1RZbas0

[earlfor]

You have to drive every car within a quarter mile of you and ride your bike at the same time.

I was on my 2001 ZRX1200R when this happened. Notice I wasn't speeding, my headlight was on bright(look at the reflection in her tailgate) and was riding in the center of my lane. Also notice that she showed no warning, no signal lights and was oblivious to everything around her. The incident was much closer than it appears in the video because the camera is mounted on my radiator just in front of my left knee. By the time she comes into frame I had already been on the brakes and was down shifting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69IZ1RZbas0

You may have been seen prior to the incident, but at the time the driver decided to change lanes, you were in their blind spot.

[tkent02]

You may have been seen prior to the incident, but at the time the driver decided to change lanes, you were in their blind spot.

Yep, that's pretty much how they roll.

[bobgroger]

It's not always the car's fault. I turned left on the highway last summer, there was plenty of room for me to merge. At least if the guy on the bike was doing anywhere close to the speed limit. If you are going 2 or 3x the posted speed, the other drivers will misjudge your closing rate. He passed me on the right and flipped me off....
Darwin was right.

[Tempted]

You may have been seen prior to the incident, but at the time the driver decided to change lanes, you were in their blind spot.

The driver used no signal and never looked in the mirror(I ALWAYS look at the other drivers' faces when I'm close to them). That bike is a ZRX1200R with a full Kerker system, you don't miss it. Had she used any signal or looked in the mirror I would have sped up or slowed down like I always do. Had she hit me I don't see how it could have been my fault.

[tkent02]

The driver used no signal and never looked in the mirror

Yeah, that's what they do.

That bike is a ZRX1200R with a full Kerker system, you don't miss it.

Yeah, from the front you can't hear it at all.

Had she used any signal or looked in the mirror I would have sped up or slowed down like I always do.

Does not matter. Again, that's what they do.

Had she hit me I don't see how it could have been my fault.

Wouldn't matter who's fault, you are the dead guy here.

[argonsagas]

Quote...Tkent02

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tempted
The driver used no signal and never looked in the mirror

Yeah, that's what they do.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tempted
That bike is a ZRX1200R with a full Kerker system, you don't miss it.

Yeah, from the front you can't hear it at all.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tempted
Had she used any signal or looked in the mirror I would have sped up or slowed down like I always do.

Does not matter. Again, that's what they do.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Tempted
Had she hit me I don't see how it could have been my fault.

Wouldn't matter who's fault, you are the dead guy here.


All accurate....especially the comment about the noise.

Many people insist that loud pipes make a big difference and are a safety benefit.

They do not make a big difference to anyone but the rider who holds these false beliefs.

Pedestrians can hear the noise, and may stay out of your way. Other drivers/riders may hear them IF THEY ARE STOPPED IN TRAFFIC...where they do no harm to anyone......, but the drivers/riders you think will hear them and who you are depending on to both hear your bike and react to the noise in a positive manner will hear nothing unless they are behind you or right beside you.. As long as they are in front of you, you don't exist in their minds.

Simple reality:

Car/truck drivers AND other motorcycle riders that are driving ahead of the bike that has loud pipes will hear nothing at all.

[tkent02]

Simple reality:

Car/truck drivers AND other motorcycle riders that are driving ahead of the bike that has loud pipes will hear nothing at all.

Had a guy on a Harley pull up alongside my daughter's car, snuck up on us and just camped out in the blind spot on the right side. Going about 40 or so mph. After a while we both noticed a funny sound, but it wasn't loud at all. It was like the car was making a different tone or something. Turned our heads and there he was. We slowed down to get him ahead where we could see him, all of a sudden it was very loud, straight pipes with no baffles at all.
It really does no good from the front.

[Guest]

Blind spots are a very dangerous place to be.

[kerrfunk]

These are worth reiterating.

1. YOU ARE INVISIBLE. That means that since they can't see you, they will do whatever they want, right in front of you.

Visibility, visibility, visibility. Don't dress to look cool. Dress to stay alive. Wear a hi-viz jacket and a white helmet when you challenge the freeway traffic.

Also, study and practice riding techniques.

And don't ride stupid. A little patch of gravel at the side of the road doesn't care who you're trying to impress, or how big your stones are. You are in control of your machine. Keep it under control. Don't ride stupid.

[Steveb64]

Something that has kept me alive for my almost 40 years of riding motorcycles:

1. YOU ARE INVISIBLE. That means that since they can't see you, they will do whatever they want, right in front of you.

2. THERE ARE A SPECIAL FEW THAT CAN SEE YOU, but they are aiming at you.

.

Did you know my grandfather?

Pretty much EXACTLY what he told me - about 40 years ago, when I was getting into bikes. "Treat everyone as if they can't see you - and as if the ones that can - are out to get you".

I'm also a big fan of learning on a dirt bike before hitting the road - that's how it worked out for me (not planned - just how it worked out) - and the skills I had learned riding dirt for a number of years have most definitely been the reason I'm sitting here typing, and not fertiliser somewhere... One of the main lessons is about target fixation. On a dirt bike (I figured this out after a 20 year hiatus, then got a dirt bike again, and put some thought into what and why I was doing things) you learn pretty fast to NOT look at that big rut that you don't want to ride into - or you end up in it. You learn to look at WHERE you want to go to avoid the problem. Which pretty much works most times.

Works in life too - concentrate on the solution - not the problem.