Okay... I have to chime in here.
I posted my rules for motorcycle safety just a bit ago on another
thread to this list but for those that missed I have put an average of
around 20K miles a year on bikes for the past 45 years. I have NOT had
a debilitating accident. I DO wear a helmet almost always,
Now.... From the rules I posted it should be evident that I
believe a rider's best chance is to practice some simple things
designed to keep him/her and the bike away from the spot where the
accident will happen. All the protective "gear" in the world won't
save you from your own stupidity and that of the drivers around you.
Same is true on the race track, but there you know what your risks
were going in. On the highways, your risks are the great unknown and
how you cope with them and mitigate them is what saves you...sometimes
with only an instant to decide. So you'd better be good at it and
you'd better practive until it becomes second nature.
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's classes are a starting point only.
They give you the rudiments and then tell you to go practive them
until you become an expert. I don't know the exact numbers, but it is
well over 90% of the riders who are killed or severely injured on the
highways of this country never attended or graduater from the MSF
courses. That says an awful lot about what REALLY protects riders and
it isn't helmets!
There is an old saying about helmets which I have found to be singular
in its truth. "No helmet protects you from every possible accident.
You wear the kind of helmet that protects you in the accident you plan
to have".
Motorcycle licensing is at least partly at fault here. The machines
are dangerous. There is no two ways about it. So what do we do? We
won't let junior have a car at 10 years old, but we think nothing of
giving him the keys to a dirt bike. Since motorcycles are in herently
far more dangerous than autos, why do we not require far more rigorous
training and licensing requirements?
I agree with Buster that the accident is usually CAUSED by the car
driver, however, the motorcyclist should be expecting that situation
and should have already avoided the situation. I contend this will
work in almost all situations a rider can face.
In most states the overwhelming majority of the deaths and serious
injuries on motorcycles happens to young men below the age of 20 who;
1) are riding a bike far to advanced for their skills, 2) have either
never taken the MSF courses or are not practicing the MSF rules at the
time of the accident, or 3) not wearing protective gear. A helmet
worn with shorts, T-shirt, and flip-flops is a recipe for disaster!
The idea here is for motorcyclists to AVOID the accidents entirely,
bot to put on layer upon layer of protective gear (aka helmet) and
then drive like they are invincible! The latter is what helmet laws
encourage.
Nuff said....
Cheers!!
Jim - 68 Midget in Dodge City just returned from 2000 miles in 4 days
on a murdercycle.
--
1964 R60/2 BMW
1968 MG Midget
1976 R90/6 BMW
1990 K100LT BMW
Thomas Huxley - "It is not who is right, but what is right, that is of
importance."
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