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My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

gill.net.in

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Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#201

Post by somerandomqaguy »

K0balt wrote: post #134

Really nice project. If you are thinking commercial you may want to look into IP issues to see if there are active patents (probably expired by now?) As far as design choices, based on my journeys in similar types of projects: (just my$.02, not a critique) USB will be a significant point of failure. The connector has voltage present and electrochemical activity will destroy the connector over time unless you can keep…

It's not the first per say. https://admorelighting.com/

Their owners manual for their braking light bar lists Patent # 10,363,865, but I don't know if this applies 1 to 1.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#202

Post by kelnos »

aziaziazi wrote: post #156
andrewflnr wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a smiley face rendered in retroreflective tape on the back of mine. I figure it's both bright and triggers the very sensitive human visual system for detecting faces. It's hard to say how much it helps, especially since I put it on basically the same time I started riding at all, but I don't often have people tailgating me. ed: and it was only a couple bucks, that's nice.

Nice idea! Cars owner sometime use a "children inside" sticker. Won’t work for a solo bike obviously but wonder if some other messages might be effective like "Dad of toddlers", "I might be a cop", "vulnerable human"… the smiley is easier to read through.

I have a negative visceral reaction to the "baby on board" stickers on cars. It feels really entitled; to me it says, "be extra careful with me, because my small child is more deserving of safety than other people".

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#203

Post by alamortsubite »

radlad wrote: post #155
kjkjadksj wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some “militant” urban cycling commuters do things like attach a pool noodle horizontally and vertically to create space and visibility. I’d probably hazard a guess that avoiding highway miles also lowers your risk profile substantially.

Freeway driving tends to be the safest driving, in any vehicle. This is because speed deltas are typically low, and there are no cross-streets or stopping. https://safetrec.berkeley.edu/2023-safetrec-traffic-safety-f... (Ctrl+F "Crash Location of Motorcycle Fatal Crashes")

I think the confusion may be that you commented on freeway safety, whereas the comment you replied to discussed highway safety. Freeways are limited access highways; not all highways are freeways.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#204

Post by kelnos »

razemio wrote: post #191
AndrewSwift wrote: post #189

I wondered once if it would be possible to ride a motorcycle safely if I drove carefully (everyone I know who rides has been in at least one serious accident). I thought: I could look at the data, but I see so many motorcyclists driving dangerously that the data wouldn't teach me much. So then I thought: I bet if I look at the accident rate for women riders it would be interesting. I found that in the UK, male riders…

This sadly does not say anything because the kilometers driven is unknown in this statistic, right? So it could be that female drivers do not drive that many kilometers compared to males, which results in less accidents. Also, is this accidents total men / women? Then it would not even take into account, that there are significant more male riders.

GP didn't specify, but IIRC vehicle incident rates are usually specified in terms of distance driven/ridden, so the stats they were looking at may have already taken that into account.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#206

Post by subscribed »

kelnos wrote: post #202
aziaziazi wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice idea! Cars owner sometime use a "children inside" sticker. Won’t work for a solo bike obviously but wonder if some other messages might be effective like "Dad of toddlers", "I might be a cop", "vulnerable human"… the smiley is easier to read through.

I have a negative visceral reaction to the "baby on board" stickers on cars. It feels really entitled; to me it says, "be extra careful with me, because my small child is more deserving of safety than other people".

That's unnecessary.

Think more like "I can be really distracted and suddenly swerve because my toddler threw their drink at me".

Like with L-plate drivers. Be very careful, don't hate, they're just danger to themselves and everyone else around. They're not entitled, they're warning.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#207

Post by apt-apt-apt-apt »

AndrewSwift wrote: post #189

I wondered once if it would be possible to ride a motorcycle safely if I drove carefully (everyone I know who rides has been in at least one serious accident). I thought: I could look at the data, but I see so many motorcyclists driving dangerously that the data wouldn't teach me much. So then I thought: I bet if I look at the accident rate for women riders it would be interesting. I found that in the UK, male riders…

There are so many ways to die on a motorcycle that are outside of your control. Someone could not be paying attention, make a mistake, not see you, be drunk, etc.

I knew someone at a previous company that was here one day then gone the next due to a non-highway accident caused by someone else IIRC.

It's sort of like being friends with someone who plays low-chance russian roulette for fun in their free time.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#208

Post by Kozmik1 »

kjkjadksj wrote: post #150
beloch wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Motorcycle fatality rates have been trending upwards, not downwards[1]. Brake lights on helmets may illuminate one of the culprits: An ever increasing number of American trucks with poor visibility. Sitting on a bike, you're even shorter than a pedestrian and more likely to be completely out of sight. Perhaps its time to start regulating for better visibility, as Europe has done. [1] https://www.iii.org/fact-statisti…

Some “militant” urban cycling commuters do things like attach a pool noodle horizontally and vertically to create space and visibility. I’d probably hazard a guess that avoiding highway miles also lowers your risk profile substantially.

I had not heard of/seen the pool noodle idea - looks like a simple and effective way to draw attention to cycling safety.

Here's a video of the NYC Pool Noodle Bike Ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97YJOQRQ4Ds&ab_channel=Stree...

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#209

Post by cogman10 »

terribleperson wrote: post #181
godelski wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's interesting is fatality rates are increasing but injury rates are decreasing. Seems like something else might be at play. If it is more SUVs and Pickups then I think a brake light helmet would do a lot considering the danger those cars present is being harder to see those below them. But if it is something else, then maybe not as good of a solution.

Vehicles with a tall, flat face are more likely to kill instead of injure, from my recall of previous discussions on HN. That's been a trend in vehicle design for a few years now.

We desperately need vehicle safety regulations which consider pedestrians and cyclists.

Trucks in particular are apparently being purposed built to kill.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#210

Post by KolmogorovComp »

earnestinger wrote: post #205

If only somebody would make motorcycles less noisy.. I dream of the day where there are neither mosquitos nor motorcycle noise. Two most annoying things during the summer.

Unfortunately for bystanders, but fortunately for drivers, noise is one of the strongest way for motorcycles to signal themselves to cars.
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