Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

gill.net.in

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

291–300 of 390 posts

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

#291

Post by potamic »

wonder_er wrote: post #259

the biggest way to make a motorcycle safer, IMO, is remove the need for shifting. Lower the center of gravity, reduce the weight, increase the wind protection, make the riding stance really comfortable. Make it easily accommodate a backpack, or a passenger, or both. And you have a scooter! They're unconventional in the greater usa, but wildly fun. Generally, it seems like one can entertain the best parts of a bicycle…

I've always felt safer in motorcycles compared to scooters. Something about the handling in scooters doesn't feel reassuring. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's more apparent when you ride on patchy, broken roads. It's much easier riding over bumps, zigzagging to avoid potholes on a motorcycle. Of course, I'm comparing motorcycles and scooters of similar weight. Riding a litre class machine is a different dimension altogether.

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

#292

Post by BrandoElFollito »

Reason077 wrote: post #51
krisoft wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Adding flashing for a strong stop ~~ >0.75g would be a bonus. Is that a good idea? A flashing brake light could appear as if the brake was let go, which is the exact opposite of the message you would want to send in that case. Or maybe we are talking about flashing between two different illuminated states?

It’s a common (mandatory?) feature in Europe. Brake lights flash under very hard / emergency brake conditions. The flashing is very rapid, definitely gets your attention, and couldn’t be confused for “letting go” of the brake.

For cars at last I thought it were the warning lights that were going off. Mostly because this is a common way to inform others that there are problems ahead (and a bed to quickly brake)

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

#293

Post by razemio »

AndrewSwift wrote: post #268
razemio wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It was deaths/km ridden.

This would be better. Still does not take into account bigger and smaller bikes. I find it extremely difficult to judge that. From my experience, you are absolutely right. Men seem to take higher risk and some of them the consequences.

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

#294

Post by smadge »

mmooss wrote: post #270
smadge wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have a hub generator system, they sell rear lights with controllers which detect changes in the frequency of the wheel rotation and start pulsing when you decelerate.

Why not just connect them to the hand brake levers?

That would be more difficult, expensive, and unreliable. The light is powered by the rotation of the wheel so it already has a reliable braking signal.

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

#295

Post by aredox »

markbnj wrote: post #178
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…

As an almost-daily motorcyclist with 15k miles on my current machine (Suzuki DL650), I absolutely agree that the increased proportion of pickup trucks on the road increases the risks for riders, however I suspect it is mainly because the larger, heavier vehicles aggravate the effects of a general deterioration in driving skills and attitudes. One thing about riding a motorcycle is that you are, unless you have a deat…

The USA is an anomaly amongst developed countries:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-11-03/why-us-tr...

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

#296

Post by jo-m »

Glyptodon wrote: post #70

My motorcycle pet peeve is that if you ride bicycles routinely the control differences between bikes and motorcycles become potentially dangerous, especially while riding the motorcycle. I'm not sure how to align their controls more, but if your bike has a rotary handle shifter and one day on the motorcycle you "shift" with the throttle, it's not going to go well. There are a number of other possible control goofs yo…

I regularly ride both bikes and motorbikes and this never has been a problem, even though the lever that is the rear brake on the bike is the front brake on the motorcycle.

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

#297

Post by HPsquared »

markbnj wrote: post #178
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…

As an almost-daily motorcyclist with 15k miles on my current machine (Suzuki DL650), I absolutely agree that the increased proportion of pickup trucks on the road increases the risks for riders, however I suspect it is mainly because the larger, heavier vehicles aggravate the effects of a general deterioration in driving skills and attitudes. One thing about riding a motorcycle is that you are, unless you have a deat…

I think cars becoming safer has ironically driven a lot of this behaviour. People feel safe themselves and don't take care. It's called risk compensation.

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

#299

Post by HPsquared »

aredox wrote: post #295
markbnj wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an almost-daily motorcyclist with 15k miles on my current machine (Suzuki DL650), I absolutely agree that the increased proportion of pickup trucks on the road increases the risks for riders, however I suspect it is mainly because the larger, heavier vehicles aggravate the effects of a general deterioration in driving skills and attitudes. One thing about riding a motorcycle is that you are, unless you have a deat…

The USA is an anomaly amongst developed countries: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-11-03/why-us-tr...

Live expectancy is also dropping in the US, it's notably different to other developed countries.

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

#300

Post by odiroot »

This could help but the most dangerous situations I experienced myself were, when someone was coming from the side (perpendicular), especially on T-junctions.

Classic "sorry mate I didn't see you" case.

Not sure smart braking light in the back would help much here.

Post reply on HN