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My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

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

#331

Post by jajko »

lupusreal wrote: post #313
haiku2077 wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weirdly, an adventure bike with higher horsepower will have cheaper insurance than a race replica with less horsepower.

Doesn't seem that weird to me. Having lots of horsepower available doesn't mean you have to use it. Conversely, having only modest horsepower is still more than enough to drive at a truly reckless speed on most if not all roads. The psychology of the biker, their inclination to go fast, plays a more important role than the raw horsepower statistic. It seems safe to assume that people who deliberately purchase a race…

Absolutely. I have a meagre Honda ADV 350 with some 28 HP (can't start biking on higher models in Europe, first 2 years its this or lower level), and hell 0-50kmh is blisteringly fast, 50-90kmh still much faster than our BMW with 245HP in sports mode. Sure above 100kmh it gets slower but I use it for non-highway commute, winding roads through vineyards and such so I don't even ride it that way. It makes bike much lighter while its pretty big for a big guy like me, and being nimble is priceless for enjoyment and safety too.

I literally don't need more, it becomes just an ego or emotions game. Faster only gets you to places way sooner than other drivers expect you to, massively increasing risk exposure.

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

#332

Post by charlesabarnes »

lqet wrote: post #310

I live in a mountainous area that attracts huge amount of motorcyclists on weekends. Most of the fatal accidents I recall in the last years (usually around a dozen per year) were caused by right of way violations by cars, by excessive speeding of the cyclists, or by risky overtakes. I am not sure how a brake light would help there. Also, serious off-topic question to the motorcycle enthusiasts here: how do you cope w…

To respond to your second part: I don't need to cope. Motorcycles are sold to meet noise pollution standards just like cars.

Something about this generalization rubs me the wrong way. A person who modifies their motorcycle to be extremely loud does not care.

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

#333

Post by rossng »

sergiotapia wrote: post #325
pnut wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/noise-camera-tech... The UK is trialling noise pollution cameras that mail fines to your home, same as for speeding. It's an externality whose days are numbered.

Sickening use of tech. Living in a true surveillance state

Easy to say when you don't live next to a road frequented by drivers with ridiculous modified exhausts.

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

#334

Post by jajko »

subscribed wrote: post #206
kelnos wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yeah I get the logic but its still flawed and wrong (saying this as a father of 2 small kids who drives them around frequently).

You either are road-worthy driver who can drive safely or not. L ones are an approved exception and the list and law and expectations ends right there.

Nobody is babysitting 27 categories or potentially distracted or otherwise dysfunctional drivers. If you can't drive safely either have somebody else drive, use public transport or stay home. No excuses, you can very easily kill people including your own kids.

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

#335

Post by froidpink »

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.

I live next to a main road in London. As technology progresses, cars have gotten quieter, but for some reason motorcycles feel like they're becoming louder.

When I go read a book in the park, it's all very nice and quiet until a motorcycle arrives

When I want to sleep with the window open, if I hear any noise it's due to these motorbikes doing races at night.

If I was dictator for a year and didn't have policing resources to enforce noise control, I would just ban non-electric motorbikes

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

#336

Post by potato3732842 »

bmink wrote: post #193
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…

Age is another differentiator. Take young men out of the equation and you get a much better picture. Another interesting stat is that the majority of motorcycle crashes are single vehicle accidents, ie. the rider going down by themselves. While this can be equipment failure, in most cases this will be crashing due to riding too fast or above skill level. So yes, riding very carefully at safe speeds and avoiding dange…

Some guy out for a cruise laying his bike down after things got a little more spicy than her was prepared for mid corner is a fundamentally different kind of accident than someone T-boning a left turning car and going over the handlebars in commuting traffic.

Texting and driving probably accounts for a lot of minor bumps in stop and go traffic that cause inconsequential damage and obviously no injury and isn't really relevant to someone who texts and drives into stopped traffic at highway speeds.

Treating those sorts of accidents that are categorically different in both cause and effect one homogenous statistical blob really rubs me the wrong way.

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

#337

Post by seanhunter »

sevensor wrote: post #254
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…

A friend of mine is a volunteer fireman. Since the fire engine sits higher than just about anything, he can see what people are doing behind the wheel in their SUVs. I’d be shocked, he reports, to know just how many of them are absorbed in their devices while driving.

I recognise this picture. For example I remember when I used to commute by motorcycle getting cut off by a guy driving a van who had his phone clamped in the crook of his neck and was writing something in a notepad with a pencil and steering with a combination of the notepad and his knees. This is turning at a really busy junction in London[1] during rush hour traffic.

[1] just south of the river at Vauxhall bridge

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

#338

Post by fazeirony »

mmooss wrote: post #269
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vision Zero exists and its entire output, at least in the US, seems to be some somewhat clever yard signs and good vibes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_Zero

> its entire output, at least in the US, seems to be some somewhat clever yard signs and good vibes That's confusing to me. Many cities have worldwide have implemented vision zero techniques and saved many lives, including in the US.

i agree with this esp. when the parent linked a wiki page that, if you go beyond the single photo on the page and read it, is completely counter to the comment.

i'm confused too, but ty parent for making me aware of vision zero.

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

#339

Post by KomoD »

lqet wrote: post #310

I live in a mountainous area that attracts huge amount of motorcyclists on weekends. Most of the fatal accidents I recall in the last years (usually around a dozen per year) were caused by right of way violations by cars, by excessive speeding of the cyclists, or by risky overtakes. I am not sure how a brake light would help there. Also, serious off-topic question to the motorcycle enthusiasts here: how do you cope w…

> Also, serious off-topic question to the motorcycle enthusiasts here: how do you cope with the fact that your weekend leisure ride is often a massive noise disturbance for hundreds of people and animals?

Could say the same for cars, which contribute to more noise pollution.

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

#340

Post by npsimons »

lqet wrote: post #310

I live in a mountainous area that attracts huge amount of motorcyclists on weekends. Most of the fatal accidents I recall in the last years (usually around a dozen per year) were caused by right of way violations by cars, by excessive speeding of the cyclists, or by risky overtakes. I am not sure how a brake light would help there. Also, serious off-topic question to the motorcycle enthusiasts here: how do you cope w…

> Also, serious off-topic question to the motorcycle enthusiasts here: how do you cope with the fact that your weekend leisure ride is often a massive noise disturbance for hundreds of people and animals?

AFAICT, the noise is the point. The people with loud vehicles (and this includes the rattling bass and coffee can mufflers on low-end econoboxes) are selfish assholes, desperate for attention, often compensating for a failure in another part of their lives. "Loud pipes save lives" has zero data to back it up.

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