Nobody said that \”… helmets are not necessary\”, hot shot.
The point here is that the focus should be CRASH PREVENTION, not CRASH SURVIVAL. Helmets cannot prevent crashes, but mitigating the negligence and inattentional blindness of motorists can.
And yes, I encourage you to wear a helmet at all times: not just on motorcycles, but in your car, boat and bathtub as well. Safety first, right?
First I want to acknowledge that both of you have valid points. Being a former Harley rider I know that riders, especially younger ones may tend to be over confident in their abilities. I have witnessed the insanity of the careless motorcyclists who take unnecessary risks because they can squeeze in and out of places cars can\’t go. I have also witnessed the stupidity of automobile drivers who think its funny to cut you off because they have also seen the idiots who abuse the roadways. There are also those who deliberately will cross into your lane or on rainy days ride too close.
I admit as a driver I too have at times not seen a motorcyclist until it was almost too late. Point is, I don\’t believe the general public realizes the risks you take getting on a bike, they don\’t take into consideration that a motorcycle stops much faster so they need to leave more space. Sad fact is that unless you are going to make people go to safety classes specifically designed to educate motorcyclists and drivers alike on these differences this problem will continue to grow because of the general inattentiveness of most drivers and we have all been that driver at one time or another.
A helmet saved my life after some dip rear ended me knocking me 180 feet. Score: Helmet 1 Riders: who knows he got a cheap ticket and is still driving. You want a helmet law fine. Also pass a law that takes that dip *&^% of the street. I tried but he skipped town. rc
Did that statistic come from the NHSTA or did ya do your own study or just make it up. Lets see the methodology. Hmm I saw a motorcycle speed. ergo all motorcycles speed……..rc
It is truly amazing the people who feel that they should have the right to do whatever they want if it doesn\’t hurt anyone else. That idea in itself really doesn\’t even deserve much comment other than…are you out of your mind. Look, bottomline, if you ride and I do, you will and I repeat will be involved in an accident at some point. If you survive depends a great deal on your skill and your protective equipment. Your rights stop when I as a rider and tax payer have to pay higher rates or taxes to wipe you off the asphalt because you want to have the right to do whatever you want. By the way, I don\’t really care how old you are or how experienced you are where the right equipment and you have a better chance of walking away relatively unharmed. It doesn\’t work in every case, but the percentages are in your favor.
Actually RC it is my study. I have come to note the ones who now do not speed. When I see these \”ninga\” bikes going down the LIE at speeds well in excess of 100mph I only pray they dont hit me- my family- or someone else. They also ride in packs. I also pray I dont change lanes when one is moving this fast since the probability of seeing them is slim to none.
Go to Myrtle Beach during Memorial Day weekend and see how wreckless the bikers are. It is some sort of bikers\’ week. This year they reported only 4 deaths and labeled it a success!
Excuse me Bruce but why is it that every time I go to LdrLongDistanceRider.com and attempt to express a critical view my post is deleted and my IP address is blocked? Not only that but my email address gets spammed. Not quite ready for open debate are you?
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Nobody said that \”… helmets are not necessary\”, hot shot.
The point here is that the focus should be CRASH PREVENTION, not CRASH SURVIVAL. Helmets cannot prevent crashes, but mitigating the negligence and inattentional blindness of motorists can.
And yes, I encourage you to wear a helmet at all times: not just on motorcycles, but in your car, boat and bathtub as well. Safety first, right?
First I want to acknowledge that both of you have valid points. Being a former Harley rider I know that riders, especially younger ones may tend to be over confident in their abilities. I have witnessed the insanity of the careless motorcyclists who take unnecessary risks because they can squeeze in and out of places cars can\’t go. I have also witnessed the stupidity of automobile drivers who think its funny to cut you off because they have also seen the idiots who abuse the roadways. There are also those who deliberately will cross into your lane or on rainy days ride too close.
I admit as a driver I too have at times not seen a motorcyclist until it was almost too late. Point is, I don\’t believe the general public realizes the risks you take getting on a bike, they don\’t take into consideration that a motorcycle stops much faster so they need to leave more space. Sad fact is that unless you are going to make people go to safety classes specifically designed to educate motorcyclists and drivers alike on these differences this problem will continue to grow because of the general inattentiveness of most drivers and we have all been that driver at one time or another.
I believe it was clearly stated that speed and size of the motorcycle as % of accidents was relatively insignificant.
Alcohol is a factor in automobile crashes as well.
Statistic shown clearly demonstrated the overwhelming number of accidents can be attributed to other vehicle drivers.
the forum was a sham and my hope is that this article is considered opinion and not a representation of the facts..rc
The \”cause\” of accidents has everything to do with survival rates. Remove the cause of the accident. No accident. Nothing to survive.
If every insurance agent who uses a cell phone while driving were to cease my bet is we would see a % drop in accidents.
If you watched the forum you also became aware of the panopoly of possibly fatal injuries that can occur that can not be protected by a helmet.
Remove the cause. Yank the insurance of those drivers to blind or distracted to see a motorcycle. Could be a kid on a bicycle……rc
A helmet saved my life after some dip rear ended me knocking me 180 feet. Score: Helmet 1 Riders: who knows he got a cheap ticket and is still driving. You want a helmet law fine. Also pass a law that takes that dip *&^% of the street. I tried but he skipped town. rc
Did that statistic come from the NHSTA or did ya do your own study or just make it up. Lets see the methodology. Hmm I saw a motorcycle speed. ergo all motorcycles speed……..rc
It is truly amazing the people who feel that they should have the right to do whatever they want if it doesn\’t hurt anyone else. That idea in itself really doesn\’t even deserve much comment other than…are you out of your mind. Look, bottomline, if you ride and I do, you will and I repeat will be involved in an accident at some point. If you survive depends a great deal on your skill and your protective equipment. Your rights stop when I as a rider and tax payer have to pay higher rates or taxes to wipe you off the asphalt because you want to have the right to do whatever you want. By the way, I don\’t really care how old you are or how experienced you are where the right equipment and you have a better chance of walking away relatively unharmed. It doesn\’t work in every case, but the percentages are in your favor.
Actually RC it is my study. I have come to note the ones who now do not speed. When I see these \”ninga\” bikes going down the LIE at speeds well in excess of 100mph I only pray they dont hit me- my family- or someone else. They also ride in packs. I also pray I dont change lanes when one is moving this fast since the probability of seeing them is slim to none.
Go to Myrtle Beach during Memorial Day weekend and see how wreckless the bikers are. It is some sort of bikers\’ week. This year they reported only 4 deaths and labeled it a success!
Excuse me Bruce but why is it that every time I go to LdrLongDistanceRider.com and attempt to express a critical view my post is deleted and my IP address is blocked? Not only that but my email address gets spammed. Not quite ready for open debate are you?