Each to their own, but I do think that if we ride without simple protection then we have a dangerous attitude to risk. Being very familier with a situation e.g. riding motorbikes without experiencing a near miss or accident for a long while can skew attitude to risk. Making people feel invincible or less likely to have an accident than other riders. (Riders thinking they are better than the average). This attitude is more likely to make a person take bigger risks. I was behind the guys and they whizzed past, over taking cars past right hand turns. It did make me wince when they shot passed a line of cars with a right turn to a busy car park, where I often see cars shoot across before the lights change ahead.
This is just the opposite attitude of a rider that has had a near miss or accident, for a short while who sees the risks as larger than they actually are. Until they settle down again into a familiar old riding pattern. But according to ROSPA they do say that people don't learn from experience after the initial accident shock passes out of mind. They state that if you have had an accident you are far more likely to have another one in the next 3 years. That should be a clue to our own human problem. Meaning that we fail to learn from the experience, usually blaming the other person for violating there right of way etc. Wasn't my fault. Which according to stats it is mainly other drivers fault in bike accidents. However just because car drivers cause many of our accidents it doesn't mean we can't be aware of the risks and try and prevent/avoid them. Or prevent getting into the risky situation.
But perhaps I am biased as a diploma member of the institute of risk management and risk averse!
