Road Accidents

[Jon_W]

Intersting if a little superficial.

Obviously there are more motorcycle accidents at the weekend..... there are more motorcycles on the road!!!

As to the 21% of fatalities, that comes as no suprise if you think of it.... Motorcyclists are by nature at greater risk of fatality in an accident. It would be interesting to see the total percentage of accidents as this figure will be somewhat lower.



Ducatista. I pray you are never in the position of having a vehicle pull out in front of you as you may come to regret those words.

A good family friend had this happen for the first time a year back. He had been riding for almost 50 years without major incident and was a very skilled rider. He suvived the accident, but will never ride again.

[Ducatista]

I pray you are never in the position of having a vehicle pull out in front of you as you may come to regret those words.

I am not sure exactly which words you are referring to but the fact that "most accidents are avoidable by any party" is a quote from the police.
You might have noticed they have stopped calling them accidents and started calling them collisions as they don't want to imply they are without cause.

I will regret not avoiding an accident if there was anything I could have done and that's why I spend a lot of time practicing and studying a well tried and tested systematic approach to motorcycle control. This doesn't mean I think I'm the bees knees in fact the more I learn the more I recognise my own short comings.

I am sorry your friend was injured in a collision that possibly was totally unavoidable.

However I believe you are doing a grave (and potentially life-threatening) dis service to others on here if you are suggesting that no-one put should any effort into trying to avoid an accident that is potentially avoidable by suggesting that they are all inevitable.

You surely MUST have seen people driving FAR too close together on the motorway so that they cannot possibly stop in the distance they can see to be clear.

[Maz]

Even though I have been riding since September. I have notices the amount of bikers who are dangers to us and themselves. When I am in the car and see a biker who is over taking on a corner or is doing 50 plus and not attempting to slow down coming to a round about because they think they can get through a gap makes me cringe...

I know riders who (obviously are 17) who think they rule the tarmac! Seriously drives me nuts watching act like idiots on bikes! Its them who are our future bikers! Seen one the other day riding like he was on a race track with track suit bottoms and a hoddie on. I just think one day you like look on how stupid you are when your involved in an accident....

ok rant over

[Mark_Able]

Totally agree Maz. There is a certain proportion of riders who are no better than company car drivers. The most common bad riding faults are:-

1. Tailgating. Why? If you hang back you get a better view, and can make up a reasonable gap in no time when it actually comes time to over-take.
2. Over-taking between on-coming traffic. Why? On most occasions, a safe over-take presents itself seconds later. If either the driver being over-taken, or the on-coming driver deviates their line, you're stuffed.
3. High speed filtering. I have seen more accidents occur when a rider is filtering, than at any other time. When a bonnet appears between the line of traffic, you need time to react. Stick below 20mph.
4. Too much speed in the wrong place. Normally because said rider is showing off. Which brings me on to probably my biggest irritation...
5. Other riders trying to impress me with their skills/fast bike. You've got to go a lonnnggg way to impress me. And the road is not the place to do it.... muppet... >

[redken1]

but, you can’t always avoid a vehicle pulling out in to your path

Ken, there is a lot you can do.
I'd claim that you can make sure that you are in the correct position (for avoidance, view and being seem), responsive gear, speed etc. most of the time if you took a systematic approach to hazard avoidance.
According to the police most accidents can be avoided by any party.

I agree with you Ducatista, you can lower the risk of being involved in an accident by adopting the safe practices you mentioned.

Interestingly, the Police use the word “most” and not all with reference to the avoidance of accidents.

[wiltshire builders]

but, you can’t always avoid a vehicle pulling out in to your path

Ken, there is a lot you can do.
I'd claim that you can make sure that you are in the correct position (for avoidance, view and being seem), responsive gear, speed etc. most of the time if you took a systematic approach to hazard avoidance.
According to the police most accidents can be avoided by any party.

This is the problem though. If all roads had a 10mph limit and we all had hi viz, all give way junctions were stops and round-a-bouts were trafic light controlled there would be no fatalities on the road. There would also be no bikes as it would be boring as hell.

Yes we need to take responsibility for our actions but you can take all the precautions in the world, if someone doesn't look at a junction or during an overtake you are dead.
Everyone claims to have had a near miss and had to brake hard, but unless you've had one where you were doing everything right and it was so close you didn't even have chance to grab the brake then you don't know what a near miss is. I've had it happen once and playing it over and over in my mind came to the same conclusion. There was nothing within reason that I could've done to protect myself more.
These are the incidents that take lives.

[redken1]

WB, that was exactly the point I was trying to make. Life is full of risks. You can wear a hard-hat and safety boots on a building site, but if some twat drops a brick on your head from the scaffolding above, it's out of your control.

[wiltshire builders]

WB, that was exactly the point I was trying to make. Life is full of risks. You can wear a hard-hat and safety boots on a building site, but if some twat drops a brick on your head from the scaffolding above, it's out of your control.

Too true Ken.
I don't wear a hard hat, steel toes or hi-viz. Why? because I am f*cking good at my job and don't need to. I'm super cautious to the point of being anal.
The "twats" you speak of shouldn't be on our roads, building sites or any other place where they can be a danger. Unfortunatly todays society makes allowances for the feckless and useless by telling them they can achieve anything they want to.
Everyone has rights, but some things should remain a priviledge.

[Ducatista]

If all roads had a 10mph limit and we all had hi viz, all give way junctions were stops and round-a-bouts were trafic light controlled there would be no fatalities on the road. There would also be no bikes as it would be boring as hell.

I agree there's a trade-off, but you don't have to go 10mph everywhere to improve your safety margin.
If you watched or followed some very safe riders you might find they went below the speed limit in some areas e.g. schools and dangerous junctions, but you would find them to be very progressive in other areas.
Having fun and being safe are not mutually exclusive.

There was nothing within reason that I could've done to protect myself more.

I agree there are scenarios in which there is nothing you can do. If you don't accept that then you need to find other more acceptable forms of transport.
Most of us accept inherent risks all the time e.g. when we get on an aeroplance.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to avoid accidents for the majority of the time when they are avoidable.

At the end of the day if you don't accept the inherently dangerous nature of bike riding then you shouldn't ride a bike.
Some of us chose to ride a bike but do every thing we can to make it as safe AND enjoyable as possible.
You can have a lot of fun doing this e.g. track riding.

But where I came in, is that I don't believe you will decrease your chances of having an accident by stopping riding at 3pm on a weekend (because the most dangerous time is 3-6).
You will decrease your chances if you don't ride like the people that only go out at 3-6 on a weekend. It's not about the clock it's about how those individuals are riding.
An analogy is saying - most plane crashes happen on Tuesdays so if I don't fly on a Tuesday I'll be safer.

[wiltshire builders]

[quote=Ducatista]

You can have a lot of fun doing this e.g. track riding.

But where I came in, is that I don't believe you will decrease your chances of having an accident by stopping riding at 3pm on a weekend (because the most dangerous time is 3-6).
You will decrease your chances if you don't ride like the people that only go out at 3-6 on a weekend. It's not about the clock it's about how those individuals are riding.
An analogy is saying - most plane crashes happen on Tuesdays so if I don't fly on a Tuesday I'll be safer.

You're implying that people will think that they don't need to be cautious as long as long as they ride at certain times.
What I'm saying and the statistics prove is that you will be safer riding (in the way you described) at certain times.
It stands to reason that if there are less peopl on the roads there is less chance of you coming into contact with one of them. It's just another precaution.
That's why insurance companies ask you what sort of milage you do. The more miles the greater the chance of a collision.