Safety First!
A
friend recently
commented
that when on a
motorcycle, “helmet or
not – stupid will get you
injured or killed every
time.” I totally agree
with that one! You just
cannot be foggy-brained
or daydreaming while
you’re riding. If you can’t
stay 100% focused while
riding then you should
not be riding. It is that
simple.
Fact Three: Another
hefty portion of accidents
happen when a car
approaching you from
behind with a distracted
driver does not stop
soon enough. (Keeping
enough space between
yourself and the vehicle
in front of you gives you
room to escape and move
out of the way if that car
behind you doesn’t look
like it is going to stop at
that stoplight/sign)
That is what I love about
riding my motorcycle – it
takes all of my mental
concentration
and
physical coordination to
ride well and safely. Not
too many things require
that much focus in my
life. I love concentrating
my whole being and soul into this activity we call riding. This
is not to say that I am personally 100% all the time; most
certainly I’m not but, I will not ride when I know I’m not on
top of my game.
So you say you’re doing your part, mainly riding when you
feel healthy and clear-minded, but what about the other
guys, the cagers? How about those maneuvers when they
scare the wheaties right out of you by almost running into
you broadside or cutting you off? What can we do about
those guys?
Identifying the most common problems is the first thing
to do. It is hard to avoid something you aren’t cognizant of.
Here are few statistics to help:
Fact One: Most cage vs. motorcycle accidents occur at
intersections. Keep in mind that anywhere a car can come
out of is considered an intersection – a driveway, an alley, a
street--anywhere.
Fact Two: More than 50% of motorcycles versus car or
truck accidents occur because the cagers turn left in front
of us. This can be any kind of left turn – not just the drivers
coming toward us head on and turning left. People pulling
out from driveways or side roads frequently left turn in front
of us also. Some of these will also slam on their brakes midlane blocking the lane cross-ways when they realize they cut
somebody off, so planning an escape can be tricky.
16 Thunder Roads Magazine® Colorado
Fact Four: Riders are
the most prone to getting
in accidents during
their first 6 months or
500 miles riding. The
next highest number of
incidents is during the
first year or first 1,000
miles. After that the
statistics for amount of time in the saddle/ratio to accidents
happening gets much better. This seems to show that taking
your time and taking it easy at first could really help all new
riders avoid accidents. Perhaps new riders should try to
avoid heavy traffic? What a concept.
There are some things that we can do to be safer out
there and two things immediately come to mind:
Firstly: Make yourself visible, seen & heard. Bright clothing
or light colored helmets with reflective tape on them are good.
These days it is inexpensive to add some LED lighting. We’ve
connected a red LED light strip to our brake lights – giving us
additional brake-light power. Flashing your brakes several
times also helps people see that you are stopping. Some folks
like waving – moving a body part about in front of the cagers
tends to get attention and you can always use your horn.
Secondly: Expect the worst to get the best results. to say
it another way, just expect that old left-turn Louie (or his old
lady) are going to turn in front of you as you approach an
intersection. If they don’t – excellent – you’re having a good
day, if they do, you are prepared for it and can react to that
left turn.
Thirdly: Always plan your escape route. You should always
be looking for and planning your escape routes for these
situations–these days the motorcycle training courses teach
everyone to try to have two possible escape paths available
February 2015
www.thunderroadscolorado.com