Does it Pay to be Safe?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.ย. 2024
- There can often be a balance between managing your motorcycle risks but not to the point where you don't enjoy yourself. I recently did a video that was based on the U.S. government's motorcycle crash statistics from 2021. I calculated the overall risk of a fatality for riding a motorcycle for 40 consecutive years was 2.4 percent (24 fatalities per 1,000 riders). However, this overall number includes people who don't wear gear, who ride at excessive speeds, ride impaired etc.
In this video I explore what the overall reduction in risk would be by eliminating these higher risk factors.
When you train, wear gear, don't go absurdly fast in heavy traffic, you greatly reduce your chances of fatality
Thanks for this video. Basically if you are a safe rider it SIGNIFICANTLY reduces the risk of a fatal accident. Nothing is risk free not even cars/trucks, not surfing, scuba diving, anything. It's a wild world out there!
You're exactly right it's about risk management and not about taking no risks.
At 30 years of "No-Claim"; so after 30 years of having had no accident at all at 58 years of age due to defensive riding it did happen to me last friday: I had an accident; a car suddenly turned left when I was going straight on an intersection, that is, that was the plan. I never made it cross the intersection because the car did the unexpected: The lady in her car on my right turned left when I almost had passed her entirely. Her left front wheel rammed my rear wheel and so I flew in the air and came down hard on my right side on the tarmac, whilst my new Yamaha MT-01(new to me that is; I had her for 6 days) crashed on the tarmac on her right side as well and slid several meters over the intersection...whilst spreading oil drops all over the place.
The Ambulance took me to the hospital and I had an entire examination to see what was wrong; No broken bones, but I feel like an elephant has walked over me... and my ribs aren't broken, but I do have bruised ribs. Thankfully I wore my full face helmet, I wore High quality Motorcycle gloves, a Leather Motorcycle jacket with all (European obligated) protective pats in there: shoulder pats, elbow pats, back pat and I wore protective Motorcycle shoes. All of this protective gear had done it's job perfectly ! There was no harm done at those area's. Yeah but one thing though: I did wear a regular pair of jeans...and so my knees are with open wounds now since I smacked real hard on to the tarmac and regular jeans really offer no protection at all. Guess what... I do have a pair of official EU approved Motorcycle/kevlar Jeans with added protection for the hips and the knees, but I decided at the time I did not need those Motorcycle jeans for the short ride I planned to do.
If only I would have worn those Motorcycle jeans...I would not be painfully stumble around like a 90 years old man using crutches. Conclusion: You not need a long ride to get to (almost) get killed by a box (car).
A very long time a go my Motorcycle instructor told me:
All Boxes; cars/trucks/buses are out there to kill you! Make sure you understand that they will ! And when they do; the first thing they'll say to you is: I did not see you, where did you came from? Make sure you understand that you will have to expect the unexpected and ride accordingly. In traffic there is only one person caring for you and your life and that is you! Nobody else does.
So when you have an accident it always is your own fault because you did not apply these rules above here. You simply must know everything what they are up to about anybody whom drives next to you, behind you, in front of you and you must know everything what they are up to about those whom you are going to cross paths with on intersections and so on.
So am I mad at the lady whom took a left and hit me...? Well yes and no. I am much more mad at myself for being in the position to trust the box (car) next to me at that particular moment because I could have known that the box (car) next to me was going to try to kill me. For over 30 years I was strict in being a defense rider. I obviously had a moment of letting down my defense and guess what: that was enough! Never ever let your defensive riding get slightly less defensive cause that's the moment a box (car) will get to you!
My Motorcycle Instructor was right...
Sorry to hear about your crash but glad to hear you came out unscathed except for your leg abrasions. Also I think your attitude about "what could I have done better" is constructive and healthy. I hope to hear that you are back to riding soon, but it sounds like you may have to replace your damaged bike.
@@cycletron Hey CJ, yeah well I really have got to wait on the verdict of local the Yamaha dealer, to tell me whether my bike is a technical/financial total loss or that she still can be repaired within all reason ability financially. And of course I will have to see what the verdict will be of the insurance company. So yeah nobody knows what will happen now, just I'll just have to wait and see. Physically I think everything should be OK within a reasonable period of time. For now a good night sleep of 8 hrs would be a a primary goal on it's own. The last few days I basically lived on Paracetamol pills and and Ibuprofen capsules just to get through the day without too much pain. But I'll live ;-)
I’m in NJ , 60 yrs old, usually only ride on weekends, mostly Sunday, Been riding since 1982.
All my “Spills” were when I first started riding , except with my 99 Hayabusa, simple low Side due to slick wet/oily road. 3 fractured Ribs, Bike came out well, cause I had drilled frame sliders through the fairings.
Now, I wear a Helite Leather vest or my Alpinestars Tech-Air 5 👍, no mater how hot it is outside
That is a great point about the air vest. I imagine fractured ribs would be quite painfull and would also be a common injury. I wear all the gear except an air vest but you have inspired me to get one and stop procrastinating!
@@cycletron
It’s a good investment if you intend to keep riding, as I know you will.
I don’t go anywhere without putting either one on. 👍
@@elithegreat6463 Thank you.
Glad to be back watching your stuff, always interested in the numbers you're crunching :) Factor of 6 sounds about right - can't underestimate it that's for sure.
And sorry if I missed any news but I hope your wife is on the mend. 🙏
Thank you Andrew! She is doing better but has a lot more treatment to go.
You are a man of honor to your wife and your vows 👍 may the Lord be with your wife and family during this time 🙏
@@dcryder9736 Thank you so much for saying that. It means a lot!
major thing in a good class is rider strategy, practice and KNOW what your going to do in various events, and be ready for them, the 2 most dangerous places for a rider are corners and intersections, corners because people don't know the proper techniques to handle and brake in corners, and intersections because many of us are unaware of the warning signs, like a car in front of you with no turn signal but tires clearly leaning left(possible left hand turn in front of you), or as you come up on a green light do you see apposing car doors still in motion (possible red light or stop sign runner) or do you when coming to RED LIGHT or STOP Sign know BEFORE you stop where you will go if the car behind you doesn't stop, it's funny wasn't till recently did classes start teaching this stuff, but when i was in the outlaw club world as a prospect this stuff was taught as evasion techniques if we were riding near a rival area.
That is pretty interesting. I didn't know you were a club rider. What did you think of the experience?
@@cycletron wasn't for me, As a kid i was an honorary member of an AMA club they thought it was cool this little kid on a dirtbike liked hangin out at the same coffee shop they did, my parents moved to South Dakota many years later i returned to the same town in NH, and the club was gone, so i re-started it as a mom and pop family AMA club and it was fun, but then we had local 1%ers giving us grief and people quit and it folded, again years later my job with harley has me in SC and the dealer staff all rode together on our mondays off, well we had an old guy a salesman who was somehow connected to the Famous Hells Angels and with his help we started a club, and he knew all the right ways and taught us, and we started as a 5 inch patch on the front, to a 9 inch on the back to a 3 piece with a Charleston Rocker and finally a South Carolina Rocker and we were kind of a support club for 81, my job had me moving again and i turned in my cut. Back where i live now in NH and having an education on clubs, i restarted the club from when i was a kid for the 3rd time, but this time with backing of the local 1% club and they turned us into a support club for them and the state dominant 81, some club politics happened with them and or 1% father chapter got patched over and because i had been law enforcement in the Navy and i had begun training to become a police officer in Mission Kansas in the early 80's i was not allowed to step up to the 1% lead club, so i quit, went to an LE club of former military LE but after 7 years with them i realized the drama and nonsense that was in the outlaw world was also in the LE club World, so i retired my patches and went back to HOG and the AMA Retreads, Now i learned a lot over those years, and saw a lot of pure hypocrisy and a lot of drama, and especially in the outlaw world, they scream brotherhood, but it's your so called brother you have to look out for, lot of power struggles and paranoia, glad i did it, but even happier to be gone
@@brucesantacory1390 Thanks Bruce. You sure have had a lot of interesting experiences! I could see the appeal of being in a club and getting a lot of riding in. But all the drama and other things you mentioned is what I figured it would be, so not my cup of tea.
@@cycletron you're a smart man lol
Interesting, but it also show's how numbers can be manipulated. like for instance if you live in a helmet law state, they always show up as safer states (according to the Insurance industry) what their number don't tell you is helmet law state have a significant drop in licensed motorcycle riders than helmet free states, in fact where i live in New Hampshire and Maine both helmet law free we have the #1 amount of registered bikes per 100,000 people and then you have people like me, i have been riding 59 years as of Sept 2023, i don't drink, i don't do drugs, and i don't wear gear unless forced to by law, i have had 3 minor accidents in my 59 years and 2 drops , NONE resulted in any form of head injury, but my knee's have paid a price. I promote Rider Education, i think if should be LAW that to get a motorcycle License you need to take a safety class and PASS, and you need to start your 1st year on a 400cc or LESS Sport Bike or a 650 or LESS Cruiser that should be National LAW, i learned to ride in the dirt, and when i moved to the street i thought i knew it all, well in 1992 as a member of HOG our chapter needed road capts and members to pass the safety class to get an award from Harley, i signed up to help, thinking they were not teaching me anything but i'll go.......What they taught me was i didn't know SHIT, i had a lot of self taught bad habits and they were things i had never heard of, and i learned ALOT !! i was so impressed i took more classes and became a part time HD Riders Edge and Rider Academy Coach, i'm now a huge fan even in my 60's of the on line instructors and the motorcycle advanced training people, i have every video of Ride like a Pro, and i'm friends with an owner of a Ride like a Pro Franchise and i practice as often as i can, and in comes my point, i personally think rider education Trumps Rider Gear (unless you are professionally Racing) and i think rider education would drastically change your numbers .
Hi Bruce. I agree, rider training and continued practiceis very important and many people don't do it. Also to your point, it is good to get a professional instructor to provide feedback on someone's riding as they certainly can develop bad habits over time.
The next question is the risk lower in the EU/UK where there are very strict license requirements? All riders start with an A2 license which requires a skills and written test plus medical check, then after 2 years of experience can apply for an A1 license allowing for riding bigger displacement motorcycles, then after 2 more years apply for an A unlimited license. Here in the US, take an MSF skills course in a parking lot with a small displacement bike, then run down to the DMV and get an unlimited license, then hurry over to the Harley dealer and buy a Road Glide and hit the highways. And, of course, the HD dealer will sell you a half helmet and leather vest for safety because image is more important that road rash or your brain. And on the subject of Harley, Harley riders in general are just bikers with limited skills and even little knowledge of the sport as opposed to motorcycle enthusiasts who work on skills and are more open to different types of riding categories. The best safety advice I can give is stay clear of anyone riding a Harley.
I agree. Looking at the European statistics in comparison should be interesting.
I am surprised (well not really) that the percentage of Harley riders here in Minnesota who wear helmets is in the single digits.
@@cycletron Unrelated, but HD dropped 5% or $2 per share today but I can't find any news except Hero raised the price of the X440 by $125US and the 2 new 400cc Triumph models are getting better reviews in India. Is this just profit taking after the earning call? This stock is so confusing.
@@geneclarke2205 I have learned the hard way with HD stock that its price swings seem mostly disconnected from the company fundamentals. There was a run up on their stock up to and after the last earnings call which to me was contrary to their actual results. To me, this stock is going to trade in the $30 to $40 dollar range for the foreseable future. I don't see it ever getting above $60 ever again.
I still can't believe the stat from that video that it's safer to be a space shuttle astronaut than ride bikes. That one gave me pause and made me consider the hobby risk/reward as I've done many times. 🙃🫠
Yes that shocked me too!