Bikesafe

19 Jul 2011

The reason that the police and ambulance service use motorcycles as fast response vehicles is becuase they are able to proceed through traffic at a higher rate than a four wheeled vehicle is able to, not for it's top speed. This is a high skill, but a legitimate one as endorsed by advanced riders in the police force and ambulance service. Motorcycle couriers use it - I did. Never had an accident whilst progressing through congested city traffic. My accidents were in side city streets where cars pulled out on me from side roads. I don't ride fast in towns and cities, it's not safe and I don't need to. Where there is congestion I can usually ride past - car drivers may not like it being stuck in the traffic jam whilst the bike rides by but there it is. Yes, I have been through my advanced motorcyclists course, I was a "proffesional" motorcyclist earning money as a courier many years ago and even been trained by a police advanced motorcycle trainer - wow those guys know how to ride and pushed me to my limits!!!
I have to agree that there are plenty of bikers out there who do not have the neccesary skills and reaction time to ride what they are riding or are simply stupid and arrogant, but this is also the case with many car drivers. Like the Bentley continental who passed me and my son on my bike the other day at about 140-150 mph (him - not me) flashing the V sign with about 6" to spare. We were two up in heavy rain loaded with camping gear and passed by him in a traffic jam. I didn't react, carried on at my sedate pace and passed by him again about two miles down the road in another traffic jam. My son waved politely at him as we passed smile

Remember, motorcyclists these days have to pass three tests, not two like car drivers. We have to show basic competence (CBT) in handling a bike, a FURTHER bike handling test including skid control off road and the third test of practical riding on the road. I DO believe that bikers should have better training than car drivers and should be tested to a harsher standard becuase generally we are more vunerable. I have to agree that ANY road safety training that reduces accidents is good, but for car drivers as well.
If you are ever in central London or other congested city and have a heart attack / accident etc believe me you are going to be gratefull for the ambulance emergency response rider who "weaves in and out of traffic" to come and save your life.
Ohh, by the way. These days I mostly ride my Harley cruiser, dressed mostly in black leather, at a sedate pace enjoying the ride, with LOUD exhausts and lots of shiny chrome. The loud exhaust ensure that the drivers who do not see me will hear me coming, and the nice shiny chrome not only looks good but makes the driver notice I am actually there. Yes it's true, loud pipes save lives.
When I'm not on my bike, I sometimes drive a rather large 4x4 weighing about 3.5 tonnes for work and it simply AMAZES me how many small cars cut in front of me - is it a hate thing for 4 x 4's?. I rely on my observation skills and reactions gained from riding to stop crushing the things into scrap metal along with the driver.
Ride free :)

19 Jul 2011

in my previous post the biker i refered to who died following a RTA was an extremly experienced rider who rode bikes professianally (thats not the right term but i cant say exactly cus i dont want to give away personal stuff) and he never ever weaved in and out of traffic to avoid traffic jams, he stayed in the same lane, he never ever speeded, he was scornful of bikers that rode like idiots, speeding and weaving in and out of traffic and giving others a bad name !
such a shame that he died the way he did but at least we (his family and friends) are able to say that he wasnt to blame which is often not the case in my experience !

19 Jul 2011

Quote by Danne
in my previous post the biker i refered to who died following a RTA was an extremly experienced rider who rode bikes professianally (thats not the right term but i cant say exactly cus i dont want to give away personal stuff) and he never ever weaved in and out of traffic to avoid traffic jams, he stayed in the same lane, he never ever speeded, he was scornful of bikers that rode like idiots, speeding and weaving in and out of traffic and giving others a bad name !
such a shame that he died the way he did but at least we (his family and friends) are able to say that he wasnt to blame which is often not the case in my experience!

I am sorry for your loss Danne, to loose a friend or relative in a RTA is tragic under amy circumstance. It sounds like he was a very experienced and competent rider. Accidents can happen even to the most experienced rider or driver that are beyond our control. My deepest condolances.

21 Jul 2011

Quote by hogg
Just to add, my headlights and two spots were on, I was wearing a dayglow jacket, a white helmet and the fairing had bright orange and blue stripe stickers down the side.
The rear of the dayglow jacket had a blue patch on it with white lettering....... Guess what I did for a living then?

26 Jul 2011

Quote by TSM
Just to add, my headlights and two spots were on, I was wearing a dayglow jacket, a white helmet and the fairing had bright orange and blue stripe stickers down the side.
The rear of the dayglow jacket had a blue patch on it with white lettering....... Guess what I did for a living then?

so it was not 800kg, more like 400kg ish
but yes it amazing the damage that is done by a bike into a door, peeps dont realise that most crash tests are done with cars against cars and the area seems to cover atleast one A/B pillar, a bike a nice pointy object into a door will cave it right in and smash the window while rider in most situations will fly over the car (not 4x4)
Nearly right, I had a pillion who flew over the roof and landed on his feet, I didnt see it myself as I was concentrating on the side of the car but I was told by eye witnesses to the crash it was pillion disagreed!
Weight -850 Suzuki shaft drive, full framed fairing, framed hard Krauser panneirs rack and topbox full of beer as we were bring the booze back for a party. None drunk prior to the smash, plenty afterwards when I realised I was going to have to do long distance work on my humble MZ 250 sans fairing, heated grips etc.

27 Jul 2011

Well the length of this thread is proof that bikers are at the very least alive and well on SH.
I've been working on a business plan just recently for a bikers phone app ( no not for use while riding before you start ) and I found some very interesting stat's about bike usage and accidents.
The largest cause of motorcycle accidents where someone was killed or KSI was the other road user. Now you would think that a statistic like that would prompt the EU to approach improving safety in a different way. Like for instance improving the awareness skills of other road users. Most of the ideas I saw in the EU plan were more about protecting the sales of the manufacturer when it comes to spares ( no doubt due to lobbying ) than the improvement of accident statistics.
between 94-99 motorcycle casualty rates dropped 35% due no doubt to the much better training these days. I was in a local one recently enquiring about becoming a CBT instructor and was quite impressed with how they teach "defensive" techniques to help avoid incidents.
It says something when "Sorry mate I didn't see you" has become something of a catch phrase. I think Ben may have something in the measures comment. If you speed you quite often have to do a "speed awareness course" I think it'd be a good idea for those in that situation to be given an observation course.