Death toll on the roads is virtually identical to 2019

[OddDuck]

I stand corrected.

I've been riding motorcycles on the road since I got my license. A few off's over the years. Nothing that required more than a few days in Hospital with a bruised ego and broken collarbone. I was lucky. I toured Malaysia in the early 80's ... my safety gear was a pair of knock-off Levi's and T-shirt ... and an open face Helmet. Army boots to complete the ensemble. A few off's there too. All I rode away from. Others on my two year tour to Singapore (with 1RNZIR) were not so lucky. One friend was killed in an overtaking gone wrong. Other riders here in NZ I knew have also died on our roads. They too became a statistic.

I have never claimed to be any sort of expert rider ... quite the opposite. I was lucky. If I pushed my own riding boundaries ... which I did ... and got it wrong ... which I did at times ... The person I held responsible was myself. I knew I was risking my life. The warning voices sounding in my own head ... sometimes ignored. The line between expert and lucky is hard to fathom ... let alone see. Except in hindsight. I was always happy riding motorcycles. Never any regrets. There were times that I'd not like to see repeated. Actions have reactions ... and I have lived through those reactions. Those reading this post did too. And long may it last for all of us.

The reasons we ride are our own. By our own choice we may live or die. We know the rules ... and the main rule we all understand is that we may die doing it. We all knew that from the beginning ... so none of can say "I didn't know".

I'm coming up to my 63rd birthday soon ... and have no plans to give up riding. It may not be on my FJ1200 ... as I'm not as fit or strong as I was. (I wasn't that strong then either) I'll be selling or trading it on something a little smaller. And suitable for the back roads and back country areas. Well ... that's the plan.

Most of the issues in this thread are about things pretty much out of our control on a nationwide basis ... but on a personal level ... We have choices.
The choices you make and options you have ... can lead you all to a long and happy life. Life however doesn't always work out that way. Motorcycling is dangerous. We ALL know that. We have to trust that the millions of people driving and riding on the same roads WE are ... will be doing their best to keep US alive.

Yeah Right.


Stay safe out there folk's ... and be lucky.

Just to support what you're saying... we've never had wider or better choices in terms of bikes, gear, tyres and rider training. There is a fair amount of random chance involved in staying alive on the roads, but... BUT... there's a lot that an individual can do to swing the odds in their favour, both to avoid an incident and then to survive it if if does happen *.

Be seen. ATTGATT. Upskill and ride within your skills. Consideration, following distances, stopping distances. Techniques and habits on the road.

A thought I've had recently, after a trip, was that most of my traffic risks happened in unfamiliar cities while trying to navigate, particularly when tired, hot, bothered, and / or in a hurry. The most likely to have an incident areas were 50 and 70 zones. For me at least, the fix is simple - go around, not through. Accomodation on outskirts if possible, with clear routes to and from. That sort of thing. Doesn't cost anything, makes my ride both safer and more fun, probably saves time as well. That's just for me, YMMV.

* one of the selling points for me on my airbag vest was a testimonial from a rider: T-boned at an intersection and thrown across three lanes. His off-road leg armour saved his knee. The vest, with integral back protector, saved the rest of him when he went spine-first into a fire hydrant. Of all the furniture you could hit, a fire hydrant... he had a walk-away. He picked himself up, dusted himself off, and walked away. Well, after a sit-down first. The safety gear does improve and evolve steadily with time, this stuff simply didn't exist for consumers ten-ish years ago but it's around now.

[Navy Boy]

Just to support what you're saying... we've never had wider or better choices in terms of bikes, gear, tyres and rider training. There is a fair amount of random chance involved in staying alive on the roads, but... BUT... there's a lot that an individual can do to swing the odds in their favour, both to avoid an incident and then to survive it if if does happen *.

Be seen. ATTGATT. Upskill and ride within your skills. Consideration, following distances, stopping distances. Techniques and habits on the road.

A thought I've had recently, after a trip, was that most of my traffic risks happened in unfamiliar cities while trying to navigate, particularly when tired, hot, bothered, and / or in a hurry. The most likely to have an incident areas were 50 and 70 zones. For me at least, the fix is simple - go around, not through. Accomodation on outskirts if possible, with clear routes to and from. That sort of thing. Doesn't cost anything, makes my ride both safer and more fun, probably saves time as well. That's just for me, YMMV.

* one of the selling points for me on my airbag vest was a testimonial from a rider: T-boned at an intersection and thrown across three lanes. His off-road leg armour saved his knee. The vest, with integral back protector, saved the rest of him when he went spine-first into a fire hydrant. Of all the furniture you could hit, a fire hydrant... he had a walk-away. He picked himself up, dusted himself off, and walked away. Well, after a sit-down first. The safety gear does improve and evolve steadily with time, this stuff simply didn't exist for consumers ten-ish years ago but it's around now.

Yep - I'm with you on the airbag bit. I too wear one and the added inconvenience is more than offset by the potential benefits they bring. Any aids, be they airbags, ABS, TC or anything else always come to the fore when you're not concentrating, thinking about something else and life happens to you. As you say though - Choice is what it all boils down to.

[F5 Dave]

Won't help you when you're decapitated,

. . . and other silly arguments I've heard. I mean its possible you'll meet an angry Sean Connery with a Dragonhead Katana during an accident, but that's less likely by the day .

Yes I had to look up the sword he used.

Good grief, seems there's and industry selling replica from an ancient movie.

[OddDuck]

Won't help you when you're decapitated,

. . . and other silly arguments I've heard. I mean its possible you'll meet an angry Sean Connery with a Dragonhead Katana during an accident, but that's less likely by the day .

Yes I had to look up the sword he used.

Good grief, seems there's and industry selling replica from an ancient movie.

Now that you mention it, one of the more hilarious encounters I've had while touring was a truckie who came up spontaneously and started on about "ride carefully or your head'll come off"

I'm cranking it up slightly... but only slightly. To be fair to the man he had attended one such within the prior two years. Cannot be unseen, etc etc.

Yes, it does happen, I've heard another about a young fella who didn't observe following distance and went into the back of a ute carrying some sheaves of corrugated iron which overhung the rear end of the tray and... well it ended up being a giant razorblade at throat level. This was a story told to me almost twenty years ago and I don't know how old it was then, or even if it's true. Such stories last though. They're horrifying and so they endure. They're a problem because they breed fatalism: in a crash you're fucked fucked fucked anyway so either don't ride or don't worry about it... but if this story is true then disaster could have been averted by 1) follow at 2 seconds or more and 2) look for your escape, not at what you're about to crash into, and 3) practise your emergency braking every now and then, you never know when you'll need it. The corrugated iron might not have been obvious while following, particularly edge-on.

We are taking risks, that's unavoidable, but we are not helpless. There are things that we can do to swing the odds further in our favour.

[F5 Dave]

Head injuries are more prevelant with car passengers as I understand
We are likely to suffer other injuries. Wearing helmets is a good thing.

[OddDuck]

Yeah. There's not much flank room inside a car, usually... very easy to knock a head if things go (literally) sideways.

[scumdog]

Sadly, most new vehicles are silly utes or SUV's these days. Sedan cars are not as popular as they were.

Technology will help us here with the red light runners. We can adapt my favourite part of the Aliens movies - sentry guns. When a light goes red, a sensor is fired that arms the guns aimed at the lanes (from across the road and up high say- next to those pointless red light cameras). Once the system is armed anything crossing the line (like a drag racing start line laser or something) gets the metal rain. It could be implemented everywhere there is a red light, it would be cheap, and it would absolutely, positively mean that people took them seriously. Because they sure as shit don't now. Since the worst offenders I have seen are courier vans, and other tradie battlers, judicious placement of the sentry gun would ensure the driver paid the price but not the payload - because I want my fucking parcel, OK?

Well put!

Too many don't 'drive' - they just 'steer'.

And have no idea of road rules/etiquette.

[OddDuck]

Speaking of airbags...

https://www.airbagjeans.com/

Thoughts?

Obviously it's very early, pre-commercial prototype, sales hype, dubious claims, etc. Interesting to see someone having a try though.

[rastuscat]

Interesting. Knowing how to make a vehicle move, steer, change gears, brake etc is one thing.

Knowing how to negotiate that vehicle doing those things in traffic is road craft.

[rastuscat]

Speaking of airbags...

https://www.airbagjeans.com/

Thoughts?

Obviously it's very early, pre-commercial prototype, sales hype, dubious claims, etc. Interesting to see someone having a try though.

My experience of air bag vests tells me that airbags prevent ventilation. Heat build up is the enemy of concentration.

[F5 Dave]

Bullshit. People have been racing in them for years. My Alpinestars was fine up far north with leathers over the top

[OddDuck]

My experience of air bag vests tells me that airbags prevent ventilation. Heat build up is the enemy of concentration.

Bullshit. People have been racing in them for years. My Alpinestars was fine up far north with leathers over the top

Maybe both are true... stop and go or urban traffic situations, not much airflow, heat buildup. Highway riding, lots of airflow, fine. At least that's been my experience. Tank bags are also a problem if you're after airflow, so are windshields... adjustable louvres or something on the ST2's fairing would have been good.

On a recent overnighter I got downright silly after letting myself get too warm, it really can creep up on a person.

[pritch]

Maybe both are true...

Very possible. It seems one gent is riding through the air on a naked roadster, and the other is shielded from the airflow behind a wall of plastic. There would seem to be the potential for them both to experience the same weather conditions very differently.

[rastuscat]

Maybe both are true... stop and go or urban traffic situations, not much airflow, heat buildup. Highway riding, lots of airflow, fine. At least that's been my experience. Tank bags are also a problem if you're after airflow, so are windshields... adjustable louvres or something on the ST2's fairing would have been good.

On a recent overnighter I got downright silly after letting myself get too warm, it really can creep up on a person.

Yes, the ranch slider on the front of my RT limits air flow.

[rastuscat]

Bullshit. People have been racing in them for years. My Alpinestars was fine up far north with leathers over the top

Hmmm. Ill try doing 290 kmh to see if it makes a difference.