Bike vs bike crashes - why so many?

[BMWST?]

Some of us think the same thing about circuit racing.



Which, dangerous sport that it may be, offers the advantage of a distinct lack of oncoming traffic.

OT but...why dont you stick to the smooth bits. ....is that the s at manfeild?

[sinfull]

OT but...why dont you stick to the smooth bits. ....is that the s at manfeild?

OT ?
Smooth ! Ya wont find a much smoother surface than he just crossed lol Taupo T 7 if i remember rightly !

[dpex]

Is there any data-base available listing the dates of all bike crashes in a particular year?

It would be interesting to see the numbers relative to seasonal weather extremes. The reason for this posit is my experiences riding over the last weekend. As we know the Auckland weather was blisteringly hot in the afternoons.

On Friday I got 'reasonably' properly togged up (not full leathers) to ride across to North Head to watch the boat racing. By the time I got there (maybe midday after about a 30 minute ride) I was drenched in sweat.

The racing ended at about 4. It was so hot I thought "Stuff this," and road home in T-shirt, jeans, sandshoes and helmet. Gloves, jacket, boots and socks, got stuffed in my bag.

The heat coming off the Northern approach to the bridge was such that the air-rush, instead of cooling me, actually added to my discomfort.

Yet, despite the intense heat, I passed biker-after-biker dressed in full leathers, or full Kordura (however you spell that).

As JRandom and many others will attest, even sitting in shade, waiting for the call to the dummy grid, dressed in full leathers, was extremely unpleasant at Taupo, over Christmas. And after just the 15 minutes on the track the affect this extreme heat on concentration was significant.

And so, I wonder if many of the crashes which occur in high summer can be reasonably explained by the riders being in such extreme heat, in full toggs and, therefore suffering heat-stroke at some level?

At the other end of the scale I remember riding from Aucks to Manfield in the middle of October. It was 2 degrees in Waiouru and not much better in Taihape. I was dressed in several layers of clothing both under and over my leathers. Hot-Grips were set to blast-furnace level, and still I was frozen to the bone. I regretfully admit, that by the time I set off on the last 13Ks from Devonport to Fielding I was so cold I knew my brain had more or less shut down. And yes, I should have just pulled off the road and found a better plan, but extreme fatigue, caused partially by the long ride but mostly by the extended exposure to extreme cold (ambient temp added to wind-chill) my brain was in survival mode. All I wanted to do was arrive and find a hot shower.

In other words I was a statistic in waiting, as I believe many weekend-warriors, dressed in full toggs, in blistering summer heat, are statistics in waiting.

Although guessing, I'd lay odds that the bike-crash-rate, during the mild seasons is way lower than during the extreme seasons.

[BMWST?]

Is there any data-base available listing the dates of all bike crashes in a particular year?

It would be interesting to see the numbers relative to seasonal weather extremes. The reason for this posit is my experiences riding over the last weekend. As we know the Auckland weather was blisteringly hot in the afternoons.

On Friday I got 'reasonably' properly togged up (not full leathers) to ride across to North Head to watch the boat racing. By the time I got there (maybe midday after about a 30 minute ride) I was drenched in sweat.

The racing ended at about 4. It was so hot I thought "Stuff this," and road home in T-shirt, jeans, sandshoes and helmet. Gloves, jacket, boots and socks, got stuffed in my bag.

The heat coming off the Northern approach to the bridge was such that the air-rush, instead of cooling me, actually added to my discomfort.

Yet, despite the intense heat, I passed biker-after-biker dressed in full leathers, or full Kordura (however you spell that).

As JRandom and many others will attest, even sitting in shade, waiting for the call to the dummy grid, dressed in full leathers, was extremely unpleasant at Taupo, over Christmas. And after just the 15 minutes on the track the affect this extreme heat on concentration was significant.

And so, I wonder if many of the crashes which occur in high summer can be reasonably explained by the riders being in such extreme heat, in full toggs and, therefore suffering heat-stroke at some level?

At the other end of the scale I remember riding from Aucks to Manfield in the middle of October. It was 2 degrees in Waiouru and not much better in Taihape. I was dressed in several layers of clothing both under and over my leathers. Hot-Grips were set to blast-furnace level, and still I was frozen to the bone. I regretfully admit, that by the time I set off on the last 13Ks from Devonport to Fielding I was so cold I knew my brain had more or less shut down. And yes, I should have just pulled off the road and found a better plan, but extreme fatigue, caused partially by the long ride but mostly by the extended exposure to extreme cold (ambient temp added to wind-chill) my brain was in survival mode. All I wanted to do was arrive and find a hot shower.

In other words I was a statistic in waiting, as I believe many weekend-warriors, dressed in full toggs, in blistering summer heat, are statistics in waiting.

Although guessing, I'd lay odds that the bike-crash-rate, during the mild seasons is way lower than during the extreme seasons.

very ggod point here...wasnt there a thread re hydration somewhere,or was that adv rider?Be acareful with running your grips on high...on one long cold ride a freind ended up burning(ie blisters etc) their hands!

[jrandom]

OT but...why dont you stick to the smooth bits. ....is that the s at manfeild?

Smooth ! Ya wont find a much smoother surface than he just crossed lol Taupo T 7 if i remember rightly !

Spot on, that's T7 at Taupo.

Those Taupo seal repairs (which I think were made after the A1GP cars ripped the track up a year or two ago) are fine in the dry; traction's just as good on them as off them. They're a bit shit in the wet, though; you need to go either inside or outside of them when it's raining.

[bezajel]

Is it just me or does there seem a theme of one bike overtaking cars and hitting other bikes from the other direction?

I've come across a bike coming towards me on my side of the road once so far, luckily it was low speeds and enough time and space to manoeuvre. This thread makes me just a wee bit scared.

The heat coming off the Northern approach to the bridge was such that the air-rush, instead of cooling me, actually added to my discomfort.
[...]
In other words I was a statistic in waiting, as I believe many weekend-warriors, dressed in full toggs, in blistering summer heat, are statistics in waiting.

Yep I wear full corduras whenever I'm out riding, yet I have a really low tolerance for heat. I've had one very very small incident involving another vehicle ('bike I was following), and I attribute it to having lost concentration riding through a valley in ~35 degree heat, no wind-chill as the air was just as hot coming off the road, dehydrated despite my best efforts... it could have been much much worse, and now I'm wondering whether summer is a good time to tour at all... My best rides are on the cool days where some nice air chill keeps you alert.

Back on topic, I wouldn't really know how I'd react in a high speed surprise situation. Not even sure how to practice for that.

[Cynos]

When I was learning, I was told, if it's too hot for the gear, it's too hot to ride.

[trumpy]

You have a good point dpex. Over heating combined with dehydration were major factors in my accident a year ago. They didn't directly cause the accident but were major contributors to me not being able to take appropriate action when I needed to in difficult riding conditions (extreme heat and tar melt). I have now become somewhat more aware of my physical state when out riding.

Having a good look at these at the moment http://www.coolingapparel.com.au/

[Laxi]

i may be new to riding on road but it seems theres a bit of dirt culture going on, guys are always "bragging" about how fast they did this road or that & their mate just has to try and match, what happened to ridding for the enjoyment of cruising

[Bonez]

Because motorcyclists are dicks.

Nah. Some of us are cunts.............

[jrandom]

Nah. Some of us are cunts.............

And the rest of us are arseholes.

[ynot slow]

One word Inattention-not paying any attention to 1)the road,2)the conditions,3)rider fatigue due to lack of sleep,fluids(sweating,dehydrating).

This doesn't mean the guy who is crashed into mind you,just the rider who caused the crash.

[dipshit]

Seriously, what the fuck? How many bike vs bike head-on crashes have we had this summer?

Thoughts?

Maybe because there are so many motorcyclists getting around out there that have the BRONZ bullshit in their heads that most motorcycle accidents are caused by cars.

[FROSTY:Me]

Another contributing factor is definitely road conditions. First real ride on my new bike and I found the bike sliding like buggery on the well melted tarmac. This was at cruiser type pace

[Motu]

So did you crash? Did you run into another bike? If not,why not? What can you do to improve this situation so that next time you encounter such a road hazzard you will imediatly take out another bike? I fear you have failled to meet the criteria for a motorcyclist endevouring to replicate a head on....you failed to impliment the most important requirement...to lose control.