Psychological Warfare and the GS500.

[mister]

FT,

Thanks for ASKing this question. Even if you are not here. Those of us who are not here usually keep it to ourselves. The others just don't understand. Ok?

Now. Let's start you off slow. Go here http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/publications/2005/ride_on_video.aspx and watch the videos. They are Not long and are aimed at the beginner - BUT - they have something we all can do with reminding of now and then.

You like 919s and GS500s? You must be a real good bloke, eh? Here are my babies...






Anyway. On to your question about FEAR.

Let's start with statistics. X% of riders who crash die in the crash, blah blah. First and foremost this Assumes a crash to begin with. THEN, you need to consider what circumstances lead to the crash. Sure cars can whiz through an intersection etc., but by far and large the motorcyclist themselves must take the blame for most offs. And around where I live there are some Very tempting roads. And the Rossi Wannabes get out in force. Usually there is an ambulance heading into these areas each day on the weekend. Sometimes they die, sometimes they live. So WHO is more Likely to crash? Joe riding to work on his GS500 taking it easy or Bob on his zx14 roaring up the middle of cars doing 50 over the speed of traffic? And if a crash happens, who is most likely to not come off very well? So with this in mind...

Rule 1 - don't ride where the squids ride (they're squids even in full leathers)
Rule 2 - don't ride like the squids ride

Onward.

Statistically speaking, you are More Likely to crash  (crashing is not guaranteed ok?) your bike if...

1 - You have ridden less than 8000km on it, regardless of how long you have had it
2 - you have had it for less than 6 months.

Why?

Because that is roughly the time/distance it takes for you to experience everything you need to experience about THAT bike. Change bikes and your 6 months / 8000 clicks clock is reset. Learner or not. This applies to everyone.

Next highest stat of crashed riders after the above is those who have ridden for two years. Because after two years you begin to think you know everything and can handle everything. This usually entails a bike upgrade along the lines. And you can see where this is going, can't you?

Enough of the morbid.

Riders 6th Sense is real. Cagers don't have it and don't generally get it. That's because, once they get behind the wheel and into their box, they mentally switch off and become Less Alert. Motorcyclists, on the other hand, become More Alert when they hop on their bike. If for no other reason than they HAVE to.

Cagers wonder why riders always want to get around them. They don't understand our Screaming Urge to have better vision of the road in front, to be away from the 1500kg of steel being controlled by a person who has Switched Off.

My father told me when I first got behind the wheel of a car... Son, a car is a Lethal Weapon. You are now in control of a Lethal Weapon. Drive accordingly.

Any time we try something new we experience FEAR. Our bodies way of making us pause for a moment to take stock of the situation. After experiencing this fear, consciously going ahead with it, and having no ill effects, the next time the fear (apprehension) will have diminished. The more you do the thing the less you fear the thing. The more Respect you should gain for the thing.

Risk v Reward. Unfortunately, this requires pre-thought. But it's still a good thing to have in your mind.

Eg. Travel up this 12 click stretch of road Averaging 100 by riding in and out and around and splitting traffic. Reward. Arrive 6 minutes later.
VS... travel up this road averaging 80 by riding with the traffic. Reward is, arrive 9 minutes later.

A LOT of risk for 3 minutes in time. The second rider will probably pull up next to the risky rider at the next set of traffic lights.

Michael

[codajastal]

Very well said Mister.
And nice bikes

[slipperymongoose]

Gee mister you took your time. Glad you made it though hittin the nail on the head as usual.

[Rydar]

I'm at a similar starting point to ya FT.  I would only say that while cars are safer to be involved in a crash, from what i've learned so far, riders who go about things the right way are better at avoiding crashes.  Obviously everyone's posted a million ways to be safer on a bike.  Don't speed recklessly, be almost paranoid attentive to surroundings, don't ride while impared (injured, intoxicated, distracted.)  The facts still boil down to bikes can be dangerous to ride.  Extra danger just means extra respect for what you're doing.  Airplanes are statistically a very safe method of transportation.  Yet plane crashes are extremely dangerous for people on them.  Does that mean you shouldn't fly?  Commercial pilots don't pop wheelies and race other planes for a reason.

if I were to let my fear of something deter me from doing it...I'd probably never do anything, or I would sure miss out on alot of fun stuff.

If buying a bike is something you want, do it regardless of what other people tell you.  Just do it right and enjoy doing it the right way. 

Edit : Oh yeah, and J_Walker Rant and Rave Show was very entertaining.  Top notch.

[SgtBatten]

In Australia 49% of rider fatalities are single vehicle crashes in corners.

That's means that riders simply run wide or lose control in a corner because they went in too fast.

[Dr.McNinja]

@foxtrot: get yourself a copy of twist of the wrist 2 the book or DVD. Alot of the things you said there are covered and it's invaluable.

This book is useful but not necessary. I've watched the video a few times, but it's mainly geared towards track riding, spirited mountain riding, and good riding posture and understanding your bike's geometry.

Admittedly it helped my posture quite a bit and it helped me understand the geometry of my bike better which enabled me to make turns better and more confidently. Especially at high speed.


However, A Twist of the Wrist 2 is (I'll get killed for saying this) virtually worthless outside of those things. The Proficient Motorcycling series does a much better job at teaching practical street survival tactics and gives you plenty of good tips on things beyond track skills.

In Australia 49% of rider fatalities are single vehicle crashes in corners.

That's means that riders simply run wide or lose control in a corner because they went in too fast.

Most fatal accidents here, between cars and motorcycles, occur in intersections due to failure to yield right-of-way. The vast majority of these are motorcycles.

Aside from the typical "going to fast the car couldn't gauge your speed clearly" cage drivers are the exact problem with this. Unfortunately unlike other countries it's so easy to get your driver's license (I suspect this has to do with insurance companies wanting more money) that the vast majority of cage drivers AND motorcycle riders in America are absolutely atrocious at it. As an example a few weeks ago a Electra Glide split my lane while I was riding because I was going to slow. AN ELECTRA GLIDE. Those things are the size of trucks compared to a GS500. Then, a few days after that some mexican gang banger thought he'd be tough and come from behind us and swing a hard right in front of us. We were already stopped, he did nothing but look like an @$$hole. Follow, yesterday a truck decided to ride me all the way to my fender, veer off into oncoming traffic, and then swing back into my lane hard to get in front of me. Probably did it to "show me a lesson". The speed limit was 25, I was doing 15 because the asphalt was cracked and had MOUNDS of tar you couldn't avoid in some sections.

My point is, people - cagers especially - are inconsiderate morons. No amount of training will save you from having to deal with these morons because they're everywhere. The only thing that will save is developing your rider "6th sense" and being aware of what's all around you at all times.

[SAFE-T]

In town, you are more likely to be injured at an intersection because another driver did not see you. Outside town you are more likely to be killed because you were going too fast and lost control.

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

In Australia 49% of rider fatalities are single vehicle crashes in corners.

That's means that riders simply run wide or lose control in a corner because they went in too fast.

Or because they started too tight, or misread the shape of the curve, or the surface, or because they were overwhelmed by feeling like they were going to run wide, and so target fixated and ran wide.  There's some scandanavian study of motorcycle cornering accidents that found that most riders who binned their shit on a corner, did so because they panicked thinking they were in too hot when their bike was more than capable of taking the corner at that speed and then some.

Speed's only part of the picture.

[mysterious_rider]

Man up?

[ninjeff]

9/10 times your motorcycle is FAR more capable than you are.

[Twisted]

In town, you are more likely to be injured at an intersection because another driver did not see you. Outside town you are more likely to be killed because you were going too fast and lost control.

We were told on our motorcycle course that 90% of motorcycle accidents are the riders fault. Following to close, Riding in blind spots, etc, etc.

[Toogoofy317]

Here are a couple of articles discussing on what causes motorcycle accidents. If you want the full paper PM and I will try and get it to you.

Mary
Death by motorcycle: background, behavioral, and situational correlates of fatal motorcycle collisions
Motorcycle fatalities in the United States continue to increase on both crude and adjusted bases. This paper examines fatal motorcycle accidents as a cause of death, using a retrospective analysis of motorcycle operator fatalities from 2003 to 2008 in the state of Indiana. During these six years, out of more than 18,000 motorcycle operators in crashes, 601 were killed. Based on police report data, motorcycle operators during this period are examined to reveal key factors that are in place when a motorcyclist is killed in a collision. The major correlates of death identified were objects of impact, risky behaviors, and speed. The largest positive effects on the chances of death were linked to trees, posts-signs-poles, bridge-guardrail-median, and other motor vehicles. In conjunction with speed, these objects were the primary mechanisms by which fatal injuries were sustained by motorcyclists. Various types of risky behavior were also major correlates of death by motorcycle.

Here is one talking about the incident of the left handed turn accident.
Injuries sustained by motorcycle riders in the approaching turn crash configuration.
Abstract:A common crash configuration involving a motorcycle and another vehicle is termed the 'approaching turn collision', which occurs when a vehicle turns left into the path of an oncoming vehicle. Although research has explained some causes of approaching turn collisions, few studies have described injury outcomes specific to approaching turn collisions involving motorcycles. All fatally injured and a sample of over 3500 nonfatally injured motorcycle riders treated in one of 28 hospitals in 11 California counties were included in this analysis if the crash occurred in 1991 or 1992 and both a police crash report and matching medical diagnoses were available. Injuries sustained by motorcycle riders in approaching turn collisions were compared with injuries sustained by motorcycle riders in other crash types. Injuries occurring when the motorcycle was the left-turning vehicle were compared to those occurring when the car is the left-turning vehicle. Riders in approaching turn collisions had increased lower extremity and abdominal injuries, but less frequently had head, chest, and facial injuries than riders in other crash types. The average ISS score, percent fatally injured, and average number of days in the hospital were greater for riders in approaching turn collisions than riders in other crash types, except the head-on collision. Possible strategies to reduce injuries from approaching turn collisions are discussed. The complexity of turning actions, particularly judgements of speed, could potentially be an intervention point to reduce crash occurrence..

Mary

[XealotX]

We were told on our motorcycle course that 90% of motorcycle accidents are the riders fault. Following to close, Riding in blind spots, etc, etc.

67% of all statistics are made up on the spot...

I'm always wary about statistics because they can be manipulated to support one side. 90% of motorcycle accidents are the rider's  fault...such as if a motorcycle is stopped at an intersection and gets rear ended by a car it's the riders fault because they were in the middle of the lane instead of off to one side...or it's the rider's fault because they were in neutral instead of in gear...or it's the rider's fault because they weren't wearing reflective clothing...or their brake light was out...or their reflectors were missing...or...

Ultimately, despite all of those factors, it's the driver of that car's fault. Yet, to an organization with an agenda (even a well meaning one) it's the rider's fault.

Recently I went out for a ride near my house. I crested a hill on a road that I've ridden hundreds of times and the entire road was covered in inch thick wet mud for about 50 yards. Prior to that hill there were no signs posted advising road construction up ahead and I had NO idea. The ONLY reasons I didn't kiss the asphalt were I wasn't speeding and the road was straight. Had there been a curve I would have dropped the bike for sure. As it was I could feel both tires squirming through the mud but managed not to panic and make it through. Now...if I had wrecked would it have been my fault? According to that motorcycle course...yes...it would have been my fault for not knowing the riding conditions...but let's be honest here...short of walking the entire distance of your planned ride every day you never really know the conditions, you just ride within your abilities and plan/practice for the unexpected.

[SAFE-T]

Getting rear-ended is the fault of the person who hit the vehicle in front of them, but just sitting there and never looking in your mirrors and/or not thinking about what you might do if you had to do something certainly doesn't help. In the same way, being cut-off by another driver because they didn't see you in their blind spot is their mistake for not checking their blind spot before changing lanes, although remaining in their blind spot does not help either. Unpredictable road conditions are not the operators fault either, but being ill-prepared to deal with them makes them worse. The point is to understand what is and is not within your control.

[XealotX]

Getting rear-ended is the fault of the person who hit the vehicle in front of them, but just sitting there and never looking in your mirrors and/or not thinking about what you might do if you had to do something certainly doesn't help. In the same way, being cut-off by another driver because they didn't see you in their blind spot is their mistake for not checking their blind spot before changing lanes, although remaining in their blind spot does not help either. Unpredictable road conditions are not the operators fault either, but being ill-prepared to deal with them makes them worse. The point is to understand what is and is not within your control.

I get that and agree completely. I just do not like the knee jerk answer that (almost) any accident on a motorcycle is automatically the rider's fault. Certainly the rider often contributes to the cause of the accident.

[Toogoofy317]

In my EMT training MVA are no longer referred as accidents. They are referred to as collisions because an "accident" would infer that no one was at fault it just happened. I tend to concur with the exception of getting nailed with a piece of tire at 45 mph (still don't know what else I could have done but I didn't go down either) that every motor vehicle collision is due to someone not obeying the law.

Mary