sweerhe
Pack Dog
Get a group of motorcyclists talking about crashes and safety, and you
will almost certainly hear some of them-popular misconceptions,
incorrect assumptions, urban legends, and intuitive explanations about
motorcycle safety that turn out to be wrong when you actually check out
the facts. The problem is that believing these misconceptions can
increase your chances of being involved in an accident or getting hurt
when you do crash.
Maybe you know BS when you hear it, but maybe you have heard some myths
repeated so often or by people whose expertise you respect that you
think they are actually true. Unfortunately, there are a lot of
motorcyclists who do believe them. We thought that some of these
fallacies should be brought out into the light of day so that riders
have the right information upon which to make informed riding-safety
decisions. We also hope it will keep more motorcyclists from repeating
such misconceptions to riders who turn to them for advice.
These are the Deadly Dozen, the motorcycle safety myths and urban
legends ones that we hear most frequently.
Myth 1: Other Drivers Don't Care About Motorcyclists
It may seem hard to believe at times, but other drivers almost never
actually want to hit you. Most of those near-misses come about because
they don't always know you are there, even when you are right in front
of them, seemingly in plain view. You can be obscured or completely
hidden by glare, by other things on or along the road, by the cars roof
pillars, the handicap hangtag, or by other traffic. Of course, not all
drivers "think motorcycles" and make the effort to look that extra bit
harder to see if there might be a motorcyclist hidden by that
obscuration or in their blind spot.
Instead of assuming that they will ignore you even when they see you,
you should help make it easier for drivers to spot you, especially as
the population ages and more drivers have greater difficulty in picking
you out. To overcome the fact that you might be hard to see and harder
to notice, wear bright colors, especially on your helmet and jacket. Run
your high beam during the day. Think about things that can hide you and
your bike from other drivers, things that can be as common as the sun
behind you, the car ahead in the next lane, or a couple of roadside
poles that line up on the driver's line of sight toward you. Make an
effort to ride in or move to a location where drivers with potentially
conflicting courses can see you before they stray your way.
Myth 2: Loud Pipes Save Lives
Yeah, there are a few situations-like where you are right next to a
driver with his window down who is about the to change lanes-where
full-time noise-makers might help a driver notice you, but all that
noise directed rearward doesn't do much in the most common and much more
dangerous conflict where a car turns in front of you. Maybe it's the
fatigue caused by the noise, maybe it's the attitudes of riders who
insist on making annoying noise, or perhaps loud bikes annoy enough
drivers to make them aggressive. Whatever the reason, the research shows
that bikes with modified exhaust systems crash more frequently than
those with stock pipes. If you really want to save lives, turn to a loud
jacket or a bright helmet color, which have been proven to do the job.
Or install a louder horn. Otherwise, just shut up.
Myth 3: Motorcycle Helmets Break Necks
It seems logical-you put more weight out there on the end of your neck
and when you get thrown off the bike, that extra weight will create more
pendulum force on your neck. Turns out, it doesn't work that way. In
fact, the energy-absorbing qualities of a DOT motorcycle helmet also
absorb the energy that breaks riders' necks in impacts. Studies show
that helmeted motorcyclists actually suffer fewer neck injuries when
they crash compared to riders who crash without helmets.
Myth 4: Helmets Block Your Ability to See or Hear Danger
The thing you learn when you dig into the research is that motorcycle
riders who use helmets crash less frequently than those who don't. Maybe
that happens because motorcyclists who decide to wear helmets have a
better or more realistic attitude about riding. Maybe it's because
putting on a helmet is a reminder that what you are about to do can be
dangerous and the act of accepting protection puts you in the right
mindset. Maybe it's because a helmet provides eye protection and cuts
down wind noise so you can actually see and hear better. Maybe its
because, by cutting wind pressure and noise, a helmet reduces fatigue.
Whatever the reasons, wearing a helmet clearly does not increase a
motorcyclist's risk of having an accident and wearing one correlates to
reduced likelihood of an accident.
Myth 5: A Helmet Won't Help in Most Crashes
People look at the seemingly low impact speeds used in motorcycle-helmet
testing and assume that if you are going faster than that, the helmet
will no longer be up to the job. That ignores a few critical facts:
Most accidents happen at relatively low speeds.
Most of the impact energy is usually vertical-the distance your head
falls until it hits.
Helmets (or at least helmets that meet DOT standards) perform
spectacular life-saving feats at impact speeds far above those used in
testing.
When a helmeted rider suffers a fatal head injury, it frequently doesn't
matter, because, to hit hard enough to sustain that fatal injury, he
sustained multiple additional fatal injuries to other parts of his body.
In other words, the fact that the helmet didn't prevent the head injury
was of no consequence.
The numbers clearly say that riders using DOT helmets simply survive
crashes more successfully than those without them.
Myth 6: A Helmet Will Leave You Brain Damaged in an Crash When You Would
Have Simply Died
Of course that's possible-your helmet attenuates the impact energy
enough to keep the injury from being fatal but not enough to keep all of
your eggs from getting scrambled. However, that's rare, and if you hit
that hard, you are likely to get killed by some other injury. It's
actually the un-helmeted rider who is likely to cross from animal to
vegetable kingdom, and often from a relatively minor impact that would
have damaged nothing but his ego if he'd been wearing a DOT helmet.
Myth 7: A Skilled Rider Should Be Able to Handle Almost Any Situation
The sharpest, most skilled motorcyclist in the world isn't going to be
up to the task when a car turns or pulls out in front of him a short
distance ahead and stops directly in his path broadside. Believing that
your superior skills will keep you of trouble is a pipe dream, even if
they are as good as you think. No matter how skilled you are, it's
better to ride to avoid situations that can turn ugly. Slow down, scan
farther ahead, and think strategically. And dress for the crash.
Myth 8: If You Are Going to Crash, Lay It Down
I suspect this line was developed by riders to explain why they ended up
flat-side-down while trying to avoid a crash. They over-braked or
otherwise lost control, then tried to explain the crash away as
intentional and tried to make it sound like it wasn't a crash at all.
Maybe motorcycle brakes once were so bad that you could stop better off
your bike while sliding or tumbling. If so, that hasn't been true for
decades. You can scrub off much more speed before and there be going
slower at impact with effective braking than you will sliding down the
road on your butt. And if you are still on the bike, you might get
thrown over the car you collide with, avoiding an impact with your body.
If you slide into a car while you are on the ground, you either have a
hard stop against it or end up wedged under it. Remember that the phrase
"I laid 'er down to avoid a crash" is an oxymoron, often repeated by
some other kind of moron.
If you are going to ride a motorcycle in the near future, no beer is
enough beer.
The only events where being on the ground might leave you better off
are: 1) on an elevated roadway where going over the guardrail will cause
you to fall a long way, or 2) in that situation you see occasionally in
movies, where the motorcyclist slides under a semi trailer without
touching it. That's a good trick if the truck is moving.
Myth 9: One Beer Won't Hurt
Maybe not while you are drinking it, but if you get on your motorcycle
after that, the effects of a single beer can get you hurt for life. No
matter how unaffected you are sure you are, all the studies say
differently. You increase your risk to yourself and to others when you
drink and hit the road. Also, as you age, your metabolism slows down,
and those "coupla drinks" you had last night may still be affecting you
when you hit the road the next morning.
Myth 10: It's Better to Stay in Your Lane than Split Lanes
In most parts of the world, motorcycles split lanes all the time,
everywhere traffic is heavy. Here in the U.S., people often act as if
lane-splitting is insane. But when someone actually studied it in the
only place in the U.S. where it's legal (California), they discovered
it's actually slightly safer than staying in the lane in heavy,
slow-moving traffic. Still many motorcyclists berate others who do it,
when they should in fact be endorsing it.
Myth 11: I'm Safer on the Street than on an Interstate
The thinking here must be that slower is safer, but that's only really
true after the accident begins. Controlled-access roadways are
inherently safer because all the traffic is going the same way, and
there are no side streets from which someone can pop into your path, no
pedestrians, and, often, less roadside "furniture" to hit if you depart
the roadway. Running down the road at 70 mph side-by-sidewall with the
whirling wheels of a semi may feel hairy, but you are actually safer
than at half that speed on a city street or even a country road.
Myth 12: A Skilled Rider Can Stop Better with Conventional Brakes than
with Anti-Lock Brakes
Extensive testing done recently disproves this popular notion. Even on
clean, dry, flat pavement, skilled, experienced riders (who did hundreds
of panic stops for the testing on outrigger-equipped motorcycles)
stopped in less distance with anti-lock brakes (ABS) than with
conventional or linked braking systems. Though the tests didn't include
samples on surfaces with slick, dirty or wet spots, ABS certainly would
have performed even better under those conditions while eliminating much
of the risk of crashing.
The other cool thing about ABS on a motorcycle is that allows you to
safely practice panic stops without risking a crash caused by lock-up.
Anyway, the next time tells you that he had to "lay it down" or that
green bikes crash more than purple ones, you can nod and snicker
internally or challenge them. Just don't base your own riding choices on
what other people assume unless their is some solid science to back it
up.
will almost certainly hear some of them-popular misconceptions,
incorrect assumptions, urban legends, and intuitive explanations about
motorcycle safety that turn out to be wrong when you actually check out
the facts. The problem is that believing these misconceptions can
increase your chances of being involved in an accident or getting hurt
when you do crash.
Maybe you know BS when you hear it, but maybe you have heard some myths
repeated so often or by people whose expertise you respect that you
think they are actually true. Unfortunately, there are a lot of
motorcyclists who do believe them. We thought that some of these
fallacies should be brought out into the light of day so that riders
have the right information upon which to make informed riding-safety
decisions. We also hope it will keep more motorcyclists from repeating
such misconceptions to riders who turn to them for advice.
These are the Deadly Dozen, the motorcycle safety myths and urban
legends ones that we hear most frequently.
Myth 1: Other Drivers Don't Care About Motorcyclists
It may seem hard to believe at times, but other drivers almost never
actually want to hit you. Most of those near-misses come about because
they don't always know you are there, even when you are right in front
of them, seemingly in plain view. You can be obscured or completely
hidden by glare, by other things on or along the road, by the cars roof
pillars, the handicap hangtag, or by other traffic. Of course, not all
drivers "think motorcycles" and make the effort to look that extra bit
harder to see if there might be a motorcyclist hidden by that
obscuration or in their blind spot.
Instead of assuming that they will ignore you even when they see you,
you should help make it easier for drivers to spot you, especially as
the population ages and more drivers have greater difficulty in picking
you out. To overcome the fact that you might be hard to see and harder
to notice, wear bright colors, especially on your helmet and jacket. Run
your high beam during the day. Think about things that can hide you and
your bike from other drivers, things that can be as common as the sun
behind you, the car ahead in the next lane, or a couple of roadside
poles that line up on the driver's line of sight toward you. Make an
effort to ride in or move to a location where drivers with potentially
conflicting courses can see you before they stray your way.
Myth 2: Loud Pipes Save Lives
Yeah, there are a few situations-like where you are right next to a
driver with his window down who is about the to change lanes-where
full-time noise-makers might help a driver notice you, but all that
noise directed rearward doesn't do much in the most common and much more
dangerous conflict where a car turns in front of you. Maybe it's the
fatigue caused by the noise, maybe it's the attitudes of riders who
insist on making annoying noise, or perhaps loud bikes annoy enough
drivers to make them aggressive. Whatever the reason, the research shows
that bikes with modified exhaust systems crash more frequently than
those with stock pipes. If you really want to save lives, turn to a loud
jacket or a bright helmet color, which have been proven to do the job.
Or install a louder horn. Otherwise, just shut up.
Myth 3: Motorcycle Helmets Break Necks
It seems logical-you put more weight out there on the end of your neck
and when you get thrown off the bike, that extra weight will create more
pendulum force on your neck. Turns out, it doesn't work that way. In
fact, the energy-absorbing qualities of a DOT motorcycle helmet also
absorb the energy that breaks riders' necks in impacts. Studies show
that helmeted motorcyclists actually suffer fewer neck injuries when
they crash compared to riders who crash without helmets.
Myth 4: Helmets Block Your Ability to See or Hear Danger
The thing you learn when you dig into the research is that motorcycle
riders who use helmets crash less frequently than those who don't. Maybe
that happens because motorcyclists who decide to wear helmets have a
better or more realistic attitude about riding. Maybe it's because
putting on a helmet is a reminder that what you are about to do can be
dangerous and the act of accepting protection puts you in the right
mindset. Maybe it's because a helmet provides eye protection and cuts
down wind noise so you can actually see and hear better. Maybe its
because, by cutting wind pressure and noise, a helmet reduces fatigue.
Whatever the reasons, wearing a helmet clearly does not increase a
motorcyclist's risk of having an accident and wearing one correlates to
reduced likelihood of an accident.
Myth 5: A Helmet Won't Help in Most Crashes
People look at the seemingly low impact speeds used in motorcycle-helmet
testing and assume that if you are going faster than that, the helmet
will no longer be up to the job. That ignores a few critical facts:
Most accidents happen at relatively low speeds.
Most of the impact energy is usually vertical-the distance your head
falls until it hits.
Helmets (or at least helmets that meet DOT standards) perform
spectacular life-saving feats at impact speeds far above those used in
testing.
When a helmeted rider suffers a fatal head injury, it frequently doesn't
matter, because, to hit hard enough to sustain that fatal injury, he
sustained multiple additional fatal injuries to other parts of his body.
In other words, the fact that the helmet didn't prevent the head injury
was of no consequence.
The numbers clearly say that riders using DOT helmets simply survive
crashes more successfully than those without them.
Myth 6: A Helmet Will Leave You Brain Damaged in an Crash When You Would
Have Simply Died
Of course that's possible-your helmet attenuates the impact energy
enough to keep the injury from being fatal but not enough to keep all of
your eggs from getting scrambled. However, that's rare, and if you hit
that hard, you are likely to get killed by some other injury. It's
actually the un-helmeted rider who is likely to cross from animal to
vegetable kingdom, and often from a relatively minor impact that would
have damaged nothing but his ego if he'd been wearing a DOT helmet.
Myth 7: A Skilled Rider Should Be Able to Handle Almost Any Situation
The sharpest, most skilled motorcyclist in the world isn't going to be
up to the task when a car turns or pulls out in front of him a short
distance ahead and stops directly in his path broadside. Believing that
your superior skills will keep you of trouble is a pipe dream, even if
they are as good as you think. No matter how skilled you are, it's
better to ride to avoid situations that can turn ugly. Slow down, scan
farther ahead, and think strategically. And dress for the crash.
Myth 8: If You Are Going to Crash, Lay It Down
I suspect this line was developed by riders to explain why they ended up
flat-side-down while trying to avoid a crash. They over-braked or
otherwise lost control, then tried to explain the crash away as
intentional and tried to make it sound like it wasn't a crash at all.
Maybe motorcycle brakes once were so bad that you could stop better off
your bike while sliding or tumbling. If so, that hasn't been true for
decades. You can scrub off much more speed before and there be going
slower at impact with effective braking than you will sliding down the
road on your butt. And if you are still on the bike, you might get
thrown over the car you collide with, avoiding an impact with your body.
If you slide into a car while you are on the ground, you either have a
hard stop against it or end up wedged under it. Remember that the phrase
"I laid 'er down to avoid a crash" is an oxymoron, often repeated by
some other kind of moron.
If you are going to ride a motorcycle in the near future, no beer is
enough beer.
The only events where being on the ground might leave you better off
are: 1) on an elevated roadway where going over the guardrail will cause
you to fall a long way, or 2) in that situation you see occasionally in
movies, where the motorcyclist slides under a semi trailer without
touching it. That's a good trick if the truck is moving.
Myth 9: One Beer Won't Hurt
Maybe not while you are drinking it, but if you get on your motorcycle
after that, the effects of a single beer can get you hurt for life. No
matter how unaffected you are sure you are, all the studies say
differently. You increase your risk to yourself and to others when you
drink and hit the road. Also, as you age, your metabolism slows down,
and those "coupla drinks" you had last night may still be affecting you
when you hit the road the next morning.
Myth 10: It's Better to Stay in Your Lane than Split Lanes
In most parts of the world, motorcycles split lanes all the time,
everywhere traffic is heavy. Here in the U.S., people often act as if
lane-splitting is insane. But when someone actually studied it in the
only place in the U.S. where it's legal (California), they discovered
it's actually slightly safer than staying in the lane in heavy,
slow-moving traffic. Still many motorcyclists berate others who do it,
when they should in fact be endorsing it.
Myth 11: I'm Safer on the Street than on an Interstate
The thinking here must be that slower is safer, but that's only really
true after the accident begins. Controlled-access roadways are
inherently safer because all the traffic is going the same way, and
there are no side streets from which someone can pop into your path, no
pedestrians, and, often, less roadside "furniture" to hit if you depart
the roadway. Running down the road at 70 mph side-by-sidewall with the
whirling wheels of a semi may feel hairy, but you are actually safer
than at half that speed on a city street or even a country road.
Myth 12: A Skilled Rider Can Stop Better with Conventional Brakes than
with Anti-Lock Brakes
Extensive testing done recently disproves this popular notion. Even on
clean, dry, flat pavement, skilled, experienced riders (who did hundreds
of panic stops for the testing on outrigger-equipped motorcycles)
stopped in less distance with anti-lock brakes (ABS) than with
conventional or linked braking systems. Though the tests didn't include
samples on surfaces with slick, dirty or wet spots, ABS certainly would
have performed even better under those conditions while eliminating much
of the risk of crashing.
The other cool thing about ABS on a motorcycle is that allows you to
safely practice panic stops without risking a crash caused by lock-up.
Anyway, the next time tells you that he had to "lay it down" or that
green bikes crash more than purple ones, you can nod and snicker
internally or challenge them. Just don't base your own riding choices on
what other people assume unless their is some solid science to back it
up.
