Sad note!

[Fritzc]

I believe the number one reason cause of motorcycle fatalities is losing control, going off road, hitting tree etc. In other words rider caused. If I am wrong I expect to be corrected.
Number two cause of fatal motorcycle accidents is as follows:

THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
By Elizabeth Shaw
eshaw@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6311

RICHFIELD TWP. - A Flint man was killed Monday in a motorcycle-car crash on Richfield Road between Henderson and Washburn roads.

Police said William Decker, 77, of Flint was riding his motorcycle westbound on Richfield Road shortly after 5 p.m. when an eastbound vehicle driven by a 20-year-old Davison woman turned in front of him. He was killed immediately.

Alcohol and speed aren't believed to be factors. :violin

[jdmetzger]

RICHFIELD TWP. - A Flint man was killed Monday in a motorcycle-car crash on Richfield Road between Henderson and Washburn roads.

Police said William Decker, 77, of Flint was riding his motorcycle westbound on Richfield Road shortly after 5 p.m. when an eastbound vehicle driven by a 20-year-old Davison woman turned in front of him. He was killed immediately.



This scared me for a minute; as my coworkers son was in an accident this morning, somewhere around Clio, MI... similar circumstances. Last I heard it was a broken leg (two places), arm, and pelvis. Bad day for riding... bad week, really!

[paulsibek]

You are correct.

THe report identifies the high percentage situations and from that you can be alert to these when you are riding.

I think that knowing where the accidents happen can be a real safety factor.

Google Hurt Report.

[GeneT]

Two recent accidents here involving riders and passengers, in both cases they failed to negotiate the turn in the entrance/exit ramp, struck the cement guard rail and went over same, falling to the roadway below the bridge. All four died at the scene. Yes they were both crotch rockets.

:cry

[OfficerImpersonator]

You are correct.

THe report identifies the high percentage situations and from that you can be alert to these when you are riding.

I think that knowing where the accidents happen can be a real safety factor.

Google Hurt Report.

The conclusions of the Hurt Report are that we should do all the things we know we should do to improve our chances out there.

The data provided the following information:

3/4 of all m/c accidents were between a car and a motorcycle.

2/3 of those car - m/c accidents were due to the driver of the car not seeing the motorcycle.

The recommendations of the report can be distilled to two basic ideas:

1. Conspicuity - do everything you can to make yourself more visible to others - add lights to your bike. Add bright colors to your riding gear. Ride in a lane position that makes you more visible to the drivers around you. Avoid blind spots. Wear a white helmet and light colored gear. Put reflective stickers on you, your bike and your gear.

2. Wear a helmet.

[lamble]

How, why, where, when and who accidents happen to:

http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/ (http://http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/)

Oh yes, Hurt suggests you get trained too.

Sorry to hear of any rider that gets injured.

[Fritzc]

Rather than being a random statistic, you should know more about the guy!
Granted 77 years is more than many of us will get on this earth but still sad anyway.

http://www.mlive.com/news/flintjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-42/117509002361650.xml&coll=5

[OfficerImpersonator]

Indeed. If I'm lucky enough to make it to 77, I'll consider myself even luckier if I die doing something I love rather than waste away in an "assisted living facility", aka "nursing home".

Most 77 year olds aren't so lucky as to die in a motorcycle wreck!

[dlearl476]

Here's a statistic of my own, that I try to keep at the forefront of my awareness every time I ride:

9,999 out of 10,000 motorcycle accidents are completely avoidable. Whether the accident was "caused" by another rider/driver or self induced, it was avoidable.

It's controversial and opens me to criticism and ridicule, but say what you want about conspicuity, cell phones, innattentive cages, blah, blah, blah, firmly believing that NO ONE is going to get me home in one piece except for me has done exactly that.

Accidents caused by left-turners are indeed tragic, but it's a shame we are unable to find out how much of a rider's attention was focused on the possibility, given the situation, and taking appropriate action: brakes covered, turn signal, wheel position, drivers head postion, etc. I suspect that one of the reasons these accidents are so common, and so deadly, is that they take a majority of the riders completely by surprise.

When I first started riding, a good friend told me to ride as if I was completely invisible and that every other vehicle on the road was out to kill me. It's worked pretty well so far. My one road accident was 100% avoidable and 100% my fault.

[drharveys]

When I first started riding, a good friend told me to ride as if I was completely invisible and that every other vehicle on the road was out to kill me. It's worked pretty well so far. My one road accident was 100% avoidable and 100% my fault.


I just remember the line from Watership Down:

O prince, you will have a thousand enemies. If they catch you, they will kill you. But first, they must catch you!"


(Hey, it was about some anthropomorphic rabbits!)

[AllanCook]

Was the driver talking on a cell phone, by any chance?

[RandyB]

Was the driver talking on a cell phone, by any chance?


It was good to read about Mr. Decker. Sounds like a life well lived.

The callousness and irresponsibility of people is terrifying. I saw a Hell's Angel killed by a left-turning truck full of teen-aged girls several years ago. When I turned around after helping treat him, the girls were sitting on the mangled hood of the truck talking, laughing and (literally) blowing bubbles.

[jdmetzger]

It was good to read about Mr. Decker. Sounds like a life well lived.

The callousness and irresponsibility of people is terrifying. I saw a Hell's Angel killed by a left-turning truck full of teen-aged girls several years ago. When I turned around after helping treat him, the girls were sitting on the mangled hood of the truck talking, laughing and (literally) blowing bubbles.

I'm almost speechless, but then I'm reminded of an accident that happened here a year or two ago. A woman on a cell phone hit a child getting off of a school bus (with the lights flashing). After hitting the kid she never hung up the phone; I think when the police got there she was already on the phone with a lawyer...

It's good I'm not a police officer; I probably would have beat her to death with her phone... similar punishment for the teenagers would be in order, I think.

[osbornk]

When I first started riding, a good friend told me to ride as if I was completely invisible and that every other vehicle on the road was out to kill me. It's worked pretty well so far. My one road accident was 100% avoidable and 100% my fault.


I advise everyone to RIDE PARANOID. Assume everyone is out to get you and ride that way. I've avoided having an accident for 40+ years but I got lucky many times after I did something stupid.

[BouncinBob]

9,999 out of 10,000 motorcycle accidents are completely avoidable. Whether the accident was "caused" by another rider/driver or self induced, it was avoidable.

It's controversial and opens me to criticism and ridicule...


No ridicule from me. It is amazing how easy most accidents / close calls are to avoid.

[BouncinBob]

It's good I'm not a police officer; I probably would have beat her to death with her phone... similar punishment for the teenagers would be in order, I think.


Kinda hard to beat them to death with bubble gum.

[bobh41]

with four years of experience more or less, I decided upon a riding "strategy" based on the premise that I, personally, was responsible and at fault for any and all accidents. Refreshing that idea frequently resulted in a fairly intense riding experience, especially during normal commute times. I survived several years this way before abandoning SOCAL for the Midwest quite a while back.

As an aside; I wouldn't know how to do this with communication gear plugged into my neck. Entertainment? Communication? What would be the point of these distractions?

[BMWDEAN]

Relying on my aging memory, and not looking up the data at this time, I believe the most common location for motorcycle crashes is at intersections, and the most common cause is a driver violating the motorcyclists's right-of-way.

When the driver exits his car/truck following the crash, he tells the officer, "Gee, officer, I didn't see him."

And yet most motorcyclists I observe ride with dark clothing (i.e., inconspicuous) and, if wearing a helmet, black helmets (i.e., inconspicuous). A rider can reduce his or her chances of collision by 24% simply by wearing a white helmet (http://jeff.dean.home.att.net/white-helmets.htm) instead of a black one . But even so, black helmets out sell white ones 20 to 1.

Also, Motorcycle “drivers wearing reflective or fluorescent clothing had a 37% lower risk of crash related injury than other [motorcycle] drivers.” And yet, black jackets reign supreme.

The point is, you and I can make decisions now, today, that will significantly reduce our chances of being cut off by a left-turner. If your helmet is black, go to the hardware store and get a can of white spray paint (as I have done). If your jacket is a dark color, go to Home Depot and buy a reflective vest and wear it over your jacket. The choice is ours.

[tonkandy]

Watership Down

Liked the book, hated the movie, loved the pie.

[pmdave]

A few notes to ponder:

1. The DOT report we call the "Hurt Report" came out in 1980, and a lot has changed since then, including traffic density, larger vehicles, and more powerful motorcycles. Since the "Hurt Report" was conducted in the L.A. basin and surrounding mountains, it reflects what happened in that environment.

2. The riding environment is quite different in various parts of the country. What happens in California or Kansas isn't necessarily what's happening in Florida or Washington. As additional studies are done, it becomes obvious that different riding tactics are called for in different areas. For instance, Pennsylvania has the highest proportion of deer strikes in the country. Washington DC might have more risks associated with traffic. Oklahoma might have less risk of deer or traffic, but a higher risk of lightning or tornadoes. You need to know what's happening in your home state, and adapt to tactics suitable for other areas you ride through.

3. According to Hugh "Harry" Hurt, it would be impossible to duplicate or update the "Hurt Report" today in the USA, due to such things as privacy laws and rampant lawsuits. Anyone investigating an accident would soon receive a subpoena to appear in court, and that would tie up the investigators full time. There is a study underway funded by the DOT, but like the "Hurt Report" it can only report what happens in the state where it is being conducted, assuming they can tap into what's happening.

4. Different states have been looking at their motorcycle fatality numbers. Some mirror the stats from the "Hurt Report," others show different trends. For example, in the Great Lakes area, collisions are more involved. In the Northwest, single-vehicle crashes (just the bike) are responsible for at least half of all fatalities. (rider error)

5. Alcohol is still a major cause of fatal motorcycle crashes. Even the different state studies generally agree that alcohol is involved in somewhere around 50% of motorcycle fatalities. Not just drunk drivers hitting riders, but riders under the influence hitting other vehicles or smashing into immovable objects.

6. While the total number of US fatalities is rising rapidly, the numbers need to be compared to the rate of increase in say, registrations. The fatality rate (per x number of motorcycles) is rising, but not as rapidly as the sensational news reports would have you believe.

7. The US motorcycle fatality totals and the fatality rate were declining until about 2002, then began to climb. By coincidence, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation changed it's curricula at about that same time.

8. Never mind all of the above. Your primary job as a motorcyclist is to keep your machine under control and get out of the way of everyone else.

pmdave

[dlearl476]

When the driver exits his car/truck following the crash, he tells the officer, "Gee, officer, I didn't see him."



Dave, would you mind posting that "optical delusion" thing again. I've tried a couple of times, unsuccessfully, to find it for threads like this.

My point is this: (and I'm no brain scientist or rocket surgeon, this is just my opinion) for the most part our sight has evolved over millions of years as part of our "fight or flight" way-down-deep in subconscious thought parts of the brain. It's not their fault that they don't see you, you're not a threat and consequently their (your) brain isn't programed to pick a motorcycle up.

Consequently, I believe that any safety strategy that counts on other people seeing you is flawed, you're putting the responsibility for your safety in the hands of a total stranger, one that may or may not even be paying attention. Thanks, but I'll pass.
Do I ride in Camo? No, but I don't ride in fluorescent hi-viz yellow gear with flashing lights on my helmet, either. (Although it is white.;) ) What I do is try to always ride with a situational awareness that makes others seeing me or not inconsequential.

[pmdave]

The "optical delusion" business is called "inattentional blindness" by the visual research experts. Their experiments have not been tailored to motorcycling, but the results sure seem to speak to us.

In a nutshell, here's how I understand it:

Humans have a huge quantity and variety of input through the eyes, ears, nose, touch, etc. Apparently, the senses gather every little detail without regard to its importance. And all that iinformation would overwhelm the conscious part of the brain.

So, part of the brain (the hypothalamus as I recall) acts as a spam filter. The filter instantaneously flushes anything other than "important" information down the mental toilet. Only "important" information gets sent along to the conscious part of the brain. Or, to be more specific, the person who is paying attention to something ("attending to") will trigger the spam filter to mark anything related to that subject as "important."

OK, here's a driver who has no positive experience with motorcycling. Never ridden. No father or son riding, no neighbors who have chatted while out washing a bike, no mention of motorcycles anywhere. The driver is not "attending to" motorcycles, but is probably attending to other automobiles, especially those of the same color or brand. So, even when the driver's eyes pick up an oncoming motorcycle, the spam filter flushes the images. The driver may actually "see" the motorcycle, but the driver's brain does not "comprehend" the motorcycle.

The researchers are also studying "attention capture." (what we have called "conspicuity.") Capturing attention is not just a matter of making things bright, but apparently a matter of other more subtle clues that trigger the spam filter to not block the info. For instance, how does a driver comprehend the presence of a motor officer wearing a black leather jacket on a black and white machine, hiding behind a billboard? Perhaps it's the white color, or a flash of light from an antenna, or the bulge of a holstered revolver. I know a rider who immediately reacts to all white motorcycles.

(continued)

pmdave

[pmdave]

Part of our conspicuity (attention capture) business concerns how other drivers see and comprehend us.

Imagine an approaching motorcycle coming straight toward you. What does it loook like? How do you judge it's distance and speed?

Distance and approach speed are predicted based on the change in apparent size of the approaching vehicle. If it changes size quickly, it's probably approaching at a fast speed. But distance is another matter, because the way humans judge distance is by triangulation between the two eyes. Hold your hand out in front of your face, focus on one finger, and pull the hand back toward your nose. Your eyes scan slightly, and that's a clue about the relative distance of your hand. Same for approaching vehicles.

The problem for motorcyclists is that (even assuming the image gets past the spam filter) a narrow bike doesn't provide the same visual clues as say, a bus. So, it's easy for a driver to fail to judge the distance of an approaching motorcycle, or fail to judge it's approach speed correctly. We also contribute to the problem by riding narrow bikes with a single headlight, and by riding faster than the typical speed of traffic.

The bottom line is that the more you look like a car, the more likely you are to be "attended to" and the more reliable the prediction of your distance and speed.

Tactics? I'm still thinking about that. If the research really does apply to motorcycling, then it should help to have amber lights at the extremities of the front of the bike, say at the edges of the fairing, or on the front of the mirrors. I sure wish we had more research that focused on motorcycling.

pmdave

[kbasa]

If you've never done so, attending a track day is a great way to find out what your limits are and expand them. Can any of us brake to the maximum effectiveness of our bikes? Can we turn the bike as rapidly as it can be turned?

Track days and instruction go a long way toward finding out. I've always maintained the the time to find out how far and fast you can lean your motorcycle is on a track, not on a mountain road with a logging truck coming up the middle.

[Motor31]

I lost my career and full use of my right wrist / hand because of a left turn driver. You can do all you can to allow for visibility and it can STILL happen. In my case I had a Police Bike (kaw) with decals and flashing headlight and this brain dead idiot still waited until I was almost to the intersection then he stood on his throttle to make the turn in a residential intersection. He also claimed he never saw me until impact but that was the same thing he told the Officers at his 2 previous collisions in the same month. They responded to my collision as well and recognized him and the Mach 2 Mustang he drove. The car died at the scene since it was turned into a banana. (I still hate Mustangs today 13 years later)

Today I ride with a white helmet, contrasting color (red) coat or reflective vest over a winter coat, and make sure my bike is NOT dark grey or black. I never want a motorcycle with a color similar to pavement. I also have a flashing headlight as well but know it's not fool proof.

I do what I can to minimize the risks but realize that all possibilities can't be covered.

[Muriel]

Mike, I'm sorry for your accident. I think you agree that you have to do all the right things to be conspicuous and keep your eyes peeled for dangers constantly. And still that's no guarantee. As someone else said earlier - they're out to get us . . . be paranoid. Also it helps to keep the speed down to somewhere near reasonable for the area . . . if they do see you but don't calculate your speed correctly. Whammo! Small objects and all that.

Muriel

[PacWestGS]

Only the "rider" can prevent a single vehicle crash by remaining in control at all times, reducing his/her speed in unfamiliar locations and understanding that what you know may be very different than what you expected it to be. "The road you rode yesterday may not be the same road you ride today." In fact it may have changed over the last fifteen minutes.

"Conspicuity" means different things to different people. Wearing brightly colored clothing trying to "LOOK" like a motorcyclist may not register with an automobile driver any better than looking like a biker dressed in black.

Making yourself "Appear" to be sometihng that every driver should approach with caution until their brain realizes that you are something different makes all the wheels and gears turn together.

Try making yourself to look like an {authority figure, fire fighter, construction worker, or crossing guard} and you might experience a new reaction from drivers.

When I switched from a Hi-Vis (Green) road construction vest, to my Colbalt Blue/Hi-Vis 'Stich I became a magnet to people trying to figure out what I was. They drove at me because they were looking at me. It was weird at first but now I have learned what to expect and react in a way that says "Hey, I'm on a bike, give me my space".

It takes at least TWO poor actions on the part of road users to have a collision. You control at least ONE those, never let yourself become a victim to someone else's poor choice. Ride aggressively-defensively at all times and increase your awareness when required by circumstance.

Cars (driver's) turn left in front of other cars too. So it's not just bikes, it's just that the rider usually sustains severe or life-threatning injuries when it happens.

Ride Safe, Ride to Live.

Russ

[henzilla]

On the BE SEEN piece of all of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXI8-_9FrB4

This is a British PSA spot warning of seeing the big picture. It has made several club members ask about my lighting and already a few purchases and installs. ANYTHING we can do to increase visibility...along with total awareness and reaction is a plus.

[BMWDEAN]

The "optical delusion" business is called "inattentional blindness" by the visual research experts

More on this topic:

Inattentional Blindness (http://jeff.dean.home.att.net/blind.htm)

I should have mentioned above one more thing to enhance your conspicuity as a rider:

Headlight Modulators (http://www.kisantech.com/index.php?cat_id=2)

I have installed them on every 12-vclt motorcycle I own. I recommend them for every rider. If they were available for 6-volt bikes, I would have them on my R60/2s.

[RandyB]

pmdave, is it possible to get a copy of the pre 02 MSF curriculum? I'm interested in comparing them.

Interesting comment about your friend reacting to white bikes. I'd posted elsewhere about having more near misses on my narrow black GS than on my wide white RT in about 1/3 the length of time.

There is a physiological reason people miss things as well: We have a small blind spot in our eyes. Can't do anything to prevent cage problems, but it affects riders as well. The scanning technique used to defeat that spot is to scan in and out, as opposed to side to side. The slight shift in your eyes keeps that spot "moving" so it doesn't affect you as much.

The other technique is a search technique: Identify possible danger areas, and do a detailed look. Quickly, then resume searching in and out. The level of detail I teach my kids is to look at the driver, not the car. Where the driver goes, so goes the car. You can also see if there's a cell phone, kids, whatever involved in the driver's processing. Anything other than full attention and the kids start braking.

I wish they taught that in driver's ed.

[pmdave]

RandyB,

All MSF certified instructors had a copy of the IG for the MRC/RSS. I've got an old version somewhere. So, locate a nearby instructor (now called rider coach in most states) and see if he/she has an IG (Instructor Guide) and would be willing to loan it to you.

However, be forewarned that trying to make sense out of curricula is a daunting task. You might start by comparing the "old" Experienced RiderCourse" and the current "Experienced RiderCourse Suite." (that's the current name, right Jeff?)

It may seem odd, but I have the exact opposite feeling about headlight modulators from Jeff Dean. I don't use headlight modulators on any of my bikes. (But I do run LED tail/stop lights with "decaying flash" circuitry.)

Here's my thoughts: There are some circumstances where a headlight will make the motorcycle easier to comprehend. But a single headlight doesn't offer much in the way of speed/distance clues, because headlights are just too small. I'm of the opinion that the flashing disrupts the viewer's judgment. If there weren't this "inattentional blindness" business, a modulator might help. Does the oncoming driver comprehend the motorcycle better because of a flashing light, or does the flashing light remind the driver of something fearful--say a LEO, and that lets the vision of the bike through to the conscious part of the brain?

Although little has been done about inattentional blindness relating to motorcycles, there are a whole bunch of studies on attention capture. One from the 1990 International Motorcycle Safety Conference "Proceedings Volume I, by Donne & Fulton 1985, lists the frequency of pedestrians recalling a motorcycle passing by:

Control (no lights) 16.7%
40W low beam single headlamp 21.5
10W single running lamp 21.0%
twin 15W running lamps 32.4%

Apparently they didn't include modulators in the research. But I think it suggests that a viewer being unaware of the bike is less likely when the lights give some better clues about approach speed and distance. (or perhaps, dual headlights remind the viewer of an automobile.)

Donne & Fulton had done the same research in previous years. They noted that over time, fewer people remembered the motorcycle regardless of lights configuration.

One comment that popped out of an Abstract by Bernard S. Abrams, Institute of Vehicular Safety United States, is:

"We humans are not as good at absolute judgement of time, distance, speed, etc., as we like to believe...Motorcycle riders also assume they can be seen better than they can (be seen by others)." This is just from the Abstract, the report is full of juicy stuff for another 10 pages.

Yes, there has been research on "conspicuity." And apparently much of what we have come to believe about "being seen" is not correct.

pmdave

[amiles]

For what it's worth, I try to aproach safe riding as a system. Taking the Experienced Rider course every few years, reading Books, articles and threads such as this, dressing in a conspicuous (and protectively padded) manner and believing that I am invisible and that everyone is out to get me.

I have a loud horn which I find works best when I sense some inattention in advance of a problem. I think that the horn is too little too late once the play has begun. No loud annoying exhaust note from me.

Nothing is for sure and no system is perfect, I just try to stack the deck as far as I can in my favor.

Recently I am a bit disappointed in what I read about the MSF courses. I understand that the classroom time has been drastically reduced in favor of the "Range" portion.

I had felt that while both were useful, I got more from the spirited and thoughtful classroom discussions. The Elementary school "Bike Rodeo" like Range portion while helpful for low speed parking lot maneuvering seems to have a limited connection to safe public highway operation.