Posted on 04/07/2011 10:58:19 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
In 2009, 5,474 people were killed on American roads due to distracted driving. Now, April has become National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The MSF has put together a list of 10 things cagers need to know about driving around motorcycles. I hope you’re not reading this on your iPhone from the driver’s seat.
1. There are many more cars and trucks than motorcycles on the road and some drivers don’t “recognize” motorcyclists. They ignore them, usually unintentionally. Look for motorcycles, especially when checking traffic at an intersection.
2. A motorcyclist may look farther away than he or she is in actuality. It may also be difficult to judge a motorcycle’s speed. When checking traffic to turn at an intersection or into (or out of) a driveway, estimate that a motorcycle is closer than it looks.
3. A motorcycle can be easily hidden in a car’s blind spots or masked by objects or backgrounds outside the car. Thoroughly check traffic, whether you’re changing lanes or turning at intersections.
4. A motorcycle may seem to be moving faster than it really is. Again, don’t immediately rely on your perceptions.
5. Motorcyclists sometimes slow down by downshifting or merely rolling off the throttle, thus not activating the brake light. Don’t tailgate motorcyclists. At intersections, anticipate that motorcyclists may slow down without any visual warning.
6. Turn signals on a motorcycle are not often automatically self-canceling. Some riders, (especially beginners) sometimes forget to turn them off. Try to determine whether a motorcycle’s turn signal is for real. And if you’re driving a car, remember to use your turn signals too. They’re a great communication tool for riders and drivers when used properly.
(Excerpt) Read more at hellforleathermagazine.com ...
I can almost throw a rock across the river into WV.
They’re not doing so well, here.
They have to keep replacing the “Share The Road” signs because folks put red circles and slashes on them.
[RT 40’s not really wide enough for a bike lane and some places have either no shoulder for them or just a sliver that drops off 100s of feet into a ravine...and frequently, combines traveling from field to field take up most of both narrow lanes]
We go to WV a *lot* [family roots] and come to think of it, except for uber-liberal Berkeley Springs, I can’t recall seeing any Spandex Tyrants.
he's still alive.
While riding I prefer to use my blinker a lot, wear red or yellow so I'm visible and not do stupid things -- oh and if a car driver tries to race, I rev up to 120 and disappear over the horizon leaving him in the dust :0
True words. And, if you see a big b***** of a truck or bus behind you, either let him pass quickly or speed up like hell and disappear over the horizon.
Also, one needs to take a couple of cross country trips to get a real feel. I've ridden across the US, UK, W. Europe, Oman and southern india -- there is nothing like the feel of a motorbike for a cross-country trip, nothing compares.
By car, you are separated from the scenary, you can't stop if you see something interesting, there are too many cases where your car won't fit in, but on a bike, especially a sport tourer (my last was a BMW), you CAN and the more you ride a bike, the more it feels a part of you, so that you know when it has reserves of power and the limits you can push it to when needed.
True that. In the cities I always find a bike ride calming as you don't get stuck in traffic and if you do, in a car when you are stuck, you are STUCK, you can only move forward if the other guy moves, on a bike you can wiggle about, go between cars, go back, sideways, even (heheh) cross a sidewalk to get out of a jam.
And that's true for motorbikes too.
again true — though I like my bicycle, you’re right that many times bicycle riders are horrendously obnoxious.
I’m not a hater, I just find some of the antics to be over the top.
I never understood the allure of a motorcycle until I got my Kawasaki Brute Force 650. I had it out on a country road and opened it up to around 55mph. It then hit me what motorcyclists enjoy about riding. Raw unadulterated power at your finger tips, wind in your face and a sense of power an freedom.
That all ends when you hit the pavement and come back down to reality.
ideally, buy a 150 cc as a starter, and remember that you're still having baby steps until you complete 800 miles and you are still a novice until your first 8000 miles are done. During that time, learn to countersteer, to control the bike at slow speeds, on the curves, on straights and to keep your balance when you brake (many times bikes rears can shift to the left or right depending on the make), take progressively longer distance rides.
Once you complete 8000 miles do a long, multi-day trip where you spend 8-10 hours on the journey. At the end of that, you should "feel" the bike
Only then move on to a bigger bike (300 cc or larger).
I stay away from Goldwings like the plague, they are too wimpy in my opinion, more like padded lounge-chairs and not too good on curves.
After you've completed the 8000 miles on the starter bike you'll figure out what type of a rider you are, there are basically 3 kinds: commuters, speed demons and cruisers with most folks having a healthy mix of each but tending more towards one side or the other. I'm a mix of speed-demon and cruiser (I love continuously going at 100+ and love the curlies on mountain sides) -- more a cruiser as I like to take in the countryside.
Based on that choice, you can choose the proper bike for you -- a pure cruiser, you can't beat a Harley. For a sport-tourer (speed and cruising, yet able to cut a sharp turn in traffic), the best are Triumphs or BMWs), for speed you have a huge choice -- japanese or European.
Can you talk to my wife for me? ;-)
Thanks for the recommendations but we just had our first child in November and even though I’m worth more dead than alive I doubt she’ll let me get one.
But seriously -- try the smaller cc bikes first for just tooling about the place, keeping below 40 mph. As she gets used to the idea and sees the convenience, and you get the experience, she'll slowly agree to the bigger bikes.
but stay away from 100 cc bikes as imho weight does matter -- a heavier bike is far more stable. Even a 150 is not very stable, but anything heavier can be difficult for a beginner (I started on a 150 and I'm a 6'2" tall 180 lb guy -- so keep in mind that the initial bike needs to be right for your size, well, actually, any bike)
Well, you’re wrong. Most motorcyclists killed in accidents receive too many internal injuries to be of any use as donors. Those are the facts. That is nothing more than a flippant comment used purely to demean and insult. Stop using the term unless that is your purpose.
On average, I go through at least one really close call a year. In 2009 it was twice in one day, within minutes of each other.
I take foolish pride in the realization in nearly 40 years of riding the cagers haven’t been able to take me out. Yet.
You are wrong.
Motorcycle Helmets and Donor Organs
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/motorcycle-helmets-and-donor-organs/
Helmet or no helmet? That’s a hotly debated topic in the world of motorcycle riding. Last week, Daniel Hamermesh, a frequent guest blogger at Freakonomics, joined in the discussion.
Mr. Hamermesh linked to a recent unpublished study that show that states that repeal mandatory helmet laws experience a rise in organ donations from motor vehicle fatalities.
The link between helmet laws and donor organs is not a new one. Jerry Garrett wrote about this topic last year for Wheels. In his post, a surgeon recalled a discussion she had with two colleagues before California enacted its mandatory helmet law.
“Motorcycle fatalities are not only our number one source of organs,” said one surgeon. “They are also the highest-quality source of organs, because donors are usually young, healthy people with no other traumatic injuries to the body, except to the head.”
The study, “Donorcycles: Do Motorcycle Helmet Laws Reduce Organ Donations?” [pdf] by Stacy Dickert-Conlin, Todd Elder and Brian Moore from Michigan State University, takes a look at this link. Here is the abstract:
Government traffic safety mandates are typically designed to reduce the harmful externalities of risky behaviors. We consider whether motorcycle helmet laws also reduce a beneficial externality by decreasing the pool of viable organ donors. Our central estimates show that organ donations due to motor vehicle fatalities increase by 10 percent when states repeal helmet laws. Two characteristics of this association suggest that it is causal: first, nearly all of it is concentrated among men, who account for over 90 percent of all motorcyclist deaths, and second, helmet mandates are unrelated to organ donations due to circumstances other than motor vehicle accidents. Our estimates imply that every death of a helmetless motorcyclist prevents or delays as many as 0.33 deaths among individuals on organ transplant waiting lists.
In the study’s conclusion, its authors note that motorcyclist fatalities decline by 30 percent when mandatory helmet laws are enacted. Currently, only three states do not have helmet laws, though many states require helmets only for those under the age of 18. According to this article from The Times last year, the rate of motorcycle fatalities is steadily rising.
You guys are doing it wrong. I would no more let my wife tell me I can’t have a motorcycle, than she would let me tell her that she can’t have shoes...lots and lots of shoes. A motorcycle is part of the Melas package, no debate allowed.
Btw, I wouldn’t start on anything smaller than a 250. Anything smaller handles more like a scooter and less like a motorcycle.
You don't embarrass easily, do you?
Nice cage!
After reading your comment, I went to the top and read everything to up to your post, I started to answer some of these misinformed, supposedly intelligent citizens and decided against it.
There more people slaughtered in cars than on motorcycles. It’s funny, even on FR where most members are conservative/libertarian/freedom loving human beings. Some are becoming like the food fascists you see on TV haranguing about fat kids, they want the gov’t to ban happy meals, salt, sugar, fried food foods, red meat, pork, etc.
I eat bacon, sausage or ham with my eggs and fried (in butter) potatoes every morning...I’m not fat, I’m 5’7” and 150 lbs.
I purchased my first bike in ‘48 while still in the US Navy. I’ve owned one or more every year since, except for years ‘57 through ‘62, when I had three sports cars; Vette, Austin Healey LeMans and Lotus Super 7.
I rode only street bikes until the middle 60’s when I started riding off road. I had street and road bikes until ‘85 when I sold my last dirt bike, I was 54 and didn’t heal up as fast as I used to. ;)
I’m 80 and still ride the street, I live in Oregon which is an excellent bike riding state; lotsa room and neat two lane roads to bomb around on. I lived in California for the first 60 years on my life and I split lanes; it was fun.
I drove big rigs for 31 years and saw it all, riding a bike is the most freeing means of personal transportation there is. I’m a fair weather rider so I jump in my ‘01 Ford F150 450 HP SVT Lightning pickup when there is precipitation.
Motorcycles and the Tea Party rule!!
When in doubt, add power!
Be Ever Vigilant!
Mind your comments about Goldwings. Last time I was riding on the Dragon a rider with a yellow wing was putting many crotch rocket riders to shame. Its the rider, not the bike
11. Motorcyclists are frequently found traveling between lanes at 30 mph over the posted speed limit.
He is known as Yellow Wolf and he has been a fixture on the Dragon for years. YouTube has plenty of examples of his skills.
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