[Arlis]

This article and thread have so much inaccurate information about motorcycle fatalities & safety that it should be on a liberal website - not FR. Plus 1,000 tons of bias by attitudes against motorcycles and riders.

The fatality numbers don’t even include that motorcyle riders have increased far more than the fatalities, so the actual percentages have gone down, not up.

Here is a real fact: In 2008 there were 5,312 motorcycle related fatalities nationwide. In 2011 there were 4,612. In 2008, the number of motorcycle related fatalities per 100,000 registered motorcycles was 68.93. By 2011 that number had steadily declined to 56.44. It would appear that motorcyclists are moving the numbers in the right direction.”

A local law firm specializing on motorcycle matters has done tons of research disproving most NSTA and CDC statements. Their research is incredible.

http://motorcyclelawgroup.com/

If you remove the drinkers, insane young crotch-rocket riders who think they are immortal, and the mid-life-crisis crowd who gets their first bike at 50, the actual stats on motorcycles are a fraction of what are used in most reports.

A good friend who has ridden all his life is a nurse-anesthetist in a major ER and rides to work almost every day regardless of winter weather....except not on snow or ice. He is ultra safe. His ER mates would point out, “Look! A motorcycle accident!” every time an injured rider came in. He shut them up quickly by saying, “Look! A CAR accident!” every time someone came in from an auto accident, as the numbers were 30 times or more those of bikes.

The biggest factor proven to decrease bike accidents is training - safety courses. Far more than helmet usage.

Last point: I’ve been riding 50 years this year, and by the grace of God have never been in a road accident. Plenty of scars from off-road. I have 5 bikes, 3 classic restored old Triumph’s, one old Harley. I ride 25k miles or more a year. I pray every time I ride for God’s protection.

And I heartily welcome the new safety features coming on today’s bikes. My ‘09 Harley CVO Road Glide has ABS brakes, and I know that more than once they have saved me from going down. I’ll be glad for all the new ones that come out.

[Little Pig]

As others have noted, a large percentage of bike accidents today are “single-vehicle”, either young idiots riding like they’re immortal, or mid-life-crisis riders who don’t have the experience to know they’re going beyond their skills. Once you filter those out, and all the SMIDSY left-turn idiots, the accident rate is quite low.

I gotta disagree with one of the bikes in the list, though. The 250 they put in is touted as being safer because of the low-power engine, but the MSF actively teaches riders that the power and quick acceleration of a bike is a safety feature. Particularly with sport bikes, the acceleration is so quick that they can accelerate out of an imminent accident, and I have used that capability (fortunately only a couple of times).

[zeugma]

They mention ABS several times as a safety feature. I agree that it is. My Road Glide has ABS. It will freaking stop on a dime. If you've got ABS, you need to take some time stopping hard in a safe place, because it feels really weird when the ABS kicks in. If you're not used to it, it might freak you out.

North Texas had some beautiful weather this weekend. Wasn't able to get out until today, but it was a great ride.

[ops33]

Any freepers here have experience with airbag vests?

[longtermmemmory]

the airbag vest is suicide gear. It throws you up and over in an accident guaranteeing a direct head smash and neck SNAP.

there is a reason it is not approved in the usa.

The only so called innovations are floating roters (old tech) and abs brakes.

this is not a safety list it is an advertisement for nonsense.

[Gay State Conservative]

As one who worked 20+ years in a major hospital's ER I can confirm the the accuracy of the claim often heard that bikes are referred to as “donor cycles” in hospital ERs.

[MarkL]

I was thinking about air-bag technology as the first item, and I was a bit surprised to see the Ducati entry This is top-of-the-line racing technology, and I'm glad to see it coming to the consumer market, though it will probably take 5 or more years for it to mature enough to become really affordable.

AlpineStars is one of the real leaders in the field, and their airbag equipped leathers have been used by MotoGP riders for the last couple of years. There have been a number of rider crashes that ended with injuries FAR LESS severe that they would have been without the airbags, and quite often riders walk away from crashes that would have sent them to the hospital without the airbags.

Jorge Lorenzo testing his airbag suit during practice. He was a bit banged up, but walked away and is seen in the pit garage just a few minutes later. He went on to take second place in the MotoGP race (the motorcycle equivalent of "Grand Prix.")

Here's a video of the crash

And a very cool video about the technology.

Mark