Rationalization for Riding

My daughter sent this to my wife who sent it to me since we are having the "when is junior old enough to buy a motorcycle?" discussion at Chez Nozzle. (thanks in advance, but I don't need your help convincing momma on the right answer :tongue:... yet :wink

link:
Health Blog : Death Spiral Holds Enduring Appeal

It is a little tricky with the stats since *everyone* has a heart, but not everyone rides a motorcycle. That was lost on her and makes it seem much safer. I wonder what the numbers are for everyone that rides x miles each year or over a lifetime.

 

I choose not to do the math between driving, riding, flying, sports, drinking and waking up in the morning...



As far as junior goes... Every kid is ready for responsibility at a different time. I solo'd an airplane before I had my driver's license. But I'd also been driving trucks/tractors on my own since I was about 12.

 

I don't know the motorcycle statistics, but in the bicycling world, how you ride is a very important factor in your risk of having an accident. People who ride like they did when they were kids--against the traffic, etc.--have high accident rates, and they skew the statistics for everyone else. Bicyclists who treat their bikes like vehicles do much better, which makes sense because they are riding accoring to the same rules that govern other road users, so there is no conflict in the rules even though there maybe some conflict with cagers not following the rules. Ironically, bicyclists who are trying to avoid accidents by riding against traffic, for instance, have problems for these reasons. Invariably their rule-set conflicts with the rules everyone else is following and wrong-way cyclists have higher than average accident rates, especially at intersections.

Also middle schoolers and early high school kids have much higher accident rates because their physical abilities exceed their judgment and their understanding of the rules of the road. In their cases, they are able to put themselves in situations they don't understand. Something like one third of all bicycle accidents occur in this age group, though they are not a third of all riders.

I think some of these lessons apply to motorcylists. Certainly anyone riding by their own rules may be putting themselves at risk. I think to some degree this explains the correlation between accidents and those who don't have licenses. Clearly not having a license can't cause an accident, but the mentality of someone who would ride without one is a mentality that will likely direct that person to do some thing unlawful in the sense of not by the rules.

And a gap between knowledge and physical ability can also cause us problems, though for us it is usually the opposite of the middle schooler. (For a young, new motorcyclist the problem is more like the teenager with good motor skills but crappy judgment.) We understand the rules better than we understand our bikes. I did read that you are more likely to have an accident--regardless of how long you have ridden--within the first few months of owning a new bike, than you will after several months of owning a bike. So a relative novice on a familiar bike is better off than a more experienced rider on a new bike. I think that this also makes sense, though someone who has ridden many different bikes might have developed the skills to learn quickly how to ride a new bike. That is certainly not me. Think of how many threads on this site are about how/when to shift etc. I know that when I first got my VFR an inordinate amount of my attention went to questions like that (and is that sound normal...) and not questions like "Is that bozo on the phone going to turn left in front of me?" So the lesson there is to respect the need to learn about a new bike and take lots of rides where the other challenges are minimal. And it seems to me the really good news is that accidents are more predictable (more reasonable, you could say), and hence more avoidable, than we might think.

 

I have two or three folks that work in the same building that are "thinking" about getting a bike. I like the graphic as it puts some of their percieved risks in perspective. Ed's right that there's alot of variables, but that is the beauty of the graphic to me - its simplicity. I'm looking at it as a leverage point to get folks out of their cages on a bike... hence the title for the thread.

never lose that focus on "is that Bozo going to..." regardless of the pretty pictures ;-)

 

I convinced a friend at work to get a new bike. He got a VFR, though it is his first bike. I am very happy for him, but I also worry. He is a cautious sort, and smart and a good athelete so I think he will be all right. It is dangerous, but not irrational. I think that it is the need to be as awake and present as possible that makes motorcycling cool. If you want to shutdown, take a bus. If you want to experience every moment, ride your bike.

 

the earlier you start the better off you'll be. i'm also a firm and unbending believer in the "first year should be on dirt" introductory period. trees have less of a tendancy to pull out in front of you, before you have acquired the necessary instinctive reflexes. that death spiral is missing a few of my faves......

 

Tell that to these guys.

 

And PM me for tickets aboard my short-bus to hell. I'll be your driver, tour guide and bartender.

 

I like that SLO, where'd ya get it and how reliable is the data you think?

 

Chart is deceptive in ways...

Lovely find on the chart! It's interesting the way it puts things in perspective, but there may be deceptive qualities. Some one please correct me if I'm seeing this wrong =p.

From little research this chart is from data of the US population in 2003, I'm not sure it accounts for the population that doesn't ride motorcycles (based on M licenses). So assuming it uses the entire US population as a base, people who actually ride Motorcycles are more likely to die from it.

Anyhow we will all die one day, why not die what we love doing.

Oh and the chart was Originally published in the August 2006 National Geographic,
quote from link:
"The graphic is based on 2003 figures from the National Safety Council, a nonprofit group that puts together tables of this stuff based on data from the CDC and the Census Bureau. You can see newer figures and lots more causes of death on the NSC Web site. "

 

Well, I got it from following Nozzle's link.

Clearly it's 100% reliable, we're all going to die.

 

Hey, this is a great thread. I'm wondering if the members of this forum can explain how they rationalize riding in their own minds. I've always wondered how other riders put their hobby/compulsion into perspective.

For my part, I understand that bad things can happen to me (not just other people). I know my family relies on me to stay safe. Riding a motorcycle is a tough choice, and I ask them to go along with it.

Funny, though. Thoughts about stuff like this just evaporate when I'm on the bike.

 

until the car ahead swerves around the dead deer in the road ... this happened yesterday morning on the way up the road...thought crossed my mind how bad it would suck to die from hitting a deer, much less hitting a dead deer.

What do you call a deer with no eyes?

 

Brief version: I live. I die. In the middle I try to have fun without being rash.

Longer version: Life is just stats. Try telling the parents of the fireworks discharge victim that the odds were against it happening. It doesn't really matter. Try telling the 90 year old daredevil that he "should" have died a long time ago. Stats are just stats. Life is real. Take the chances you think are worth taking. Don't make rash choices. Live life fully because a life that is without joy is not really life. Life is risky. I am 49 so far and haven't died with the fun I have had. I plan to live a full life but every day I walk out the door my wife knows how much I love her just in case I don't walk back through the door. And each day I have a bit of fun.
Ah good Karma!

(But this is a great document to thrust in the face of the idiots that like to preach to me...)