quote:
Originally posted by buster:
I was thinking of getting a bike, but wanted some opinions on how dangerous they really are.
I first got into motorcycles in college, because they were much more economical transportation than a car (and being a poor college student, that mattered). And I've continued to keep my motorcycle license active over the years, although these days I only occasionally ride as a sort of "fun activity" to do. IMHO motorcycles are neither as dangerous as many people fear, nor are they nearly as safe as a car (not that you can't get hurt in a car, but it's easier to get hurt on a motorcycle). The truth seems somewhere in the middle.
You have several liabilities with a MC, when it comes to safety. For example, being on only 2 wheels, it is easier to crash if the road is too slippery. And being smaller, many drivers of cars/trucks just fail to see you (and will cut you off, even when you supposedly have "the right of way"). And many of the reflexes that are needed to properly control a motorcycle "in an emergency" are non-obvious (such as needing to briefly turn the handlebars
left to make a high speed
right turn), so poorly trained motorcycle drivers are a danger to themselves and others! And lets not even talk about how (unlike a car) the vehicle provides you virtually no protection if/when you do crash (but the right protective clothing can offer some protection).
OTOH motorcycles do have one key advantage (over a car) from a safety standpoint. Even a fairly low CC motorcycle is generally more maneuverable (often a
lot more maneuverable) than the cars/trucks on the road. And that one advantage of a motorcycle, can go a long way towards making up for the motorcycle's limits from a safety standpoint. But in order to properly take advantage of the maneuverability of a motorcycle (to help "keep you safe"), you have to both know the proper way to drive a motorcycle (a class in motorcycle driving would be a good idea),
and you have to be a "defensive driver" (as others have said, assume any other motorist may do something stupid at any time, and plan for it). If you do that, you can use the maneuverability of your motorcycle to "keep you out of trouble". As a motorcycle driving instructor once told me years ago (when I was first learning how to properly drive a motorcycle), "You can accelerate faster than a car, break faster than a car, and turn faster than a car. Now, are you going to use this power to get yourself into trouble, or out of it? The choice is yours..."
