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Safety Slogans I Hate

"RIDE LIKE THEY ARE ALL OUT TO KILL YOU"

I like that one. Whereas the distracted driver may not be trying to intentionally kill you, he realy doesn't care one way or the other. If he did, he would pay more attention. If he hits me, I'm probably dead.
I ride like they are all trying to kill me. It's kept me alive through 35yrs of riding.
Sorry if that upsets you.

+ 2 on that (did I originate that back on the IBMWR list?)..
 
maybe I'm misreading the OP, but I feel like the more safety slogans the better. Not all of them are going to ring everybody's chimes, but if one or two give you a better swing thought while you're riding, and saves your bacon...

Even "loud pipes save lives." I suppose there's some truth in it. A loud harley might, in its own way, be just as "high-viz" as as your PIAA's.

This debate has raged on for years...loud pipes...

Ever wonder why emergency vehicles have their sirens facing forward?
The only thing loud pipes do for motorcyclists is make enemies. Approximately 80% of the sound is projected to the rear of the bike. The largest majority of MC crashes (about 90%) are to the front of the motorcycle.

Of the 25 years that I've been filling out crash reports, I've never heard anyone say after crashing into a motorcyclist "I didn't hear him", it's always..."I didn't see him"

Wear a HiViz helmet, and ride defensively.
 
Hvgatt

....concur with Brian........here's a new one I just made up: HVGATT: Hi Vis Gear All the Time!!!
 
How about "Loud Pipes Save Lives", there's one I hate.

+1
Loud pipes do nothing but annoy anyone not riding that noise box. When on four wheels, have you ever paid attention to just how well you can hear one of those "things"? If you have the radio to even a low level or you are talking to a passenger, you cannot hear loud pipes very far away, especially if they are behind you. Now, it is not you behind the wheel. A teen rocking out to his favorite song, or better yet, no radio, just blabbing on the phone to his girlfriend. Loud pipes are no match for the oblivious.
Every time I hear someone say that stupid slogan, I usually respond with, "Loud pipes don't save lives. Not riding like an *sphincter* does!"

"Safety Third!" cracks me up. In my line of work, the pep talk are always safety, safety, safety. Now, we really need to get productivity and profits up...... Whatever we have to do to make more money....
 
Exactly, and your response relates to my argument against the "Loud Pipes" rationale. The MSF makes a big point of maintaining your space cushion to help reduce the risks of riding. I have found really working at my space cushion really does a LOT to reduce my stress when riding, improves my visibility, and greatly increases my awareness and ability to avoid a situation before it is critical.

So, this relates to the "loud pipes" on the rationale that; if you are relying on loud pipes to save your skin, you are already WAY to close to the hazard to really do much of anything about it.

I agree. Cars these days are much more insulated cocoons than they ever were in the past. Everyone has air conditioning, windows closed, cars these days keep out MUCH more outside noise than they used to. When I have noticed a loud piped bike near me in my car (and I LOOK for bikes all the time), most often it is nearly just off the rear corner of my car before I hear it. Again, way, WAY too close for the rider to do much of anything anyway if I were an inattentive driver and doing something of danger to the rider.
 
Hi Guys,

It seems to me that the general notion is that we are the primary "target of opportunity" out there on the roads. Clothing aside, I think we could take a page from the history of the U.S. Navy, when whoever (Mahan?) was considering the first destroyer design (resulting, BTW, in the creation of the USS Bainbridge, DD-1), said, "Give me a fast ship, for I intend to go in harm's way."

Millie the Magnificent Airhead might not be as "flickable" as my T120r, but she dances down the road, and I consider that my first line of defense: the ability to get away from the two-ton Dinosaurs despite their huge size and lack of cranial capacity.

Then there are those vengeful leaves and branches that the wind deposits on shady corners, just waiting for the unwary rider......

Favorite slogan? "ATGATT". Even though I still don't have "ATG", what I do have, I wear "ATT".

Random thoughts in the morning....:scratch
 
SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT:thumb

LAME, LAME, LAME :sick

However, on a positive note..... :wave

My employer used to have a safey slogan I actually liked and use daily.....then it went away. Go figure....

"Think about the next 15 seconds"

Such a great idea that my wife uses it on me when I do something dumb....:banghead :love
 
All of the cheesy ones have been taken, so here is one I heard that I like:

There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots. :D
 
I ride like I'm invisible. The stupid far outnumber the willfully wrong. But I have encountered aggressive, borderline assaultive drivers that behaved so without any invitation from me. In some instances, paths diverged, in others, they ended up getting cited.
 
I ride like I'm invisible. The stupid far outnumber the willfully wrong. But I have encountered aggressive, borderline assaultive drivers that behaved so without any invitation from me. In some instances, paths diverged, in others, they ended up getting cited.

I really like RIDE LIKE YOU ARE INVISIBLE as opposed to RIDE LIKE THEY ARE ALL OUT TO KILL YOU, though some may think they say the same thing. The first slogan removes the anger and I believe is just more accurate. Anger is not a helpful emotion on a bike.

Numerous methods of becoming more visible have been mentioned in this thread. ALL of them work (helmet color, jacket color, extra lighting, swerving, lane positioning.) They work even better when you combine them as circumstances require. BUT they don't work perfectly, so you have to be ready to brake and/or swerve when you don't capture the attention of the totally oblivious.

Using a combination of white helmet, bright (but not flourescent) jacket, Skeene lights front and rear, some swerves, and being aware of making myself visible to traffic - both turners and potential passers, I can't recall anyone in the last two years who has invaded my right of way. But that doesn't mean that it won't happen tomorrow.

I must admit I also don't ride the meaner streets some of you face with bored/distracted/angry commuters on sometimes high speed freeways. Commuters in those situations may well have a different attitude than us rural retired folk who can ride where we chose.
 
I believe your second quotation is spot on. (I learned the hard way - but in a car - that the person pulling over to the shoulder on a four lane road may simply be preparing for a U-turn across four lanes.) Have to disagree with your first quote, though. The most protective gear I own is also the most comfortable. I see being too hot or cold as a SAFETY issue. Comfort as well as padding and material which will protect your skin in a slide are now so widely available that it is no longer and either/or question - which it was when leather was the only rational choice.

There is nothing in the saying "Dress for the slide, not for the ride" which suggests it to be an "either/or" choice, requiring you to give up comfort for safety. It is possible to "Dress for the slide" while still being comfortable.
 
There is nothing in the saying "Dress for the slide, not for the ride" which suggests it to be an "either/or" choice, requiring you to give up comfort for safety. It is possible to "Dress for the slide" while still being comfortable.

While we are clearly in agreement, I thought "dress for the slide, not for the ride" was simply another version of "better to sweat than bleed;" chose protection RATHER than comfort. Of course, there is now a mind-boggling array of gear available which furnishes a lot of both.
 
I know first hand...

That this is true
 

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OK, this has nothing to do with safety, but my favorite bumper sticker is, EARTH FIRST! WE CAN STRIP MINE THE OTHER PLANETS LATER
 
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