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Introducing MotoSafe

Ray Charles could see where this study is going. In fact let me save them some time and money by telling them the outcome.
 
Yeh, who cares about safe riding anyway. What fun could not crashing be?

that makes it sound like we are not supposed to crash, you mean riding a bike your not supposed to crash at least one time in your life ????
 
honestly I think anything that can help riders become better riders is a good thing.
even the school of hard knocks, I think the crashes in my youth on bicycles, minibikes and older made me a better rider in the long run.

side note related to safety:

the other night a friend of my wifes was telling me that she attended a riders course , for passangers. You were taught how to correctly lean ( lean the way I lean gosh darn it) what to do when a bike is being laid down, what to do in a t-bone, and first aid. She said it was a class that did not make the budget, her husband propsed and taught it for one summer for team oregon. He also taught moto safety for cops and he said there was lots of neat tricks that they dont teach in regular classes

I think it would be neat if there was a class that had kind of beater bikes, that you ere taught how to lay a bike down on purpose. Its a good skill to have.
Now in my olden years, I meet to many people that wanted to ride all their life, go through mid-life crisis and get their first bike at 55 years old ( which is way cool) but have no idea what to do in a bad situation, and with old brittle bones, might not survive a simple slide or how to avoid a difficult situation.

ok, coffee is down for the morning
 
So, what is your prognostication of the outcome?

Let me guess, perhaps new riders to the HD bandwagon have more accidents? The brand and models tell you what they are looking at in the study. Does anyone need a study to find that new riders that wear no gear are an accident waiting to happen?
 
New MotoSafe

ÔÇÿDangerous FiveÔÇÖ Driving Sins
The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) (http://www.trafficsafety.org) is a coalition of private employers and government traffic-safety experts who focus on reducing the human and economic impact of traffic crashes suffered by workers. The theme of the organizationÔÇÖs annual ÔÇÿDrive Safety Work Week 2007ÔÇÖ campaign is what their research indicates to be the top five driving sins; Read more: www.moto-safe.com
 
New MotoSafe - Riding Posture

New MotoSafe: Remember when your Granny admonished you at the dinner table to, ÔÇ£Sit up straight and eat your broccoli!ÔÇØ? Granny had your welfare in mind, and perhaps we can learn a riding-lesson from her. So, letÔÇÖs think about good riding posture, both in a straight path, and while cornering. (Read more: www.moto-safe.com)
 
Right? or Left?

Well, the votes are in, and we find that the majority of respondents believe they are weaker, less confident and proficient, when cornering to the right. The numbers? 57% report more trouble cornering to the right, versus 28% who feel less competent cornering to the left; 15% report they are equally confident and competent turning and cornering either way. So, by a raw two-to-one margin, weak-righties outnumber weak-lefties. LetÔÇÖs see what we all can learn from this survey, and mostly, from one another. WHY do we believe we prefer one cornering direction over the opposite? (Read more: www.moto-safe.com)
 
New MotoSafe

MotoSafe: Well, it's been a while, but here is a lengthy piece on mentoring new riders. Experienced riders seem to expect that new;y-licensed riders are competent motorcyclists - after all, they now have an endoresement and maybe even took a training class, but... If there is a newer rider in your life, check out www.moto-safe.com
 
New MotoSafe

BRAKES Part I: "Stopping your motorcycle, on command, safely and precisely, under a wide variety of conditions, is clearly one of the competencies that responsible riders must have well in hand in order to reduce overall risk while riding. " Read more: www.moto-safe.com
 
This Months MotoSafe Column ...

Starting this month the MotoSafe Editors will post the current months MotoSafe Column for your comments.
 
Here is a link to the August 2013 MotoSafe column on Animals http://bmwmoa.org/portals/0/rpu/images/MotoSafe/august2013.pdf

This is just a few comments about the deer collision problem:
1. Good advice about slowing down when you see the deer signs. More to the point, look to see how far you can see to the sides of the road and the depth of the ditches. When the clearings widen out, you can increase your speed. When low ditches or trees come almost to the road, better decrease it.
2. I brake hard when I see deer on or along the road, am prepared to come to a stop from a low speed, but seldom do. This is a good indication to cut your speed and up your vigilance, as there are likely more up the road.
3. DO NOT maintain speed and swerve around a deer standing on the road. They can direction faster than you on the bike. A swerve may work for an un-seen deer dashing across the road just ahead of you, if you have that skill down so you don't roll off the throttle.
4. The advice to not ride at dawn or dusk has some value. Don't ride at night either unless you have some serious extra lighting on the bike, and you still need to slow down.
5. The MC/deer collisions I've heard about from local club members have been mid-day and often the deer ran into the bike. While a lower speed probably means lesser injuries, a greater speed might have meant the deer just cleared the rear fender. (A few years ago another friend witnessed just that - a deer darted across the road just behind another friend who was travelling a bit over the legal speed limit.) This is just an observation ; not a plan to avoid collisions with deer.

I think the above summarizes the current knowledge on avoiding hitting a deer with your bike. And all we have are some tips to increase our odds. A serious problem with no solution in sight.
 
You need to be logged in First.

How does this work? All I get is this:

Doug, I think the page requires you to be logged in first to reply to posts. The link to the article should work, without requiring a log in first. If the problem persists I will contact the Web Master for BMW MOA's web site and see if we can correct the problem.

Tom Pemberton
Rider Education Coordinator
 
Heavy multilane traffic

I've been riding over forty years and I've never seen this mentioned. Usually, when I get into heavy fast dense traffic, I park myself well behind a big truck that's keeping up with everyone. I end up with four or five seconds free space. Drivers pull in but for the most part, they don't stay and I get my space back. I also hardly ever get cut off because there's all this room in front of me for them to change lanes. Years and years go by without any close calls or having to slam on brakes.
Last close call was my fault. (~5 years ago) A bit of road rage. Old man pulled out right in front of me on highway and didn't speed up at all. Really irritated, I chose to pass him and of course he turned left into the next farm driveway right beside me. Scared the living daylights out of my wife on her bike as she thought I was about to be killed and also be involved herself. The only upside to that incident was that she finally started to learn to actually handle her bike instead of just riding it. Regards, Tom Durrant
 
Sorry for the Delay in responding, I've been in Europe.

Tom, you make some good points here. First, I also find big trucks can be a motorcyclists best friend. I am very respectful of them and try and show them respect and consideration at all times. I find they will help you in return. The biggest problem with the big trucks is other vehicles that are clueless as to their limitations. I often talk to my BRC classes about their limitations and blind spots, but also make a point of how if you keep them aware you are there, they can be helpful in protecting you. I like your concept of using them in heavy traffic as a buffer.

On the incident with the old farmer, that is one of the traps that TEAM OREGON talks about. I find the best solution is take your time, don't become impatient, and give them space. I wait until it is safe to pass, i.e., clear road, no turns possible, etc. then get around them.

Tom Pemberton
BMW MOA Rider Education Coordinator
 
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