The Motorcycle Safety/Danger Conundrum

Part 2

By David L. Hough

While all other modes of transportation are getting less dangerous, motorcycling has been getting more dangerous, on average. There isn’t much you or I can do to change the national averages, but there are tactics we can use to manage our personal danger levels. Most of the tactics believed to help manage the danger have not been effective, so let’s consider a few that have some scientific support. 

New York Scooter Guy

So the phone rings and it’s some guy from New York City who has tracked me down because he read one of my books and wants some inside information. He explains that he had always wanted a motorcycle but his mother absolutely forbade it. He eventually moved out and built his own business. One day he found himself walking by a dealership that sold scooters. The temptation was too great. He chose one and bought it. The salesman rolled it out to the street and suggested he take it around the block. It suddenly dawned on Scooter Guy that he had never ridden any two-wheeler in his life. Not a problem. The salesman showed him the throttle and brake, and how to get it started.

Scooter Guy somehow managed to wobble around the block in New York City traffic, and returned to the dealership, shaking like an Aspen leaf. He asked the salesman, “Is there some way we can just tear up the contract and forget this ever happened?”

“Aw, relax” the salesman responded. “Everyone gets a little nervous on their first ride. You’ll get used to it after a while. You don’t want to miss all the fun.” Scooter Guy realized that there was a lot more to this than he had bargained for. He wanted to get my opinion about the danger. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. “Is it really dangerous, or does it just seem to be dangerous?”

I responded to Scooter Guy, “It’s really dangerous. Your mother was right.”

Now it’s possible that Scooter Guy might eventually learn to survive riding a scooter in traffic, but in my opinion he’s never going to be a serious motorcycle enthusiast. Like a lot of other people who are temporarily attracted, he doesn’t belong on a bike.

I tell that story because the prevailing “wisdom” from the motorcycle industry is that anyone can become a safe rider if they take training, get a license, and always wear a helmet. It’s now obvious that it’s a bald-faced lie, told to get more people into motorcycling in order to increase profits.

The message in this story is that the primary way anyone can manage the danger of motorcycling is to avoid getting involved. A dyed-in-the-wool motorcycle enthusiast may find that incomprehensible. But for people like Scooter Guy, it’s the smart approach. To put this in terms closer to home, had I been more aware of the danger years ago, I would have actively discouraged my son from taking up motorcycling.

However, I understand that some readers are serious motorcycle enthusiasts who are going to ride regardless of any discouragement. So, let’s consider scientifically-supported tactics that can help you manage your personal danger level.

Avoid driving while impaired.

Driving a motorcycle is much more demanding than driving a car. Any impairment, whether caused by alcohol, drugs, anger, fatigue, or dehydration, reduces your ability to control the situation. Impairment can easily double or triple the danger. For whatever reasons, way too many motorcyclists are willing to ride after drinking, and they pay a huge price. Around 38% of riders in the USA who died in motorcycle crashes were legally intoxicated. Alcohol is not the only culprit. You can be impaired by physical issues, medications, or anger.

It is important to understand the symptoms of impairment, and have a plan for what to do. When you recognize that you are becoming impaired, it is essential to get off the motorcycle and take steps to remedy the situation. For instance, if you tend to become dehydrated, carry drinking water, and consume it. If your prescription medications are affecting your coordination or mental sharpness, cancel the ride. If you are angered by an aggressive driver, take a break to calm down. Alcohol intoxication is one of the most serious impairments. Make a point of not consuming alcohol before or during a ride. If you do cave to the desire to consume alcohol, avoid driving until the alcohol has cleared your system.

I also suggest staying off the road during the times when other motorists are heading home from the bars and taverns. Typically there are more drunk-driving crashes on weekends, especially during the early hours on Saturday and Sunday.

Match speed to conditions.

Many motorcycle crashes are a result of failure to adjust speed to conditions. Today's motorcycles are seductively fast, and the image of a “good” rider is often portrayed in magazines as being fast rather than clever. The reality is that our brains are the culmination of thousands of years of hunter/gatherers eking out a living at a human pace. Apparently we’re poorly equipped to comprehend forces at speeds faster than running, so we don’t intuitively comprehend how forces multiply exponentially with increased speed. To put this in simpler terms, we don’t slow down soon enough when a hazardous situation appears.

Rarely are there single vehicle crashes when the motorcycle driver is following the posted speed limits. Increasing speed increases your danger. Faster speed means less time to deal with whatever happens, much longer distances to change speed or direction, and much greater forces should the situation not turn out as you expected.

Hazardous situations unfold very quickly, so it is essential to maintain your awareness of what is happening far enough ahead of the vehicle you are driving to be able to take action without drama. Staying within the speed limit helps you do that.

Graduate through the stages of learning in a progressive manner.

Motorcycling is a very complex activity requiring skill, knowledge, and judgment. It’s a lifelong learning experience. It’s ludicrous to think that someone can learn enough in a beginning training course to survive the street, or somehow absorb lessons out of the atmosphere without assistance. Those veteran riders I know have taken numerous training courses. They read books on motorcycling. They regularly practice skills. They have ongoing discussions about motorcycle dynamics with other experienced riders. In other words, they eat, breathe, and dream about motorcycling throughout the years.

The important lesson here is that if you are in your first years of motorcycling, don’t rush the experience. You are not a skilled motorcycle driver simply because you have taken a beginning training course, or have a motorcycle endorsement in your wallet. It takes many years of hard work to learn how to manage the dangers, and it’s very likely you will take a few tumbles along the way.

It’s important for a new rider to start with a small machine, and work up through a progression of mid-sized bikes. This is especially important for a teenage motorcycle driver, because the teenage brain is still in the process of developing a sense of self-preservation.

Wear appropriate riding gear.

The common perception about riding gear is that the primary purpose is to help avoid injury during a crash. But I suggest that the crash survival perception is short-sighted. It’s a lot more important to avoid a crash than attempt to survive a crash, because the forces involved in an impact are so powerful.

Well-designed and proper fitting gear can help you avoid discomforts that might distract you from the task of controlling the bike and the situation. For example, a riding jacket can protect you from sunburn, windburn, and thrown debris. A faceshield can help keep insects or dirt our of your eyes. A helmet helps protect the head from potentially-distracting environmental hazards such as rain, hail, wind, or air that is too hot or too cold.

The dark side of All The Gear All The Time (ATGATT) is that crash forces can be so severe that crash padding can’t do much to prevent injury. When a motorcyclist comes off and slams into the pavement, we might imagine that the pavement is impacting the rider’s knee or shoulder. But the reality is that the rider’s entire body is attempting to keep moving, so it smashes into the “back side” of the flesh and bones. Brain tissue is especially vulnerable to injury, and helmets are extremely limited in preventing traumatic brain injury. Helmet standards tests worldwide use metal headforms that measure the spreading of g-forces over time, but none of the tests simulate the structure or injury dynamics of a human brain.

My advice is to wear riding gear appropriate to the situation, to help you be comfortable and undistracted, but understand that gear can’t make you “safe.”

Understand that training has a limited effect on reducing the danger.

Many of us would like to believe that getting smarter and more skillful will reduce the danger, and advanced training will help us in that pursuit. Improved cornering and braking skill can make the ride much more satisfying. But advanced skills have little effect on reducing the danger because of our human tendency to “poke at the envelope.” What’s more, crashes caused by mental errors or unexpected road hazards cannot be eliminated by improving physical control skills. In a nutshell, advanced skills can’t save you from dumb decisions.

I suggest that the primary purpose of continued development of knowledge and skill is to gain more satisfaction from the ride.