Riding Safe

[icehog3]

I am sorry to hear of the loss of your friend as well, Vic, my prayers to her family and friends as well.

First off, I never trust anyone...anyone...when riding. I assume every car coming to an intersection may pull out in front of me, or turn in front of me. Confidence is important, but overconfidence can be deadly.

I also believe in a combination of riding both defensively and assertively. I ride asseretively to positions of relative safety. When the position becomes "less safe", I look for a safer position and put myself in it. Not only keeps me safer, but keeps my mind engaged and doesn't allow me to daydream or take anything for granted. One might think this makes riding less enjoyable, but I find that keeping myself in the safest possible position actually makes the ride more relaxing.

Riding wll never be as safe as driving in a 4 wheeled vehicle, as the protection just isn't there....but my way of riding has kept me relatively safe in almost 30 years of riding. One crash when I was overly tired and shouldn't have been riding....my decision making skills and reflexes were severly diminished. I stayed up in that crash, with no damage to me or my bike, but some decent damage to the SUV I sideswiped after avoiding a straight on collision. The other was my recent crash when a drunk bicyclist pulled right into my path....managed to brake to about 10 MPH before hitting the ground...just minor road rash and minor damage to the bike. A relatively cheap lesson about not assuming I am safe just because there isn't an opening large enough for a car to pull out in front of me in stopped traffic.

Ride safe my friends, and I promise to do the same. Like Vic, I want all my friends around at the next herf.

[LasciviousXXX]

Originally Posted by icehog3

I am sorry to hear of the loss of your friend as well, Vic, my prayers to her family and friends as well.

First off, I never trust anyone...anyone...when riding. I assume every car coming to an intersection may pull out in front of me, or turn in front of me. Confidence is important, but overconfidence can be deadly.

I also believe in a combination of riding both defensively and assertively. I ride asseretively to positions of relative safety. When the position becomes "less safe", I look for a safer position and put myself in it. Not only keeps me safer, but keeps my mind engaged and doesn't allow me to daydream or take anything for granted. One might think this makes riding less enjoyable, but I find that keeping myself in the safest possible position actually makes the ride more relaxing.

Riding wll never be as safe as driving in a 4 wheeled vehicle, as the protection just isn't there....but my way of riding has kept me relatively safe

THIS.

Sorry to hear about your friend Vic. My condolences brother.


My rule, always ride like every other car you see is actively trying to kill you.

[newcigarz]

Sorry to hear Vic.
I always ride AGATT, i know that's not for eveyone but it's the only way I will ride.

[markem]

There are idiots in every crowd. Try not to be one of the obvious ones

[markem]

okay, in all seriousness, here are some tips from an old MSF instructor

Carry a medical information card. This is the one that my motorcycle group developed: http://micapeak.com/tools/medform.html. Put is some place obvious. I put it in a clear pouch that is velcro'd to my left sleeve.

Get trained. It isn't about learning to handle a bike normally so much as learning emergency and evasive maneuvers and how to practice them on your own. I used to teach for Team Oregon: http://team-oregon.org/. Check out the advanced rider training - it is day 1 of the course taught to motor officers throughout North America (they come here, that's how good it is).

Look at the NHTSA Traffic Safety Digest occasionally: http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/outreach/safedige/. I used to be a technical reviewer for their main motorcycle safety conference.

Be sure to know your bike. A valuable place to start is here: http://www.dansmc.com/MC_repaircourse.htm

My view on gear is that you can never have good enough when it comes to a crash. I don't ride without wearing Aerostich (http://www.aerostich.com/) but that's me (I've crashed as well). If you prefer leather, consider Langlitz Leathers: http://www.langlitz.com/. Also, as regards to a helmet, never spend more than your head is worth (think about it). Learn how to spot an expired helmet and why buying a used one can cost you your life. Held gloves are the best that I have ever found, regardless of the weather.

If you don't know about the word "conspicuity", make it your mission to learn all you can about it. "Retroreflective" is also a good one to be on intimate terms with. These two words have saved more lives than "I had to lay her down" ever did. or could.

Finally, ride like your life depends on it, because at some point it will.