Gilligan's Island & Meowing

[Country Flier]

Motorcyclists and pilots all know people who have been killed doing this thing. Even if the overall risk is in the same ballpark, it is not symmetric or comparable. When motorcycling, your life & safety depends to a large extent on the actions of other drivers around you. You can improve your odds with safe riding skills, but only so much. With flying, your fate is much more in your own hands. There are relatively fewer scenarios where the actions of others can harm you.

Actually, the statistics don't agree (Although I do agree that in flying, your fate is even more in your own hands)....the majority of people killed on motorcycles are either: A) young, and often without an endorsement, B) Very inexperienced (which usually goes with "young"), C) Exceeding the speed limit considerably or riding recklessly (which also often goes with "young"), or D) Under the influence.

Since I don't like claiming facts without backing them up:

Motorcycle Accident Statistics & Numbers For 2024

Riding a motorcycle is undeniably dangerous. Sadly, motorcycle riders are 28 times more likely to lose their lives in a fatal driving crash compared with other motorists on the road. They are also four times as likely to sustain an injury in a collision.1 These motorcycle accident statistics shed

www.forbes.com

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022437522000913

Sobering Motorcycle Accident Statistics - Return of the Cafe Racers

With over 8.4 million registered motorcycles in the United States, motorbikes have positioned themselves as an affordable and popular means of transport.

www.returnofthecaferacers.com

The Statistics and Potential Causes of Motorcycle Accidents - Motorcycle Accident Resource

Shorter travel time, high-speed performance, flexibility, and low cost are the most common reasons why many people opt for motorcycles as their primary mode of transport. However, the fatality rate among motorcycle riders remains significantly higher than that of drivers of other vehicles.

motorcycleaccident.org

 

[Daleandee]

The taillight bit is reminding me of one of the dangers. Drivers can't judge distances from motorcycles well, especially at night. Is that light a half mile away, or 25 yards? Someone who is sensible assumes it's really close until proven otherwise.

I try hard to avoid riding at night these days. Night riding through the country is extremely enjoyable with the cool, calm air and the low sweet rumble of that 1800 V-twin at a laid back stroll on a two lane road until a deer steps in front of you!

As some mentioned earlier I like to flash the brake light a few times if I'm stopped and someone is approaching from the rear. I leave the bike in gear and provide myself a place to escape to in case the car behind me wants my spot.

When coming to a turn I not only use my signal and brake light but momentarily put my left arm out and down (the old slow or stop signal) and that will give a driver behind me a large visual clue to pay attention to the motorcycle in front of him.

Ride like you're invisible and that everyone is out to get you ...

 

[MRC01]

Actually, the statistics don't agree (Although I do agree that in flying, your fate is even more in your own hands)....

None of that contradicts what I said, which is that in aviation, your fate is more in your hands than it is with motorcycling. I acknowledged that even with motorcyling, experience and skill do play a role in your safety. It's just a relatively smaller role than it is with aviation.

 

[Country Flier]

None of that contradicts what I said, which is that in aviation, your fate is more in your hands than it is with motorcycling. I acknowledged that even with motorcyling, experience and skill do play a role in your safety. It's just a relatively smaller role than it is with aviation.

The part i contradicted was that safety "to a large part" is in someone else's hands. I think the statistics show its still mainly on the rider.

 

[MRC01]

The part i contradicted was that safety "to a large part" is in someone else's hands. I think the statistics show its still mainly on the rider.

That depends on how one interprets "mainly". My personal experience with family & friends who have been crippled or killed while motorbiking suggests a narrow interpretation of that term and those statistics. OTOH, people who ride (as I did for 30 years logging well over 100,000 miles) interpret it broadly, for obvious reasons. That broad interpretation does promote safe riding and reduce injuries, even if it exaggerates the influence.

 

[Half Fast]

I try hard to avoid riding at night these days. Night riding through the country is extremely enjoyable with the cool, calm air and the low sweet rumble of that 1800 V-twin at a laid back stroll on a two lane road until a deer steps in front of you!

As some mentioned earlier I like to flash the brake light a few times if I'm stopped and someone is approaching from the rear. I leave the bike in gear and provide myself a place to escape to in case the car behind me wants my spot.

When coming to a turn I not only use my signal and brake light but momentarily put my left arm out and down (the old slow or stop signal) and that will give a driver behind me a large visual clue to pay attention to the motorcycle in front of him.

Ride like you're invisible and that everyone is out to get you ...

Good points, but the single most important motorcycle technique (IMHO, anyway) is seldom mentioned - route selection. Whenever possible (and it often is), take the road less traveled; back roads with fewer cars are safer. Consider ways to avoid complex intersections. Try to make your left turns at places with turn lanes and turn arrows. Avoid road construction. And so on, and so on,....