So...riding...really that dangerous?

[storysunfolding]

If you flip through the NHTSA website you'll find that a little over 50% of riders wear helmets and motorcyclists age 40 and over riding larger motorcycle engine sizes account for the fastest growing group of motorcyclist fatalities.

I thought that last point would be interesting in light of the continual posts I see blaming the rise of fatalities on young blowhards with fast bikes.

Anyway- did anyone else read that caption about the dump truck driver rolling over the 4 month old harley because it didn't go fast enough when the light turned green? That just goes to show that sometimes it doesn't matter what you wear or how you ride, people suck.

[Kal]

The bottom line is that absolutely no one gets out of this world alive .
Regards, Wizzard

Jim Morrison?

Interestingly the site says all the photographs were sent in by the riders or their families, in fact this one specifically says "The guy survived and posted pictures of his injuries...



Isnt that the same image as one in a series by a biking Doctor who took pictures of crash victims to show what happens if you dont have the right gear?*

Anyways. I miss my friends that have died. We will die, I'd rather not die today but I want to live before I die. If I didnt ride I'd probably skydive, deepsea dive, hangglide, freestyle climb or any one of a number of activities.

I take precautions, try to ride as safe as I can - I dont fixate on dying but acknowledge it as a real possibility insyead.

Furthering the T-Shirt slogan philosphy: "Everyone dies, not everyone lives."


*Somewhere on here I know but I cannot find it.

[Mag7C]

Here is a site with some statistics from various sources. Interesting and shocking.

http://home1.gte.net/res0ak9f/bike.htm

That site is much more of a "scare people out of motorcycling" than an attempt at an unbiased analysis of statistics. It reads like a spam email and makes some pretty large jumps in "logic."

I could easily make a similar site that would make you never want to step foot in a car again. Or play with fireworks. Or work around heavy machinery. Or walk down the street. Or step foot outside your front door. Or stay inside your home all day.

Agreed. Actually the pic with the truck driver who ran over a biker from a complete stop convinced me we need to loosen restrictions on the death penalty. No charges filed? I'd want his head on a pike.

[tcreeley]

In my 20's I rode horses a lot. I remember thinking- what am I doing up here- but I loved it- first real fall I jumped off at a canter -- that or go between an iron fence and a boulder- The road rash hurt a bit. The next time I hit a stud wall and had 11 stitches on the top of my head- you just got to love it- In the slow motion spills I've had when I dropped my bike- I got up laughing- now I knew how not to do that again. A kid I have in class- broke his back dirt racing (13) (his father too). He just came by and told me he he was done- last race he went down and got run over a few times. Next year he'll be racing again.

I'm always wondering- but it's just great to do.