This came up on a news feed of mine. Didn’t pay attention to where it was from, at first. I watched the video w/o audio at first. I was surprised to see that the rider survived. So I rewatched the segment with the volume up, to learn more about what happened.
Suffice it to say, it appeared that the driver was in the wrong. I could be wrong, but wow. The interview with the rider, he has my same fears. I don’t fear my bikes, or the road itself. I do fear drivers in cars and trucks when I ride, whether the moto or my bicycles.
I gave up my road-bike from my experience working in an emergency room. The incidence of survivorship in a roll over or ejection driving an automobile is considerably lower than being buckled in to a modern car with air bags.
I love motorcycles, but I just think they’re too dangerous for my risk/benefit calculus
I understand. I’ve been hit, a couple of times. More near misses than I care to think about. We had a couple of friends killed thanks to auto-bicycle collisions. I still have second thoughts about making turns in some intersections. I’ve been fortunate, in that my injuries have been relatively minor in that regard. On the moto, I generally try to avoid the freeway; big trucks have lots of air to move around, or suck you into when they go by.
Near misses now generally get a visible response from me to the driver. I’m not very nice if I can get up close to them.
Anyway, I’m just trying to help folks who play with 2 wheeled vehicles to stay safe. Doesn’t matter if it has a 2 stroke, 4 stroke, battery, or human power.
Yes, with each passing year, the risk/reward calculation moves closer to “get off the road-bike”, regardless of what you WANT to do. I love riding a road bike, particularly during the summer and during the TDF, but as I age, and as driving habits change and roads become MUCH more crowded, it becomes much less reasonable every year.
[quote=“Carolina_Cycling_Ute, post:4, topic:5561”]
. . . On the moto, I generally try to avoid the freeway; big trucks have lots of air to move around, or suck you into when they go by.[/quote]
You are probably far safer on a motorcycle on a freeway than a road with cross streets. Cross traffic is the biggest danger to a motorcycle.
Freeways feel more scary due to the speed. There are some incrementally increased dangers such as debris on the road, distracted drivers, and people making sudden lane changes to catch an exit. Bu they are much easier to identify in advance and avoid than someone suddenly turning right in front of you at a lower speed.
I will agree with you in part. Semi’s and their trailers at speed passing a light weight moto is not fun. Getting pushed around, then pulled toward them as they over take you really is an unpleasant experience. Speed is both a friend and an enemy.
The commonality between our dislikes is the inattentive driver who’s looking at their phone, yelling at kids in the back, etc, basically the normal everyday distracted driver.
I would think since the inception and use of cell phones - along with what seems like very little enforcement - makes the roads considerably more dangerous than back in the day.
I’m just astounded how many people are texting or watching something on their phone, completely oblivious to anything else around them.
I don’t understand why the police don’t regard it as dangerous (if not more) than impaired driving.