Did u crash

[JimX]

I think motorbikes are 10 times as unsafe and inpredictable than a car.  

Not sure what you're trying to say with that.

[sammus]

U guys should all ride motorbikes. I rode a motorbike for about 4 years and it improved my driving 100% no question.  

I have ever only had one accident in my car in 5 years, and it was a unlicensed driver driving into my car and only because I didnt have any more room to go.

U will also learn to head check, which is the NUMBER ONE cause of motorbike/car collisions. Cagers (car drivers) are stupid fooks and dont look out for bikes, and it shits me!

And yes I drive and ride.........

i've noticed a lot of my friends parents and other drivers etc. not headchecking they just look in their mirror... neglecting the blind spot.

in all the driving tests i've done so far, they have been stressing headchecks quite a bit.

[JimX]

i've noticed a lot of my friends parents and other drivers etc. not headchecking they just look in their mirror... neglecting the blind spot.

in all the driving tests i've done so far, they have been stressing headchecks quite a bit.

That is farkin' annoying. The lack of head checking I mean. If someone is going to do that the least they can do is position their mirrors so that they cover their blind spot. That's how I've got mine, which means I have to crane my head slightly if I want to use the mirror to see the whole lane behind me. Despite that, I still do a head check even though my mirrors cover the blind spot. Humans have a tendency to sometimes ignore what is right in their direct line of sight, so at least doing it this way I've got 2 different perspectives on the same bit of road and I'm much less likely to not notice something in the blind spot. I've not ever missed something in the blind spot since I started doing this many years ago.

On the bike it's a different story. Because I have no middle rear vision mirror I have to put my wing mirrors to cover the lane behind me. So I have to just rely on the head check. But this is one reason why I am extra careful when changing lanes on the bike, and I tend to ride faster than the surrounding traffic to minimise the chances of someone sneaking up on my blind spot.

[d0p3y]

Smooth sailing so far... Hopefully the trend continues... I don't want my baby dented!

[09ONE_32]

Yep crashed and wrote off my first car. MX-6 Turbo.

I was as cut as a mother****er.

Was just cruising around a corner in the wet after being out all night before still feeling so seedy...Then a gum tree just jumpped out an hit me.

Was cut as a mother****er

[Bax]

None for me, the cars been in one accident, but I was asleep in my bed and the car was parked in my driveway. The old guy in the campervan mustn't of liked it

[lwells]

U guys should all ride motorbikes. I rode a motorbike for about 4 years and it improved my driving 100% no question.  

I have ever only had one accident in my car in 5 years, and it was a unlicensed driver driving into my car and only because I didnt have any more room to go.

U will also learn to head check, which is the NUMBER ONE cause of motorbike/car collisions. Cagers (car drivers) are stupid fooks and dont look out for bikes, and it shits me!

And yes I drive and ride.........

And suddenly fatalities go up Seriously, if your going to have a crash, at least have it in a car. I understand the point your making, but I can't agree that being in a more risky situation is a better solution.

LW.

[Worm]

If ppl had the skill that bikers have when driving, road accidents would be far less IMO.

But I agree, more hoons on bikes means more deaths for sure

[JimX]

And suddenly fatalities go up Seriously, if your going to have a crash, at least have it in a car. I understand the point your making, but I can't agree that being in a more risky situation is a better solution.

LW.

I would much rather be in a truck or a bus than a car if I had to be in a crash. But if you learn to ride a bike properly, you will improve your reflexes and develop a sixth sense which you can use even when in a car. It all depends on whether or not you feel capable of riding a bike competently rather than the minimal crash protection it offers. There are heaps of situations I could have been involved in a minor bingle had I been in a car or truck, but just zipped easily out of the way on the bike. That's not to say I *would* have had a crash, just that it would have been a close call.

I'm not saying that bikes are safer than cars in a crash. All I'm saying is you're not invulnerable in a car, and I think the benefits of learning how to ride outweigh the possibility that you'll get killed in a bike accident.

[Laurence]

You are so right about the sixth sense.

After riding a lot I could just look at a car and know it would do something stupid.

A few seconds later... bingo... something stupid was done.

[dan_the_man]

hahaha i had a dodgey toyota coroner... took it rally car driving (bad idea) and wrapped it round a tree

much laughs were had

[lwells]

If ppl had the skill that bikers have when driving, road accidents would be far less IMO.

But I agree, more hoons on bikes means more deaths for sure

That's only one side of the story though. You can be the safest driver -- make that "rider" if we go with the whole "riding makes you more alert" thing -- in the world, and still be involved in accidents due to other's stupidity.

Every time I read a bike thread about road manners, riders whinge (probably justifiably -- I wouldn't know not being a rider) that cars are forever ignoring them. Now it only takes the slightest of taps from some other numb-nuts of the road to send you flying over your handle bars.

Hence, I think its a bad idea. Not only will the "hoon" element be even more at risk of killing themselves, but even the most sensible learner/p-plater could be killed by some other idiot on the road because there is nothing between them and the road besides a bit of clothing and a helmet.

LW.

[Shell]

yeah i had an accident in my first car (Laser)...reversed out of a carpark and backed straight into a Sigma that was driving past :Oops:

I DID check before reversing, but they came from nowhere. Put a huge dent in the rear quarter panel of the Sigma, but my Laser rear bumper absorbed it all and i had no damage at all. I gave them my details, fully expecting to have to use my insurance but never heard anything from them!!!

and as for the headchecking thing...I never trust my mirrors! always headcheck, it's such an easy thing to do and so much better just to be sure !

[JimX]

That's only one side of the story though. You can be the safest driver -- make that "rider" if we go with the whole "riding makes you more alert" thing -- in the world, and still be involved in accidents due to other's stupidity.

Did you know that you have more of a chance of winning the division 1 prize in the lottery than you do of dying in a road accident? Whether you're in a car, bike, truck, whatever That is one statistic that the government isn't going to promote. Given those odds, I don't think it really matter what kind of vehicle I'm in or even if I walk along the footpath. I can't even remember if pedestrian deaths were counted in the statistics I found. If they weren't then the lottery is better odds still.

I drive and ride to cater for other people's stupidity. No, it's not 100% foolproof, and there is a slight chance I'll be involved in a fatal collision. But it serves me well and continues to serve me by getting me to work in around 1/3rd the amount of time it would take to use public transport and under half the cost. I also get free parking, whereas the chumps that drive because they also hate public transport have to fork out $8-20 a day depending on how close they want to park to work. I park outside the elevators.

If I planned to immunize myself against fatal road accidents I wouldn't go on the road even as a pedestrian or on my bicycle. More bicyclists and pedestrians get killed than motorcyclists. Yes I know that that's because there are more bicyclists and pedestrians than motorcyclists, but my point is there is no 100% safe form of transport. If everyone learned to ride a bike properly, they would learn to appreciate how easy it is to get hurt in an accident and take a lot more care when they are in their cars. Fatalities would drop because accidents would drop. No it's not practical to make everyone learn how to ride and I'm not seriously suggesting it would happen. I reckon if you did the statistics on drivers that died in road accidents in car vs car accidents whether at fault or not, the ones with both car and bike licences would represent a lower proportion of the drivers killed, and I daresay would be much less likely to be at fault.

One statistic I would like to know is the likelihood of dying if going out in a carfull of your drunk mates on a saturday night in the highest powered sports car that any of you own (whether or not the driver is drunk). I appreciate the risks when riding and driving normally, but the above situation scares the crap out of me.

Sorry about this rant, I'm just sick to death of this whole "bikes are dangerous, you will die if you ride one" thing. Having said all that, I knock on wood so that I don't get taken out by a clueless car driver on the way home from work today

[PTR33]

doesnt sound like your a very good driver :throwup:

If I want your opinion junior, I will rattle your playpen.:flamed:

[krawler]

Did you know that you have more of a chance of winning the division 1 prize in the lottery than you do of dying in a road accident?

I didnt know that ... If its true, then should I count all the revenue I've paid in speeding fines as lottery entries? Or something?

I drive and ride to cater for other people's stupidity. No, it's not 100% foolproof, and there is a slight chance I'll be involved in a fatal collision.

Amen to that. Dont just drive to suit the conditions, drive to suit the clueless randomness of other drivers on the road. I believe I've saved myself many accident by being wary of what other drivers are going to do. Specifically, people pulling out of side streets, reversing out of driveways, changing lanes into you, etc. You can often tell if someone is going to pull out (believing they have the fastest accelerating vehicle in history) by their body language. Same deal with cars changing lanes on the freeway. People often tend to swerve toward the direction they want to go before hitting the indicator and looking. If you are in the middle of overtaking, or simply going faster than them in another lane, by being aware of the subtle changes in direction you can avoid any sort of hazordous situation.

Wow, sounds like I think I'm a psychic. Hmm. Works for me. I do stupid speeds on our roads (yeah yeah, I'm so naughty) yet I've never had an accident, never caused an accident or even come what I'd call close to having an accident. I can count the number of times I've locked up the wheels EVER on one hand, and 3 of those were for possums on back streets (when noone was following, I know the laws).

Anyway. I've just babbled heaps.

[lwells]

Sorry about this rant, I'm just sick to death of this whole "bikes are dangerous, you will die if you ride one" thing. Having said all that, I knock on wood so that I don't get taken out by a clueless car driver on the way home from work today

I think you have misunderstood what I was saying. I am not arguing "bikes are dangerous", rather that "motorists are dangerous". The fact that most learners and inexperienced motorists will have an accident is proof enough to me they shouldn't risk further harm by being on a motorcycle.

And while your claim about the likelihood of dying in an accident may be true, death is hardly the worst that can happen. Give me statistics that include permanent impairment and then we can talk.

LW.

[JimX]

I don't have any stats on being maimed on a bike, but I can give you my experiences and one story about a friend.

I've crashed my bike while learning several times, almost all of them due to locking the front wheel due to over braking. Every single one of them occurred at or well below the speed limit (as in slowing down for intersections, roundabouts etc). Most of the non-lockup ones occurred because I either stalled it at the top of my driveway and it keeled over, or it rolled off the stand as I was putting it away at the bottom of my driveway. I don't think the latter ones count though because I'd already gotten off the bike The worst one was when the speed limit was 100kph, at 100kph. I locked the front by over braking and down I went. I had misjudged the speed at which the bikes in front of me were slowing down. Despite this, my bike slid to a stop well before the other bikes and it didn't hit. If I had just braked properly I would have stopped fine. I hurt my wrists and bruised my ribs where my mobile phone hit, but other than that I was ok. Not a single scratch on me due to my protective gear. With the other accidents I still would have been all right if I hit something because the speed was low enough to hit something and not get badly injured.

Even then if you hit something you're not a total write-off. A friend of mine crashed her bike into the back of a stationary car at just under 60kph a few weeks ago (she was slowing down while swerving around someone that went into her lane and cut her off, but didn't have a chance to slow down much at all). She went head first into the back of the car. She hit either the rear windscreen or the boot lid or something (I forget, but it damaged the car). She bruised her legs, got a big red spot on her forehead from the helmet impact, but other than that she was ok. Didn't have to go to hospital. The bike was also repairable, though at around $5000 cost (they didn't get the plate of the guy that cut her off).

If you have a head on into a car, then you either go over it and be ok, or you will probably die on impact or get run over by the car behind the one your bike hit. I don't think there's much chance you're going to be maimed. You'll either die or get up and walk off the road. If you go through the windscreen, then more than likely you'll also kill the driver or front passenger of the car.

All I'm saying is that bikes aren't as dangerous as everyone seems to think. I do understand and agree with part of what you're saying though. I wouldn't like my teenage child to learn to ride on a bike as his first vehicle of choice. I would try to make sure they have at least a couple of years driving experience under their belt before learning to ride, but if/when they learn to ride, they will find that they will be safer all round on the road, even as a pedestrian.

Here's an accident that was in the news today, just proving that you're not invulnerable just because you were in a car. In fact, if it was 1 or 2 people on a stalled bike and they saw the train at the last second, they could have jumped straight off to safety rather than wasting time undoing seatbelts and opening the door. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/05/...1557954678.html

[SR20]

some dude hit me on my "p" plates that was it. other than that i havent had an accident in 6 years.

[Ahh32]

U guys should all ride motorbikes. I rode a motorbike for about 4 years and it improved my driving 100% no question.  

I have ever only had one accident in my car in 5 years, and it was a unlicensed driver driving into my car and only because I didnt have any more room to go.

U will also learn to head check, which is the NUMBER ONE cause of motorbike/car collisions. Cagers (car drivers) are stupid fooks and dont look out for bikes, and it shits me!

And yes I drive and ride.........

I highly agree, i had my roadbike for a couple of years, showed me just how bad and careless other drivers can be. (mainly people in 4WD's and old people).

hint: when u merge lanes check before u turn not when u a 1/2 way into the other lane, and don't get offended when u recieve a obcene gesture from the person u just tried to run over and kill.

only damaged my previous cars. ie. driving over drains, jumping, trying to use car as 4WD etc.

Kissed a gutter in my 'line about a year ago.