And this is why I will never get on one. I love biking, and I love going fast, so a motorcycle seems like a great choice… until I watch around me. I’ve seen countless accidents involving motorcycles, the majority caused by inattentive drivers of cars and trucks. Then there’s the asshole motorcyclists who do dangerous maneuvers that make up the rest. I value my life more than thrills.
On a separate note: do we know why the “train” category is bolded?
Interestly, its not really inattentive car drivers that make motorcycling so dangerous.
Because of their small size, single headlight and rapidly changing speed, the human brain can’t accurate identify, and track them. Especially at night or in adverse weather conditions. So drivers cut them off all the time because the brain does not process the information correctly.
Combine that with the average aggressive driving, speeding, tailgating, and other dumbass dangerous behaviors that I see motorcyclist do daily and the death rate is shockingly low in my opinion.
I spend a lot of time driving and have seen around 20 motorcycle accidents happen over the years. Only one was another drivers fault and not caused by the absolute stupidity of the motorcyclist.
In the Netherlands, bicyclists were always second place in deaths just behind people in cars. Most accidents which causes death are between a car and a bicycle. When the e-bike got trendy. We’ve seen a big spike in bicycle deaths in 2023 causing it to be the nr 1 cause of death in traffic. The Fat-bike is a big problem here. Its trendy among kids and realy easy to disable speed limiters. Percentage wise I couldn’t find anything this fast but it does look like people in cars just don’t see them or pay attention to them as the drive faster. I think cameras checking the surroundings is the best hope in getting those numbers down.
Thanks for the information. In crashes where phones weren’t a factor I can see how these things would be true. I’ve had some near misses myself, usually with the asshats. Surely still true with a phone involved, but anyone looking at a phone while driving loses any and all other considerations in my book.
the majority caused by inattentive drivers of cars and trucks.
Are there statistics to back this up? Anecdotally, I see 10 motorcycles racing, illegally riding side-by-side in one lane, not signaling, speeding, and swerving around vehicles across multiple lanes for every 1 that I see driving safely.
I should have stated that my comment was definitely anecdotal. I’m only speaking on accidents I’ve witnessed involving motorcyclists. While yes, the majority of motorcyclists I’ve seen drive like complete assholes, the majority of accidents I’ve seen have been caused by inattentive drivers. When I say majority it’s probably 60/40. Every time I’ve had the opportunity to see the car driver involved where I’d say(in my completely unqualified opinion; I’m no cop or insurance adjuster) that the car was at fault, they’ve been on or looking at a phone.
On the other hand, when I’ve seen accidents where I’d say the motorcyclist is at fault they’ve ALWAYS been doing that wild shit that you mentioned.
I used to work at an office complex that was on a very high-traffic main road at a very busy intersection, one block from the freeway on-ramp with a crystal clear view of about 4 blocks of the main roadway and a bit of the freeway from my desk. So almost all of my anecdotal evidence is from one area in one city. I didn’t intend to make it sound like I have statistics to back up what I’m saying and should probably have been more clear about my lack of actual data.
Comparing US statistics to Dutch ones makes no sense. Their roads are several times more deadly than European ones regardless of vehicle.
Furthermore not all of their states have mandatory helmets (!) whereas over here it’s rare to see someone missing something other than pants. Except scooters, scooter riders are under the impression that they don’t ride a motorcycle and that flip-flops are appropriate apparel.
Then there’s a lot you can do as a motorcyclist to mitigate risk. Riding safely is one (not everyone seems capable of that, there’s quite a spread in riding behaviors, but also an obvious bias in which ones you’ll remember seeing on your commute). A strict no-alcohol policy is another, and not riding at night on weekends. You can also wear extra safety gear such as a high-vis airbag.
Also licensing requirements. Oh and American motorcycles don’t have to be equipped with ABS. They be crazy over there.
And this is why I will never get on one. I love biking, and I love going fast, so a motorcycle seems like a great choice… until I watch around me. I’ve seen countless accidents involving motorcycles, the majority caused by inattentive drivers of cars and trucks. Then there’s the asshole motorcyclists who do dangerous maneuvers that make up the rest. I value my life more than thrills.
On a separate note: do we know why the “train” category is bolded?
Interestly, its not really inattentive car drivers that make motorcycling so dangerous.
Because of their small size, single headlight and rapidly changing speed, the human brain can’t accurate identify, and track them. Especially at night or in adverse weather conditions. So drivers cut them off all the time because the brain does not process the information correctly.
Combine that with the average aggressive driving, speeding, tailgating, and other dumbass dangerous behaviors that I see motorcyclist do daily and the death rate is shockingly low in my opinion.
I spend a lot of time driving and have seen around 20 motorcycle accidents happen over the years. Only one was another drivers fault and not caused by the absolute stupidity of the motorcyclist.
In the Netherlands, bicyclists were always second place in deaths just behind people in cars. Most accidents which causes death are between a car and a bicycle. When the e-bike got trendy. We’ve seen a big spike in bicycle deaths in 2023 causing it to be the nr 1 cause of death in traffic. The Fat-bike is a big problem here. Its trendy among kids and realy easy to disable speed limiters. Percentage wise I couldn’t find anything this fast but it does look like people in cars just don’t see them or pay attention to them as the drive faster. I think cameras checking the surroundings is the best hope in getting those numbers down.
This is really sad, I don’t want to drive a tin can of death just so I am more protected from others driving tin cans of death :(
At least I don’t drive e-bike and use bike lanes ¯\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Thanks for the information. In crashes where phones weren’t a factor I can see how these things would be true. I’ve had some near misses myself, usually with the asshats. Surely still true with a phone involved, but anyone looking at a phone while driving loses any and all other considerations in my book.
Are there statistics to back this up? Anecdotally, I see 10 motorcycles racing, illegally riding side-by-side in one lane, not signaling, speeding, and swerving around vehicles across multiple lanes for every 1 that I see driving safely.
I should have stated that my comment was definitely anecdotal. I’m only speaking on accidents I’ve witnessed involving motorcyclists. While yes, the majority of motorcyclists I’ve seen drive like complete assholes, the majority of accidents I’ve seen have been caused by inattentive drivers. When I say majority it’s probably 60/40. Every time I’ve had the opportunity to see the car driver involved where I’d say(in my completely unqualified opinion; I’m no cop or insurance adjuster) that the car was at fault, they’ve been on or looking at a phone.
On the other hand, when I’ve seen accidents where I’d say the motorcyclist is at fault they’ve ALWAYS been doing that wild shit that you mentioned.
I used to work at an office complex that was on a very high-traffic main road at a very busy intersection, one block from the freeway on-ramp with a crystal clear view of about 4 blocks of the main roadway and a bit of the freeway from my desk. So almost all of my anecdotal evidence is from one area in one city. I didn’t intend to make it sound like I have statistics to back up what I’m saying and should probably have been more clear about my lack of actual data.
Good stuff, thanks for the info.
Not a problem.
Comparing US statistics to Dutch ones makes no sense. Their roads are several times more deadly than European ones regardless of vehicle.
Furthermore not all of their states have mandatory helmets (!) whereas over here it’s rare to see someone missing something other than pants. Except scooters, scooter riders are under the impression that they don’t ride a motorcycle and that flip-flops are appropriate apparel.
Then there’s a lot you can do as a motorcyclist to mitigate risk. Riding safely is one (not everyone seems capable of that, there’s quite a spread in riding behaviors, but also an obvious bias in which ones you’ll remember seeing on your commute). A strict no-alcohol policy is another, and not riding at night on weekends. You can also wear extra safety gear such as a high-vis airbag.
Also licensing requirements. Oh and American motorcycles don’t have to be equipped with ABS. They be crazy over there.
No, I’m in the US; that’s what I see here. I just use a Dutch instance.
They sure are fun though. Sometimes the risk is worth it.
To each their own. 😆