Why bikers die
Discussion
samdale said:
The way the OP's described it, there was nothing legal about it.
As a side note, when does filtering become undertaking/dangerous driving? Genuine question as I seem to remember looking it up and the results are distinctly unclear.
Heavy traffic doing 50, bike doing 55-60? What if he increases his speed to 70? What if the traffic slows further to say 20-30 and he's still at 70? Are the rules deliberately vague as no biker can be chased/stopped in these instances?
Don't think there is a set limit for filtering - problem is riders who think that moving between lanes of moving traffic is 'filtering' regardless of speed.As a side note, when does filtering become undertaking/dangerous driving? Genuine question as I seem to remember looking it up and the results are distinctly unclear.
Heavy traffic doing 50, bike doing 55-60? What if he increases his speed to 70? What if the traffic slows further to say 20-30 and he's still at 70? Are the rules deliberately vague as no biker can be chased/stopped in these instances?
Remember seeing a prog once where a biker 'filtered' between lanes 2 & 3 of a motorway which was flowing normally. There was an unmarked poilce car and they did him for dangerous driving. Banned for 12 months I think.
aw51 121565 said:
1. Massive trauma.
2. Interruption of oxygenated blood supply to the brain.
^^ That's two potential answers (the main answers?) to the presumed question posed by the title of this thread
.
That's what killed the biker who didn't make the (farily gentle) sliproad bend in front of me in about 2001 or so. He lost it and his 750 went through 3 armco supports and stopped on the 4th one, with the forks ripped off the bike.2. Interruption of oxygenated blood supply to the brain.
^^ That's two potential answers (the main answers?) to the presumed question posed by the title of this thread
.He was still breathing when we got to him - my friend was driving his car and stopped in the outside lane to protect the biker where he was. I ran back up the sliproad about 200 yards to slow the traffic (blind bend) and called 999 while my mate did CPR. Ambulance turned up less than 5 minutes later.
Biker guy (in his 20's) was still alive when the ambulance arrived, but wasn't when they left. He left a pregnant wife and a kid.
His mate (who he was racing) did make the corner, and stopped about 300yards up the road but just stayed there - he didn't come back up the road to see what happened. I think he was in shock.
Over a long enough time scale, everybody dies.
Riding a bike like a t
t is more risky than riding a bike sensibly.
Riding a bike sensibly is probably more risky than driving a car.
Driving a car is more risky than taking the train, though driving like a tt is probably no less dangerous than riding a bike but you're more likely to injure more than just yourself if you get it wrong.
You take your choice...
Riding a bike like a t
t is more risky than riding a bike sensibly.Riding a bike sensibly is probably more risky than driving a car.
Driving a car is more risky than taking the train, though driving like a t
t is probably no less dangerous than riding a bike but you're more likely to injure more than just yourself if you get it wrong.You take your choice...
GravelBen said:
The Crack Fox said:
I'm not sure bikes attract more idiots than cars
Perhaps a tendency (there will always be exeptions of course) toward a different type of idiot? Nutbar vs Numpty?I very, very rarely see bikers behaving badly as described in the OP. Most of the time I quite enjoy seeing them on the roads actually. The lone guy on a sportsbike is 99% of the time up for a play on a quiet B road and if it's obvious that I'm holding him up, I'll make it very obvious I'm sticking to the left hand side of the lane to let him pass and will always get a wave/flick of the leg in return.
There's a massive road racing fanbase in NI and I think that maybe brings with it some maturity. Someone said yesterday that NI has the highest amount of sports bikes per capita in Europe?
There's a massive road racing fanbase in NI and I think that maybe brings with it some maturity. Someone said yesterday that NI has the highest amount of sports bikes per capita in Europe?
Vladimir said:
A lot of bikers love the whole risk thing. It makes them feel all brave and manly to be dressed like a Power Ranger risking their own and other peoples lives.
I'm sure some do, as do lots of car drivers (not incl the power ranger suit obv!). The difference is that a car is a 1500kg weapon, a bike is only a 200kg weapon. Most bike accidents just involve the rider.Riding a bike is thrilling. 0-100 in less than 8 secs on even the most boring of bikes, and 45+mpg. Cheap insurance. Cheap tax. They look awesome and make getting around easy.
For me it's about the ability to maintain progress regardless of traffic conditions. My commute takes 1 hr 45 mins by car at a steady pace. In bad traffic this can increase to 2 hrs 30 mins easily. By bike it's a pretty consistent 1 hr 20-30 mins no matter what happens.
I also like doing something that most people would probably really enjoy if they only had the balls to give it a go. I'm the only biker out of all of my mates and all of my work colleagues. A few say they'd like to have a bike, but either they know/think they'll die on one, or their wives have forbidden it. One did do his test but rode something like 100 miles a year and sold his bike when his kid was born.
Fair enough. If everyone rode it'd be banned within months because Joe Public are generally idiots and the death rate would rocket. That's why i've given up trying to persuade people that they should do their bike test. If they really wanted to ride they'd have done it by now. By leaving it so long they don't REALLY want to do it, so therefore wouldn't take it seriously enough.
pablo said:
GravelBen said:
RWD cossie wil said:
Idiots are idiots regardless of the mode of transport.....
...but some modes of transport off much less protection from their stupidity than others.GravelBen said:
pablo said:
GravelBen said:
RWD cossie wil said:
Idiots are idiots regardless of the mode of transport.....
...but some modes of transport off much less protection from their stupidity than others.
Trains?
Actually, if a train hit a tank which one would win?
Dapearson:
A good friend of mines dad killed himself on his super bike. Her mum pleaded and pleaded for him to stop using it but he wouldn't. Many lives seriously affected.
I'd get an off road bike but just like I rarely use my road bicycle, I'd not use a fast road motorbike. They st me right up even though many look stunning.
A good friend of mines dad killed himself on his super bike. Her mum pleaded and pleaded for him to stop using it but he wouldn't. Many lives seriously affected.
I'd get an off road bike but just like I rarely use my road bicycle, I'd not use a fast road motorbike. They s
t me right up even though many look stunning.Most bikers I see on the road, particularly when I'm out for a drive (as opposed to commuting or on a trip), show good road sense, judgement and alertness, even though, like me, they may not be adhering strictly to speed limits.
I do, however, see idiots from time to time. There was one riding in his own lane 2.5 on the M1 a few weeks ago, for instance, but the one that made me laugh was they idiot wearing jeans and a T shirt on a sports bike in July, who wanted to race me and powered off, doing a wheelie as some kind of victory salute at 90 mph when I didn't play. He hadn't noticed the marked Police interceptor sitting on the hard shoulder that immediatley took off after him and pulled him over. They may have saved his life.
I do, however, see idiots from time to time. There was one riding in his own lane 2.5 on the M1 a few weeks ago, for instance, but the one that made me laugh was they idiot wearing jeans and a T shirt on a sports bike in July, who wanted to race me and powered off, doing a wheelie as some kind of victory salute at 90 mph when I didn't play. He hadn't noticed the marked Police interceptor sitting on the hard shoulder that immediatley took off after him and pulled him over. They may have saved his life.
EDLT said:
Actually, if a train hit a tank which one would win?
I expect the extra mass and momentum of the train would end up being the deciding factor - it may well derail the train and wreck that too, but the tank would be pretty well crunched by that stage.This could be like the plane on the conveyor belt all over again!
Vladimir said:
Dapearson:
A good friend of mines dad killed himself on his super bike. Her mum pleaded and pleaded for him to stop using it but he wouldn't. Many lives seriously affected.
I'd get an off road bike but just like I rarely use my road bicycle, I'd not use a fast road motorbike. They st me right up even though many look stunning.
That's very sad. Stories like that are why i generally ride sensibly. However, it won't stop me riding, nothing will.A good friend of mines dad killed himself on his super bike. Her mum pleaded and pleaded for him to stop using it but he wouldn't. Many lives seriously affected.
I'd get an off road bike but just like I rarely use my road bicycle, I'd not use a fast road motorbike. They s
t me right up even though many look stunning.My argument is that a bike (and a car) are only as fast as you twist (press) the throttle.
The fact is that it's the difference in speeds between different types of vehicles that causes accidents between them. Tractors on a dual carriageway are dangerous compared to the speed that lorries are travelling at. Lorries are dangerous when they pull out at 56 mph where cars are doing 80+. Bikes are dangerous when ridden much faster than the cars around them.
If every single vehicle on the road did 60mph all of the time there would be very few accidents, regardless of the vehicle type.
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