Back in the Saddle: Smarter, more informed, more cautious but back

(out for my first ride since the accident)

Yesterday I decided it was time to get back on my bike.  I said a little prayer and crossed my fingers just before starting up my Softail.  She hadn’t been fired up in 2 ½ months or about 10 weeks (shameful I know) so I was worried I'd get the dreaded "click, click, click".  The rear tire is almost bald and I have little confidence in riding so I made sure to only stay on residential streets and take it really easy.  After a few minutes I actually started to enjoy myself a little bit but my riding was sloppy, I was too cautious and taking my turns wide, going a little too slow at times, etc. but soon I’ll be at a 100% again.

The biggest thing I am doing is learning from my mistakes made the night of my accident, of which there were several.  First and foremost is absolutely no alcohol when riding, not a single beer or drink.  Even though I was not drunk that evening I had been drinking and I was relaxed and not paying attention and not alert to danger.  Never, never, never again.

Second is gear related.  I’ll wear as much safety equipment as I possibly can without subjecting myself to heat stroke.  I’m thinking on really hot days a Kevlar mesh Draggin Shirt and either a half helmet or most likely a GMAX G68S which is a very high airflow full face helmet which is reputedly cooler than even a skid lid since it flows air over the top of your head.  Of course heavy duty boots and gloves will go without saying from here on out (as opposed to skimpy mechanics gloves and Converse Chuck Taylors that I had on that evening).  My bikes need a little update as well, namely in the form of engine guards in the case of a lowside (the #1 form of accident and reputedly the “preferred” way of going down if you have to).  Gotta’ protect those legs and feet.

Thirdly, I will keep my butt firmly placed on my seat at all times.  That whole standing up on your pegs thing to take big bumps in the road that I was taught at the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course is flat out wrong, especially if you have forward pegs and you are holding your weight up by your handlebars…trust me, if those bars turn suddenly you go flying.  Ask me how I know...

Lastly I will do the speed limit (or within 5mph of it on the freeway).  No more winding it up to 90mph in the HOV because I can.  No more going 45mph on a 30mph residential street.  A 15mph difference in speed can make a HUGE difference in reaction time and of course in “pavement to butt impact to damage ratios” (my own non-scientific term) on a residential street.

After my accident I did a ton of research and basically found out that the three largest contributing factors to motorcycle accident fatalities were alcohol, speed and lack of a helmet.  The biggest factors contributing to accidents overall were speed, alcohol and vehicles making a left turn in front of a motorcycle at an intersection.  Notice a pattern?  Since I’m not drinking anymore, I ALWAYS wear a helmet and since I always expect a vehicle to pull in front of me at an intersection the last factor that I can control is speed.  This includes the speed for given road conditions such as poor lighting, wet streets, etc. 

So are all of these measures going to keep me 100% safe or guarantee that nothing will ever happen to me?  No but they will greatly reduce my chances of being made a member of the Forever Chapter.

Quick Facts:

·        Half of the fatalities in single vehicle crashes relate to problems negotiating a curve prior to a crash (speed and blood alcohol levels (BAC) increase this significantly)

·        Over 80 percent of motorcycle fatalities in single vehicle crashes occur off the roadway (a crash occurring on the shoulder, median, roadside, outside right-of-way, in a parking lane, separator and gore. (A “gore” is an area of land where two roadways diverge or converge).  Again speed and BAC are the greatest contributors to these types of accidents.

·        Almost 60 percent of motorcyclist fatalities in single vehicle crashes occur at night.  (Most people go to bars during the evening, combine this with poor visibility, speed and impairment (BAC) and it’s almost a no brainer statistic). 

·        Collisions with fixed objects are a significant factor in over half of motorcycle fatalities in single vehicle crashes.  (Again speed and BAC are the greatest contributing factors).

In all of the above cases almost 40% of these fatalities included no helmet whatsoever, so total number of fatalities could be almost statistically halved with the use of a DOT helmet.  Parse this again by over 50% by reducing blood alcohol levels (BAC) not to exceed .08% and speed again over 50% and you can see how the over 4,000 deaths annually in a motorcycle accident could be cut down drastically, hovering right around the fatality statistics of driving a pre-1966 automobile.  (And how many people out there do you think would balk at the idea of riding a motorcycle yet would gladly take a spin in a 1957 Chevy?  I'm guessing dang near all of them.)

So am I now an advocate of those wishing to force us to wear helmets?  Absolutely not, but then neither do I think seatbelt laws should be enforced.  I wear a helmet and a seatbelt out of a personal choice and I respect the rights of others not to.  I will say this though…with respect to the “Look Twice” crowd who harp on cagers relentlessly, 46% of motorcycle accident fatalities involve nobody other than the motorcyclist who was killed.  That means we are almost as “dangerous” to ourselves as others are to us…think about that next time your thinking about bar hopping, helmetless while hauling butt down the freeway.  I think it’s time we acknowledge the risks we take without the luxury of denial.  We can do more to prevent motorcycle fatalities than anyone, food for thought.