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Post by bnc on Aug 23, 2014 5:59:39 GMT -5
I don't see where this question got answered? I prefer to err on the side of caution.
I explained about why I feel rather negatively about this.
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Post by rockynv on Aug 23, 2014 8:45:35 GMT -5
The 12 second rule applies in daylight scanning in front of you. I am talking about at night where the MSF rule is not to over ride the headlights. The Honda saw the vehicle in their path, braked, but the unexpected swerve into my lane created a danger in a fraction of a second. Having a bike fast enough to keep up with traffic might prevent irritating other drivers or perhaps being rear ended but you are less safe in terms of the laws of physics, statistics and other drivers. From physics, double the speed, quadruple the impact energy. From statistics, From other drivers, According to NHTSA, 49% of motorcycle deaths were from being hit by other vehicles but of that 49%, 43% were head on or from the side, only 6% were from the rear. And how many of those hit from the side were while an irate driver was passing and cutting off a slow bike. Yes the danger from riding slow is not getting rear ended rather the side swipe or having your front wheel clipped when they cut in front of you and many times from the brake check that is done afterwards. The car passing on the right in the same single lane your in and then cutting left in front of you as your preparing for a left turn is another winner as is the one that attempts to squeeze by on the.shoulder and pushes you out into oncoming traffic which technically in the stats will be listed as a head on collision. The 500cc rider I mentioned was hit from the side on the rear quarter and not rear ended by a tailgater. The car driver thought the bike should have been going faster and pulled out of a side street too soon. Remember the stats are only going to show the minority of what ended up in hospitalization or fatality and not the majority which will be the undocumented road rage incidents, near misses and minor offs that are experienced every day and go unreported. |
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New Rider
Currently Offline
Posts: 46
Likes: 2
Joined: May 14, 2014 4:56:34 GMT -5
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Post by bnc on Aug 23, 2014 12:52:52 GMT -5
That is speculation. Drivers have lots of reasons to get enraged. Lane splitting seems to do it too even where it's legal.
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Post by rockynv on Aug 23, 2014 14:38:33 GMT -5
That is speculation. Drivers have lots of reasons to get enraged. Lane splitting seems to do it too even where it's legal. Just about all stats are speculation and weighted based on partial and inaccurate data. I have written software to interpret stats for a living and much depends on who is setting up the rule base for the interpretation. I worked with police departments and helped with the reporting software and most times the statistic will be based on the end result such as a head-on collision without the root cause of being crowded out of their lane, swerving to avoid another car that stopped short in front of them, etc. Even recording gender and orientation is getting more difficult in statistics and is no longer simply male or female which made running stats on future jail housing needs and interesting experiment. Car have passed me on the right when I was on a single lane road when doing the speed limit or a few above, there is no speculation there. Even when you are trying to pull over to the right with your signal on they will at times drive up on lawns rather then endure being behind a scooter going a real 30 in a 25 mph zone and there is no speculation there either. In your incident at night one could now easily say that you were most likely moderately overriding your headlight and available visibility which is why you had an unexpected close call. That is another interpretation of the same facts, it may or may not be an accurate conclusion however it is another possibility. A driver could be enraged because they missed a dosage on their meds and are taking it out the guy blocking traffic with his scooter. Either extreme is not good and you have to be reasonable. A 50 or 100cc bike to ride across country is not reasonable. It makes for an interesting story but its not reasonable or really safe without a lot of planning and even then only moderately so. |
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