Scary statistics for bikers in Wales

[Dave20046]

Apparently a car's almost double as likely to pull out across your path from right to left.

just a random gloomy statistic...

[yorkie_chris]

TBH I would not have expected that, the distance means there's more chance of you being within sight.

Though for those of you awake it does put a velocity on your side.

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

TBH I would not have expected that, the distance means there's more chance of you being within sight.

Though for those of you awake it does put a velocity on your side.

I didn't either.
I wonder if it's more to do with cross roads or vehicles protruding from traffic than impatient cagers waiting in the right hand turn bit.

Interesting mix of responses. I fit the 'j'accuse' category of being English and treating Wales - and Powys in particular - as a weekend playground.

THere is no scaremongering in these stats. I trust them. There is no judgemental claptrap, apart from 'motorcycling is risky' - and if you don't know that then you shouldn't be on a bike in the first place. I would dearly like to read a fault analysis of these stats, but the fact that most accidents happen at T junctions suggests that generally speaking it isn't the biker's fault - the point about doing huge speed so that a cager can't judge it being a good one.

I'm not going to ride everywhere at 20mph. What all this says to me is that defensive riding is an absolute necessity and that we bikers have got to hone anticipation skills ever more finely and to learn how to control the bike if it all goes pear shaped. For example, at a T junction, someone pulls out in front of you. Do you emergency brake? how many of us have done this on a public road with potholes, crap on the surface etc etc, from 70? Or do you swerve round the car? I'm not being preachy here, I don't really know what I'd do myself but I like to think I've overcome the 'grab brake' instinctive reaction.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Bibio

what a load of bull.... if it were true then 1 in 100 of people on this and other forums would be killed every week. we have at leist 400 trully active members on this forum so 4 of us are going to have to die every week.

put that in yer pipe and smoke it you arzhole statistics people. ggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

when will the squelsh quire boys stop publishing such bull.

It's not every week but every 18 months if you read the OP carefully, and yes I can name 4 of us that have been killed in little more than 18 months.
It's not scaremongering, it's statistics i.e. facts.
Although I do agree you can't compare the sport of biking in Wales with the activity of transport in a car.

[Stu]

This is posted elsewhere, but it's perfect for this discussion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipgnU...layer_embedded
R1 swerves to avoid car pulling out

Originally Posted by Stu

Although I do agree you can't compare the sport of biking in Wales with the activity of transport in a car.

'I'm just popping out for a drive in the [diesel automatic 1.5 tonne Merc estate] car, love'

'I'm going out for a blat. See you later'

Originally Posted by Ed

and to learn how to control the bike if it all goes pear shaped. For example, at a T junction, someone pulls out in front of you. Do you emergency brake?

The key to survival here is not having to "panic" brake. If you do need to grab a handful and stand the bike on it's nose as a cager pulls out, the key is doing so having already scrubbed off half your speed in anticipation a second or two earlier, whilst saying to yourself

"F*****g B****d! I just knew he was going to pull out on me!"

Better to scrub off half your speed paranoid that the guy hasn't seen you, then sail past not needing the emergency stop, than be in a situation where you don't know if the emergency stop will stop you in time.

Originally Posted by Stu

This is posted elsewhere, but it's perfect for this discussion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipgnU...layer_embedded
R1 swerves to avoid car pulling out

**** me! Haven't seen that before, he was lucky!

I wish I'd had that clip to hand when arguing in other threads with muppets who think it can be "safe" to do 140mph+ on a public road "in certain circumstances".

Bollox, look at that vid and you can see how fast the junction appeared and was past and gone. The rider had next to no time to do anything about it. He closed the throttle and swerved, but his fingers didn't even have time to reach the brake lever!

just a quick one here and thats about grabbing front
in my off in scotland the plod that attended asked me what happen to which i replyed
i was bimbleing along he pulls out from left to right (nissan patrol 4x4) i see him, i couldnt go left ,didnt fancy my chances going right so purposely set the bike down to seperate me from metal, bike slid underneath jeep
to which he said
well mate if youd went left you would of hit a tree ,right you would of hit a car ,and if you'd stayed on the bike youd be dead, id say you made a f ing good call there
the only reason i say this is sometimes ditching early is better than crashing late