How many people that you know drive a motorcycle? How many have had accidents? How did they turn out?

Question

1. For the record, people get injured in car accidents too. So why not do what you enjoy as long as you are careful and aware of your surroundings (with the proper gear, of course.) I have several family members who have been riders over the years and have had accidents so I am aware of the risks (although I haven't ridden myself--other than on the back of one).

2. Duh, I had a blonde moment when I wrote "drive" instead of "ride". I'm aware of the difference.

Answer 1

When weather permits (I live in MN) my motorcycle is my main means of transportation. I know many many people who ride and race motorcycles. Almost all of the racers have crashed their bikes, some rather dramatically. I have crashed my motorcycle more than once.

There are several things anyone can do to reduce the chances of crashing and protect from more severe injury when the crash happens. Getting as much serious training as you can is the probably the largest factor in this equation. Taking motorcycle safety classes (I've taken three so far) from the basic to the advanced course and more if it is offered in your area. Taking courses on a track (I've done this 5 times) to learn what the limits of your bike are and to train your brain to react in an environment where you can more easily overcome making a mistake (on a track there is no on-coming traffic, pedestrians, and space along side it to not run into things if you go off the track).

Lastly buy good gear and wear it a lot. I really don't feel comfortable riding unless I'm wearing Helmet, gloves, boots made for motorcycle riding, jacket and pants. I have gear for different temperature levels so that I can still wear it when it is hot out and still be somewhat protected if a crash happens. An example of why---I crashed my motorcycle at a speed of 50-70 mph while wearing full gear. I didn't hit anything when I crashed and because of the gear my injuries were limited to a bruise on my shoulder from when I hit the ground and a bruise on my knee when it hit the hand control as I left the bike. I crashed my bicycle at 15 mph when I missed seeing a medium sized rock on the road and had road rash down much of the right side side of my body. I was wearing a helmet so when my head smacked the pavement nothing happened.

If you do all of this, the worst can still happen. A friend's (their whole family rides) 19 year old son was killed in a motorcycle accident just 2 weeks ago. His son had training, wore gear and rode in a sane and careful manner. He ran off the road somehow (a car was involved but details are still sketchy) and either hit a telephone pole or the guy wire for the telephone pole.

Answer 2

I've been riding for a while now and tend to surround myself with other riders. Here's the bottom line... there are two types of riders. The ones that have laid their bikes down and ones that will lay their bikes down. That is an unavoidable fact of riding. If you wear the correct safety gear (helmet, leathers, etc..) you can come away from most minor accidents okay. Most and Minor being the key words. Sometimes cagers (car drivers) aren't looking for riders and that is where the problem comes in. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) offers a great riding course for beginners and advanced riders.

Answer 3

I've ridden them for 41 years, so I'd guess over the years I've known thousands of riders. My club has a membership of 750 as of the close of '06.
Accidents? well, lte's see, I have had 3 bad ones over the years, all where another vehicle hit me. I was lucky all three times, wearing a good helmet etc. I ended up on one, with a broken leg, another left me with a really bad case of road rash, and the third left me bumped, swollen and bruised. I do know of several that were fatal, some just serious and some where no one was hurt. Remember, in the end, there are only two kinds of riders, those who have been knocked down, and those who are gonn be knocked down. Ride safe!!

Answer 4

I know personally only my nephew. Indirectly I know a few other riders. Accidents? I know a lady in England that was in a bad accident years ago. She had major leg reconstruction and suffers when the weather changes. I have afriend who was trying out a bike to see if he wanted to buy it. He was hotdogging and wrecked it. Had minor kidney injury but no long term effects. My brother almost had a leg crushed when a car didn't stop. Me? I've been in two close calls but both were my own fault. I was doing things I should not have been doing.

If you look at cars on the road, how many have been in fender-benders? If these were bikes, personal injury might have occured. Riding bikes will expose you to that risk where a car won't. It's just part of the deal.

Answer 5

Over the years I've known many people who have motorcycles, including myself. I don't ride right now because of a back injury (not motorcycle related) but my husband does. I have been in one accident and just got scraped up. Almost all the people I know who ride have had an accident or two. Most of them end up with a bad road rash and a broken bone or two. I did know one man who was killed and another that had to have his leg amputated. There is one common thread. The number and severity of accidents directly correllates with whether or not the person has taken motorcycle safety training. It make motorcycle riding much safer for everyone.

Answer 6

I know many motorcyclists and just about all of them have had minor accidents. The most recent one was about six months ago, a friend of mine left the kickstand down (which was stupid of him), and when he made a left turn it stuck in the street and he went over the handlebars and cracked a rib.

My last accident was when I lost traction on some grass (I was parking) and the bike went down, but neither me nor the bike were hurt.

The most serious accident a friend of mine had was many years ago. He was young and stupid. He'd just gotten a very fast bike and he thought he was really hot stuff. When he was stopped at a light he would look at the lights going in the other direction, watch them go from green to yellow to red, and when it turned red he would jump out into the intersection. This was incredibly stupid because intersections are a place to be extra careful. One day he did this one time too many and got 't-boned' by a car that had sped up to beat the yellow light. The impact busted his leg all to pieces, and bent the bike almost in half. He was out of work for a month, and when he came back he brought in an x-ray showing all the screws and stuff in his leg.

None of my friends have been killed, that I know of. A few have had serious accidents, usually their own fault like the one above. All have had minor 'spills'.
None of my friends were ever killed in an accident, that I know of. Nearly all have had minor accidents, some have had serious ones.

Answer 7

My cousin owned a motorcycle. He rode with a helmet and was a safe operator. He traversed some undetectable oil that had dripped on the roadway and lost control, causing him to collide with a phone pole head first. Even with a helmet on, his face had to be reconstructed. My uncle was asked for a copy of my cousin's high school graduation photo so they "would know what his face was supposed to look like..." He died last year.

The safety of motorcycles isn't solely dependent on the precautions taken by the rider. Cycles have less mass and fewer lights than cars and are, therefore, less visible to other drivers than cars. In a collision, people are on the inside of a car that surrounds them and takes the initial impact...riders are on the outside of the motorcycle and body parts take the initial impact of a collision, making for a higher collision injury rate with greater severity of injury.

Answer 8

Including myself... 10. My Dad has had a couple of accidents through his life... He broke his collar bone when he was in his 20's while dirt biking and recently broke some ribs and a finger when a woman ran into him on his bike. My brother recently fell while dirt biking a his wrist was sore for a few days and he had a scratch on his elbow. I think my one uncle probably went down a few times - no serious injuries though. My brother, on the other hand, has known someone who was killed on a motorcycle every year since he started riding (3). I have not gone down, yet.

Answer 9

All 3 of my brothers ride bikes, my dad, a couple of nephews, and one of my sisters is learning to ride.

My oldest brother and his girlfriend were riding the bike and they hit a deer. They were both thrown a good distance from the bike. The deer didn't die, and neither did they. They both had their leathers and helmets on (and in IL it's not a law to wear a helmet, but good thing he's from MO and they had them on). If they hadn't had their helmets on, they wouldn't be here today. And they weren't the half helmets either.

I know his girlfriend had to have surgery and skin grafted for her leg/knee area. My brother got a cast for a broken arm. I think that's all the damage they had. The bike was damaged but not totaled. My brother had some safety bar piece (don't know what it's called) mounted on the bike and that helped save them as well.

They both still ride the bike all the time. They won't give it up.

Answer 10

I drove a motor scooter as a child.
I had two accidents where
* not paying attention 100% of time
* went around gravel curve too fast for conditions

I had three incidents where the bike had been sabotaged by school "chums" who I had refused to let them do a joy ride because they did not have driver license and could not get me permission slip from parents.

Since then I have known 4 other people with similar vehicles. None of them had accidents other than the mischef kind.

e.g. Kids stole his bike from school, went on joy ride, got chased by police for illegal maneuvers, escaped, he got blamed