Feb 20, 2007

Rider Error 3

"Most motorcycle accidents involve a short trip associated with shopping, errands, friends, entertainment or recreation, and the accident is likely to happen in a very short time close to the trip origin"

-Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures, Volume 1: Technical Report, Hurt, H.H., Ouellet, J.V. and Thom, D.R., Traffic Safety Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles,

Translation:
You are far more likely to have a crash riding to your milkwala than you are on your 200 km ride out with friends. Psychologically, I am given to understand that the basis of this is letting your guard down. When your brain thinks, 'Oh we're just about home/going around the corner,' it compromises the levels of alertness and/or concentration with which you are riding. This makes you slower to react to hazards and increases your chances of a crash.

There are two known ways to fix it. Wear kit and minimise the damage. Or be more careful. Ideally, do both at the same time.

The next Rider Error post is here

1 comment:

gr said...

'Oh we're just about home'

very bovine baa-heheh.

make that guest house and you've got my story of last friday

was riding in the dirt along a 600 year old canal. 460 km out of home. 8 km short of halt for the night.

the good part is I did not acquire a water cooled bullet. the bad part is the bike stopped itself.

scratched visor, bent footpeg and shifter. very dusty ego.

ciao
gr