The Wild Geese

Reasons Why We Crash
Re-produced with permission from the Editor of Two Wheels Mag - Jeremy Bowdler

The dirty dozen

Alcohol Riders are two and a half times more likely to have illegal blood alcohol levels than car drivers in crashes (though unlicensed riders are over-represented). Just take a taxi, okay?

Fatigue More than one third of motorcycle crashes occur on the weekend and 15 per cent of fatalities are on Saturday and Sunday afternoon and evening, when riders are heading home after a day's ride. Fatigue leads to bad decisions and bad decisions lead to problems.

Excessive speed Inappropriate speed is identified as an issue in 24 per cent of motorcycle crashes (compared with 10 per cent of car crashes). The jury is out on the methods used to ascertain these figures since the dynamics of single track vehicles are rarely taken into account, particularly in terms of road surfaces with poor traction.

Curves Crashes on curves are most likely to be the fault of the rider, even when another vehicle is inviolved. Research has suggested that road surface and rider error in braking and cornering are more important than speed as contributing factors.

Rear end collisions Almost one in five of all multi-vehicle crashes, and we hit them more than they hit us. Hang back a bit.

Lane-changing side-swipes Some 79 per cent are due to the other driver, and most take place in left-hand corners or when the car is changing lanes to the left. Poor mirror positioning and use are obvious culprits as is inattention. It's up to you not to sit in a vulnerable position, and to be aware of the peril at your right shoulder in traffic.

Right of way violations The scary one. Sorry, mate, I didn't see you. Take extra care at T-intersections and crossroads. Make eye-contact.

Inattentional blindness If you're not expecting to see it, you won't see it. And you'll turn right in front of it. This one's for the car drivers.

Driver expectation Apparently drivers who neither ride motorcycles nor know a motorcyclist are over-represented in car/bike crashes. No really. See above.

Conspicuity If you're hard to see, you're hard to see. Conspicuity means more than just bright colours and lights-on. The background, your positioning and the above two points all play a part.

Driver distraction Mobile phones, passengers, kids, DVDs, GPS, smoking, eating and having sex while they're driving. Is it any wonder we give them a wide berth?

Road conditions Sand, diesel, overbanding, steel plates, potholes, Armco, wire rope fencing, trees, poles, bus shelters... It's a war zone out there.