Are you safer on a bike or a motorcycle? thoughts...

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Dapper Dan

Trad climber
Menlo Park
Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 1, 2013 - 06:23pm PT
The recent bike rant thread got me thinking about which two wheeled vehicle is going to get me killed first ...

On the motorcycle , you generally don't have 4,000 pound pieces of metal passing your left side constantly , but on the bicycle you rarely reach speeds that will take your life if you fall out of the saddle .

That being said , all bets are off when a motorist cuts in front of you.

The safety pros and cons are endless.

Personally I prefer the motorcycle, I ride about 10,000 miles a year . In the end I guess I'd rather be responsible for my own speed and safety , than relying on every passing car to pass me safely on the bicycle ...

Don Paul

Big Wall climber
Colombia, South America
Mar 1, 2013 - 06:33pm PT
You've got a lot more ability to get out of trouble on the moto. Lots of people drive them like maniacs but if you dont do that I think its safer than a bike.
Ghost

climber
A long way from where I started
Mar 1, 2013 - 06:38pm PT
My impression from talking to people who work in hospital ERs and Orthopedic wards is that they see far more motorcyclists than bicyclists.

That's strictly anecdotal, though, not proven fact.

Edit to add: Just speaking for myself, I've made it to the ER/Orthopedic ward three times in bicycle crashes. I've never driven a motorcycle though, so it's not a fair comparison
EP

Trad climber
Way Out There
Mar 1, 2013 - 06:43pm PT
Stitches, road rash, bruises from the bicycle

Broken collar bone, road rash, and concussion from the motorcycle
Brandon-

climber
The Granite State.
Mar 1, 2013 - 06:48pm PT
No, it's not a fair comparison. Far more people per capita ride motorcycles than bicycles on busy roads.

There are a lot of deadly motorcycle crashes here in NH, but we have the highest per capita motorcycle registration in the US, so I guess my comparison is not a fair one either.

Personally, having grown up with a dad who rode approximately four thousand miles per year on his road bike, I'd say that motorcycles are far more dangerous.

On a motorcycle, you're in the flow of traffic rather than beside it. Too many drivers don't see motorcycles when merging.

It's not how aware you are, it's how aware everyone around you is.
John Duffield

Mountain climber
New York
Mar 1, 2013 - 06:54pm PT
On a bike, you're at the mercy of shitbags.

[Click to View YouTube Video]
skywalker

climber
Mar 1, 2013 - 07:53pm PT
Now that is one disturbed individual!

S...
guyman

Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
Mar 1, 2013 - 07:56pm PT
I have never known a person who got killed riding a bike.

I have known a few who have been killed on Motorbike. RIP

Says it all.
John M

climber
Mar 1, 2013 - 08:08pm PT
The guy in the video was 75. His wife had just died the past year. Not that that excuses what he was doing, but might help explain why he flipped his lid. He was given a couple of tickets for his actions.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_21584502/longmont-area-motorist-still-sought-honking-incident
McHale's Navy

Trad climber
Panorama City, California & living in Seattle
Mar 1, 2013 - 08:10pm PT
That's funny, that car's license was EKG........just about gave me a heart attack watching that video.

I was coming back from skiing with some other guys once and somebody came up behind our car on the freeway honking like crazy. I started to get flustered at the guy until it turned out he was trying to warn us our skis were falling off the roof of the car!

Something else was going on in this video - dude had a personal problem. (haha - me and last poster posted at the same time).


Regarding bicycle Vs motorcycle. I feel much safer on a motorcycle, but you can't workout on a motorcycle.
Brandon-

climber
The Granite State.
Mar 1, 2013 - 08:13pm PT
I do know someone who was hit while riding a road bike and killed, but it's extremely rare.
McHale's Navy

Trad climber
Panorama City, California & living in Seattle
Mar 1, 2013 - 08:15pm PT
It does not seem all that rare. Seems like hit and runs are common with bicycles too. I stay on very select roads when riding - people are too f*#ked up in cars. Hardly anything makes me more irrate than some as#@&%e in a car.

I'm getting better at just pulling off the road like I do when somebody tails me in my car - it's the best thing! Let them go and then chill. That's what those guys in the video should have done but they wanted to get a movie I guess.
Don Paul

Big Wall climber
Colombia, South America
Mar 1, 2013 - 08:15pm PT
If they were on bikes like the one Dapper Dan has, they could have accelerated to 150 mph in just a few seconds and the problem would disappear.
Captain...or Skully

climber
Mar 1, 2013 - 08:18pm PT
You're safer on pedals. As if you were ever "safe".
Brandon-

climber
The Granite State.
Mar 1, 2013 - 08:23pm PT
While I still feel that bicycles are safer, my dad had a redneck try to run him off the road once, then throw d cell batteries at him.

Some people are just as#@&%es.

Edit;

If they were on bikes like the one Dapper Dan has, they could have accelerated to 150 mph in just a few seconds and the problem would disappear.

No. The problem is drivers in front of, or next to you who don't see you, more often than not. Acceleration doesn't help.
Captain...or Skully

climber
Mar 1, 2013 - 08:38pm PT
It helps, but only for a few seconds.
McHale's Navy

Trad climber
Panorama City, California & living in Seattle
Mar 1, 2013 - 09:12pm PT
They are getting serious over on the bike rant thread....guns and all!

Short of having weapons on hand, I threw my bicycle through a truck windshield on Vancouver Island in the 70s, after he helped to cause my girlfriend to flip her bike.
kenny morrell

Trad climber
danville,ca
Mar 1, 2013 - 09:17pm PT
I really enjoy both. I also been serious f#cked up on both.
pud

climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
Mar 1, 2013 - 09:49pm PT
I feel safer operating a motorcycle than a car but, I ride a lot.
I feel much more vulnerable on a bicycle, without a doubt.
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Mar 1, 2013 - 09:52pm PT
but on the bicycle you rarely reach speeds that will take your life if you fall out of the saddle

ha! you don't ride down hills... there are many places around Livermore where I was seriously wondering just how good the wheel I built was... and hoping that there wasn't too much gravel on the road...

...not infrequently over the 40 mph speed limit braking to stay behind cars... and with a tail wind one winter exceeded that speed by a lot, on a 1.5 lane rural road with bobwire fence boundaries, not a good mix with lycra.

You can die.
Messages 1 - 20 of total 41 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
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