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jeff006 11/01/2012
After an earlier blog of mine, a discussion with some industry people, and our dramatic experience on the weekend witnessing a terrifying accident (that, due to good skill and high quality safety gear, has left us, as I wrote, “all humans fully and safely accounted for”) has prompted me to write some more on safety and accidents. So … away from ME … and on to YOU!
I am a doctor. I don’t work in the ED any more, but ALL doctors do so at some stage in their careers. I’ve attended many. Many road accidents on site, as well as received the injured in to the ED. The statistics are fairly consistent from state to state (The Australian Bureau of Statistics is a good place to start looking). Let me spell them out to you, but also to dispel some of the myths that give men, AND motorcyclists in general, a worse name than they deserve. Firstly, I deal with cars though. Women cause more motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) than men, BUT it is true that a disproportionate number of serious accidents (i.e. accidents causing major trauma and/or extensive vehicle/property damage) are caused by men. OK … fair cop guys. This does NOT mean women are bumbling fools and men are testosterone driven NUTS! Well, the second part is slightly true … because a disproportionate number of those serious accidents involve males under the age of 25, and a significant amount of those also involve alcohol and speeding. So, the risk group are males under age 25, and alcohol & speeding are major players. Is it because males under 25 are more aggressive, or is it that they are less skilled (and experienced) than they think they are (ie. the alpha male phenomenon), or both … who knows. But the target group has been identified and we need to keep our young men alive. I’ll leave an analysis of these figures for the authorities because I want to move on to bikes, and I’m not going to claim to be an expert on the matter (I am only an expert in dealing with the end result!!!). But the real issue seems to be YOUNG males combined with ALCOHOL and SPEEDING, not men in general. Road experience seems to be a MAJOR factor in those groups with lower accident rates, which includes males in higher age brackets.
Now, on to bikes.
The statistics show that males with less than 3 years of experience have a dramatically higher serious accident rate, AND that males are involved in more accidents. This second fact, though, is reflective of the phenomenon that there are many more male motorcyclists than female motorcyclists (so, a very different demographic to cars, where men and women drivers are about equal in number). Also, fatalities are linked more to speed and safety gear used, and slightly less to alcohol (although alcohol is still significant. There’s a well-known running joke here on the Gold Coast (i.e. ‘stinking hot Queensland’) … “ Aussie bikewear: thongs and shorts”. IT’S HORRIFYING! I want to talk about what gear will keep you as safe as possible, even under extreme mishaps, and I’ve spent years finding the top gear that will also cope with extremes of weather (cold, wet, stinking-hot … whatever) without compromise! Just remember, when riding a bike YOU ARE NOT IN A CAR AND YOU DO NOT HAVE AIRBAGS AND A METAL CAGE BETWEEN YOU AND MELTING BITUMEN.
I have little space left in this single blog, but it’s only Part 1. Let me finish by mentioning what safety gear I wear, and what I think is best for various situations. Later blogs will address issues such as: 1. Leathers vs. textile gear vs. Kevlar gear; 2. The UNAVAILABILITY IN AUSTRALIA of perforated (ie. comfortable summer wear) in the top brands of safety gear (I would have paid more and bought here, but was forced to order many items from overseas because they simply are not imported); 3. Boots; 4. Spine protection (critical); 5. Helmets (I’ve already discussed other aspects of helmets, but I’ll discuss safety in particular; 6. And, RIDING to avoid an accident!!!! (please note, NOT necessarily in that order. I might start with BOOTS actually.
What makes me an expert? NOTHING! This is just a blog :
My favourite gear:
... come on, get involved! Tell us what YOU think!!!
More details to come.
