If this story won't convince you to stop riding motorcycles, don't know what will - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

benhogan · #1 06-20-2011, 09:36 AM

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/9749415/

I am sure the MC riders were sober, responsible, agile, and aware. The guy had two kids.

The risk versus reward equation just does not add up for riding motorcycles. If you want open air motoring, get a convertible.

sfloriII · #2 06-20-2011, 09:51 AM

Crashing on the Capital Beltway in '86 did it for me. I wiped out in rain at 50 mph and rolled alongside a UPS trailer before landing in the far right lane. Shattered my left knee and spent a week in the hospital and another month in bed. It was six months or so before I lost the limp. I haven't been on a motorcycle since.

compu_85 · #3 06-20-2011, 09:58 AM

I kind of want to get a bike again, but I worry about being run over in my car... let alone on a "tiny" bike :crazy: I don't want to become roadkill and I feel it's a very real possibility here.

-J

BobK · #4 06-20-2011, 10:03 AM

Ok, so put them in a Chevy cavalier. They could be just as dead. Yes, motorcycles usually lose fights with anything with four wheels. Cars lose fights with big pickups. Pickups lose fights with tractor-trailers and tractor-trailers lose fights with trains. So we all should drive trains? I've lost friends in wrecks of motorcycles, cars and trucks. Motorcycles are an elevated risk, but the risk is still manageable.

lutzTD · #5 06-20-2011, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobK

Ok, so put them in a Chevy cavalier. They could be just as dead. Yes, motorcycles usually lose fights with anything with four wheels. Cars lose fights with big pickups. Pickups lose fights with tractor-trailers and tractor-trailers lose fights with trains. So we all should drive trains? I've lost friends in wrecks of motorcycles, cars and trucks. Motorcycles are an elevated risk, but the risk is still manageable.

not even comparable with seatbelts and air bags. its the riders choice but consequences are high for a mistake, riders or anothers mistake doesnt make a bit of difference in the outcome

Kuan · #6 06-20-2011, 10:04 AM

tjts1 · #7 06-20-2011, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuan

Eww, I puked a little.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobK

Motorcycles are an elevated risk, but the risk is still manageable.

Just keep telling yourself that.

Kuan · #8 06-20-2011, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjts1

Eww, I puked a little.

How about this one?

MTI · #9 06-20-2011, 11:09 AM

psst, I hear that there's a downside to smokin', drinkin' and unprotected sex too . ..

lutzTD · #10 06-20-2011, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTI

psst, I hear that there's a downside to smokin', drinkin' and unprotected sex too . ..

this is true, but a smashed pumpkin is not one of them

dannym · #11 06-20-2011, 11:23 AM

Forget about flying. I hear that's REALLY dangerous!

Eskimo · #12 06-20-2011, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannym

Forget about flying. I hear that's REALLY dangerous!

Seriously: Can you point to any relevant statistics comparing the risks?

The Swede · #13 06-20-2011, 11:43 AM

Texting drivers could be a big issue for mc riders.

jcyuhn · #14 06-20-2011, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eskimo

Seriously: Can you point to any relevant statistics comparing the risks?

There are lots of websites citing studies of driving vs. flying risk. I cite one below. In this study, the risk of taking one airline flight is equal to driving between 2 and 11 miles (depending on whether the road is a riskier urban road or a safer rural interstate).

Per the study, an average airline flight is ~700 miles. Driving that same trip is 65 times more risky than flying. Ironically, when flying, the drive to the airport is the riskiest part of the trip.

http://www.fearofflying.com/about/research.shtml

dannym · #15 06-21-2011, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eskimo

Seriously: Can you point to any relevant statistics comparing the risks?

No problem, 1 post is all it takes right?

Quote:

Russian Plane Crash Kills 44
by The Associated Press

text size A A A June 20, 2011 A passenger jet crashed in heavy fog late Monday on a highway in northwestern Russia, killing 44 people, officials said. Eight people survived the crash.

The Tu-134 plane, belonging to the RusAir airline, was en route from Moscow to the city of Petrozavodsk, Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman Olga Semyonova told The Associated Press.

Her ministry said in a website statement that 44 people were killed. Eight survivors, including a 10-year-old boy, were hospitalized in critical condition in Petrozavodsk.

Semyonova said the plane went down on its final approach to the airport in Petrozavodsk, making a crash landing about a mile short of the runway. It was unclear if the plane had attempted to land on the road, or just happened to fall there, she said. Petrozavodsk is in Karelia province, near the Finnish border, about 400 miles northwest of Moscow.

Authorities had no immediate explanation for the accident, but the Interfax news agency quoted the airport director Alexei Kuzmitsky as saying there were "unfavorable weather conditions."

Russian news agencies reported there may have also been problems with runway illumination.

Photographs on the ministry website showed fragments of metal strewn across a road as a thick fog hung over woodland in the background. A landing gear jutting out from the ground was the only recognizable plane part.

The plane was carrying 52 people, including nine crew members, Semyonova said. Russian news agencies said Russian Premier League soccer referee Vladimir Pettay and a Swedish citizen were among the victims.

The Karelia branch of the Emergencies Ministry said radio contact with the pilot was lost at 11:40 p.m. local time (7:30 p.m. EDT). The black box flight data recorders have been recovered, the news agencies said.

The crash occurred on the eve of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's planned appearance Tuesday at the Paris Air Show to support dozens of Russian firms seeking sales contracts.

Russia and the other former Soviet republics have some of the world's worst air traffic safety records, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Experts blame weak government controls, poor pilot training and a cost-cutting mentality for the poor safety record, leading to emergency landings being reported with alarming regularity.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski was among 96 people killed when his Tu-154 crashed in heavy fog while trying to land near the western city of Smolensk in April 2010. In 2006, three crashes — two in Russia and one in Ukraine — killed more than 400 people.