Read the article - Crashing


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Thought provoking stuff from our Zombie.
as a member of one of those "volunteer organisations" i do tend to see/have accsess to statistics the average rider does not see.For instance in the Northumbria police region, DAS students who pass the test are more likely to crash in the the 1st 2 years of riding, & 76% of all motorcycle accidents involve meeting oncoming traffic(going too wide on a left hand bend)
unfortunately, bike fatalities/crashes make headlines up here, & the odd arrishole tars us all with the same brush.
We find that quite a few people are willing to train to Advanced level(we have a membership of 200, since April of this year when we were officially recognised by the I.A.M.) but equally people find the idea of Advanced training off putting because of 2 pre covcieved notions
1. once passed the DSA test, they dont need any more training cos they have learnt it all!
2. I.A.M. are all old blokes who ride BMW or Pans, smoke a pipe & never break the speed limit
oh how wrong can they be!

A good read.

And yes, further training, I've had that on me mind for a while...

so what's invloved in becoming a member?
how about an article dp?
I myself have crashed on a number of occasions (in my youth mainly)mostly due to lack of exeprience oh and a muppet in an escort who cut across me at some lights(sorry m8 i never saw you.

Hey a great article - and I just wanted to bring it to the fore again..
Its the honesty in admitting where I went wrong in my recent crash that i KNOW will help me move on from it and learn...
Thanks for this piece Zombie...

Good article.

I believe the biggest contributing factor is 'incorrect speed'. I don't mean riding fast because, as you have correctly pointed out, speed in itself is not a cause of a crash as other factors are involved. I believe that riding at a speed inconsistent with the road/conditions/visibility/traffic etc is a big cause of crashes.

None of us would go flat out on ice because we appreciate the danger, but too many bikers will go out for 'a blast' on a Sunday after a light shower has turned the road (and its rubber/oil etc) into a skating ring even though its dry when the sun has got to it. We have debated 'filtering' many times on here, and done correctly its reasonably safe (allowing for idiot car drivers etc) but done at the wrong speed means you cannot take avoiding action. Same goes for riding a route you don't know - just because there are no chevrons on the approach to a corner doesn't mean its not a tight one, and you are going in too fast. Lack of local knowledge should mean caution and better observation, but an appropraite speed.

So, my contriution for what its worth is that - incorrect speed.

Great subject and great thread from Zombie, Responsability for our actions, and learning from our mistakes is something we dont often do. Advanced rider training in my book is a good thing to go do.

Very good indeed, I identified with a lot of the stuff there. Nice one Z (and Nix for bringing it to the fore again )

Is it okay if I copy that out and post it elsewhere? All credit will go to Zombie of course

Its a good article and sometimes as bikers we need to be self critical of our own weaknesses; which members of this forum seem to appreciate but a lot fo the other forums I visit its always the fault of the car/van/road/bike etc.

Blimey id forgotten about that! Its got some grammatical and spelling problems but i still think it says what i wanted it too even though its over three years old now.
Done my heart good that has, made me remember that im not a villain all the time.

Reproduce away my friend and put it wherever you like and claim it all as your own for all i care - so long as it makes one person think about what they do or what they risk evrytime they ride and reigns their neck in then i will die happy. cheers Nix, cheered me up that has.

Good article ZOMB!E

That's a really good read, thanks for that Zombie.

It's great that this board has riders of your caliber in our midsts.

Very good post......


After my last 2 bike x car interface,,

I appreciate even more the fact I was wearing proper gear....

I got hurt but not much,, and seeing some of damage on my trousers knees area and gloves,, I can only imagine what my skin would look like if I was not using it....
Same with my boots,,,,,, parts got grinded under the bike,,, foot got sore,, but no damage to the skin...



well,,, ideally,, you would not crash,,,,, but you never know what will happen.......


and hopefully it will never happen to you,,, but if it does happen....


you will be thankfull for wearing the right stuff,,,,,,,,,,,

Glad this got bumped to the top. Damn fine article Zomb!e and if there's one thing I need to be reminded about ALL the time it's observation. The proper thinking-about-what-you-are-seeing type of observation. I'm too much of a wuss (and too old) to have a problem with inappropriate speed, especially in the wet or on a road I don't know.

On the other hand, I do have to slap myself out of a daydream sometimes when I'm riding. The other week, I was doing about 50mph (on the Cat & Fiddle road) and idly watching a sheep grazing by the side of the road up ahead and only thought "bugger! slow down!" just in time as the dumb thing started running along the verge - luckily not right out in front of me, though I'd *probably* have stopped in time thanks to a last second anchor. Luckily, there was no-one right up behind me...

Like you said - you can be looking straight at a hazard without actually thinking about it or planning for it. And that's after seeing a biker lying in the middle of the road a few months back after hitting a sheep!