Take responsibility

[sendler2112]

I ride a lot of miles. I read a lot of Motorcycles forums. I watch a lot of motorcycle helmet cam videos. I read a lot of posts about crashes. I find that many of the wrecks I read about could have been avoided if the rider had done something differently. But many of the riders who do get wrecked tend to blame someone else.
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"The road crew tracked sand into the road". "The guy in the next lane didn't know I was right beside him in the blind spot and started to merge into my lane so I failed to use the brakes or pay attention to the traffic stopped in front of me and rode right in to the back of the next car". "I gunned it to split through two lanes of stopped traffic at 40 mph as the light first turned green and got hit by the car that was still racing the yellow light from the cross street".
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Take responsibility for your own riding. Ride to arrive. Look twice. Save a life. Your own.
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https://rockthegear.wordpress.com/2014/ ... ook-twice/
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[Mel46]

I agree about taking responsibility for your part of an accident, but there are many many circumstances where the rider is the victim through no fault of their own. Yes, I know that there are a lot of occasions when the rider could have avoided the accident through thoughtful defensive actions. However, who claims responsibility when there is a driver texting while driving, or an aggressive driver who shoves his way through traffic with no mindfulness for other drivers? If you are a motorcycle or scooter rider, there will be times when no matter what you do you will be put into a situation beyond your control. All you can do in those situations is try to find a way out of that situation without injury. However, that doesn't mean that you accept responsibility for the other driver's actions. When all is said and done, each driver/rider must be responsible for his/her own actions, whether he says so or not.
I have been riding for over 50 years, and I have seen many stupid things done by riders. I have also seen many stupid things done by automobile drivers. In the past many drivers would actually tell you that they were sorry for cutting you off or not looking before moving into your lane. Today it seems to be a different story because everyone seems to believe that they have a right to everyone else's space, no apologies necessary. 'Road Manners' no longer exist.

[honkerman]

The simple fact that the other guy Ian't watching and doesn't care, and maybe even wants to kill you, should drive us to careful riding practices. Sure, we all make mistakes. Heck, in December, I misjudged a turn, braked too hard and locked up the front tire on gravel. If I hadn't misjudged the turn, I'd still be able to hold my right arm over my head comfortably. ;D

Certainly, we need to use safe riding practices since the cagers just don't care to watch for us.

[homie]

Heck, in December, I misjudged a turn, braked too hard and locked up the front tire. If I hadn't misjudged the turn, I'd still be able to hold my right arm over my head comfortably.

we need to use safe riding practices since the cagers just don't care to watch for us.

Yep it's true... there he is on the list, honkeyman
them dam cagers, does this make us freerangers?

[honkerman]

Heck, in December, I misjudged a turn, braked too hard and locked up the front tire. If I hadn't misjudged the turn, I'd still be able to hold my right arm over my head comfortably.

we need to use safe riding practices since the cagers just don't care to watch for us.

Yep it's true... there he is on the list, honkeyman
them dam cagers, does this make us freerangers?

Dunno bout you, but I ain't chicken!

[easyrider]

Its true, you have to take responsibility for defensive driving, but many factors are out of your control, and I think the biggest one is visibility. Many drivers just dont see motor bikes or their brains are not programmed to look for them ...sooo I took responsibility in making myself more visible. I modified my bike to give it a more dominant presence .. See attached link
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=E ... ideo%2cMP4

[flyingzonker]

Its true, you have to take responsibility for defensive driving, but many factors are out of your control, and I think the biggest one is visibility. Many drivers just dont see motor bikes or their brains are not programmed to look for them ...sooo I took responsibility in making myself more visible. I modified my bike to give it a more dominant presence .. See attached link
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=E ... ideo%2cMP4

Good one. Where do I get a set u p like that. The best I have been able to do so far in the way of increasing my visibility is to wear a bright yellow windbreaker whenever I am on my bikes.

[flyingzonker]

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Take responsibility for your own riding. Ride to arrive. Look twice. Save a life. Your own.
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https://rockthegear.wordpress.com/2014/ ... ook-twice/
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Couldn't agree with you more. My motto is: Cut me off once, shame on me; cut me off twice, shame on me again.

Riders can't afford to let drivers have the benefit of the doubt when it comes to whether they--drivers--are going to do the safe and sane thing in any given circumstance. ALWAYS ASSUME THEY ARE GOING TO F**K YOU UP ROYALLY IF YOU LET YOUR GUARD DOWN FOR A SPLIT SECOND. I know whereof I speak.

[you you]

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Take responsibility for your own riding. Ride to arrive. Look twice. Save a life. Your own.
.
https://rockthegear.wordpress.com/2014/ ... ook-twice/
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Couldn't agree with you more. My motto is: Cut me off once, shame on me; cut me off twice, shame on me again.

Riders can't afford to let drivers have the benefit of the doubt when it comes to whether they--drivers--are going to do the safe and sane thing in any given circumstance. ALWAYS ASSUME THEY ARE GOING TO F**K YOU UP ROYALLY IF YOU LET YOUR GUARD DOWN FOR A SPLIT SECOND. I know whereof I speak.

Seriously?

[Mel46]

Easyrider, I would have thought that flashing front lights like those would be outlawed because they look so much like police vehicle lights. Where did you get them?

[easyrider]

I don't think they are illegal because they are not blue (police) or red (fire /emergency). Amber is for construction. These are white and many construction vehicles in the public r/w use them for visibility. I can see no law prohibiting the use on a motorcycle similarly to a headlight modulating. I also cant imagine a police officer getting upset due to the safety aspects that they exhibit. They are not blinding and I dont think any cop would get upset over more safety..after all they no more like scraping us up off the pavement then we want to be scraped up. I guess the bottom line for me is I would rather get arrested than be laid to rest.. but I dont think they are a problem.. I made them myself and installed them in the lower headlight reflector fixtures that should have bulbs but they dont. My bike is a 2013 model. They are small strobe lamps and I wired them into the ignition on circuit.Visibility is key and probably cause 75 % of crashes that are not the bikers fault. They just don't see us coming..I hope these help..

[easyrider]

I don't think they are illegal because they are not blue (police) or red (fire /emergency). Amber is for construction. These are white and many construction vehicles in the public r/w use them for visibility. I can see no law prohibiting the use on a motorcycle similarly to a headlight modulating. I also cant imagine a police officer getting upset due to the safety aspects that they exhibit. They are not blinding and I dont think any cop would get upset over more safety..after all they no more like scraping us up off the pavement then we want to be scraped up. I guess the bottom line for me is I would rather get arrested than be laid to rest.. but I dont think they are a problem.. I made them myself and installed them in the lower headlight reflector fixtures that should have bulbs but they dont. My bike is a 2013 model. They are small strobe lamps and I wired them into the ignition on circuit.Visibility is key and probably cause 75 % of crashes that are not the bikers fault. They just don't see us coming..I hope these help..

http://www.answers.com/Q/Are_strobe_lig ... n_New_York

[sendler2112]

I like this one from another forum.
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One of my instructors teaching at the MSF when I took it with my wife was a police officer.

He said "accidents" are when things beyond your control happen.... tire blowout, wheel falls off, deer hits you, etc... Everything else is a "traffic crash" and is avoidable.
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[you you]

I don't think they are illegal because they are not blue (police) or red (fire /emergency). Amber is for construction. These are white and many construction vehicles in the public r/w use them for visibility. I can see no law prohibiting the use on a motorcycle similarly to a headlight modulating. I also cant imagine a police officer getting upset due to the safety aspects that they exhibit. They are not blinding and I dont think any cop would get upset over more safety..after all they no more like scraping us up off the pavement then we want to be scraped up. I guess the bottom line for me is I would rather get arrested than be laid to rest.. but I dont think they are a problem.. I made them myself and installed them in the lower headlight reflector fixtures that should have bulbs but they dont. My bike is a 2013 model. They are small strobe lamps and I wired them into the ignition on circuit.Visibility is key and probably cause 75 % of crashes that are not the bikers fault. They just don't see us coming..I hope these help..

100% of my crashes were my fault. I can quote that statistic because I know it to be true.

Where did you get your statistic from?

[sendler2112]

Hindsight is clearest. Foresight applies it. Study these crash reports and aggressive riding helmet cam videos to figure out what could be done differently so you can learn from their mistakes to become a safer rider. Take responsibility for your own safety and for promoting motorcycling by riding safely and politely. It may be that in a high number of two vehicle motorcycle wrecks that the car did something wrong but could it have been possible for the motorcyclist to have been riding more cautiously to avoid it?

[Mister Paul]

I like this one from another forum.
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One of my instructors teaching at the MSF when I took it with my wife was a police officer.

He said "accidents" are when things beyond your control happen.... tire blowout, wheel falls off, deer hits you, etc... Everything else is a "traffic crash" and is avoidable.
.

Here in the UK, road incidents used to be referred to as RTAs -Road Traffic Accidents. They're now referred to as RTCs -Road Traffic Collisions -in acknowledgement that they're not all accidents.

[DailyRider]

I like this one from another forum.
.
One of my instructors teaching at the MSF when I took it with my wife was a police officer.

He said "accidents" are when things beyond your control happen.... tire blowout, wheel falls off, deer hits you, etc... Everything else is a "traffic crash" and is avoidable.
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They offer a wealth of helpful hints at the MSF classes.

I think that the gear is mostly borrowed from the race track
and is designed to protect you from the road.
It doesn't help that much if you collide with a car.

So it's very, very important to plan for any foolish mistakes that the drivers may make.
Which is what makes the info in the MSF class so valuable.

[you you]

I don't think they are illegal because they are not blue (police) or red (fire /emergency). Amber is for construction. These are white and many construction vehicles in the public r/w use them for visibility. I can see no law prohibiting the use on a motorcycle similarly to a headlight modulating. I also cant imagine a police officer getting upset due to the safety aspects that they exhibit. They are not blinding and I dont think any cop would get upset over more safety..after all they no more like scraping us up off the pavement then we want to be scraped up. I guess the bottom line for me is I would rather get arrested than be laid to rest.. but I dont think they are a problem.. I made them myself and installed them in the lower headlight reflector fixtures that should have bulbs but they dont. My bike is a 2013 model. They are small strobe lamps and I wired them into the ignition on circuit.Visibility is key and probably cause 75 % of crashes that are not the bikers fault. They just don't see us coming..I hope these help..

100% of my crashes were my fault. I can quote that statistic because I know it to be true.

Where did you get your statistic from?

Waiting...

[WhiteNoise]

Take responsibility....One of Dad's teachings.

Applies In All facets of life. Take responsibility for your actions. Don't get in the habit of blaming others. That's just too damn easy. It's a weak and unattractive excuse. A direct hit to your being. Recognize the truth, don't hide it. Take the blame when it's yours. You know in your heart when it is. I say no more.

Quoted off the www:
"More people would learn from their mistakes if they
weren't so busy denying them."
"Accept responsibility for your actions. Be accountable for your results. Take ownership of your mistakes."

[easyrider]

The opposite of accidental would be intentional. The crashes I have seen were when a lady driver made a turn in front of an oncoming cyclist. He hit her broadside and flew over the cars roof. The driver said she didn't see the motorcycle and it seemed to have blended in with a pole. This was many years ago and a headlight was not required on a motorcycle. Now, I know the lady did not do this intentionally, so although it could have been avoidable it is still is an accident in the sense that he blended in the surrounding environment and she didn't see him.The other one was when a driver pulled out in front of an oncoming cyclist.. Again, the story was I did not see the motorcycle and was non intentional..hence the term accidental. Avoidable ..yes, if they didn't decide to wake up and go out perhaps ??