For decades the NHTSA has championed safer crashing for cars. They have worked to make every conceivable part of the car safer, except one. The "NUT BEHIND THE WHEEL". Crumple zones, air bags, anti loc brakes, roll over protection,, and many other safety advances have only served to make drivers feel so invincable that they feel free to read, shave, apply make-up, yak on the phone, and recently even watch TV while driving. Is it any wonder motorcycle fatalities are up? 

When it comes to motorcycles, crashing sucks. The whole point of Motorcycle Safety is to avoid the crash to begin with. New technologies are fine, but I hope we are at a turning point here. The answer to motorcycle safety is not safer crashing. It's time for NHTSA to start concentrating on the nut behind the wheel, and handlebars. Yes, the handlebars! the latest figures I have seen say that half of us kill ourselves because we don't know how to ride. You can still walk into a dealership, plunk down the cash, and ride away regardless of whether you can ride or not. Most don't even ask if you have an endorsement. Lately I have seen a rash of news reports of people not making it more than a few blocks from the dealership before crashing. Just stand on any busy street corner where there is a high density of motorcycles, and you can spot these people. It's obvious they can't ride. They come in all wobbely with their landing gear down, many times forgeting to downshift, looking down at the road immediately in front of them. Crashes waiting to happen!

Motorcycles have been around longer than cars. After decades of safety upgrades cars are safer, but the drivers are still crashing. Many times into us. What's wrong with this picture? It seems obvious to me that education in both modes of transportation has the possibility of cutting the death rate by more than half.

DUCK WV

bumblebee:

Good post...I agree, many new cyclists do not comprehend what is involved in operating a motorcycle.  They feel that since they rode  Huffy when they were 12, this 500lb 100HP motorcycle is easy.  Education and training is key to surviving

I also agree.  The more education that a rider can get, especially new riders, the better their chances are. 
 

And what better place for "riders" to purchase that training than the M$F, right?

And what courses, pray tell, does the M$F offer riders in methods for convincing cagers who have violated their right-of-way that cellphone conversations while driving are not more important than living to make the call another time?

BruceArnold:

And what better place for "riders" to purchase that training than the M$F, right?

Well, that's the one with the marketing, so it's the one most people hear about.  Suggest something else so people know about it. 

Further, I'm a little weirded out by your ad hominum tendencies.  Are you the guy who tells people he rides with to get the hell out of his way? I dub thee Snuggles, killer of fun.

Snuggles:

 

And what courses, pray tell, does the M$F offer riders in methods for convincing cagers who have violated their right-of-way that cellphone conversations while driving are not more important than living to make the call another time?

Ok, nothing.  I'm interested to hear what you suggest?  Whip out your nine and bust caps etc, etc?  Send the cager a strong letter?  Witty bumper stickers?  Do enlighten us with this method by which we can convince a good portion of the mindless wage slaves on I-80 to put down the phone while simultaneously dodging them and operating 2-wheeled vehicles.

 Meantime, I'll stick with loud horns and just plain not being there when they do something stupid.
 

Duck,

I completely agree with what you are saying. I would also like to emphasize the point you make about dealers selling bikes to people that don't even have a motorcycle endorsement. I cannot believe this is legal.  I understand people need a bike to learn on or even take a test on, but to see these "newbie" riders walking off the lot on a sportbike is extremely scary to me.  You see them and think to yourself, "It's only a matter of time before they go down , not to mention being killed"!   I hope everyone reading this thread agrees, "There is NO safer crashing"!  Bottom line is learning how to ride, because you may only be given one chance!

Ride Safe,

M. Wiggins  CA   

The correct term is "ad hominem", and if one were to employ it in a venue like this, anonymous posters with a common and questionable agenda would be a tempting target.  But that is not important.  This is:

"Motorcycle Safety" (crash survival) is a commodity for sale cloaked as a cause to be championed.  Riders with sufficient intelligence to acquire a motorcycle license should have sense enough to know or find out what they need in terms of training and gear.  If they ignore those needs and suffer or die as a consequence, that's unfortunate ... but it's also natural selection. 

"Motorcycle Awareness" (crash prevention) is the true cause, and where our focus should be.  Consider these statistics (check LdrLongDistanceRider.com for the sources):

Clearly, the greatest single problem in the motorcycle crash prevention arena today is the negligence, distraction and inattentional blindness of automobile drivers.  Severe and specific penalties for right-of-way violations could be an effective deterrent to "IB", but the ROWV laws we have on the books today are neither.  Banning cellphone conversations while driving would reduce the number of impaired motorists as well,  but that initiative is in its infancy.  So if as you say the M$F offers no training in this regard, here is one suggestion:

The next time you get run out of your lane by some care-less cager wheeling and dealing on his cell phone as he weaves down the freeway, wave him over for an educational encounter. If he refuses, tail him to his next stop and educate him there. If that fails, get his plate number and run him down ... just like he was about to do to you.

I was at a dealer the other day, told him I hadn't been on a bike in 12 years, that my largest bike ever was a 700 vulcan, he said no problem, you could ride the 1500 home as long as you promise to take care of everything later......

huh???

what part of never been on a bike that large did he not understand, I even told him my msf course wasnt for 3 weeks 

sdbrit68,

I hope you just walked off the lot and went to a dealer who actually listened to your needs instead of his OWN wants!!  Good luck. Hope everything works outs for you.  I'm not sure what style of bike you are looking for knowing that you came from a vulcan, but my recommendation would be a dual sport.  Fun bikes and great to learn on and get the feel of riding again.  Anyway, my two  cents  worth.  Happy hunting.

Ride Safe,

M. Wiggins  CA

"If it's predictable, it's preventable" 

Don't most states already have laws on the books about un-attentive driving? Who needs another, un-enforced/nonenforcable law?

Instead of more, useless 'feel good' legislation - why not push to have existing enforcement efforts improved.

Wobble a lane change, fail to maintain speed, over-shoot a stop line due to distraction - that should be an automatic and real consequence.

Parallel would be better media coverage of injuries and accidents where distraction played a role. We always here about alcohol - as if that were the only causitive on the roads - why not hear about "Mrs. Jones splatted a 47 year old school teacher when she turned left in front of his motorcycle because she couldn't resist passing gossip and 'didn't see him'".
 

Well put, Zotter.

One of my favorite examples are the current batch of Volkswagen commercials where they show a "real" staged crash.  I posted on another forum that I feel these commercials were sending the wrong message, "It's ok if you don't pay attention to the road, you'll be ok."  Each of these commercials, the driver was doing something that he/she shouldn't have been doing and that contributed to the crash.  The first two, the driver was taking his/her eyes off the road and was talking with the passenger(s).  The newest one that I saw, the driver stopped behind other traffic and was blocking an intersection, thus was t-boned (in Iowa, at least, it is illegal to enter an intersection if you cannot safely get past it).  I got a bit of flak on that forum about my comments.  People didn't side with me until I brought up the fact that, we often call people squids for being stupid/distracted on a bike, why are we not the same way for people behind the wheels of cars?

They could have just as easily made a commercial where the people were paying due attention to their driving and were still hit.

Granted, my point of view can be dismissed as semantics, but I don't care.  I still think that VW was irresponsible with those commercials.

I see we have a diverse bunch here. At least I can be sure I'm not preaching to the choir. Bruce, you have a valid point, but from the data I've seen from most states, your figures are a little dated. Every state I have looked at, was around 50/50 on single vehicle vs multi-vehicle motorcycle crashes in 2005. Sorry if the newer figures don't fit your agenda. Inattentive Blindness, and cell phones are a problem, but not the whole problem. The motorcyclist community has to face up to the fact that we have a lot of people out there that just can't ride,and they keep showing up disportionally in accident statistics. Experienced riders are paying the price with their liberty. That's right, I'm one of those guys that don't believe in helmet laws. They are a poor excuse for the state to say the government did something, and nothing but a placebo for the masses to feel better about themselves because they think they are protecting me from myself. No thank you.