Motorbike Dangers – The Facts

This is a guest post by Bridget Knapp

Although using a motorbike can be a fun and exhilarating way to travel, especially for young men, there is no escaping the fact that it is the single most dangerous way to travel that there is. Motorbike accidents kill more people every year in the UK, and indeed in numerous other places in the world, than any other type of transport.

Largely this danger is due to the fact that a lot of the time cars cannot see bikes as they approach, especially if the car in question is pulling out of a junction and there are other cars parked on the sides of the road. The risk is increased at night, when the very large majority of bike accidents happen. This is because visibility is reduced even further.

Accidents also very frequently occur because bikes are much smaller than other vehicles, and can become invisible in some cases. An example of this is when a bike is amongst cars, or possibly if the driver is approaching behind a very large and obstructive vehicle such as a lorry. The drivers of motorbikes should be aware of this danger, and seek to make sure they are visible at all times.

The statistics for this kind of accident are quite scary, when they are broken down. Out of all traffic accident claims involving motorbikes, on average 75% of these were because the bike has collided with another vehicle on the road. Of this 75%, a huge 65% were because the oncoming driver that was also involved in the collision could not see the bike approaching because of poor visibility.

The best way to avoid such accidents is to take some simple safety precautions, which when used correctly could ultimately save lives. One tip is to wear reflective clothing when riding a motorbike at night, because this will make it much easier for other car drivers to be able to see when a bike is approaching them.

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Bridget Knapp is a freelance writer concerned mainly with road safety and taking good care of her motorbike.

My first ride to the sky!

You know me, I’m probably the last person on Earth to say there is something cooler than riding a motorcycle to the mountains. But probably there are a few things, like… flying. One year ago I was having a beer with one of my biker buddies in the French Alps and from one thing to another he said he would like to get the airplane license. Cool I said! From the exact same moment, the thought of flying begun making roots, somewhere in the back of my mind, undisturbed until now.

Well, it got disturbed a bit about 5-6 months ago, after seeing one of these movies when I thought: shit, I have to do this.

But was growing the idea peacefully as “need to do at some point” until this Thursday when, while being at my mom celebrating the Romanian National Day I’ve met this pilot (a relative). After listening a story about what it means to be a pilot, I remembered: Hey I want to try this. The pilot got back to me and said “oh, yeas you can try Microsoft Flight Simulator, it’s like the true experience”. No, no, I want the real thing I said, while watching my mom going all pale .

What do you think I was doing the next morning? At 9:30 I called my biker buddy and asked: “hey what’s up with that airplane thing we talked about?”. We decided to meet today to talk about types of licenses, airplanes and stuff. After about one hour, I think he got convinced I’m into the real thing and said: “What would you say we go right now and take a 10 minutes flight just to see how it works for you?”. Well, you know me, I can’t say no to any adrenaline generating stuff! Here is a bit of my first flight (sorry for the bad pictures, I wasn’t expecting and I didn’t planned to have the right gear for this):

The first corner was the most weird: I didn’t know there is something keeping me on the chair, and it felt like I’m going to fall out of the window That’s probably like riding passenger on a motorcycle -- I now know why riding as a motorcycle passenger always impresses the ladies )

Few pictures:

Taking off (a different plane):

Landing (a different plane):

Now, let’s see where I can get a pilot license, and fast!

Ride to Kaunertal Glacier 2011

2 years ago I took the Kaunertal Glacier ride with my friends. This year I treated myself twice: I went once on my own and the second time with the guys. If you ride, then you know, “it makes sense riding the same mountain multiple times” to improve the “time on each corner”.

Here is going up:

and here is going down (at 17:20 you can see my skills regarding cows handling

Some pictures if you just like seeing the scenery:

Here I was one leg in Austria and mostly in Italy:

And here I was just crossing borders

And yeah, I would do Kaunertal again any time. Obviously.