Reading CC Cowboys (and a couple other ones) posts in a crash thread made me think of this great post from a local forum I frequent.
Guy who wrote it is an extremely nice and helpful person.
I think this is some great advice here, from the topic "It wasn't my fault (rant warning)" on Ground Pilots.
Quote:
Yep how many time are we going to hear this over the *next few months. *
The car cut me off, that gravel wasn't there yesterday, I didn't know the corner was decreasing radius, the deer jumped out, who expected water across the road, *my wheelie went over when I didn't expect it, buddy hit hit brakes too soon, my tires slipped... have I covered them?
Basically, all the statements above and there's many more to add to the list are just excuses for YOU not being in control of your motorcycle. * Ultimately, the grey matter keeping your ears apart is the last line of defense between you and the road. *If you do not use your brain to keep yourself alive, we'll end up talking about you in the past tense like others on this board. *(no disrespect to those is intended)
YOU and you alone are the one keeping your wheel on the ground and your body off the asphalt shredder. *Riding motorcycle is a dangerous thing to do. *Others that share the road don't see you, falling off causes pain and mistakes made by others can kill you. * YOU and you alone have to decide how much danger you are going to place yourself into and whether or not it's a survivable situation or not. *You have to decide how vulnerable you are going to let yourself be and how 'out there' you'll let things hang before reeling them in. *
It's no surprise that newer riders fall off more than experienced riders. They generally don't understand what exceeding the limits will do to you. *I also chock it up to having no concept of what long-term pain is. *However, it's not a given that if you're a new rider you're going to fall off. *Yes it is true that most riders will fall down somewhere along the line it doesn't mean that get-off is going to cause any long term damage. *You can reduce your potential damage by being aware of the situation around you. *
The bottom line is that YOU have to accept responsibilty for your actions. If YOU allow yourself to be put into a situation that has the potential for danger YOU and YOU alone can make that determination and act appropriately. * IF a car cuts you off, YOU have put yourself into a position wher you have allowed a car to cut you off. *If you find yourself in the middle of a 'commited' corner and suddenly there's gravel across the road. YOU put yourself into the position where unforseen gravel across the corner can upset your bike. *Hitting wildlife is no different.. sure they are extremely unpredictable, but riding at 8 or 9/10ths through deer country is not leaving much room for adjustment when bambi pops out of the bush. YOU have to decide whether the pace is acceptable and YOU have to scan the ditches for potential trouble. *If your riding bud had to hit the brakes and you rear-ended them, it's YOU that put YOURSELF into the position where your riding bud hitting the brakes can cause damage to YOU. * Decreasing radius corners, going past 12 o'clock on the wheelie, *stunting in traffic, they're all situations that YOU have to accept responsibilty for. *No one else is twisting the throttle. *No one else is putting your body at risk except YOU. *
So.. accept the responisbilty. *Quit blaming others or the environment for your lack of good judgement. * Ride defensivley and always leave yourself an 'out' if you think it's getting dangerous. *If you're going to ride over your head, accept the stats that you will hurt yourself somethere along the line. Worse yet, you could hurt someone else by denying your responsibily. *YOU have to decide how YOU will be able to react to emergency situations. * Good luck out there... be aware of your surroundings. *Ride appropriately.
KLRguy
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I couldn't have ever said it better myself.