Quote:
Originally Posted by alex.s
po-tay-to, po-ta-toe.
the fact is we're talking about two seperate things;
a) taking risky maneuvers on a motorcycle and,
b) trying to minimize reprecussions of an accident by wearing gear.
they're often times positively correlated, but the fact is, they are seperate issues. people drive dangerously with and without gear. but people will always reduce potential injuries they may encounter (whether or not they are taking risks) by wearing proper gear. you don't have to be taking risks to have someone fly through a blind red light. you don't have to be taking risks to have someone make a left hand turn into you. you don't have to be taking risks to have someone have a front left blowout and accidentally swerve into your lane on a single lane each-way highway. gear, however, will always help reduce injuries.
again- two seperate issues, how about wearing gear AND riding sanely? that way, you don't take risks AND if someone hits you and you can't avoid it, potential injuries are minimized. seems like it's a hard concept for some people to grasp?
interesting statistic your friend quotes... here's some real statistics:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/809861.PDF <-- effectiveness of 0.37. |
The issue I'm addressing is that there is truth in people taking more risks when they have gear to "protect" them; maybe you don't, maybe I don't, maybe A doesn't, but the fact is a lot of people feel that way. Especially a lot of adrenaline junkies out there who want to do stupid things and want to minimize the risk in doing it. The point being made in my post, is that between cautiousness and protective gear, you will be far better off paying attention and being cautious. I do both of those things, but if I had to put my life on one or the other, I think reasonable people are going to pick caution.
Does your DOT article mention any speed-specific crashes? Because I think I did. He didn't say in all his years being an EMT a helmet didn't help anybody, he just before cautioned me to always wear my helmet bc it will save my life. Following that we were talking about high speed accidents. I think somebody's first hand experience in roughly 20 years of scraping motorcyclists off the pavement qualifies him to share his advice and knowledge about the situation. As long as we are staying realistic, do you think that hardshell with Styrofoam and fabric lining is gonna do anything for your c-spine (neck and upper spine) when you slam into a car or pavement or anything at 60mph? GEAR WILL ONLY PROTECT YOU SO MUCH!!! I wear full gear everytime I leave the house, it may save my life, but it may not; don't rely on it, use your head and be cautious of whats going on around you.
If you wanna talk statistics, bud, you need to asses the boundaries of the study. The comment, "here are some real statistics" is true, but for someone who wants to cry, "two separate issues" it is kind of ironic you would throw me statistics that don't apply to only 60mph crashes and onward; especially since I said what will kill you at those speeds is a neck injury, i didnt say the helmet wouldnt protect your head, I said it wont make much of a difference. i think it is pretty safe to assume that a lot of that 37% is attributed to lower speed crashes and accidents, i think it would be safe to say that higher speeds will yield a lower percentage of survivors.