Offroading VS Street : What's More Dangerous? - poll

[nickjpass]

I have thought about this for a while, since I'm currently riding on trails, and was wondering how much more of a risk there would be, once I switch over to the street. On roads, I think the largest risks are: cagers, grip, and surroundings (poles, guardrails, etc). On the trails, grip is almost never a worry, because there isn't any most of the time . But then you have to worry about trees, deer (if you ride in a forest that has a large amount of wildlife) and big roots, rocks, and potholes etc. So, where is the larger risk? I've seen road racers get up from 100 MPH + crashes. But I've seen dirt riders fall and not get up until two months later. Where do you think the larger risk is?

[nickjpass]

I have thought about this for a while, since I'm currently riding on trails, and was wondering how much more of a risk there would be, once I switch over to the street. On roads, I think the largest risks are: cagers, grip, and surroundings (poles, guardrails, etc). On the trails, grip is almost never a worry, because there isn't any most of the time . But then you have to worry about trees, deer (if you ride in a forest that has a large amount of wildlife) and big roots, rocks, and potholes etc. So, where is the larger risk? I've seen road racers get up from 100 MPH + crashes. But I've seen dirt riders fall and not get up until two months later. Where do you think the larger risk is?

Somewhat off topic: Where would foot/lower leg injuries be more common?

Off topic: The only time I crashed was going around twenty, maybe fifteen, and I ended up with a bruised leg somehow, even though I landed on my shoulder. Cause? Got cocky...

[cuong-nutz]

I would say street is more dangerous. Cagers, two way traffic. drunks, texters, and so on. With dirt, I fear running into a barbed wire fence or falling off the edge of a cliff if I slip or bounce. Dirt is usually softer and you aren't going a high rate of speed.

[cuong-nutz]

I would say street due to the cagers on the phone, who don't look, texting, can't drive, uninsured, drunk, road rage, etc. Those are the things you can't control on the road.

[I'm Fred]

I'd say street riding is more dangerous because you cannot control everything around you. Cagers not paying attention/drunk/texting/high can come up with pretty stupid moves

That said I never rode in dirt in my entire life, so I could be wrong..



@Alex can you merge both threads? The other thread has no poll

[cuong-nutz]

LOL. There's another thread? I was wondering why I didn't see my post.

[CynicalC]

Street riding is more dangerous by far. There is almost no comparison.

[R1Chronicles]

Hard call, depends on the type of off-road riding one is doing. If your talking trail rides at a nice easy pace, I would say street. If your talking all dirt activities, I would say off-road.

People will attempt things in the dirt they would never dream of on the streets. I used to love 20' air covering 100' when I was younger. I'm just glad the extreme jumping wasn't around when I was a kid, I probably wouldn't be walking today.

In all fairness though I'm pretty even for breaks on street and off-road, but a lot more smaller injuries from off-road.

[Ninjedi]

Originally Posted by CynicalC

Street riding is more dangerous by far. There is almost no comparison.

Do you even ride dirt?

It really depends "how" you ride. If your really conservative on the streets and wear all the right gear i honestly think its pretty safe unless you get very unlucky. On dirt there is a lot more chance of a crash no matter how good of a rider you are. You also usually wear a lot less protection on the dirt. I think the best way to put it is i guess your chances of dying on the streets are a lot higher but your chances of injuries are higher on dirt. Dirt is way more fun though haha

[R1Chronicles]

BACKGROUND:

This study sought to compare the spectrum of injuries and outcomes between off-road and on-road motorcyclists.

METHODS:

Demographic information, accident location, helmet use, anatomic injuries, physiologic data, length of stay, transfusions, operations, Injury Severity Scores, and determination of death were abstracted for a consecutive cohort of patients over a 5-year period.

RESULTS:

There were no significant differences between off-road motorcyclists (n = 376) and on-road motorcyclists (n = 371) in terms of helmet use, loss of consciousness, initial systolic blood pressure, initial Glasgow Coma Scale, initial Revised Trauma Score, or hand, wrist, forearm, arm, clavicle, foot, ankle, femur, pelvis, spinal, or head injuries. On-road motorcyclists were significantly more likely, however, to require transfusions (p < 0.025); sustain blunt chest, abdominal, or skin trauma; or die (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

On-road motorcyclists are more likely to sustain blunt abdominal trauma, blunt chest trauma, skin trauma, and death than off-road motorcyclists.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15454807

[massacremasses]

this is a stupid question.

It comes down to unknown variables.

on there street there are way more... they are stupid people. Stupid people in metal tanks. These people dont give a **** about you, and dont look where they are going.


Street is more dangerous hands down. If we were to compare deaths on the street to deaths off of it. The results wouldnt even be close.

[DevinWolfe]

Street, no question whatsoever. Typically an on-road accident results on injury/death, off-road results in pick the bike up get back on.

[nickjpass]

But think about it...someone else brought it up. Would you try to do a 100 foot jump on the street? Probably not...then again...many people don't drag knee on the dirt haha!

[dirty nasty]

Originally Posted by I'm Fred

I'd say street riding is more dangerous because you cannot control everything around you. Cagers not paying attention/drunk/texting/high can come up with pretty stupid moves

You've obviously never ridden in the "no clue" class at a motocross race.

MOTORCYCLING is dangerous. No matter the terrain. Injuries on the street are usually more severe (car on bike action), but happen a lot less. You can go to your local MX track on any weekend and watch riders crash into each other at high speeds. A 500 pound missile is still going to hurt a lot. My mom's boyfriend got into a wreck on his MX bike on a track when another rider got confused, rode the track backwards, then went head on with him. Both of their bikes got totaled, both had their jaws broken.

I will say this, I've received far more injuries riding my MX bike than on my street bike (no injuries from the street bike). Here's from a recent time my YZF decided to bite me!



That almost required a skin graft. They were able to stitch it up though.

[dfox]

street for sure.

dirt accidents mostly stem from your own skill level, street accidents are mostly from idiots behind the wheel of a car.

and MX is only comparable to motorcycle racing, not to street riding.

[Redgeneral]

Street, hands down.

If you were to ride normally in dirt, 99.9% of the time you'll be fine. If you ride normally on the street, you can get killed by some moron and never see it coming.

All the talk of "Well I do huge jumps in the dirt and that makes it more dangerous" is pointless. You're comparing apples to oranges. If you want to compare the two evenly, then compare doing wheelies/stunting and goofing around in traffic, to flying off jumps and goofing around in the bush. Street is still more dangerous because you have the added element of other people which you cannot control.

[alex.s]

just from the people i know... the injuries from dirt riding and the injuries from street riding... dirt riding is much more dangerous in terms of damage done when you screw up. ... i'm talking about big crashes not like... oops i tipped my bike over. but i'm talking about people pushing the bikes not just cruising

[nickjpass]

One thing is for sure...you see a lot more head injuries with dirt. I don't know if the helmets aren't as good? Maybe the impacts are harder somehow? I don't know. But I always see jaw injuries. I've seen it happen too!

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by nickjpass

One thing is for sure...you see a lot more head injuries with dirt. I don't know if the helmets aren't as good? Maybe the impacts are harder somehow? I don't know. But I always see jaw injuries. I've seen it happen too!

you dont jump 30 feet in the air on a street bike.

[I'm Fred]

Originally Posted by dirty nasty

You've obviously never ridden in the "no clue" class at a motocross race.

MOTORCYCLING is dangerous. No matter the terrain. Injuries on the street are usually more severe (car on bike action), but happen a lot less. You can go to your local MX track on any weekend and watch riders crash into each other at high speeds. A 500 pound missile is still going to hurt a lot. My mom's boyfriend got into a wreck on his MX bike on a track when another rider got confused, rode the track backwards, then went head on with him. Both of their bikes got totaled, both had their jaws broken.

I will say this, I've received far more injuries riding my MX bike than on my street bike (no injuries from the street bike). Here's from a recent time my YZF decided to bite me!



That almost required a skin graft. They were able to stitch it up though.

Were you geared up decently? Looks like that couldv'e been avoided...
You can't compare dirt bike racing to commuting on the streets. You'd have to compare it with races on tracks and I believe more people get killed at 150 MPH than on dirt, even if they do jumps and are very close to each other

[CC Cowboy]

I've been hurt much more in the woods than on the street. However; like you admitted, in the dirt you ride with many more obstacles (trees, deer, roots, etc.). I always thought that it I got hurt where I couldn't ride out of the woods, I'd be screwed. I have ridden by myself too numerous times to recall and if I fell in the woods and was seriously hurt how would I get out of the woods? I ride aggressively on the street and in the woods and I know I have crashed much more in the woods.

Riding in the woods makes you a much better street rider (so does riding on the track).

[dirty nasty]

Originally Posted by I'm Fred

Were you geared up decently? Looks like that couldv'e been avoided...
You can't compare dirt bike racing to commuting on the streets. You'd have to compare it with races on tracks and I believe more people get killed at 150 MPH than on dirt, even if they do jumps and are very close to each other

Yes, I'm ATGATT with my MX bike. For the street bike, it's ATGICA (all the gear I can afford), which right now is a full face helmet, a leather jacket, leather motorcycling gloves, and steel toe work boots which cover a lot of my ankle. Not the best for the street, but until I finish saving for my set of new gear it's what I've got to best protect myself. On my MX bike it's helmet, goggles, gloves, pants, full sleeve and boots all the time.

The reason I crashed like that is I was flying around a turn and didn't check the track out at a slow pace first. Someone dumped a huge rock in the turn (normally the track is mostly sand with some small stones mixed in, this rock was ****ing gigantic and right in the middle of my line) I couldn't see until it was too late. At a 4th gear speed I hit this rock and went right over the bars and dug my arm into another very sharp rock on the ground. I also hit my head off another rock hard enough to make myself feel dizzy and sick.

Then it turned into a matter of making it out of the woods where the track was located. During that event at one point my whole field of vision turned white and I almost rode into a tree. The track was miles into the woods, and we weren't exactly supposed to be there, so calling emergency services seemed like a bad idea seeing as I was in okay-ish enough shape to be on the bike and making my way out.

The lesson I learned is riding on unsanctioned land is dangerous. Yes, I was with a riding buddy, but he wasn't as experienced as me (he has rode less than a year, me for 14) and only rides a CRF trail bike. He wasn't about to carry me out of there (I'm also 6'1" and 175lbs. whereas he is 5'6" and 130lbs, surprisingly I'm 19 and he is 23 haha) and ride my bike out too. for miles. From now on I stick to tracks that have medical services nearby, and that aren't going to land me a fine/jail time for riding there. Sucks too, because that was one of my favorite sand pits!

I agree with the mode of thought that this is apples to oranges. Being on a motorcycle is inherently dangerous, but it's also fun too! We gear up and ride safe and alert, every time, no matter what.

[MXSteve89]

Having raced motocross since I was just a little kid, and still race, I think I can offer some insight here. I've only been on a street bike for a month or so nonetheless.

Racing is totally different from riding... and trails are no where near an mx track. Being on the starting gate with 30+ riders all going for the start (even tho only a few have a chance at the holeshot hahaha), it gets crazy.. toss in the kid whose first race it is, the kid on a bike too fast, the kid that's actually good on a dirtbike, and all the other gooners and it's crazy!! Then the next 5 laps are filled with jumps, braking bumps, whoops, ruts, huge downhills and up hills (Budds Creek is my home track, for the moto guys out there), mud or dust... both of them can **** your vision up pretty good haha.. all the while being surrounded by other riders. Needless to say, it can get pretty hairy.

With the street, that too is pretty hectic in itself. But I think with the street, the mindset and attitude of the rider is a bit different, which lends itself to more safe (still dangerous) conditions.. when I'm racing, it's all out aggressiveness and go for broke attitude.. when I'm on the street, I'm definitely more reserved and on edge of other drivers. But still tend to ride pretty hard nonetheless. LOL

[MXSteve89]

When racing, I'm ATGATT... helmet, leatt brace, chest protector, jersey/pants, boots, gloves, goggles... everything. When I'm on the strett, it's more STGSTT... depends on the weather and the ride LOL

[massacremasses]

Good point. He said off roading not MX facing though. So I would still say street.

[MXSteve89]

MX racing is off roading, just more specific... On an average weekend, it's common to see someone get helicoptered out of the track. Last year, I tore my ACL in February, then in June knocked myself unconscious and took an ambulance ride to the trauma center. I have it on helmet cam, but don't remember any of it.

[massacremasses]

so the track is street? just more specific? lol

[nickjpass]

@MXSteve89 care to share the video?

and how much more will full boots protect my ankles and shins than if I wore just sneakers?

[dirty nasty]

Originally Posted by massacremasses

so the track is street? just more specific? lol

No, but even trail riding is still completely different from riding on the street. These two things cannot be compared. Both have their own unique set of dangers (cars vs. trees or other riders, for example), but they all have a common denominator. The reason for the rider getting hurt/killed will be due to the rider crashing his/her motorcycle. Whether it be brought on by a car t-boning a motorcyclist, or another one casing a 90' triple jump. Either impact is going to hurt, a lot.

[eddiekay]

it's funny that I've heard a lot of dirt riders...very young guys, wonder if they were ready for street riding. Personally...I think just about any kind of off raod riding takes much more skil and a million times more stamina than street.

[nickjpass]

@eddiekay I'm one of them. I'm not sure about the skill or stamina part though. They might be equally matched.

[nickjpass]

@eddiekay I'm one of them. I'm not sure about the skill or stamina part though. They might be equally matched.

[massacremasses]

ive done/do both.


Ive never almost been killed by a steel cage on a trail. but thats just me...

[dirty nasty]

Originally Posted by massacremasses

ive done/do both.


Ive never almost been killed by a steel cage on a trail. but thats just me...

I actually have. Drunk people going 4x4'ing. Once again, a reason to ride on land designated for off road/MX riding only with medical personnel on staff.

Nick, no offense, but if what I'm reading is true, you ride a KLX140. You can't possibly be doing the type of riding on that bike that would require extreme stamina and physical conditioning. The bike would be bent into a pretzel loooong before that ever happened. Street riding/road racing does require its own certain set of physical conditioning, however I've never felt beat up getting off the street bike. Every time I get off the MX bike I'm ready to drop on the ground and have someone else load up all my crap.

[nickjpass]

I'm not sure how I was wrong if all I said was that they both tire you out...

[loz944]

I voted street but on thinking about it what ever you ride will danger all lol

[massacremasses]

Originally Posted by dirty nasty

I actually have. Drunk people going 4x4'ing. Once again, a reason to ride on land designated for off road/MX riding only with medical personnel on staff.

Oh well I generally almost get hit everytime I ride....

[dirty nasty]

Originally Posted by massacremasses

Oh well I generally almost get hit everytime I ride....

And people say the drivers in Massachsetts are bad. I mean sure, we've got people who speed in the slow lane, go slow in the fast lane, don't signal, text, etc. However, I've lived here my whole life and I've only had one person pull directly in front of me. I saw them from a mile away and just from looking at the way the car was moving and the occupants, I could tell they weren't paying attention (that's my sixth sense working). Sure enough, pulled out right in front of me. I was already on the brakes and slowed down nice and steadily to avoid t-boning them. That's the only time I've ever almost been hit. Maybe the problem is y'all? Takes two to tango, and we all share the road with other cars and bikes.