this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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'Have a second look': Surge in motorcycle deaths prompts desperate plea to drivers (www.abc.net.au)
submitted 1 year ago by unionagainstdhmo@aussie.zone to c/australia@aussie.zone
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[–] trk@aussie.zone 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

So far this year, at the time of writing, 52 riders had lost their lives on Queensland roads, making 2023 to date the deadliest year for motorbike riders for five years.

I have no doubt car drivers are causing lots of accidents with motorbikes, but living near a main road I find it hard to believe the riders aren't at least partially to blame for a decent number of those fatalities.

Unless there's a legitimate reason for bikes to be hitting like 20,000rpm on one wheel of course. I'm not a rider so maybe this is one of those "loud pipes save lives" type things I hear so much about, where being obnoxious is justified as safety.

Anyone got a breakdown of at fault versus not at fault fatalities?

[–] Mountaineer@aussie.zone 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I found some Vic stats from which you could infer some stuff: https://www.tac.vic.gov.au/road-safety/statistics/summaries/motorcycle-crash-data

It seems that it's a roughly half half split of single vehicle vs multi vehicle.
Even if you conservatively assume that only a quarter of the mutlivehicle accidents are the fault of the rider, it's still well over 50% motorcyclists killing themselves.

But that's not what this particular campaign is about.

[–] abhibeckert@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

As I understand it - the biggest segment is men who buy their first bike in their midlife crisis. They buy expensive, large, powerful motorcycles that are difficult to ride and combined with a lack of experience that's basically suicide.

And yeah, when it's a multi-vehicle incident it's still regularly the rider's fault. For example they might crash in a corner and slide across the road into the bullbar of a 4WD coming around the corner in the other direction. Often they're going "too fast" as the police would call it, but realistically the corner could have been navigated safely at the speed they're were travelling... it's just inexperience, combined with the sudden appearance of a scary 4WD coming around the corner, tends to create a momentary panic reaction and the natural reaction is to grab the brakes. Which might serve you well in a car with ABS... but slamming on the brakes hard while leaned over in a corner on a bike will result in a crash every time.

As a rider, I think it should be illegal to ride those bikes until you've got at least 50,000km of experience riding a lighter weight / safer bike. We do (at least in QLD) restrict the type of bike you can ride for the first 12 months, but that's not long enough (I see a lot of new riders who just don't buy a bike their first 12 months after getting a license) and also it's based on power to weight ratio... which is wrong. It should just be based on weight ignoring power. Most accidents happen cornering and braking, and those two have nothing to do with engine power. A lighter bike, however, is much easier to handle when they do start sliding.

[–] GBU_28@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Anecdote incoming:

Every motorcyclist I ever see is driving like a fucking maniac, solidly 20 mph faster than traffic, aggressively weaving between cars, using the breakdown lane at their convenience, etc.

I know there are "safe, normal" riders but the ones I interact with all seem like they are tempting death for fun

[–] doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Counter point: those are the only riders you notice.

[–] GBU_28@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Anecdote pre declared, your counterpoint is parried.

[–] Sleazy_Albanese@hexbear.net 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You said every rider you ever see is breaking the law. Which is clearly nonsense. Meanwhile dont pretend you never break any road rules.

And finally

solidly 20 mph

The topic is motorbikes in queensland. Not america.

[–] GBU_28@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Both main points you raised related to my sharing an anecdote, which, as you seemingly don't know the word generally means:

A biographical event specific to the speaker's experience.

So yes, every rider I SEE, implying the ones I personally detect, and personally NOTICE.

Next I used whatever speed unit I wanted because the condition of reckless motorbike usage is not specific to Queensland, and as I already mentioned I was using an anecdote (again reminder that means a story about my own life, sorry if you forgot again), I used the speed unit that applied to where I experienced it.

If you're confused about when I started my anecdote refer to the first two words of my comment.

Lastly nice attempt with the Tu Quoque fallacy, suggesting I am a lawbreaker too and therefore can't criticize others. Childish.

Get parried, begone, drive safely.

[–] TinyBreak@aussie.zone 0 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Where is the incentive to ride safe when they are paying half the rego (too much!) to share the roads with people who so careless that they'd kill them without hardly noticing they hit something? Im not saying its ok. Im saying I understand it.

[–] ZodiacSF1969@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago

"The vehicle I choose to drive puts me at greater risk of injury and death, regardless of who is at fault, so I'm going to drive in a manner that further increases my risk of injury or death."

See how ridiculous that sounds?

[–] surreptitiouswalk@aussie.zone 4 points 1 year ago

Surely they have more incentive to drive safe coz the price of having an accident is so much higher for them (physical injury, maiming and death).

[–] abhibeckert@beehaw.org 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I assume you're not an Aussie, since you said mph?

But sure... all over the world there are idiots who ride...

The thing is though, if they weren't on a bike they'd be going even faster and driving even more aggressively behind the wheel of a nice safe truck (safe for the driver anyway).

At least on the bike the risk encourages them to be a little less aggressive and they're less likely to hurt anyone else.

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 7 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Authorities say more motorcycles on the road and less experienced riders may be contributing to a surge in fatal motorbike crashes in Queensland.

Police Superintendent Douglas McDonald, who oversees the Southern Queensland district, said motorcylists were some of the most vulnerable road users.

As Queensland Road Safety Week begins, police said their constant reminders to "slow down" and stay attentive remained unchanged.

Toowoomba-based motorcycle instructor Tony Gallagher said there was a lot more traffic on the road now than a couple of years ago during lockdowns.

"If you see someone on a side street, set your brakes and slow down, you might lose 5 kilometres an hour, but you're not going to be late for work."

But for all the talk of dangers on the road for riders, Mr Gallagher said he couldn't imagine a life without a motorbike.

The original article contains 514 words, the summary contains 134 words. Saved 74%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] Treczoks@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago

52 more instances of silence.