Motorbike Dangers

[STEVE G]

I was the same as you Sarge, I never even tried to ride a motorcycle until I came to Asia.

One thing I see a lot in central Europe during the summer is people on very powerful motorbikes who are not really bikers who don’t look either confident or safe in the way they ride. They are either rich kids with expensive toys or the mid-life crisis forty year olds trying to pretend they’re still young.

Someone I met who works in a German hospital was telling me that on a nice day they prepare an operating theatre for transplants knowing full well that there is a good chance of an unfortunate motorcycle rider donating some organs that day.

[kendo]

Education in schools works. There need to more road safety included in the curriculum. Now there is none.

At least some of the ridiculous statements like ïf you wear a crash helmet you will be cuckoo"will be alleviated.

Education regarding self preservation seems to going backwards in Thailand. The thirty and aboves all know the dangers of eating sweets, cookie, cakes etc. but the younger ones seem quite happy losing their tgeeth and getting fat.

What chance is there for road safety?

If you read my post again it reads if you get brain damaged your then cuckoo your better off dead, well she has got a point who will want to look after you.
These very plastic flimsy helmets are a joke if you had an accident your more likely to hit something or be hit by someone, high curbs and street pylons are a very dangerous factor just as much as cars and trucks, these helmets are just a minimal gesture to road safety i dont think they will do to much to reduce head trauma, my dad gave me a better crash hemet with my first skate board.

A few years back i had a road legal quad bike, one of the first in the u.k, insured as a motorcycle, but taxed as a car (obviously higher rate for the government) and because of this there was no legal reqirement to where a helmet, so i used to ride it down the local town and beaches and around the forest with the wind in my hair a great sence of freedom in this country.

Kendo

[MrPlum]

Having taken a tumble on a motorbike, at 60mph, wearing a full face helmet and sliding 40 yards down the tarmac, I dread to think what my face would have looked like without the helmet, which had the lower front side of the lid, ground away by the road. The same with legs and feet, which were heavily bruised.

Protective clothing/helmet may not work in all situations but they saved me serious injury and scarring.

When people are more alert to dangers, they ride more slowly and defensively. Youngsters have no fear until they take a tumble or two, which teaches them, often cruelly, they are not immortal after all.

[sargeant]

Interesting point about the donation of body parts tends to put the crash helmet in perspective because they will for sure be using a British Standard safety job so how come they end up donating bits and bobs of themselves

[Guess]

If you read my post again it reads if you get brain damaged your then cuckoo your better off dead, well she has got a point who will want to look after you.

Apologies. Bad writing on my part. You have gone on to elaborate what I meant anyway.

She is right in the statement IMO, or at least has a point. What I meant is that the (as you mention later) basic helmets have little effect anyway. However, even a baseball hat will be an improvement on nothing. What is needed is some education as to what happens in a head injury situation and how to minimize the risk. This way people would be made aware that both death and brain damage (cuckoo) can be avoided. There also needs some minimal helmet specification as in Europe.

Whatever protection you do employ there will always be the question of whether death or brain damage could have been avoided with even better protection. Death versus brain damage of course is in each individual's perception.

[Guess]

Guess you are well behind on the school thing they have been doing it for a few years now as soon as the class hit 16years old of they go as a class to pranburi and take their tests my son did it last friday
So its not all bad

That's good news. 16 years old is way too late though. My first lessons were at 12 years old and most of the other kids were still 11.

I don't have any school age relatives now. The last one left high school in March so, yes, I am out of touch.

There is a new generation coming through and infesting the planet now.

Hopefully motor vehicles as we know them will be extinct by the time they reach 16 years.

[sandman67]

Got a new one for you riders.... diesel BLAAAARTTT!!! (That big black cloud of smog that comes out of buses and trucks when they change gear/start off).

Got a facefull yesterday and never thought much about it. Washed hands and face...forgot my eyes.

Went to bed, leaving contacts in itchy eyes....doh

Woke up this morning with blood red eyes and a vision distance of about 2 feet...... lovely! Eyes stinging like hell.....contacts virtually glued to eyeballs....

cue Optrex.