accidents - an unpleasant subject

[Guth_imp]

On motorcycles, I had 2 minor accidents in a row, at about age 20 or 22. Next a very close call. Stopped riding for a while, and started again a few years later. Since then, no more wracks, but of course quite a few close calls. Must be now some 35 years without getting hurt and nothing bent. I wish I could say look at this, but unfortunately I have to admit, I've just been lucky a few times. Now, here is the question I ask myself:

In today's traffic (density), not in Utah! ...
given the velocity of traffic,
with the number of trucks around
(and S.U.V.s the size of trucks),
... can an average biker, age 60 +/-10, defensive driver/rider, following the written rules and common sense ... still avoid getting hurt in 2020/21 ?

More precisely, in case you had an accident lately - in retrospect - what was the main cause and could you have avoided that accident and how (other than by staying at home ?

Just as it has always been, the only way to guarantee that you won't get hurt riding a motorcycle is to avoid riding a motorcycle altogether. I do believe that the risks involved with riding a motorcycle are increasing as time marches on. It should be noted that while the level of risk has increased in part due to the factors that you've mentioned, this is offset some small amount by the fact that motorcycles themselves have improved over the years. Whenever such conversations arise I end up pondering this: at what cost comes a life where risk is minimized as much as possible?

This was a tough week for me as I learned that a friend of mine lost his life just a few days ago. He was young — still in his 40's. Yet he had lived an interesting life, one that he enjoyed. I loved listening to the many tales that he had to tell as a result of the experiences life had provided him with. That life ended with him dying in his sleep.

j3gq, I do hope that you come up with an answer to your question that you can live with. The bottom line is that there are few guarantees in life and life itself is not guaranteed. While life is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor, the end result is always the same. I'm reminded of a song by Kevin Welch that includes the following lyrics:

There's gonna be two dates on your tombstone, all your friends will read 'em
But, all that's gonna matter is that little dash between 'em

I would say take all precaution there is to be taken, before ride remind self to be safe, but still, I believe the most dangerous factor being self. Once on the road, when the adrenaline took over, the right hand start to twist unlogically. Soon peg feeler start grinding and tyre side strip start fading. On most of my ride, its safe for the 1st 15 minutes. After that, ain't see any speed limit signboard anymore.

Thank you for this input. Of course this plays a role in many of us, and only age calms it a little (in some cases But here is an interesting point in statistics. Where I live, about 25% of all accidents happen in the first 3 minutes after departure. Interesting, no ?

That's really interesting. I've read similar statistics but the factor mentioned is always distance rather than time with most accidents occurring within just a few miles of home.