Street Savvy - A Dozen Ways to Die
Food for thought from Motorcyclist Magazine
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/howto/street_savvy/122_1001_a_dozen_ways_to_die/index.html
Neat. I never read anything here, but your subject was intriguing. Good one!
There’s certainly many more than just a dozen.
But according to some…
The MSF Expert Riders course was the best money I ever spent.
But according to some…[/quote]
I’d have to disagree with that point as well. People definately do hear loud bikes coming and get out of your way, I’d say it also makes it safer going through intersections.
But according to some…[/quote]
I’d have to disagree with that point as well. People definately do hear loud bikes coming and get out of your way, I’d say it also makes it safer going through intersections.[/quote]
They don’t. You don’t really hear them until they’re level with you and then past, by which time its too late. And that’s just pedestrians. In a car you DEFINITELY don’t hear them, especially if you have the radio on and the windows closed. I noticed this just last week on the Yilan road. Even surrounded by a pack of maybe 20 retards on their big fancy toys all trying to kill themselves you couldn’t really hear the engines unless the window was open.
Even with my scooter’s aftermarket pipe(its not an especially loud one) people hear me coming up behind them all the time and move out of the way. It certainly makes negotiating traffic easier. Sitting at an intersection I can hear people making a last second run through before I see them alot of the time as well. At least from the scooter POV, having the extra sense of hearing to locate people around you increases safety. But perhaps not in cars as much.
But why? You’re behind, therefore you need to avoid THEM, not the other way around! Yon’s crazy talk! If I hear an ambulance siren I’ll “move out of the way.” Otherwise? “Wait yer fuckin’ turn, ya stupid wee numpty!”
I fully agree with Temple: more sounds saves lives.
Last week I exchanged the original muffler for one which gives me 3 hp extra. The extra power was very notable as well as the difference in behavior of other road users. I agree that this won’t cover 100% of all users but who cares; every bit helps to keep me alive and on 2 wheels.
I had the same experience with almost all my previous motorcycles in Europe.
i’m with temple and frans on this. if one is observing the car drivers’ heads and mirrors like they are supposed to, it becomes pretty obvious that they can hear and acknowledge you when you have a not-quiet pipe.
the sound of say a termi-equipped L-twin is not “usual” and when people hear unusual things, their reaction seems to be to quickly try to find out what it is by looking where they perceive the sound to be coming.