OK, I'm doing this to prove a point to my wife who is actually scared to ride (as a passenger) on the freeway believing it is more dangerous than surface streets. Get this, she will wear her helmet on the rare times she is forced to be on the freeway but wants to take it off while on surface streets. Now the question and hopefully the poll will work; If you or anyone you know had a crash was it on the freeway or a surface street (country road or rural type highway included). I believe I know the outcome but she never listens or believes me anyway. Thanks!!! By the way I mean on a motorcycle only if not obvious by me question.

 

What's a surface street? Does that mean not in a tunnel? Freeways around here are also on the surface. Wait a minute, there are some parts of the freeways that are elevated on piers.

 

Air thin up there on Magazine?

 

chiefparry - This is a great poll. I think you are onto something here. Perhaps the moderators would like to expand this idea into a full forum section devoted to -"SAFETY"

This could be a simple on line data collection tool, keeping questions simple and in poll format. It could be something like an online Hurt Report. The early indications from chiefparry's poll suggest similar findings - highways being safer than surface roads for motorcycles, giving credibility to these early results.

While we wouldn't be verifying accidents through police/traffic reports, as were used in the Hurt Report, the results could still have great value.

What say you?

JR
P.S. For those of you not familiar... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurt_Report

 

The only thing to keep in mind statistically is this. Number of opportunities to have an accident. How much more time do we spend on twisties vs. freeways? If you go riding 100 times and only go on the freeway 20 of those times, the opportunity for the accident to occuring on a non-freeway stretch of road is 4x higher.

 

Left turns in front of bike have statistically been our worst enemy for as long as I have ridden. That doesn't happen on the freeway.

Freeway is by far safer, but boring.

Dennis

 

My last crash was in 1980, laid it down in the rain on Missouri four lane and damned lucky I wasn't run over by cager following too close at the time. Semi passed me and the wall of water from the tires washed over me, the bike and could not see the road; caught the pavement edge(concrete) where the should dropped a inch or so and the bike simply flipped sideways from under me, at 45mph.

I walked away with minor scrapes, bruises and a severely bruised ego, the tumbling as my feet caught hold at between 20 & 40 was the worst.

 

The 3 times I dropped my bike,
1st time unloading it from the trailer on the day of purchase.
2nd time in the garage when my pant leg got caught on the rear shifter.
3rd time a noseeum got me in front of the garage.

 

I crashed on an on ramp after a rain.. wet ramp and fuel.. bike just went out from under us.. No chance to do anything . Im still riding and the wife is still on the back ... She never got hurt just messed up her leather jacket.. I had a tank top on .. I got the bambulance ride !

 

Laid down/flipped my first street bike back in '83. Kept me from riding for 15 years.

In '99 my wife and I lost a friend who had a heart attack while riding. He was out in the country with a group of bikes on a long sweeping turn. The pack made the corner, but he didn't. He kept riding out into the field and finally fell from the bike. Paramedics who arrived on the scene said he was probably dead from the coronary before he even hit the ground.

On that same exact day (I kid you not) a friend of my brothers got into a tangle with an 18 wheeler out on 75/Central Expressway here in Dallas. He lost that fight and was killed instantly.

So there, that runs the gamut. Surface streets, country roads, and city highways.

No place is safe, period. Ride like everyone (and everything) has you in their sights and you have a HUGE bright red bulls-eye painted on your back and you'll probably make it home safe and alive.