Good Book

A good friend of mine recommended a book to me called Deep Survival by Lawrence Gonzales. In this book the author studies the causes of accidents and notes that most accidents are not just a single event but rather several small things that build upon each other, any number of which if avoided could have probably prevented the accident.

We all know what kind of biker chuck was. He was hard core and he succesfully completed rides that I wouldn't even attempt. He was obviously proficient in his motorcycling abilities. I can't help but think that fatigue played a role in his accident. I know after I've been up for about 20 hours or so my coordination is one of the first things to go. It is not my intent to critisize chuck or to analize what factors played a role in his accident, but rather I write this with the hope to help my friends and fellow bikers stay safe, hopefully avoid an accident, and return home to their families at the end of the day. Please be safe everyone.

[pirate]

Thanks, Wolfman.

[dogdoc]

I agree 100% wolfie. After an 8 hr ride i was pretty fatigued since it was near 100 degree weather. yes your concentration goes and reflexes slow. I was wondering the same thing as you.

[tkd]

Fatigue kicked my but on the MSF test at the end of 8 hours.

[scion0]

I agree Wolfman and appreciate your comments as I was thinking about the same thing.

[Cajunrider]

Good thread Wolfman...I have a friend that works at the same plant as I do. We all work 12 hour shifts, 7 days and 7 nights each month on a 28 day rotation. He purchased an HD Electra Glide Classic the same week I bought my Nomad. He rides his bike back and forth day shift and nights. I've seen him leave at 05:00 dragging his feet from night shift fatigue. I worry about him because I know his coordination and reflexes aren't as good as they were when he arrived at work. He has a 35 mile trip each way in moderate traffic. I still commute in my Silverado pickup but will more than likely ride the Nomad occasionally after the first of the year.

[dantama]

After learning the physical manipulation of the mechanical bits sufficiently, motorcycling is all about mentally paying attention to all that can influence you in a negative way.

All of us have had a night where we are reading, and then realize that we are just scanning over the words and not following the content at all. The same thing can happen on a bike. You are looking but not seeing.

I remember on one ride I was falling asleep on the bike for those micro sleeps that you jerk your head back and say, oh sh*t, I can't stay awake. It hit me pretty suddenly, and I looked for a place to pull off the freeway and sleep. It was a while before an exit came, and then I was having a hard time staying awake trying to find a grassy spot to nap. I certainly wasn't at my best then. You simply can't pay attention to everything that you should when you are fighting sleep.

Ideally we all wouldn't ride when our concentration isn't running at full alertness. But anyone who has had a bike long enough, and gone far enough on it, has ridden when we weren't at 100% alertness. But we shouldn't.

I'm sure that there are some people who have died on a bike in such a manner that if they were fully alert, would have picked up on whatever got them and responded appropriately to the danger.

I believe that there can be situations where even with proper scanning and alertness, you can just plain be in the wrong place at the wrong time and get hit. Some will disagree with that sentence, so I'll paint a worst case scenario that has really happened, but not with a motorcycle involved. An 18 wheeler rolls off a bride and falls onto the road below right on top of a car. Sometimes you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

For most bike accidents though, if you could rewind the tape and dissect it, you would be able to find a place in the sequence where something else could have/should have been done. Riding when you are not fully alert makes one more susceptible to that happening.

Dui does that for a living, hopefully he chimes in on what he's seen.

[scion0]

I have zoned out, only to zone back in and realize how far I had gone (and how lucky I was for nothing to have happened) without really being there.

[dougster]

FWIW, I read recently about the importance of staying hydrated. You lose moisture as you ride, and that definitely affects your alertness. So, make sure you are drinking enough water!

[ridemslow]

I agree on the fatigue issue. I'm a long haul trucker and thats one of the most preached safety issues we hear about in trucking.