Fintip's Abridged Hurt Report, or, How Not To Die On A MC.

Maybe this should be stickied for those new to motorcycling to read? Feel free to add tips below. I read the Hurt Report a couple times and wrote this down for myself, decided to share.

Short version: MAKE SURE YOU ARE SEEN... Full fairing, windshiel, brightly colored jacket, headlight on, ALL make a noticeable difference on likelihood of wreck.

MAKE SURE YOU CAN SEE... 73% of wrecks involve no eye protection (!), and about half involve glare or obstruction of view (can't see around other vehicle on either/both party's side). BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU CAN'T SEE EVERYTHING. Honk just to let others know you are there, stay in the outside lane, slow down. Wear sunglasses.

WEAR A HELMET... A helmet is eye protection, and the single major decider of fatality of accidents, more than half of those who wreck are those who don't wear helmets... A helmet was shown to not inhibit view, not increase risk in any way of any type of injury, not reduce field of view, and not cause fatigue. The study showed only benefits from helmet use, especially full face helmets.

DO NOT DRINK... That's half of all accidents right there.

GET TRAINING... Training reduces liklihood of accident, and reduces severity of accidents that occur. 92% of accidents were by those who self-taught/"learned from friends".

LEARN TO TURN... Inability to countersteer/swerve properly is a huge factor in nearly all accidents, and in the huge majority of single-vehicle accidents.

WATCH OUT: Intersections (most wrecks occur there!), Vehicles violating your rights and turning left into/in front of you (half of all wrecks involve Motorcycle right-of-way violation!), short trips for entertainment/friends/hang out/etc. (most wrcks are during those types of trips, at beginning of trip, close to origin).

Stats:

73% (of motorcyclists involved in wreck) did not wear eye protection (wind causes squinting, reduced vision).


60% did not wear helmets (+Most deadly injuries were to chest + head, +helmet most critical factor in avoiding head injury)


~50% showed alcohol involvement (DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE)


Motorcycle riders with dirt bike experience are significantly underrepresented in the accident data.


Vehicle defects related to accident causation are rare and likely to be due to deficient or defective maintenance.


Accident involvement is significantly reduced by the use of motorcycle headlamps (on in daylight)


Less than 10% had insurance to cover medical or replace property.

The motorcycle riders involved in accidents are essentially without training; 92% were self-taught or learned from family or friends.

...and significantly without license/motorcycle license/license revoked

Fairing & Windshield = less likely to be in wreck (more visible)/ "Conspicuity of the motorcycle is most critical for the frontal surfaces of the motorcycle and rider."/Conspicuity of the motorcycle is a critical factor in the multiple vehicle accidents, and the wearing of high visibility yellow, orange or bright red jackets.

More than 50% of the accident-involved motorcycle riders had less than 5 months experience on the accident motorcycle, although the total street riding experience was almost 3 years.

Craftsmen, laborers, and students comprise most of the accident-involved motorcycle riders. Unemployed overrepresented.

Motorcycle riders between the ages of 16 and 24 are significantly overrepresented in accidents

Large displacement = less wrecks, more severe wrecks. (650 = Medium displacement?)

Motorcycle riders with previous recent traffic citations and accidents are overrepresented in the accident data.


---Interesting:

Passenger-carrying bikes were *not* overrepresented

boots/jackets/gloves prevented laceration, which is common but rarely severe

45% of wrecks resulted in more than a minor injury.

typical motorcycle accident allows the motorcyclist just less than 2 seconds to complete all collision avoidance action.

Motorcycle riders in these accidents showed significant collision avoidance problems. Most riders would overbrake and skid the rear wheel, and underbrake the front wheel greatly reducing collision avoidance deceleration. The ability to countersteer and swerve was essentially absent.


Lack of attention to the driving task is a common factor for the motorcyclist in an accident.


Motorcycle rider training experience reduces accident involvement and is related to reduced injuries in the event of accidents.


Professionals, sales workers, and craftsmen are underrepresented and laborers, students and unemployed are overrepresented in the accidents.


motorcycle riders between the ages of 30 and 50 are significantly underrepresented. Although the majority of the accident-involved motorcycle riders are male (96%), the female motorcycles riders are significantly overrepresented in the accident data.


more than three-fourths of all accident hazards are within 45deg of either side of straight ahead.


The median pre-crash speed was 29.8 mph, and the median crash speed was 21.5 mph, and the one-in-a-thousand crash speed is approximately 86 mph.


The view of the motorcycle or the other vehicle involved in the accident is limited by glare or obstructed by other vehicles in almost half of the multiple vehicle accidents.


Most motorcycle accidents involve a short trip associated with shopping, errands, friends, entertainment or recreation, and the accident is likely to happen in a very short time close to the trip origin.


Weather is not a factor in 98% of motorcycle accidents.


Intersections are the most likely place for the motorcycle accident, with the other vehicle violating the motorcycle right-of-way, and often violating traffic controls.


The most frequent accident configuration is the motorcycle proceeding straight then the automobile makes a left turn in front of the oncoming motorcycle.


The failure of motorists to detect and recognize motorcycles in traffic is the predominating cause of motorcycle accidents. The driver of the other vehicle involved in collision with the motorcycle did not see the motorcycle before the collision, or did not see the motorcycle until too late to avoid the collision.


In the multiple vehicle accidents (3/4ths of accidents), the driver of the other vehicle violated the motorcycle right-of-way and caused the accident in two-thirds of those accidents. (OR: Half of all accidents)


Roadway defects (pavement ridges, potholes, etc.) were the accident cause in 2% of the accidents; animal involvement was 1% of the accidents.


In the single vehicle accidents (1/4th of accidents), motorcycle rider error was present as the accident precipitating factor in about two-thirds of the cases (OR: 1/6th of ALL cases), with the typical error being a slideout and fall due to overbraking or running wide on a curve due to excess speed or under-cornering.


Vehicle failure accounted for less than 3% of these motorcycle accidents, and most of those were single vehicle accidents where control was lost due to a puncture flat.

 

I'm fairly new to riding myself so am no expert by any means.

Two things that I have learned quickly. NEVER drive faster than you can see. (Had a deer run out infront of me TODAY at about 30 mph.) Which is not something you could ever expect or count for.

Second. I treat all cars like they want to kill me. By watching them that closely I've had time to get out of the way numerous times from folks pulling out, getting over, and genuinely driving like idiots..

My .02

 

Re: Fintip's Abridged Hurt Report, or, How Not To Die On A M

Watch out for horse shit, It's really slippery. And there's usually a lot of it.

 

I truly believe that they were underrepresented because, speaking from experience, Riding in dirt/rain/mud/etc. and knowing exactly how to use your brakes/weight/etc. are what keeps a lot of dirt riders out of accidents on the road.

When I took my MSF course (at 17) and did the rear wheel lock test, the instructor looked at me and said "How long you been racing?" After that test I was awarded the privilege of demonstrating every test to the rest of the class. Passed the course at 100%, not easy to do back then.

I'm thinking about a refresher Advanced Course just because it's been a while since I've taken it.

 

This thread- all of it- is absolutely worth the read: http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... art=0.html

 

If you haven't read it yet, Be the Bunny is another good thread that covers this same type of info. You can never have enough good information on how to avoid serious collisions or injury.

Massimo

 

Massimo - That's the thread I linked above. Great minds think alike.

 

Agreed. Also, accident avoidance is about dodging stuff, and there's nothing like riding dirt trails, power line access roads and dry stream beds to learn how to dodge stuff.

Funny, I've been thinking about doing the same.

I think the most important factor in avoiding accidents is mindset. The second we think we know enough, we usually get reminded that we don't.

 

Yea, the dirt bike part stood out for me, too. I don't have hardcore dirt racing experience, but I have thrown around (and been thrown off of a time or two) snowmobiles, dirt bikes, quads. It is nothing like driving a car. You feel 'in motion' much more on a small, open air vehicle, and the physics of having your body weight be a relevant factor with regard to handling is just NOT something you need to be trying to get a feel for while you are first learning how to shift and steer a street bike in traffic on public roads with cars that can squash you. The experience gained from rv's is definately valuable. If the driving mechanics and handling are already second nature when you begin road riding, it's got to be a huge advantage.

 

The HURT report was compiled with accident data from 1965-75 and since the "mean" is 1970, when motorcycles topped-out at 70 HP and helmets were junk, tires were junk, and most cars had drum brakes trying to stop 3 tons. . . ETC.
(73% involved with NO eye protection ?? no longer a valid stat.)

A new version of HURT needs to be tallied with MODERN data.

HURT II (re-loaded)

Think about what would happen if any other Scientific Study used 42 year old statistics - -

 

Why is the no eye protection stat no longer valid? When I went riding with my grandfather, uncle, and cousin, my grandfather and uncle both didn't have eye protection. Cruiser riders don't want a helmet, they've got a windshield. Sport riders can be careless, they don't want the hassle. It might not be identical, but it might not be so different.

Car brakes weren't a major issue then, I doubt they changed much other than the raw # of wrecks. Likewise with tires, no one mentions a blow-out. Helmets were good enough back then to be recommended, they're only better now (if they are... What are they doing different? Is there much room for improvement on a helmet?)

I would love the modern data too, partly just to examine what has changed. Bet it's not so different. 70hp is still plenty to get in trouble with... Superbikes would probably get special attention since they're more prevalent now and more dangerous, I guess. Still, how different is a 10 second 1/4 mile from a 12.6 second? When it comes to wreckability... Probably not as big a factor as the improved brakes and tires.

The main reason for wrecks today, as then, I'm sure, is really just human error, operator not knowing motorcycles well enough and people cutting them off because they don't see them. I don't know what you'd expect to be different.

 

Hey Fin?

Approximately how many two-wheeled road miles are in your logbook anyway?

Just curious...

Speaking from hundreds of thousands of miles over 44+ years' worth of personal experience, 110% SITUATIONAL AWARENESS is the absolute key to the whole thing, along with equipment that works so well you can ride the bike without thinking about IT.

I'm thinking you might want to get some XJ miles under your belt before you try this South America thing. There's no substitute for experience.

I just don't want anybody to get hurt.

 

Well, most of my experience was on a dirtbike growing up. Situational awareness is obviously the biggest factor in any vehicle; if you have more than 2 seconds to think and act, you increase your response quality exponentially, I'm sure. Are you responding to something I said?

Most of my miles were on a dirtbike without an odometer. I rode on land we had in Texas out on the edge of Austin, starting from age 11. During the next 3 years, we rode often, and once a year the whole family would take 4-wheelers and dune buggies and my dirt bike up to the mountains in Arkansas and ride for a week on the roughest terrain we could find. I mean like 45 degree inclines on loose rocks, 3ft deep, 10 or 20 foot long water and mud holes, just whatever, for days and days. Probably 150-225 miles a day when we'd do those trips. I broke the bike when I was 13 I think, a pothole covered by an inch of running water that was massive enough to throw the bike (mentioned in sig); after the wreck, the innards of the engine block were rattling.

I almost got a 250 when I was 14 to replace it, but there was some family drama, and then my parents went bankrupt, so I didn't do much riding after that except for 4 wheelers on the track up at my grand parent's place. I rode that scooter a while, don't know how many miles. And then approach 2500 miles on the XJ. I had cars in between of just about every kind, a ridiculous number. A story for every one of them. Started on an '84 Vanagon as my first car at 17. In between I occasionally rode a friend's scooter for a while, and also a small 125cc streetbike/scooter thing (Madass anyone?).

It's not the mileage you've got, for sure, but I am just 22--for my age, I think it's as much as I could hope for, just about. It might even have been more, except that I moved to Israel for 3 years in there; I used a roadbike as my main form of transport there, by the way, and situational awareness on a bike is just as important as a motorcycle. I learned to look over my shoulder and signal every turn from that, I think. I probably put a couple thousand miles on my bike, and come to think about it, you did say 'two wheel miles'.

 

I apologize, my dates were off (1976-77)
And since the HURT report is longer than 400 pages, and I never read it, I'll hold commenting on it, but from Wikipedia, quoted -

wikipedia article

"Wide-ranging changes in motorcycling and related factors have altered the motorcycling landscape since the Hurt Report so thoroughly that it is impossible to determine if the findings of past studies are still valid."

 

Re: Fintip's Abridged Hurt Report, or, How Not To Die On A M

I think that regardless of which data is still valid and which isn't.....the guys that have more than a few years in the saddle will agree that MOST of the time, it boils down to two things for accident avoidance....seeing everything(my fav prevention for that is-Keeping your head on a swivel) and doing what's necessary to be seen( I'm a huge proponent of the "dragonfly effect").

Once the "situation" presents itself, that's where your skills at braking(have I ever mentioned this before) and being able to ride out of it, become the measure to decide if you will become a statistic or just a close call.

To ME, the changes in only the past 5 years or so with cell phones & texting have made things a lot dicier than they were before. Not only aren't they looking at ALL anymore, but if they do hit you, no one's responsible for their own actions anymore.....!!

A appreciate the thread simply because this forum gets more new members than any other I belong to, many with no or little experience. I know from raising children that constant exposure to good examples and reminders to act right and ride safe, make a difference.

So, anyone practice their braking today<LOL>! I'm off to get another cup of coffee....I rode in to work today(55 miles) and haven't had but one cup.

After work, I'll ride to my GF's house over on the Eastern Shore(85 more) then back home in the morn(50more) to get my luggage to leave for SC for my sons graduation from college.....(545 each way). I plan on returning Sunday morning, so I'll probably pull out of SC around midnight Saturday.

Just be safe guys....
jeff

 

Well, go ahead and post the whole section.

I tend to agree with the professor on this one. I don't see a logical reason for those numbers having changed drastically. None of those four factors seems like it would invalidate or remarkably shift the landscape on this issue. For sure things have changed, but... I imagine it would just be the amplification or muting of issues already presented in the Hurt Report. You think most people wear eye protection now? Great! Doesn't hurt to recommend it. I forgot my goggles somewhere once when I had a scooter and wasn't using a full face; I was in a hurry, so I just drove without them (was only at 40/50mph most of the way). It happens. And it was one more risk factor when I did it.

Anyways, it's a moot point I guess. I just read it and it all seems to make a lot of sense to me. And yes, it was a long document, but I only spent time pouring over the 55-point summary.