Let's Talk Motorcycle Safety

[Ecoman1949]

I'm starting the training for an unlimited license in Germany, with no experience before (have a license for car).
These are the requirements for the licence:
- 10 hours theory
- enough driving in a secure place to be able to handle the bike: 10-15 hours.
- 5 hours driving on normal roads outside cities with a teacher driving behind me
- 4 hours driving on highways with a teacher driving behind me
- 3 hours driving at night with a teacher driving behind me
- first aid course, eyesight test
- after all this I must make an official test of theory and driving
Cost will be 1500 -2000 US$

That's amazing! In Canada, at least where I live, all that is required is a parking lot test involving slow speed maneuvers around a figure eight pylon course. That will get you your learners permit. Completion of a motorcycle safety course will get you your full license. The safety course is not a mandatory requirement for a license but it will get you cheaper insurance rates.

 

[Ecoman1949]

be nice if motos had license plate and drivers license. I live up near the AMET station and see the flat bed tow trucks driving past loaded to the gills with seized motos. They collect them by the hundreds. You would think it would deter the motos but week after week it goes on and nothing changes. Highway accidents are the major cause of death in the DR with motorcycles being the largest contributor. There is some sort of refusal to learn from the experience of others. Everone appears to learn the hard way in this country, if at all. My vehicle of choice here is a 4 wheel drive truck with the brightest illegal light bar available, windows tinted dark so no one can see the gringo driver. I like the extra axle up front in case of head ons. Rather be on an Hayabusa but I am a realist.

The refusal to acknowledge the danger and learn from it could be directly related to the machismo level in a lot of the DR male population. That plus not having the means to take a proper course, disregard for the rules of the road, and the fatalistic attitude of God's will when bad things happen all contribute to the high level of motorcycle deaths in the country. "Where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise".

 

[ADV Moto]

That's amazing! In Canada, at least where I live, all that is required is a parking lot test involving slow speed maneuvers around a figure eight pylon course. That will get you your learners permit. Completion of a motorcycle safety course will get you your full license. The safety course is not a mandatory requirement for a license but it will get you cheaper insurance rates.

The ability to do a slow-speed figure-8 and pass a written test has little to do with being a proficient motorcyclist.

That's the point Lee Parks makes. Such a test is designed to get more licenses riders, sell more bikes and doesn't drop motorcycle accident stats one bit.

What's the point unless accident rates drop?

 

[ADV Moto]

The refusal to acknowledge the danger and learn from it could be directly related to the machismo level in a lot of the DR male population. That plus not having the means to take a proper course, disregard for the rules of the road, and the fatalistic attitude of God's will when bad things happen all contribute to the high level of motorcycle deaths in the country. "Where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise".

I'm not sure if it's a refusal to learn. I think it's ignorance of the risks and basic physics of local motorciclistas. It's not just the DR. There is ignorance everywhere around the planet. There is ignorance here on DR1!

It's embedded in the culture, and that takes years to change. But change will NEVER happen as long as no conversation takes place. That's the purpose of this thread.

I just hope more contribute their knowledge because there is a lot to learn.

That said, I know numerous outstanding Dominican riders and many have agreed to get involved in championing the push for more training and cultural change. We're lining up a group of initial instructors who will go forth and multiply.

 

[DRob]

...Rapidly becoming one of my favorite threads on DR1.

Welcome back CB/ADV!

 

[spmc]

It was a brief written test and all slow speed, parking lot slalom through the cones when I got my MC license in the States. You got a learners permit to actually ride your bike by just applying.

You can test all you want but if some people are going to operate the bike foolishly, with no regard or attention to the actions of other drivers then those people will maim and kill.

...though my license did not grant me a commercial right to transport others.

 

[Derfish]

You can test all you want but if some people are going to operate the bike foolishly, with no regard or attention to the actions of other drivers then those people will maim and kill.

..

Correct of course, but if by chance we can educate half of the suicide prone motoconchistas we will have improved the situation very well.
Der Fish

 

[ADV Moto]

...though my license did not grant me a commercial right to transport others.

Two-up riding (or, in the DR, five-up) is an entirely different species of motorcycle proficiency...everything, the physics, balance, brakingetc., is different...
,

 

[Robert]

An idea for the DR, let the private sector take a lot of the weight in testing riders.

Colombia has mandatory testing for all motorcycle drivers, via approved driving schools.
It's driven and managed by the private sector as the Government is aware it does not have the resources to implement. It's not difficult, basic driving and awareness skills, theory test, medical, sight test and also includes a basic psychology test.

In order to ride a motorcycle you need to prove via certificate (also electronic database) that you have fulfilled the above requirements before that category to drive a motorcycle is added to your license.

If you're get stopped on a bike and your license doesn't have the category, you're going to get a ticket.

 

[zoomzx11]

I think the average Dominican moto rider has no idea of how painful a good dose of toad rash can be. My favorite part is the nurse picking out the gravel with a kind of tweezer. Any body hair makes the whole gravel removal much worse. Afterwards I bought kevlar lined jeans as I was afraid of it happening again. Bicycle racers shave their legs for this reason as they know they will crash and have the gravel removal done.

 

[bob saunders]

We have approximately 40 employees and probably 30 plus ride motos to work. Two women and the two male teachers have drivers licenses. The rest learned to drive from their brothers, fathers, or boyfriends. None wear helmets , although many wear decent gloves. I can count on my hands the number of parents that wear helmets when delivering their helmetless children to school, and even when the children are arriving or leaving there are young fools doing high speed wheelies on the street. Any education riding program, voluntary or enforced for licensing would certainly help with the sector that use their bikes for transport only. I believe almost nothing will change the behavior of young males except ridged law enforcement- fines, jail-time, confiscation of motos....etc.

 

[ADV Moto]

An idea for the DR, let the private sector take a lot of the weight in testing riders.

Colombia has mandatory testing for all motorcycle drivers, via approved driving schools.
It's driven and managed by the private sector as the Government is aware it does not have the resources to implement. It's not difficult, basic driving and awareness skills, theory test, medical, sight test and also includes a basic psychology test.

In order to ride a motorcycle you need to prove via certificate (also electronic database) that you have fulfilled the above requirements before that category to drive a motorcycle is added to your license.

If you're get stopped on a bike and your license doesn't have the category, you're going to get a ticket.

The challenge with any program in any industry is enforcement.

If a law isn't enforced does it exist?

 

[ADV Moto]

I believe almost nothing will change the behavior of young males except ridged law enforcement- fines, jail-time, confiscation of motos....etc.

And, well, death...

But confiscation works well.

The issue is who is going to do the enforcement?

 

[bob saunders]

And, well, death...

But confiscation works well.

The issue is who is going to do the enforcement?

The AMET guys that rarely wear helmets, of course.

 

[william webster]

The challenge with any program in any industry is enforcement.

If a law isn't enforced does it exist?

One of RD's problems is the application & interpretation of laws.... be it on the road, immigration, whatever.
Each officer, or branch of law will react differently to the same situation.

 

[ADV Moto]

One of RD's problems is the application & interpretation of laws.... be it on the road, immigration, whatever.
Each officer, or branch of law will react differently to the same situation.

True. Then there is corruption. And lack of a civil service system.

Licensing & training, as I've said before, is a long-term project.

A shorter term project and the purpose of this thread is helping those who do ride here who are not in the general Dominican population---expats, part-time residents and frequent tourists---to arm themselves with real-world knowledge and survival skills that enhance both their safety as well as enjoyment of riding.

The DR is a riders' Paradise. That's not to say that one should not take the threats seriously.

 

[ADV Moto]

A much-discussed hot topic on all our tours are crash stories. Everybody has stories, most more than one. Again, It's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when." Like bicycling as a kid. I don't know ONE bicycle rider than never crashed, same with motorcyclists who ride with any frequency.

The purpose of discussing crashes is always "what did you learn" and we go into slow-motion analysis. I can tell you from personal experience that some of the most valuable lessons I've learned have come with pain.

Analysis shows that very rarely do accidents "just happen." Most are a series of events that culminate in a crash. If one or more events had been eliminated, the crash may not have occurred.

The MSF has a graphic from their Basic Riders Course which illustrates this series of events very well. They call it the Crash Chain:

I would add "attitude" to the "rider" links. Attitude largely determines the other rider factors.

 

[ADV Moto]

The AMET guys that rarely wear helmets, of course.

Or even have fuel in their vehicles.

 

[ADV Moto]

Let's Talk Motorcycling Myths

Myth #1: "I had to lay 'er down..."

I used to own a restaurant / bar in FL that was frequented by the famous big cruiser crowd in pirate costumes. I thoroughly enjoyed the full-snoot daring-do testosterone-infused one-up stories of riding exploits.

Some of the BEST cheeky were the "...so I had to lay 'er down..." stories, the mighty tales of intentional crashes, as if there was no alternative, generally received with slow nodding awe at the sheer bravery of crashing on purpose.

Unless you're heading for a cliff, the stories are complete nonsense.

Fact is the overwhelming % of motorcycle accidents happen suddenly with virtually no warning, and what little warning there is most likely is spent in sheer panic of what's about to happen.

Every motorcycle safety training course on the planet spends *zero* time talking about "laying 'er down", much less practice what some think is a critical skill. However they DO spend a LOT of time talking about the skills necessary to prevent crashing, and each and every one preaches the importance of riding the motorcycle and taking all possible maneuvers to avoid the crash.

Physics are in play here. We'll all agree it's better to crash softly than crash hard, right? That is, with as little force as possible.

Remember: F = MA, where F is Force, M is Mass and A is Acceleration (or Velocity; however velocity assumes a constant speed, but acceleration is a more accurate measure since velocity is generally only constant in a frictionless vacuum.) So the Mass of a bike being a constant, it's the Velocity at impact that changes the amount of Force.

Fact is every bit of speed you can bleed off before the crash reduces the force of the crash, and lowers possible damage. There is a big plus when bleeding speed, assuming most braking is on the front brake (which is correct): the more front braking, the more the bike's weight is shifted forward, the more down force is on the front tire, the more braking force can be applied and the more steering control the bike has.

Secondly, "laying 'er down" implies a low-side crash. Just remember that your tires have a LOT more traction than you and your bike do sliding down the road. When you go down low-side you are no longer in control of your direction as you are sliding out of control.

Ride the bike all the way to the crash, getting the bike upright as much as possible, and bleeding off as much speed as possible while pulling in the clutch.

But under NO circumstances should you ?lay 'er down.? Your survival strategy comes from bleeding as much speed as possible pre-collision, best done with the bike completely upright using both brakes. Even if you only have time to lose 10 or 20mph, that could be the difference between going home with bruises and going home at all.

Those while those "...so I had to lay 'er down" stories are certainly intriguing tomes told with great authority, unfortunately they scream "I have no idea how to master my motorcycle."

 

[ADV Moto]

I received some really sad news on Saturday afternoon: a motorcycling colleague, a great guy with a passion for motorcycles who worked in a large prestige motorcycle dealer, lost his life on the road.

It happened just outside of La Vega on Carettera de Jamo. He had stopped his brand new, high-tech, state-of-the-art BMW S1000XR--BMW's version of the Ducati Multi-Strada---at a gas station and told the other guys to go ahead, he'd catch up, so they did. 15km later they stopped. After a while they got texts that something had happened, he'd been in a crash, so they went back.

No one saw the accident but the drivers of two vehicles and two bystanders.

Seems he was trying to catch up with his buddies going about 30kph more than the 50kph road speed limit. A car pulled out and he crashed into it, a T-bone, and he was launched over the car he hit...and into oncoming traffic where a CRV ran over him. He wore full gear & helmet, but seems the car ran over the helmet. The helmet survived but his head didn't. Now parents don't have a wonderful son, a wife has no husband and daughter has no father.

Very sad. The entire Dominican motorcycling community is heartbroken, and we've thought about and analysed the accident as we are prone to do after someone crashes. Many of the best riding lessons are learned with pain, either yours or someone else's.

There is a lesson in this unfortunate event that goes well beyond a car pulling in front of a motorcyclist.

We know a couple of things: the road has numerous houses & businesses all along it and he was going around 50mph in a 30mph zone.

At 30mph, it takes about 65' MOL for a sports motorcycle with ABS to stop, 32' reaction time and 33' to stop. At 50mph that number increases to 145', 65' reaction and 80' to stop. Think about it: at 50, your reaction time alone takes you as far as reaction time AND stopping at 30mph.

The question is: had he been going the speed limit in a busy street what would have happened? I suggest that has he been traveling at, say, even 40mph---still 10mph over the speed limit---instead of 50, even if he couldn't have stopped totally, he may have bled off enough speed so the force of the collision may not have launched him fully over the vehicle and into oncoming traffic. He may have gotten hurt, but not killed. There is a huge reduction of force, geometrically with decreased speed.

Think about it. Yeah, riding fast is an absolute blast. But with increased speed comes increased consequences. Is the rush of speed worth the downside?

I know from experience that riding is as enjoyable at 30-40mph on packed Dominican roads as 50 is. And the downside risk is greatly mitigated.

Always remember this: public roads are not your private racetrack.