Letters to the Editor
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Anecdotes aren't going to convince me of anything.
Yes, the Isle of Mann is raced on country roads. That is stated right in the abstract I linked to. Death and injury rates are certainly lower on tracks for the reasons described (thank goodness). However, speeds are much, much higher on tracks and runoff room is not always available. Barriers are slowly being converted over to softer materials, including the new "air-barriers" in an effort to reduce injury and death. But, I've yet to see convincing data that shows me that racing is safer than riding on the street. The only real, peer-reviewed data I could fine was from the Isle of Mann race. Tracks and rider/racer organizations don't publish injury rates. Anecdotes (or “personal data bases”) aren't going to convince me of anything.
I do know something about racing. I am a sports car enthusiast (though not a track racer). I've been to plenty of SCCA events and participated in club track days at Mid-Ohio. (I own a highly modified Miata.) In the case of car racing, while it’s probably safer to go fast on a track than fast on a street, it’s definitely more dangerous to go fast on the track than to participate in everyday driving on public roads. The reason fatalities are much higher on public roads is that we spend so much time driving on them (hours per day), compared to track time (hours per year) and that most people do not race on a track. The same is probably true for motorcycles, or (as I argue) more so.
When you factor in the numbers of people riding motorcycles on the street, the mitigating factors of helmet use and alcohol among street riders, and the amount of time spent on the track vs. the street, I’m willing to bet that the chance of an injury or death on a track will be much higher than on the road. Perhaps I am wrong and if I am, I will admit it. But, I’m going to see some real data first.
I’m done responding until I see that data.
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Head + Brick Wall = Injury
Well, if you're so dedicated, I'm sure if you contact the AMA, they'll give you the data you're looking for. The opinions of the myriad professional racers I know are enough for me.
Peace out.
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Re: "Risk"
Damn, that was good. Ride on!
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Hard core
It looks like this thread has dwindled down to the hard core. At least we finally know the width and depth of the data base that supports Mike's opinions about the dangers of the motorcycle race track. He's driven a Miata on "track days," where you're not allowed to pass in the corners.
Mike seems to misunderstand the obligations of argumentation. Since he's the one who proposed that race tracks are more dangerous than the street, and that husbands and fathers who race motorcycles are irresponsible, he's the one obligated to produce data to support his opinion. Don't mock the "personal data base" until you've accumulated one for yourself.
Of course racing a motorcycle on the race track, when you're actually allowed to pass in the corners, is dangerous. That's why it's thrilling. But of course riding on public roads is more dangerous, and it's danger of a different kind.
The Hurt study from the 1980's, which everyone with a serious motorcycle opinion is aware of, and which was the last comprehensive study of motorcycle accidents on the street, established that about 3 out of every 4 multi-vehicle motorcycle accidents on public roads are the fault of a clueless car driver failing to yield the right of way. The danger occurs instantly and without warning. The only advantage to the motorcycle is superior mobility, which must be exercised instantly and without error. My years on the race track have made me a much safer street rider, because thousands and thousands of repetitions have made the responses automatic. If you have to wait for the cerebral cortex to fire up, it's too late.
The danger on the race track is different. Lap by lap, corner by corner, you approach closer to the limits of traction, gravity and courage, peering over the edge without ever knowing for sure where it is. Feels great when you get it right, but it can hurt when you get it wrong. It's not a death thing, because no racer I've ever met expects to crash.
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On A Bike Or Off
Mike_in_NM married people are not immune from death. Deal with it. On a bike or off. Married people die every die doing things they have to and doing things they don't. I know people that have been married have died on golf courses, fishing, hunting, working on cars, swimming, etc.
As rare as these freak accidents are {& no I'm not gonna argue about rates and stats} I just expect you to agree that it is possible for a spouse to be killed or injured doing any of the above. If it's possible it's possible to happen to you are to someone you know are even effect your life in some way or the other. Now your honestly saying you or your family would better be able to cope with a death from drowning while *needlessly* swimming on the beach then being killed on a motorcycle on route to a job. Either way your just as DEAD!
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Very Entertaining!
I haven't laughed so hard in a while! Thank you!
The unbridled ego of your protagonist, never once does she entertain the notion that perhaps SHE has some culpability in all this, expecting change while offering none. The cry of "I'm a mother", as if this biological event (even a cockroach can be a "mother") gives her a cachet of superiority. Maybe that's why the last one drank, hmm? She considers herself labeled a "whore" because she's accused of witholding sex. Women never do that anyway for any reason, right?
Is it any wonder I'm a divorced (SHE left, I was employed and never cheated - she didn't like motorcycles either) 50-year old confirmed bachelor? That still races motorcycles?
If this is how women actually think - thanks for validating my decision.
Name Withheld because they are always vindictive