writing a paper, name 3 ways motorcycles are safer today than 40 years ago

[mattness]

as the title says, im writing an argument paper on helmet laws.

i have to see the argument from both sides. our grandparents didnt wear helmets, but their bikes made half or less of the ho our bikes make today.

so what are a few ways our bikes are safer today?

stronger frames,
ABS,
disc brakes,

gotta be more reasons than this!

 

[sarchin]

there is a pretty good article in the last Vboost on motorcycle tires, mostly by using multiple compounds. I could sum it up for you if needed.

 

[mattness]

doh how did i totally not think of that. thanks man!

 

[jbretthorton]

ABS Brakes
Tire Compound
Chassis Design
Air bags starting to be implemented in the newest designs
Maneuverability....

Thats all I got with out thinking much about it.....

 

[alorio1]

Head light comes on with ignition on
failsafe built in for kickstand down
turn signals
hydralic brakes
disk brakes
brake light energized when front brakes are applied
check engine light on some of the newest models

 

[twistedmax]

I supose you could argue that shaft drives are safer then chains as well.

 

[VMike]

Suspension...Forks and shocks are adjustable with rebound,dampening setting.Larger diameter forks with braces.
Mike

 

[wlodek1980]

more power is actually safer than less power as it gets you OUT of trouble.


IN more often, but OUT sometimes too

 

[SpecOps13]

Tires available, Braking capacity, Handling off the showroom floor is way improved,

 

[RaWarrior]

That's a tough one...motorcycles haven't fundamentally changed much over the years. Not like cars where crumple zones, safety cells, safety glass, collapsible steering columns, seatbelts, airbags, stability control, and now automatic steering and brake systems have evolved. Even the "doing away" with hood ornaments and front ends designed to reduce injuries to pedestrians.

Some high-end motorcycles now have traction control systems which I suppose might curtail single-bike accidents from people hotdogging too much, but otherwise having a car pull out in front of you today will have pretty much the same result as it did 20, 50, or 100 years ago.

Safety has improved not in the bikes but helmet and gear technology.

However all the improvements to cars have been proven to make drivers more reckless and take more risks, knowing their car will protect them. Unfortunately that doesn't do anything for us riders.

 

[alorio1]

Quick story: A friend of mine when I was just 10 yrs old had a Harley 74 fully loaded , saddle bags, running lights and what ever else you could hang on a Harley to make it cool back then. Name was Jimmy Ray Duncan, Jimmy Ray had run upon a LP gas truck on a two lane hwy. The truck suddenly decided he needed to turn left and had to wait for oncoming traffic to pass so he could make his turn. Jimmy Ray had plenty of time to stop but didn't, they found a 3 ft skid mark on the hwy and 75 ft further was where he impacted the gas truck and was killed. It was a mystery to the State police and they called on our towns Harley specialist John McCarthy to examine the motorcycle and see if he could determine why Jimmy Ray could not stop his motorcycle before hitting the truck. I just happened to be at John's shop when they summonsed him to view the bike and John invited me to ride along to the place where they had the motor cycle stored. John, me and the State trooper walked up to the motorcycle and within 2 minutes John told them the cause. The brake rod had broke that operated the rear brakes when he applied them and that was why there was only a 3ft skid mark and probably was not enough reaction time left to apply front brakes......SO, I would say having hydraulic brakes is a big safety factor + on motorcycles of today.

 

[Fire-medic]

Well, here's one for after the fact-trauma centers! If you get into a serious accident and you are in a metro area, you have access to EMS & hopefully a regional trauma center.

So, in a related way, you are better able to survive due to advances in tax-dollar supported public health trusts providing state of the art care. I will be at one tomorrow with my students, teaching them how to function in EMS.

No one mentioned lighting, seems like a natural for inclusion.

Another might be the methods of construction which have allowed bikes to last far lomger w/fewer breakdowns, meaning your ride isn't going to crap-out on you and leave you an immobile target on a busy hiway.

How about driver licensing, making sure operators have some semblance of ability to get out of the dealer's parking lot and making it home uninjured? Along with that you could mention drivers' awareness PSA's on media. 'Look twice for motorcycles!' Isn't that one which catches your attention the first time you see it? Recently I got a survey about motorcycles on my landline. It specifically mentioned that dramatic ad, and other media spreading awareness of motorcycles and their operators. That was one survey I was not reluctant to do.

 

[gamorg02]

abs, better helmets, better brakes.

 

[sdt354]

How about driver licensing, making sure operators have some semblance of ability to get out of the dealer's parking lot and making it home uninjured?QUOTE]
In the State where I grew up, training consisted of, well, none. You applied for a permit then jumped on and rode on the streets till you went for your test to get licensed. Who decided when you were ready? You and your friends decided. Many never went beyond the permit stage because no one checked. I learned how to ride on a side street with my instructor, laughing like a sick Hyena, holding a Gin and Tonic showing me where the brakes and clutch were, figured out the throttle all by myself. Never took a twisty till I got my PERMIT! I ended up taking a real riding course or two since the good old days and it was a good experience. At one school everybody in the class had to skid once.
Steve-o

 

[jfeagins]

While I sure can't speak for the rest of the motorcycling community, I for sure can testify to the fact that my same 1985 Vmax has gotten safer during the past 25+ years simply due to the fact that my eyesight isn't what it used to be. I simply cannot pick out the bears as far down the hwy as I used to, and therefore, overall, have slowed down a bit in general. (give or take one day out of the year down in the Eureka Springs, AR area).

It's like having an auto iris on a video camera -vs- not having one. At speed, my eyes don't do as good a job at auto-balancing the vision as it used to do. In other words, I see vibrations at speeds over 60mph making it more difficult to pick out specific car details at more than a half mile away.

 

[Lew L]

Your teacher will like this one:

More driver training.

 

[THAIMAX]

Less oil leaks! a lot less...

 

[diggerzmound]

How about those flashing headlights some of the new bikes have.

 

[KJShover]

My vote would be for;
Tires, suspension (chassis design included), and riding gear (helmets included)

 

[Rusty McNeil]

I agree with all the previous post in that technology has drastically improved over the years.

What hasn't changed unfortunately is that the biggest cause of crashes has not changed and maybe even gotten worse. I think most crashes are not affected by m/c technology but by lack of rider judgement and or skill, and cagers doing stupid stuff and us not anticipating it and reacting to it till it's simply too late to avoid going down.......

Rider error due to lack of experience can't be helped by all the technology in the world, except maybe by better riding gear in the event of a crash.
In a car your stupidity can be balanced out by the fact that cars are safer to be inside of during a crash than they used to be...But concrete and asphalt are just as hard as ever.....and bodies are just as fragile....you hit the pavement at whatever speed now and it;s just as bad as it ever was except for whatever your better gear does for you.....

The other is that cars on the road are just as likely to run your ass over as ever, if not more so these days due to all the pricks on cellphones now a days........

My personal riding philosphy is that I KNOW I'm invisible to cagers, and that If by chance they do notice me it's cause I have a target on my back and they want to kill me on purpose, painfully and with malice..........Riding with that frame of mind will serve you well.......Trust no one for even a second........I got this way from commuting in traffic in Houston for so many years...........