Do you feel safe out there?

[byke95]

I'm thinking of getting rid of the car for good and just using the bike, I really hate having to run both vehicles! Over the last two months I've had car tax, bike tax, car insurance, bike insurance, car MOT and bike MOT come out of my pocket.

It's mad me think - I use my bike a fair amount (about 5000 miles a year) and appreciate the dangers out there but should only having a bike be a concern for me and my family, or am I reading to much into all the stats?

...14% of road users being bikers but 48% of deaths being bikers, old stats but they stick in my head...

How many of you out there use your bike as a toy? How many use it as your only transport? How many spills have you had? Do you ever wonder if you should get off the roads and just have a track/off-road bike? I'm interested in your thoughts on how safe we are...

Don't get me wrong, I live for today but think of tomorrow - the fear of being disabled/crippled in an accident scares me way more than death.

[JonB]

Byke, it's one of those risks you take, put into account many of those 48% were probably lunatics anyway if you take good caution into riding a bike looking at every road users move you should stay relatively safe. However I cannot disprove that a lot of bike accidents are the faults of mindless car drivers who ignore their mirrors.

If you enjoy riding your bike then why should the stats stop you, just remember not to become a statistic.
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[Bendy]

After a few years of it being my only transport, my bike is now a toy. I made that decision last year cos I was fed up *having* to take the bike if I wanted to go somewhere, and I also moved out of town so my commute is 40 miles a day rather than 4 or so, so the commute would be a lot longer with more potential for cockup.

I really like having it as a toy. I rode to work today cos I felt like it, not because I had to. If it's wet and horrible or if I just don't feel up to it, I can just get in the car.

It's partly a safety thing I suppose, I'd never rationalised it as such but deep down it probably is. I take the bike out on my terms and I feel better about it that way. Perhaps because I do that, I very rarely feel unsafe out there.

I've never actually had a bike accident (touch wood), something I put down to being very defensive and switched-on, and not pushing my luck. Although I like trackdays, I'm not ready (or rich enough) to give up road-riding - it's very liberating to ride on track without all the road worries, but when I got to work this morning I had a grin on my face from the commute in... it's not time to give that up. When I stop enjoying road riding, I'll pack it in, plain and simple.

[John]

I use my bike both as a toy and as my transport.

To be honest I don't really go very far, even when I'm just playing about, and work is about 3 miles down the road.

I used the AR125 through winter, but not for going to work on, so not sure what it'll be like, though am looking to get a car for when it gets icy.

The danger of the bike is a risk I'm willing to take. I'm not scared of crashing though, which is a bit worring. I'm sure if/when I do have a spill it'll really knock my confidence.
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[karen_moomin]

All modes of transport involve a risk. There's nothing to say that if you gave up your bike in favour of your car that you'd be safe. I have been driving for almost 6 years and recently was involved in a crash. I think a lot of car drivers think they are invincible, and to some extent I think I've had a wake up call.

I personally use my bike for fun and have a car for commuting. I also find that I have to be in the "mood" for riding, like sometimes I'll wake up on a Sunday and can't wait to get out on it. Yet other days I just have this feeling that I shouldn't go out on it.

For you, you should weigh up the financial/other pro's and cons with the risks. Don't let stats put you off from making a personal decision.

[flat spot]

Let's face it. In winter it's to bloody cold to ride, and when the roads are icy you don't stand a chance. I rode through a winter once. Never again.
Apart from that, from all my crashes only one was someone elses' fault.

[MarJay]

My bike is my only transport. I do have use of a car, but I commute to work every day by bike. I do around 7000 miles a year on the bike, and have been riding for just under five years. I have had two accidents, one of which I was uninjured, and the other I had a few scrapes and bruises.

As long as you always aim to improve your riding and assume EVERYONE is out to get you, then you should be ok.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[byke95]

Cheers guys, that was a nice bit of re-assurance about how other see biking and their bikes.

As for financially: it's a bit of give and take, if I sell the car I can afford the new bike I want, if not then I can't (working on a way tho!). Although, I'm not to keen on riding through winter either.

Thing is, using the bike as just a toy kind of feels like a bit of a cop out, like I'm not a proper 'biker'. Again, it's nice to see I'm not alone in how I use my bike.

As for using the bike, I love it and don't ever want to stop biking (although moving to somewhere sunning so biking is a bit nicer is such an attractive idea!)

I guess it's best to just live by one rule whilst on the bike

[dainesefreak]

I've been riding for 10 or so years now all year around, I don't drive never had a license. I've got to say though that some days throughout the winter months I get a lift, sometimes it's just not worth the risk.

I have to ride about 10 miles of country B roads on my daily commute and in winter they can be lethal. Last year I saw two cars in ditches on their roofs because of the ice on the roads. I would rather be safe than sorry and using your head is better than loosing your life.

As for the "only using the bike as a toy", so what. Who cares what anyone else thinks, you paid for it so do what you want with it as long as you enjoy it.

[WildGoose]

my bike is my only form of transport, and i tend to cover quite a few miles a year, rain or shine, ive done 3 winters now

toying with the car idea, but it still doesnt appeal all that much, and total apathy strikes when it comes to doing the test

id sooner have two bikes than a car and a bike, but in my job having a bike can be so impractical sometimes
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So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[zaknafien]

[Kickstart]

[Big Pete]

Having done the all year round "I`m a hard biker, weather doesn`t bother me" lark in the past, I just can`t be arsed any more. Riding in treacherous conditions takes all the fun out of it at 6:30 am on a dark Febuary morning, and I don`t heal (or recover) as fast as I used to. I can afford both forms of transport, and if it came right down to the wire (God forbid) I would have to keep 4 wheels for practicality Besides, I can carry bike bits in the motor, I wouldn`t want to carry 2 frames home on the back of the bike
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Trust me, I`m an engineer
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[McJamweasel]

I've been riding for almost 4 years now and in that time I've had 2 spills, on of which was on track. The other was a minor thing when I lost the front on some ice last winter.

I am planning on getting my car license and a car for this winter, although I don't think I'll ever become a fair weather fider. I like my bike to much for that.

[billy whizz]

I have been riding for a long time and had a few "events" as most of you know i am an instructor as well, so as you can imagine i spend a great deal of time on two wheels. In this time i think i have learned a lot of lessons and i think that's the key to being safe. It doesn't matter what the weather or traffic or road conditions are, it's whether or not you can adapt to them and how quick you do it. If you think about it an accident is just a combination of events that occur at the same time, the final event is the one that takes you out. I guess the trick is to pick up on these events and avoid the final one! Or put another way don't be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But hey that's just my opinion, it's my 25th year riding this year and i'm still here so i must be doing something right. I have lost 11 of my friends in bike accident's over the years, i miss them all very much but i have to admit some would still be here had they not just been victim's of circumstance. Could it be that when your numbers up it's up?
If you give up every thing you enjoy just because it's a tad risky you won't live any longer it just seems like it! Sorry this post is so long.
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Here comes the summer!

[headlamp]

I use my bike daily, as my main mode of transport to get to my office. I commute in all weathers, and have ridden in a blizzard (never again). I also have a Land Rover Discovery, to trundle the kids around at the weekend, and tend not to use the bike.

As Billy Whizz says, it's all about adapting to the road conditions as well as riding within your limits. As an example I was riding today up the Holloway Road in London, a road I don't use that often. I got undertaken by five chavs on 50cc Gilera's - some people I'm sure would be affronted by this, however my attitude was - so what? Keep your cool and be aware - you should be fine!
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Using a mobile phone while driving a car should be made a capital offence!

[david916]

Try a BikeSafe Rider Skills Day with the Metropoiltan/City of London Police to encourage you to ride SAFER, which should make you a smoother rider and so improve your riding! Very informative, excellent fun and fantastic value. They operate out of the famous and extremely popular Ace Cafe London (off the North Circular Road between Staples Corner and the Hanger Lane Gyratory). It is NOT a substitute for an Advanced Training Course of the like offered by the BMF, IAM, ROSPA or others, but it is an inexpensive introduction (£30 for a full day combining classroom based powerpoint presentations with two hour long + observed rides and including lunch and refreshments, plus you get a Certificate Of Attendance at the end of the day and a BikeSafe Pack which includes discount offers from companies within the motorcycle industry including insurance, so that can't be bad can it). The routes for the observed rides vary, but you either head north around South Mimms and Radlett or else head west around Denham and Chalfont St. Peter. A BikeSafe Day is offered as a 'Rider Skills Day' to assess present skills with advice to help make your riding SAFER. It takes a life-time to gain the experience you need to ride a motorcycle well and even then there is more to learn as you're always learning! After spending the day on a BikeSafe Day you are encouraged to go on and use and develop your skills by completing further training. Don't be put off by the fact that it's run by the police. The ones that run the courses ride their own motorbikes for pleasure and ride motorbikes at work everyday for a living, are highly skilled and have your best interests at heart. Reducing collisions involving motorcyclists is their aim. They show you how to ride safer and improve your riding so that you enjoy it all the more. Go to www.bikesafe-london.co.uk for more info...You can't go wrong.
Be Safe.
All the best.
(Improve your skills - enjoy riding - stay safe)
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Currently own/regularly ride :
Suzuki SV1000S K4