Hello ive got a worrying question

[WraithuK]

Ive been recently shown how to ride a bike by my brother in law , who is currently in the process of fixing a bike i brought to use offroad and when i hit 17 hopefully on the road. Ive heard so many stories about his friends dying through road accidents and he only goes out on his on the road when in a group or straight to a place if its 1-2 miles away. Both own dirt bikes btw. A few months back i thought ill have the bike on road and use it to commute as the time gets nearer im realy realy not keen on riding on the road and would much rather get a car and tow it to wherever i go. Do you think im stupid for feeling this way ? its not a confidence thing i realise a car is more expensive but im not 100% up to ever going on the road on a bike. So should i just quit now and go for a car or what?

edit , id rather be alive and not worrying than another statistic.

[ian_s]

You could get a car and get some road experience first. At least that way when you get it wrong it hopefully won't hurt as much!

[MinhDinh]

make sure you understand the highway code fully. don't ride when you are not confident and get some nice gear on, incase an accident happens. do mirror/life saver checks as you can't rely on others to be safe. hopefully nothing wrong wiull happen to you

[G]

If you have a search through here, there's a thread about a car accident three of us were in. I came off very lucky physically.

We were towing a trailer. Something went wrong somewhere and we ended up hitting an oncoming car on the other side of the road.
To some degree we were lucky, it could have been much worse; the two other occupants were trapped in the car enough to require the fire brigade to cut them out.


If you're worried about being injured... remember also that in a car you are much more likely to hurt someone else if something goes wrong.


I didn't quite understand your situation. Are you riding on the road at the moment?

Saying all that, a car is useful, especially if you are wanting to do non road based biking, however I wouldn't give up with bikes on the road yet.

[Ste]

Cars, safe? In my experience cars are far more dangerous than bikes.

You also hear plently of things in the news about people being kiled in car crashes (have a quick look on BBC News).

I'd suggest doing your CBT when you're 17 as that will give you a sample of riding on the roads, it's really not bad otherwise lots of people would be driving cars instead of riding.

On a slight tangent, if you're worried about being a statistic why ride off road bikes, I'm sure there are much less dangerous ways to spend your time such as knitting.

[Flip]

Ride, but don't ride like a knob. You'll live longer that way.

[daz|n00by]

have some proper lessons on a bike will help your confidance and maybe change the way you feel about bike on the road
____________________
"Its Better To Burn Out Than Fade Away!!!!!!" "Lifes a bitch and then you Die"
"I`m a tool, one with just enough intelligence to know it, just enough spirit to resent it...but not enough backbone to do anything about it. " Siggi 2006 pure class.

[WraithuK]

i dont do motocross which i think is a dangerous sport well ish anyway , i will get into trail / enduro riding , im gonna try my CBT tho and only ride it to get to places when with a group which is wot many people do ive heard i.e like a couple miles down the road to a forest or trails or something.

cars dont scare as much as most people die on motorways in cars which i wont realy need to go near not at silly speeds anyway 70-90 will do me im sure.

[mattfuzzy]

well ill just say this, when i get my Honda NSR in a few months i'll be riding it to college (6 miles away) and back (thats 12 miles a day) and i go 3 days a week and i'll probibly be riding it all weekend on pretty much every weekend (thats gotta cover a good 30 - 60 miles right?) i know my situations not the same as yours but sounds like you're totaly shit scared of riding on roads, and if you are then its either best to stay off the road (as you could be a danger to others) or sort it out (have a few lessons or something) but also you cant go through life worrying about something, its just no fun that way and just because a few of your brothers mates died doesnt mean you will

[G]

From what I was aware, motorways are one of the safest places to be on the road.

All the traffic is going in the same direction, the only major problem is people sitting up the arse of each other.

[Craggles]

[White Noise]

[shellshock]

I agree with most of the comments posted above, you will have a better idea of how you feel if you do the cbt, I was petrified before I did mine, and the grin on my face and the feeling of conquering my fear at the end of the day was something I'll never forget

I have been driving for some 13 years, and I feel fairly safe in a car, although I nearly wrote myself off last year. I still get jitters at the beginning of a ride, but soon get into it, the right gear and training and a whole lot of common sense should see you right. (This is in no way a guarantee tho - because as stated before there are a whole host of dipsticks out there - I think all learner drivers should have to do CBT).

[Gazdaman]

When I started biking I had just under a year of driving experience under my belt, which helped ALOT!

When you do get out there on a bike, you're much more aware of what's going on, no metal pillars to obstruct where you're looking.

The only major problem is people look but don't see you.

and I know where every single part of my bike is, whereas in a car I find it harder to judge where the corners are.

Gaz

[Noggin]

I started out on my bike, before driving. I found that it gave me better road experience than driving did, the main thing is to not be an idiot, that is why the majority of the deaths occur imo. I know of a pair, they were riding in t-shirts, no leathers, they were riding and overtaking next to each other, that is why they died, stupid mistake.


Biking is perfectly safe, if you know the risks, your limits, and what you are happy to do. I was quite happy to go out and chase my dad all day on his zx6r, laying on the tank, doing everything to reach warp speed!

But I was still careful, and therefore, i am alive

well, thats my two pence!


Craig G(Noggin)
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Current bike: kawasaki zx12r 2002
Track bike: yamaha r6 1998
Old Bike: honda NSR 125 1998

[JonB]

Look, you only live once, if you die you die. Why pansy around thinking about getting a bike, don't get one then either die a couple of years later after being ran over by a bus (it can happen) or when you are collecting your pension standing there wishing you had bought a bike when you were younger.

I am the sort of person who believes in "you only live one, so make the most of it".
____________________
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[instigator]

Hey, a bit of "self preservation" never hurt anyone, just don't let it hold you back from your ambitions.

[JonB]

Maybe, but the feeling I hate most is..."What If".
____________________
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[WraithuK]

is it possible to insure a bike for offroad use i.e. on old disused tracks etc?