[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

This post is so spot-on it makes me smile ...

... except I disagree with one sentence: "All accidents are caused by error." That's not true because of two things:
1). Often, cage drivers have such contempt for motorcyclists that they will purposefully put them at risk. That's not error. That's purposeful deviant behavior.
2). Sometimes, something goes wrong that a motorcyclist can do nothing about and can't possibly predict. The first time a neighborhood dog jumps out at you from the bushes -- much less from a ditch in the middle of nowhere in southeastern Kansas while you're doing 90 or so, like what happened to me (thankfully no accident, but a VERY close call) -- you'll understand what I mean. That's not error. That's chaos theory at work.

The most sage part of the post is the bit above about profiling. Yeah, it's not PC, but it keeps a rider alive. It is a vital skill. If you're the least bit uncomfortable about it, do not ride -- because, frankly, a good biker realizes that certain types of people drive a certain way in certain vehicles, the same way certain vehicles drive certain ways depending on who is driving them.

... and I'm sorry, angelr , but I consider your attitude toward new riders in general to be overly optimistic. I'm of the opinion that literbikes should not be sold to first-time riders, period. Why? Because I've seen people die because they couldn't handle the power on the street. Restraint is not possessed by everybody -- as my statement about biker contempt among cage drivers proves from the other side of the coin.

Number 1, I'll still contend it is preventable. It is still your job to eliminate your error and control the errors of others . Your Number 2 (okay that didn't sound exactly right ) I'll agree with. It is chaos theory, but I was really focused on the traffic side of situational control; maybe I should have been more specific and wrote "All traffic accidents are caused by error". Lawrence Grodsky was killed by a deer in Texas, which in 2006, I found devastatingly shocking. That same year I hit a deer in my then almost new 325i; since then I've collected two others in minor damage incidents. My theory is deer are like asteroids.

But I'll stand by the premise that a good motorcyclist controls traffic, he doesn't let traffic control him. In fact I'll go so far in saying a great motorcyclist uses traffic to his advantage.