Can't say that I do both anymore. I loved my motorcycle, but when I had kids I sold it. I make my living as an attorney defending accident claims. I have seen way too many tragic accidents (by fault of both the motorcycle operator and the other vehicle) to justify riding a motorcycle at my point in life. I cover a significant geographic area in my state so I see a lot, but am sure people that work in ERs have a far more graphic experience. Riding a bicycle is dangerous and it does scare me, but I think the speeds involved on a motorcycle make it far more life threatening or risky for traumatic injury. I am not sure that head injury statistics would show me much one way or the other. Motorcycle helmets are required in my state and most of my cases have involved things other than head injury-still very scary. Like all celebrity things, Jason Williams motorcycle accident is big news, but that type of thing happens regularly to those of us that are nobodies-risk is just not worth it for me.

This site might help:

http://www.helmets.org/index.htm

With 20 yrs on a Motorcycle & more on a bike, I can say I absolutely feel much safer on the motorcycle. On the motorcycle, I'm in control - all I do is ride like everyone else is out to kill me. On the bicycle, I'm totally at the mercy of the cell phone gabbing/turning around & yelling at the kid in the back seat/make-up applying soccer mom driving the world's largest SUV!

"Besides my fully-committed cycling and triathlon hobby, I also enjoy riding motorcycles"

I use to also. But that was a number of years ago. Almost bought another bike a few years back but logic over ruled emotion.

We were on a roadie group ride last summer and coming down the road towards us was a bunch of bad ass looking Harley riders. Our whole group waved at them and to a man, they all waved back at us. Quite humerous actually.

Both of my hobbies involve going fast on 2 wheels with a sore butt!

Although I have never had to, I think it would be difficult to defend my practice of riding a bicycle with a helmet, but the Harley without.

Guess I just feel more at the mercy of drivers on my QR.........and less able to manuever my way out of danger.

BTW, I always wave at all bikers no matter what I'm riding........although I often wonder when climbing, if I'm one the "wrong" one.

G

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It's a little like wrestling a gorilla.........you don't stop when you're tired.........you stop when the gorilla is tired.

Well.... I live in CA so I don't have a choice about my _motorcycle_ helmet.

I also feel much safer on my Magna than on my QR. The motorcycle is big, shiny and loud; I'm relatively visible. I'm sitting upright, so I've got a good view of people who might be doing something stupid. The exact opposite is true of riding the tri-bike. And I certainly have a lot more faith in my Honda brakes than my dura-ace.

Oh.... and it pisses me off that I'll get a ticket for riding at 25 miles an hour on the motorcycle w/out a helmet, but that's another topic that we shouldn't get into on this forum.

-Adam :-)

I raced off-road motorcycles, motocross and harescrambles for 15 years and rode a street bike for 3, and would never ride without a helmet. That attitude carried over to bicycles when I started triathlon in 1986. I haven't ridden a motorcycle since 1988 when my son was born. The last year or two, I've thought of getting back into it, but always talk myself out of it. Street is still to dangerous, and there's still no place to ride off-road within 100 miles. Got a new rear wheel for my mountain bike in April. Rode about 50 yards in front of the bike shop to make sure it would shift right, without helmet, and of course I crashed. Road rash on both arms, knees, and my face, and chipped a tooth. I've got to remember to put on the helmet EVERY time.

Guess I'm lucky to live in AZ, a non helmet law state.

I have to admit that I can't help but wonder about the logic of "powers-that-be" that mandate helmets for rider safety, but allow motorcyclists to "split" traffic on a backed-up freeway! Now that looks dangerous to me! ;-)

G

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It's a little like wrestling a gorilla.........you don't stop when you're tired.........you stop when the gorilla is tired.

 I haven't ridden my Shadow as much in CA as I did while living in Chicago, money issues. As mentioned by most I do feel somewhat more confident on the motorcycle and better able to see and react to various situations.

No choice but to wear the helmet here in CA, but when I was in Chicago it depended on where I was riding. Cruising down Lake Shore Drive on a nice day, I would go helmet less. Riding on the 90/94 out to the 'burbs, helmet everytime.

Same goes for the bicycle. Tooling up and down the Lakeshore bike path or heading into Lincoln Park for lunch, I did not wear my bicycle helmet. Going for a training ride on the other hand, regardless of location, helmet every time.

Splitting lanes actually isn't that bad if done safely. Guys who zip thru moving traffic (25+ mph) going 40-50mph on the otherhand........

maurice

Sorry guys- I still think your security on the motorcycles is way misplaced (not to say you should not ride-I sure miss mine). I admit that I feel way more vulnerable on my bicycle-but my experience as a motorcycle rider, bicycle rider and certainly as an attorney involved in personal injury is that motorcycles are far more likely to result in serious injury-admittedly you may be more likely to face road rash or broken collar bone on bicycle.

According to some of the reports I have read about Jay Williams' wreck (no car only a telephone pole) he expressed similar confidence before his accident. There is good reason that many pro contracts prohibit motorcycle usage.

Ah.... but there may be a flaw in your logic.

Yes, any idiot with no training and no experience can do 90mph on a motorcyle and will likely at some point end up in big trouble. If novice bicyclists were able to do 90mph then we'd certainly see lots of fatalities.

But, at similar speeds with similar amount of experience, I have no question that the motorcycle is by far the safer mode of transportation.

-Adam

But, at similar speeds with similar amount of experience, I have no question that the motorcycle is by far the safer mode of transportation.

-Adam[/reply]

If you mean a motorcycle at 60 and a bike at 60, I agree-otherwise-still think you have a very false sense of security about your ability to avoid others.

This is an interesting topic that I have thought about quite a bit in recent years. My father and I are avid street riders and amatuer road racers. He has logged well over 100,000 accident free miles and I have accumulated about 50,000 accident free miles and many hot laps of a track without incident. He always poses the question to me when I take off on my bicycle, "Why do you ride something with cable actuated brakes that travels 50mph, downhill of course (I live in the mountains of NC) without a full face helmet and racing leathers?" Generally I ignore the question because I really don't want to think of the consequences of a crash at those speeds in lycra and a styrofoam helmet.

Another point that I would like to bring up after reading some of the previous post is the fact that many people don't feel the need to wear helmets on a motorcycle due to its increased performance. While I personally don't care what others do (survival of the fittest and most intelligent in my opinion-no offense intended), even though motorcycles (at least the more modern sportbikes) can out perform in both acceleration and braking any vehicle short of a Ferrari Enzo, I never ride without full leathers and helmet, even in the heat of summer. I think that if more motorcyclists wore proper gear at all times, then perhaps the severity of some of the injuries would be reduced.

All that said (hopefully it isn't a complete rant) I feel way more safe on my motorcycles (both track and street) than anytime on a bike (closed course crits are often the scariest bike rides). And remeber the one thing that will always hold true: "there are only two types of riders (motorcycle and bike)...those that have crashed, and those that will crash." Ride Safe.

I didn't wear a helmet at university. I then moved to London and started wearing a helmet, the increase in traffic and crazy drivers (fortunately not too many in SUVs!) meant I didn't feel safe without one. I've worn one ever since, its maybe bordering on the obsessive but i almost feel naked riding without one.

I don't ride a motorbike so I'm afraid i can't contribute there. The following is a link to the UK dept of transport study (published April 2003) into the effectiveness of helmets - there is a technical appendix.

http://www.roads.dft.gov.uk/...clehelmets/index.htm

As ever there is evidence for and against, but some of the key findings are compelling ....

- Bicycle helmets have been found to be effective at reducing the incidence and severity of head, brain and upper facial injury.

- Bicycle helmets have been found to be effective in reducing injury for users of all ages, though particularly for children.

- While most studies indicate that helmets offer protection from head injury, the relative risk of injury in helmeted and unhelmeted bicyclists has varied in different studies.

- There is equivocal evidence relating to the link between helmet use and neck injury

hope i'm not jinxing myself!

I used to ride motorcycles, but quit when I decided I really wanted to see what I was going to turn out to be when I grew up. I felt safer on the motorcycle due to the leather and more advanced helmet, as well as better brakes, more visibility (always burned the lights, plus the noise, etc.), and ability to use power to escape a problem area. However, I found I couldn't keep the speed down, and that I took chances I shouldn't take, so I sold them. I was my own potential worst enemy, but I never got hurt. I ride my bicycle a little like that, too. I'm in my aero bars at 40+mph whenever the hill is steep enough and the road is clear enough, especially if the course is closed to traffic...I still check ahead for slower riders, but I do keep my head down too long without looking sometimes...especially in a race. I will start being a bit more careful, though, it's really not worth it to gain a couple of seconds. One thing I do when training is always use a mirror. I watch behind me faithfully, and I make sure the approaching car is moving over to give me room, or I pick out my escape routes...it's kept me out of trouble more than once. I don't use a mirror when I race though, maybe I should.

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

Interesting feedback and links. Thanks. I am still struck by the apparent disconnect among "laypeople", at least the ones I talk to, about the real risks of bicycling, motorcycling, and the necessity of helmet use for the former. Perhaps bicycling, seen as a benign activity, suffers from an image problem that's the converse of the image problem with motorcycles.

Would things be different if the little town of Hollister, CA had been invaded by granola-hungry mountain bike riders instead of booze-thirsty bikers? If Pete Fonda and Dennis Hopper had ridden across America on touring bicycles instead of choppers? If the Stones had hired a lycra-clad cycling team to protect the stage at Altamont instead of the Hell's Angels? If the Fonz had ridden through the Arnold's parking lot on a Trek instead of a Triumph?

Ok, enough from me...

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