Anyone catch this feature on R5 yesterday, if so what was the verdict. I went to the Scottish Bike Show so missed it, battling through the snow and jackknifed lorries on the M74 was very exciting!
Rob S
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A frightening adjunct to the one year for speeding thread in terms of the risks (mostly to themselves) taken by bikers. Mostly on the "born again biker" who finds he can now afford the bike he hankered after while riding a Honda 125 20 years ago, and with grandfather rights on his license seems he just buys and takes off. Usual media hype, concentrating on the worst injuries etc, but still made me think I would not want my son or daughter on one!!.
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Unfortunately, I missed the article too. However, it is not news that Born Again Bikers are playing an increasingly prominant role in motorcycle crash statistics. This behaviour has been reported in the motorcycling press for the past 10 years.
As with so many things, the problem isn't simple: coupled with the new-but-older bikers able to afford larger machines are the younger riders, many of whom are unable to afford to ride even the most basic of bikes. Therefore, if the biking population is being skewed towards older riders - a middle-age spread, if you will - then statistically we should expect an increase in the frequency of older rider crashes.
It's worth considering as well that driving instruction and examination is much mroe intense and safety oriented than it was 20 years ago. So, many new drivers and riders, if they're being responsible, could be safer on the roads than some of the more 'experienced' road users.
My wife, who gained her motorcycle licence 6 years ago, has not ridden on the roads since passing. However, although she's met the driving standards required by the IAM, she'd be reluctant to go out on a bike without a refresher course.
With proper training, riding a motorcycle is one of the most rewarding and exhilarating pleasures of road-use.
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Let's not forget that the statistics clearly state that the younger you are the more likely you are to die on a bike.
I love biking, and I accept that a man of may age has a 0.08 per cent chance of dying on a bike in any ten year period.
I hope that I can minimise the risk by being careful.[1]
And please, lets not forget that over a quarter of us will die young of cancer.
If that stark fact doesn't put all other risks into perspective I don't know what will!
[1] Of course this statistic will include people who are being careful!
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