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A reality check: thousands of bikers will take their last ride this year
updated often - hit "F5" to refresh page

Why is it most riders treat their bikes like gold, 
but some treat their body like scrap metal?

"The typical motorcycle accident allows the motorcyclist just less than 2 seconds to complete all collision avoidance action" 
(Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures, Hurt Report)

Play this video - it happens this fast
Motorcycle fatalities and injuries - happening now in the U.S.

TV Station does story on 150MPH speeding motorcyclists:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

It's great to see the message is getting out ! Here is a recent email I received : 
I own a large internet motorcycling forum and we are starting a High School Safety seminar. As part of it we would like to use information from your website. We are developing a basic brochure for parents to be distributed thru the PTA, entitled "Your child and motorcycling - What a parent should know." 

Thanks and keep up the good work !

Source: NHTSA - US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(your taxes at work)

• Riding has never been more dangerous- and it's getting worse

  • In 1997, motorcyclists were 14 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash, per vehicle mile traveled.

  • In 2005, motorcyclists were 37 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash, per vehicle mile traveled.
    
    There are more motorcycles on the road than ever before- so you can sadly expect a higher number of deaths. Same for cars, planes, trains, whatever. But how do you determine the true risk? You use 'per vehicle mile traveled'- it takes the number of bikes out of the equation. It's simple to understand: for every hundred miles you put on your bike, you are 37 times more likely to die than if you drive your car a hundred miles. Same if you drive around the block. Same if you drive across the US. It's still 37 times the risk. That risk has risen a lot since 1997:

  
  Data Calculations

  No other mode of transportation has seen this dramatic rise, so I am not putting up web pages about them. 
  You are 37 times more likely to die on a bike than in a car- and that ratio is increasing very fast.
  
  

Why is this? 
Roads are more crowded. Cell phones are used everywhere. 
There are more inexperienced riders, especially in the 40 year old and over category. Engines are larger.

Motorcyclists are frequently overlooked by other drivers, and bikes are obviously far less crashworthy than closed vehicles. 
While 20 percent of passenger vehicle crashes result in injury or death, an astounding 80 percent of motorcycle crashes result in injury or death.

BUMPER STICKERS

• Motorcycle rider fatalities in the past five years increased by 47 percent. 
  Source: NHSTA - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
  
  

• Only 2% of registered vehicles are motorcycles, yet they make up 11.3% of all motor vehicle deaths
  Source: NHSTA - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -  document DOT HS 810 820. 
  Also consider that most motorcycles are not ridden nearly as much as a car, yet they still contribute to over 11% of all vehicle deaths. And speaking of 2%, it's no wonder cagers overlook riders. They are not used to seeing them! There are only 2 bikes for every 100 cars out there!
  
  

• An unhelmeted rider is far more likely to suffer a fatal head injury
  Helmet use is at an all-time low. Last year, only 48 percent of the nation's riders wore headgear that met U.S. Department of Transportation standards. Motorcycle helmets save lives and prevent devastating and debilitating head injuries. If you don't care enough about yourself to wear a lid, consider those that will have to care of you after your accident. How freaking selfish can you be? Helmets are estimated to be 37 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries to motorcyclists. This means for every 100 motorcyclists killed in crashes while not wearing a helmet, 37 of them could have been saved if they had a helmet on.

  Because there is convincing evidence that helmets save lives and reduce society's burden of caring for injured riders, states should enact and retain universal helmet laws for those who want the 'right to choose'.
  
  In Florida, for example, fatalities increased by 81% during a three-year period after the state repealed its law in 2000. Riders who ride without a helmet are required to carry $10,000 worth of insurance, but that $10,000 is often used up in the first 30 minutes of trauma care. Hospital costs for motorcycle-related injuries soared to $44 million in the 30 months after the law was reversed, versus $21 million over a similar span while the law was in effect. Less than 10% of the motorcycle riders involved in these accidents had insurance of any kind to provide medical care.

  I do not want to pay higher insurance premiums for your ignorance. That's why we need stupid helmet laws for stupid people. I sure hope you are not one of them. Seeing a biker with nothing but a bald head or do-rag does not look cool, you look like a complete ass.  Ever see a professional football player on the field without a helmet? Think about it.

  The helmets of thousands of accident victims (dead and alive) have been analyzed. The following diagram shows how often the helmet was hit and where. All those numbers add up to 100%. Notice the chin area (under the visor) gets creamed more than any other part of the face. The following diagram shows that 45.3% of impacts are in areas not covered by a 3/4 helmet. What does this mean? Wear a full-face helmet! (diagram courtesy "Proficient Motorcycling" by David Hought).

   
  

• Do not ride drunk
  Approximately 28% of fatality injured motorcyclists are intoxicated. Motorcycle operators have the highest intoxication rate than any other type of driver (22% for automobiles, 1% for trucks). Intoxicated passengers also contribute to motorcycle accidents. The balance of a bike is made unstable when the passenger does not have control. Know your passenger's alcohol consumption.
  
  

• Loud Pipes Save Lives
  Are you kidding? Do we need to cover this again?
  - The vast majority of bike accidents are from the front. To have any chance of alerting those motorists to the presence of a motorcycle with exhaust noise would require that the tailpipe be pointed forward. LOL. The chances of rearward-facing straight pipes making a bike more obvious are very slim. The reality of the loud pipe is that all you'll succeed in doing is irritating all the people behind and beside you who don't pose much of a threat anyway.
  - You are pissing off everyone around you. So who cares if you gun the throttle past an open driver's-side window and scare the hell out of the occupants? At least they see you, right? Maybe, but take a look at what happened to personal watercraft in Minnesota. Take a look at what happened in Yellowstone. Put it another way: how much do you appreciate the "music" blaring from other people's cars: the throbbing car stereo that shakes the very ground with some indistinguishable bass crap? How interested in someone else's music are you? Perhaps nobody else wants to listen to it. Perhaps they don't like the sound. Maybe they're trying to concentrate, or talk, or watch TV, or sleep. Maybe their kids are trying to sleep.
  - Loud exhaust pipes are illegal. Even HD has finally stopped installing them.
  
  and .... loud exhaust pipes actually REDUCE the performance of the bike in most cases, due to the reduction of back-pressure needed by tuned engines.
  

If you are really concerned about saving lives, a $20.00 reflective safety vest will save your biscuit a thousand times before that loud pipe will.

If you choose to ride, how do you decrease risk? 

For riders:

1. Always wear a helmet

2. Always wear protective gear

3. Never ride under the influence

4. Ride only in good weather conditions

5. Ride responsibly

6. Assume you’re invisible, constantly scan the road

7. Ride extra defensively

8. Take regular MSF courses

And for the automobile drivers ...

1. Look for motorcycles, especially when checking traffic at an intersection

2. Because of it's small size, a motorcycle may look farther away than it is

3. Because of it's small size, a motorcycle can be easily hidden in a car’s blind spots

4. Motorcyclists often slow by downshifting or merely rolling off the throttle, thus not activating the brake light

5. Motorcyclists often adjust position within a lane to be seen more easily and to minimize the effects of road debris, passing vehicles, and wind

6. Don't expect a motorcyclist to always be able to dodge out of the way

7. Stopping distance for motorcycles increases quickly when the road is wet

8. When a motorcycle is in motion, don't think of it as motorcycle; think of it as a person
   

DOWNLOAD THIS FREE SAFETY INFORMATION

NHTSA - US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
Motorcycle Safety Booklet
Crusin’ without Brusin’

Motorcycle Safety Foundation:
You and Your Motorcycle: Riding Tips
Motorcycle and Operator Manual
Sharing The Roadway booklet for non-motorcyclists

BUMPER STICKERS

Movies
(these are not graphic)

High speed accident, rider flips over car
Cager does not see bike (UK safety campaign)
Rider hit from behind, waiting at light. From in-car police camera
Biker is rear-ended and crawls out of traffic on his hands and knees
Rider with helmet-cam crashes hard
Rider slides in corner and run over by car
Rider hits a deer
Another Rider hit from behind
Rider hits gravel, almost goes over bridge
Is this safe riding? You be the judge
Bike-cop it by red light runner
Rider attempts risky pass, drives off road
Rider hit by car doing left-turn
Harley rider run over by dump truck

CLICK TO ENLARGE MOVIE

What's up with these pictures?

I had sites with safe riding tips and what you can do to increase your odds.  As you guessed, the sites were rarely visited. Then someone suggested putting up pictures and videos. I'm not talking about your garden variety bike pictures or babes. I'm talking about crashes. Bad crashes. Disgusting crashes sent to me in emails and found on the internet.

Then the hits went through the roof. When people post www.ride2die.com the title is often "accident pictures" or "shocking site". I find the pictures revolting, but it's been an effective strategy to get people here, just like people slow down for a car wreck. The grim side of human nature, I suppose.

If you are here to just see pictures or play the videos, you are missing the entire point.  
Take a moment and scroll back up, or click here, read the safety tips and download some of the free safety manuals. 
Just coming here to see the pictures does absolutely no good.

IF YOU CHOOSE TO RIDE, REMEMBER: ATGATT- ALL THE GEAR ALL THE TIME

DRESS FOR THE FALL, NOT FOR THE RIDE !

It will not always prevent injury or death, but sure makes a difference when you go down.