On Fri, Feb 21, 2003 at 07:39:03PM +0000, Adam Back wrote: > As far as evolutionary pressures, aggressive and fast driving is far > more dangerous, however adrenaline inducingly fun that may be. > > (ke =1/2.m.v^2). Also exposed or unduly light vehicles -- motorbikes, > light built cars like citroen 2cv or such. motorbikes have very bad > accident statistics.
True, of course. I used to own a Honda CBR600F2, a black-pink-purple sportbike (that was the color scheme during the year I bought it, 1992, at least). I was younger and more prone to taking risks than I am now, and had a knee- shredding crash once (I was wearing a very good leather jacket but with jeans). But at the same time, a motorcycle is in some ways safer than a car: You can stop from 30 mph to 0 mph in something like 10 feet, if I recall the CBR's stats properly. Instant acceleration helps too in avoiding accidents, as does a higher riding position. I generally think of it as: You may have a better chance of avoiding a crash because of the performance and visibility characteristics, but if you do get into an accident, you'll suffer heavier damage. -Declan
