Why do Motorcycles Crash?
Ask the uninitiated, and they will tell you that the next logical thing that will happen when you get on a motorcycle is a spectacular crash. And, it has to be said, that this generalization is not without reason. Motorcycles are some of the most dangerous motorized vehicles that can be found in the world today. Motorcycle safety is of paramount importance, and it all begins with getting an understanding of some of the main causes of the crashes that occur out there on a daily basis. So, why do motorcycles crash?
- Speeding
For most of us, getting on a motorcycle is all about the thrill of having the wind rush by while cruising on one unimaginably beautiful highway or the other. And nothing better elicits this feeling than opening the throttle and just letting the wind take you wherever it is that it wants to take you.
There is something that’s just so… empowering about the whole thing. Unfortunately, the thrill comes at a price. Speeding, on any vehicle, gives you less time to react to the many hazards that can found on the road today. On a motorcycle, this is usually enough to send you sliding along the hard tarmac.
- Wobbling
The man in the above video is a perfect illustration of wobbling, a phenomenon that involves the uncontrolled side to side movement of either the front or rear wheel of a motorcycle. This is another major cause of the motorcycle crashes that occur around the world every day.
Causes of Wobbling
The main causes of wobbling are;
- Improperly aligning a motorcycle when performing a wheelie is one of the major causes of most of the wobble induced crashes that you see on the internet.
- Rapid acceleration is another major cause of wobbling. This comes from the fact that accelerating reduces the pressure on the front wheel, thus making you lose control of your bike.
- Another thing that causes wobbling is not properly loading your motorcycle. What you need to do in this regard is make sure that the load is evenly distributed on both sides of your bike.
- Improper wheel alignment: Not properly aligning your bike’s wheels can also cause dangerous wobbling on a motorcycle. The same applies to having defective rims.
- Low tire pressure is another major cause of wobbling on motorcycles. You, therefore, need to make sure that your bike’s tires are inflated to the correct level before hitting the road.
- Other Vehicles
A large number of motorcycle crashes that occur out there are caused by other vehicles. We have previously written about the fact that most car drivers are rather… indisposed towards motorcyclists. There are many reasons for this, none of which we will dwell on in this article.
As you can see in the above video, some of these crashes are actually innocent, and do not have anything to do with car drivers trying to get back at bikers for one reason or the other. The biker in the above video fails to notice that the driver of the white sedan has slowed down, along with everyone else. The result is spectacular, but really, it doesn’t look that bad. At least not as bad as some of the other crash videos that are doing the rounds on the internet.
- Wet Tarmac
This is another major cause of the motorcycle crashes that occur out there every year. With a two wheeler, you do not have the kind of control on a wet surface that you get when driving a four wheeled vehicle. What then happens is that when you hit a puddle on the road, the result can be rather spectacularly unfortunate.
The biker in the above video is really fortunate that the crash takes him towards the far edge of the road. With other vehicles on the road, he could have easily been crashed into a pulp on the wet tarmac.
- Hitting a soft spot on the road
The stability of your bike, or any other vehicle for that matter, depends on the wheels resting on an even surface. A number of the bike crashes that occur out there are caused by motorcycles hitting unevenly textured stretches of the road.
If, as an example, you suddenly hit a sandy patch while dirt biking, the loss in speed will usually be enough to send you careening over your bike.
- Cornering too fast
A large number of the motorcycle crashing videos that you see on YouTube occur when people fail to negotiate sharp corners.
The biker in the above video hits the brakes in a turn and, although the curve is not particularly sharp, he ends up on the hard tarmac.
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