Age and treachery can beat youth and exuberance every time.
Only the aged say this with any conviction, I think. And, if you leave off the "every time", the statement has merit.
![Wink ;)](http://forums.sohc4.net/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
Young people have better reflexes, but experienced riders don't have to think how to react- they just do it.
The difference here is that they made survivable mistakes and learned good habits from it.
In my youth, I rode my bikes to the edge of performance...on the street...where conditions are far from consistent or predictable. (Exuberance and stupidity I now realize) . If I'd had a Hayabusa instead of a 305 superhawk, I can't imagine surviving. The fast relexes allowed me to minimize the damage from the judgment errors. And, of course fast healing kept me going back for more. The prior Honda 50 actually taught me a bad habit, by the way. The twist grip was quickly understood to be little more than an on-off switch. You either needed all the power it could deliver or none. That's why my first test of the 305 resulted in an unintentional wheelie. (I can still picture the owner's wide wide eyes when that happened).
I didn't really realize what was wrong with highway driving/ drivers until I took flight training. There, you are taught not only how to handle the machine safely in routine situations, but what to do when things go wrong and when the airplane stops doing the normal things. Emergency procedures and unusual attitudes are repeated until they no long frighten and are handle in a routine way. Deal with the adrenalin later. The first time a rider or driver on the highway gets any training about edge of performance limits on braking or cornering is usually just before the crash. Survival optional.
I recall while in Illinois, the first thing I did when getting underway in the car after a snow or in icy conditions, was to test the traction of the tires in the car. Tapping the brakes quickly on the snow or ice at very low speed teaches you how much to rely on the brakes, how much pedal pressure is safe, and allows adjustment of your safe traffic interval on the way to work. It also shows you how the car handles both near and beyond tractive limits. This is a concept totally foreign to ANY native California driver. Who wants to waste time learning how to maneuver in a situation they never want to get into?
Who are you trying to impress?
These days? Doctors...
![Grin ;D](http://forums.sohc4.net/Smileys/default/grin.gif)
Cheers,