Topic: Back then vs Now bike-car dangers

[maxspeed140]

Thought I would pose this question, have my own observations but here goes. To all the older riders out there, in your opinion, how dangerous is it now compared to riding in the 60s, 70s, 80s? Does it seem safer regarding sharing the road with cars, car operators actions? This question is open to all Bikers, not just the ones in the U.S.

[BeSeeingYou]

I would say it's worse today.  More drivers on the road for one thing but the big problem is cell phones, ipads, in  car video screens, even GPS.  Far too many distractions that keep your eye off the road.

[petercb750]

I would add attitude to that list from srust - been riding for 40+ years, and it seems so more aggressive out there these days, at least over here anyway. And traffic is certainly a lot heavier.

[DH]

Seems like its a lot more dangerous now. There werent cell phones or people texting in the early 70s. And people have a lot more things pissing them off nowadays. Everything's a compettition. .........+1

[Kevin D]

Is this really a "brush" guard, or an offensive weapon fitted to this Ram?

OTOH, I get an occasional friendly 'the road is yours' wave from cars.

[seanbarney41]

...seems to me that cars are so easy to drive now that nobody really knows how to drive or pays attention to what they are doing...when was the last time you drove a car with four wheel drum brakes, manual steering and transmission plus it won't idle in the cold and the windshield wipers don't work?...really had to be on top of your game just to drive a car years ago...

[Grnrngr]

I'd hafta +1 on way more people on the road, paying a lot less attention than back in the day..

[BeSeeingYou]

I would add attitude to that list from srust - been riding for 40+ years, and it seems so more aggressive out there these days, at least over here anyway. And traffic is certainly a lot heavier.

Yeah, forgot to add that one.  People seem to regard cars as weapons to defend their "personal space" (a modern phrase used to justify their aggression).

[tramp]

in the 70's i had people run me off the road on purpose
for me it's alot safer today

[veloracermike]

I race bicycles so I spend a lot of time doing the same things we do on MC's at much lower speeds. Because of that I get to see what drivers are doing up close and personal.  Mainly most drivers here in Austin can't multi-task, ie can't use their cell phones, change the radio station etc.  People here also think using their blinker gives them the god given right to just change lanes.  I don't go through any intersection without slowing and making sure it's safe, right of way or not.

But what I see as a big change over the last decade or so is what has already been mentioned...people seem just flat pissed off in their cars.  The aggressiveness is at an all time high. 

[kirkn]

Big +1 on the additional distractions and the addition "base level of rage".

Another contributor seems to be in car design itself.  Much better "cocoon" than in years gone by - AC, better sound systems, comfort, quiet - isolation from road noise, responsiveness, etc.  Much easier for the average driver to "tune out" the others... 

[tortelvis]

Much worse today, mainly cell phones and other electronic toys in the car. Also percieved risk is a big factor. People feel so safe in their little cage that they do things now that they used to think twice about doing. I remember a Ford ad in the UK that showed a vehicle hit broadside in slow motion. The driver caught the Cassette tape as it shot from the tape player! Nice message there Ford, "I am in an indestructible vehicle." There is an old saying, "The greatest deivce for road safety would be a sharpened six inch spike in the center of the steering wheel and no seat belts." Maybe that wake up some of the bozos out there. Plus one on the turn signal thing; the guy that took me out in 1998 actually said to the police (he made an illegal U turn six feet in front of me) "But I had my turn signal on!"

[pknopp]

 I don't know.......I can't explain completely why. It seems that "back in the day" I knew quite a few people who got hurt. Some pretty bad. Now it seems you hear more about people getting killed.
 
 Bikes are faster but safety equipment is better.

[BeSeeingYou]

in the 70's i had people run me off the road on purpose
for me it's alot safer today

Probably on the account of what you had just done to their 17 year old daughter.

[petercb750]

Been out and about on the 750 today....great day, lots of bikes out, warm and sunny. Got to thinking about this subject and another distraction came to mind - sat nav. Every 2nd car has a sat nav in it - is it illegal to be playing with them as it is for mobile phones? (in oz anyway?).
And the number of people who have them stuck to their windscreens, sometimes smack bang in the middle at eye level - you got to be fkn kidding me - tell me that's not a dangerous distraction!
Time the law jumped on them too.

[BobbyR]

I started riding and driving in the 1960's. By 1980 there were twice the number of cars on the road than when I started driving. It was easier to find a quiet road back then, today I have to go up further North to get some peace and quiet riding.

The cars today are far different beyond the electronics. The cars I drove and everyone drove had crappy brakes, no handling and traveling at 70 mph you felt like you were moving. Today, I can hit 80 driving a crossover on a road that 70 was a life changing experience in a Mustang.

It is far more dangerous today.

[dave500]

im with all of the above,i drive every day,,mostly about 180 to 250 kays around the gold coast in a small rubbish skip truck,,ive driven for the same company nearly ten years and ive only just "upgraded" to this easy peasy little truck compared to the  tandem(bogie)drive international acco/cummins/road ranger truck its replaced,fair dinkum the little truck gets more dickheads taking chances by far,the old acco(an aussie icon)with its bull bar(disallowed in america)never attracted half the dickheads i get trying to do dumb #$%* now,,for example ive already been hit from behind twice within two months,one was a brand new school bus and it bent the rear heavy square section nudge bar we use to manouvre bins with and the other was a guy who got pushed into my rear by a young chick and smashed her front so bad green #$%* was pissing out and she got out and covered her grinning mouth like it was funny?i couldnt be #$%*ed so i gave the poor guy who got pushed into me a card and left,,we are all surrounded by dickheads full stop!in a back street i placed an empty bin on the road way to do a "change over"and a lady in a car full of kids smashed into it and said she didnt see it,four other cars had negotiated around it and i had a guy directing traffic aswell??#$%*?it shoved the bin sideways and again this had green #$%* pissing out,,we never heard anymore of it,,the husband had turned up and i explained what was going on,,he sort of knew it was her fault etc,man i got a few more stories of dickheads,trouble is they dont consider themselves dickheads!

[dhall57]

Sure there's more traffic and more distractions on the hwys today than it was back in 1973 when I first got out on the roads on my Honda (well legally anyway IMO today there is so many people out there that just plain and simple don't give a rats a$$ about anything. So what if they turn in front of you, so what if they run you off the road, so what if they nearly kill you. There late for work, they've got a hair appointment, this list could go on forever. It would be amazing to know when your out and about on your bike just how many people that you pass by or waitting beside at a stop light that have no license or insurance or just got through killing a 6 pack of Bud and still working on a 5th of Jack Daniels while waiting for the light to turn green so they can try to find there way home, just a disaster waiting to happen. All you can do today is stay as alert and as safe as possible and hope the good lord is watching over you. 

[demon78]

Far more dangerous today than when I first started, mind you I was driving on Vancouver Island around the Comox-Courtney region and there simply wasn't that many people around, then on to Vancouver proper and there was lots more people around but most of them thought they could drive ( only place where I saw some one pounding out a guy that cut him off whilst the cop refereed) so reasonably safe, then Los Angeles lots more people but the cops on the freeways ground it to the screw ups but with the increase in people it was much more dangerous I stopped using the San Berdoo freeway and used the service roads to get to work, came back to the great snowy North around the Kitchener-Waterloo area, holy #$%* did it get dangerous, finally stopped driving there, moved to Port Elgin much smaller place but just as dangerous, time frame from 1959-2008 think it's the people they just don't have positional awareness any more, or they don't think about the dangers of driving for them or anyone else, there is this thing about I've got airbags see I'm OK I don't need to worry. Now I am in a place with out that much traffic so I'm not doing bad but I still get twitchy going into town.
Bill the demon.