Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for NZ

Anything and everything not related to anything else on this site.

Moderator: Modsquad

TheMaverick
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 733
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:07 am

Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for NZ

Post by TheMaverick »

I discovered some interesting New Zealand 2016 motorcycle crash statistics and did a quick write-up about it on my motorcycle safety blog this morning:

https://www.facebook.com/MotorcycleTips ... StayAlive/

Motorcyclists fare poorly in crash statistics, and yet those same statistics indicate that we're at fault (or could have directly influenced the outcome of our accidents) at least 64 times out of every 100 accidents that we had.
slowpoke
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 53
Joined: Wed Sep 13, 2017 10:02 am
Year: 2014 Forza 300
Color: Red
Location: USA

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by slowpoke »

My friend in Christchurch works at a rehab center and said a third of the patients were there due to motorcycle head injuries. I visited his workplace and met a life-long motorcyclist who is now permanently confined to a wheelchair. On his wall were numerous photos of his bikes and adventures. It's not all bad - my friend, as part of his job, takes him once a week to the gentleman's club, no kidding!

I was actually quite shocked how many traffic accidents in general occur in NZ. During my scooter trip, I got all my news from the stuff.co.nz website and there were so many road accident reports, a lot of them involving tourists. Perhaps they weren't used to driving on the left? Before I arrived in NZ, I had this impression that it was a pretty big country, sparsely populated, with tons of empty space, so traffic accidents would be few and far between. Boy was I wrong! I like to think that many of accidents were because of tourists distracted by the scenery. That happens quite a lot in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming where people drive the figure 8 loop.

Since I was on a 49cc scooter, I rode it like a bicycle, always sticking to the side of the road. Other than a close call with a truck near Invercargill, I found the majority of drivers to be very courteous, which my Christchurch friend couldn't believe . Perhaps the locals thought I was a dork on a 49cc, so they gave me lots of room? Teehee. So many great memories of NZ. Actually, I would say it's among the worst places to go touring. Why? You're having to get on and off the scooter every two seconds because you have to take another damn photo!!! (I ended up taking 4,200 photos of NZ).
User avatar
you you
What's a wot?
What's a wot?
Posts: 10000
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:37 pm
Location: Between Lulu and Chichi

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by you you »

Post some pictures of your scooter trip?
TheMaverick
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 733
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:07 am

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by TheMaverick »

@SlowPoke

Thanks for that. I think that in general, motorcycle safety is one of those dynamics where "only 5% are really pro-active about safety" but "95% think that they belong to that 5%". We hear things like "you don't have to worry about me - I've been riding for 40 years" - and then you see them riding 1/2 a second behind a car before overtaking on the flush median in the face of on-coming traffic. So many riders just have so many factors working against them all the time. The tragedies of Michael Schumacher, Jules Bianchi, and Nicky Hayden all serve to illustrate that no matter how talented a driver/rider, we're all equally as vulnerable to brain injury.

In terms of accidents, we lose about 1 motorcyclist a week on average - and our road toll is heading for a BIG increase this year. In general NZ drivers are clueless; they don't know how to indicate at roundabouts - don't understand correct lane usage on the motorways - can't overtake safely - have no idea about safe following distances - aren't alert enough to spot speed cameras - and yet think the speed limit should be raised and that speed cameras are only to gather revenue for the police (of which the police get exactly zero point zero percent of fines revenue). And I think it's getting worse.

I get a lot of news from stuff.co.nz, but frankly, they're starting to annoy me big time; rather than report facts or give balanced sides of the story, they nearly always heavily bias it -- presumably to get a reaction / generate controversy and thus increase the click-through rates on the advertising (especially with the comments section where many completely rational posts never make it through the moderators). I think it was Spiderman who said "with great power comes great responsibility" - the media has incredible power to influence public opinion - and in my opinion, don't use it responsibly; the reports we get regarding a certain president are a great example ... some of the reports are fair enough but many articles are just absurd - very much a case of "tell people what they want to hear" rather than just give them the facts and let them form their own conclusions (at which point the "eternally offended delicate snowflakes" leap into action). /end_rant_with_apologies!

I think this 15 second video (not mine) sums it up perfectly.

User avatar
gn2
Forum Benefactor
Forum Benefactor
Posts: 7767
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 7:54 pm
Year: None
Location: NE Scotland

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by gn2 »

TheMaverick wrote:those same statistics indicate that we're at fault (or could have directly influenced the outcome of our accidents) at least 64 times out of every 100 accidents that we had.
That's a surprise, I would have guessed higher than 64%
Four decades on two wheels has taught me nothing, all advice given is guaranteed to be wrong
TheMaverick
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 733
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:07 am

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by TheMaverick »

gn2 wrote:
TheMaverick wrote:those same statistics indicate that we're at fault (or could have directly influenced the outcome of our accidents) at least 64 times out of every 100 accidents that we had.
That's a surprise, I would have guessed higher than 64%
Personally, I draw a distinction between "legally at fault" and "could have changed the outcome with defensive riding". Classic example of that was someone I know who was positioned behind a truck - truck moves into a turning lane - rider starts to go around the truck - collects van who pulls out from same intersection that truck is turning into (van had no idea that the rider was hidden by the truck). Legally the van is 100% in the wrong (and the accident stats will thus reflect that) - but the rider made no attempt to brake or swerve and (as any defensive motorcyclist knows) you just have to anticipate things like that happening when around blind spots (he had ample time to scrub off most if not all of his speed (I've watched the video of it several times)) - thus the rider was really the architect of his own demise in that situation (despite being legally in the right). He was "lucky" ... "only" an open tib/fib fracture and minimal life-long damage to the leg.

He now rides a bigger bike but (as far as I know) hasn't invested in any defensive riding training.
User avatar
gn2
Forum Benefactor
Forum Benefactor
Posts: 7767
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 7:54 pm
Year: None
Location: NE Scotland

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by gn2 »

Doesn't matter who is in the right or wrong ultimately its up to the rider to look after number one.
Four decades on two wheels has taught me nothing, all advice given is guaranteed to be wrong
TheMaverick
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 733
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:07 am

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by TheMaverick »

gn2 wrote:Doesn't matter who is in the right or wrong ultimately its up to the rider to look after number one.
For sure. No honour in being "dead right".
slowpoke
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 53
Joined: Wed Sep 13, 2017 10:02 am
Year: 2014 Forza 300
Color: Red
Location: USA

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by slowpoke »

Okay, YouYou, here's a couple. Hope this resizing thingymajig works...

1) Road to Mount Cook along Lake Pukaki (yes, the lake is THAT blue)

2) View atop from Mount Maunganui

3) Road to Glenorchy (my favorite road in NZ)

4) Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings (not sure what the real name of the mountain is)

5) Clouds descending into Lake Tekapo

6) World's steepest street in Dunedin (hurricane-like conditions came through shortly after this photo. I still managed - barely - to get to the top with the scooter)

7) Near Arthur's Pass (many travel brochures seem to show this view)

Eight) Florence Lookout near the southern tip of the South Island

These are just some of the thousands I took. Maverick's photo website should be part of New Zealand's tourism board:

http://www.pbase.com/cjsouthern/scenery

I spent three years bicycling around the world from 2013-2016, and New Zealand was the only country I extended my visa - it was THAT amazing. It was also the only country I scootered. I had been burned out from cycling and I wanted to see as much of NZ as possible, so I bought a 49cc. I've mentioned this before in another thread, but NZ is arguably the most livable country in the world. And trust me, I've been to quite a few. I hate to brag (okay, I LOVE to brag!!!), but I've been to about 60 countries on my bicycle since 1991, and NZ is at the very top (along with Chile and northern India) as the most beautiful. My all-time favorite country to visit is Vietnam. I think New Zealand's tourist board should hire me!!!!
Attachments
rsz_dsc09502.jpg
rsz_dsc09502.jpg (175.24 KiB) Viewed 1869 times
rsz_1dsc10003_232.jpg
rsz_1dsc10003_232.jpg (269.02 KiB) Viewed 1869 times
rsz_dsc09711.jpg
rsz_dsc09711.jpg (118.23 KiB) Viewed 1869 times
rsz_1dsc10003_120.jpg
rsz_1dsc10003_120.jpg (169.86 KiB) Viewed 1869 times
rsz_1dsc09408.jpg
rsz_1dsc09408.jpg (132.02 KiB) Viewed 1869 times
rsz_1dsc10003_1.jpg
rsz_1dsc10003_1.jpg (251.97 KiB) Viewed 1869 times
rsz_1dsc09002.jpg
rsz_1dsc09002.jpg (229.73 KiB) Viewed 1869 times
rsz_1rsz_dsc09966.jpg
rsz_1rsz_dsc09966.jpg (200.56 KiB) Viewed 1869 times
User avatar
Mel46
Forum Benefactor
Forum Benefactor
Posts: 6959
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:13 pm
Year: 2013
Color: red PCX
Location: Dallas, Ga USA

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by Mel46 »

Time for a long story, so ignore this if you want to.
One of the reasons that I will probably be selling our bikes next year is that my wife worries about me when I am out riding alone, but when I am out with her she doesn't listen to any safety tips that I give her. I have been riding for over 50 years. She has been riding for maybe 5 years.
Case in point: I continually tell her to give plenty of room when following a vehicle. Instead she tries to argue the point or tell me she knows that, and then tailgates, leaving only a bike's worth of distance between her and the vehicle.

All sorts of internal alarms are always going off internally when I am in traffic, such as when I see a car come up on me real fast from the rear. I just know that he is going to go around me without thinking about that vehicle that is directly in front of me that is being driven by a half blind old man who slams on his brakes if a leave blows across the road in front of him. Sure enough, the car behind me zooms around me just as the old man slams on the brakes...and there is the accident.
Yet my wife would not notice these things and just tailgate the heck out of that vehicle in front of us. She ends up going off of the road and onto the shoulder to keep from being caught in the accident that I could see was going to happen.
I have given up trying to warn her. The day we had our accident I argued with her about wearing more protection for an hour before I just let her wear what she wanted to. Four hours later we were in an accident. $75,000 and a lot of pain later she still argues about wearing her jacket, even after the last accident cost her plenty of time, pain, and money. Who has the time to argue safety with someone whose only defense is that it is too hot to wear it, and it is heavy? When she was a teen she rode small 50cc dirt bikes out in the field. She had not ridden after that until we bought the scooters. I had to work with her in order for her to be able to pass her driving test with her PCX, and for her to be comfortable riding it. We take bigger scooters out into traffic, not the field. There is a big difference. End of story.
Currently own:
Red 2013 Honda PCX150

Givi tall windshield & tailbox - Lots of extra lights
Custom seat from Thailand - Bad Boy Airhorn
Takegawa Lowering Shocks - Michelin City Grip Tires
Headlight assy upgraded to LEDs w/HS5 main bulbs
NCY variator, drive face, and rollers
User avatar
JohnL
Ozzie Old Fart
Ozzie Old Fart
Posts: 664
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2014 1:45 am
Year: 2015
Color: Dark Red
Location: Brisbane, Qld. Australia

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by JohnL »

I feel for you Mel. it's one of the prices we pay for a happy marriage.

On the other hand, my wife could tell many stories about my short sighted failings. :roll: :roll:
User avatar
PCX150Rider
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 1832
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:56 pm
Year: 2017
Color: White
Location: Old Saybrook, CT

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by PCX150Rider »

Time for a long story, so ignore this if you want to.
One of the reasons that I will probably be selling our bikes next year is that my wife worries about me when I am out riding alone, but when I am out with her she doesn't listen to any safety tips that I give her. I have been riding for over 50 years. She has been riding for maybe 5 years.
Case in point: I continually tell her to give plenty of room when following a vehicle. Instead she tries to argue the point or tell me she knows that, and then tailgates, leaving only a bike's worth of distance between her and the vehicle.
If it were me I'd ride alone and enjoy each day as much as I can. . . .no second opinion to deal with. She'll just have to get over it. :lol:

I doubt she's going to say to the Judge, "Your Honor, I'm divorcing my husband because he likes to ride his motor scooter without me around". :roll:

Watch out for lousy drivers though. ;)
User avatar
PCX150Rider
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 1832
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:56 pm
Year: 2017
Color: White
Location: Old Saybrook, CT

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by PCX150Rider »

Okay, YouYou, here's a couple. Hope this resizing thingymajig works...
Your pics came across fine. . .great views! :D
TheMaverick
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 733
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:07 am

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by TheMaverick »

Mel46 wrote:Time for a long story, so ignore this if you want to.
One of the reasons that I will probably be selling our bikes next year is that my wife worries about me when I am out riding alone, but when I am out with her she doesn't listen to any safety tips that I give her. I have been riding for over 50 years. She has been riding for maybe 5 years.
Case in point: I continually tell her to give plenty of room when following a vehicle. Instead she tries to argue the point or tell me she knows that, and then tailgates, leaving only a bike's worth of distance between her and the vehicle.

All sorts of internal alarms are always going off internally when I am in traffic, such as when I see a car come up on me real fast from the rear. I just know that he is going to go around me without thinking about that vehicle that is directly in front of me that is being driven by a half blind old man who slams on his brakes if a leave blows across the road in front of him. Sure enough, the car behind me zooms around me just as the old man slams on the brakes...and there is the accident.
Yet my wife would not notice these things and just tailgate the heck out of that vehicle in front of us. She ends up going off of the road and onto the shoulder to keep from being caught in the accident that I could see was going to happen.
I have given up trying to warn her. The day we had our accident I argued with her about wearing more protection for an hour before I just let her wear what she wanted to. Four hours later we were in an accident. $75,000 and a lot of pain later she still argues about wearing her jacket, even after the last accident cost her plenty of time, pain, and money. Who has the time to argue safety with someone whose only defense is that it is too hot to wear it, and it is heavy? When she was a teen she rode small 50cc dirt bikes out in the field. She had not ridden after that until we bought the scooters. I had to work with her in order for her to be able to pass her driving test with her PCX, and for her to be comfortable riding it. We take bigger scooters out into traffic, not the field. There is a big difference. End of story.
Thanks for that. She sounds like a lot of riders and drivers that I know. To be honest, I really don't know what the answer is; I see something similar with my daughter who has only recently got her restricted licence - she's a really good driver (I'd give her 8.5 out of 10 or higher for general driving) - but so much of that revolves around other people doing what they're supposed to. It's when other drivers do something unexpectedly that I can see her getting caught out - and yet she just doesn't have any sense of the danger in that - and at the moment (in my opinion anyway) is starting to go through an over-confident phase because the physical co-ordination all just seems "too easy" at the moment. As a parent about all I can do is "wait for the call", unfortunately.

In terms of following distance I use the "2 second" rule - usually about 2.5 seconds is the sweet spot for me - with another second added if I'm riding in the wet and another second if I'm carrying a pillion. If someone is driving right up my rear than I leave an extra couple of seconds ahead also if I can't let them by.
TheMaverick
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 733
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:07 am

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by TheMaverick »

slowpoke wrote:Okay, YouYou, here's a couple. Hope this resizing thingymajig works...

1) Road to Mount Cook along Lake Pukaki (yes, the lake is THAT blue)

2) View atop from Mount Maunganui

3) Road to Glenorchy (my favorite road in NZ)

4) Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings (not sure what the real name of the mountain is)

5) Clouds descending into Lake Tekapo

6) World's steepest street in Dunedin (hurricane-like conditions came through shortly after this photo. I still managed - barely - to get to the top with the scooter)

7) Near Arthur's Pass (many travel brochures seem to show this view)

Eight) Florence Lookout near the southern tip of the South Island

These are just some of the thousands I took. Maverick's photo website should be part of New Zealand's tourism board:

http://www.pbase.com/cjsouthern/scenery

I spent three years bicycling around the world from 2013-2016, and New Zealand was the only country I extended my visa - it was THAT amazing. It was also the only country I scootered. I had been burned out from cycling and I wanted to see as much of NZ as possible, so I bought a 49cc. I've mentioned this before in another thread, but NZ is arguably the most livable country in the world. And trust me, I've been to quite a few. I hate to brag (okay, I LOVE to brag!!!), but I've been to about 60 countries on my bicycle since 1991, and NZ is at the very top (along with Chile and northern India) as the most beautiful. My all-time favorite country to visit is Vietnam. I think New Zealand's tourist board should hire me!!!!
Lol - just all looks "normal" to me! (thanks for the kind words regarding my gallery by the way!)

Here's the view out of my lounge window this morning ...
Attachments
IMG_3868a.jpg
IMG_3868a.jpg (399.07 KiB) Viewed 1847 times
slowpoke
Regular User
Regular User
Posts: 53
Joined: Wed Sep 13, 2017 10:02 am
Year: 2014 Forza 300
Color: Red
Location: USA

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by slowpoke »

You're right next to Tasman Bay, which is next to that beach the Kiwis bought (forgot the name), which is next to Heaphy Track (I hiked it), which is next to...you get my drift. I could never get tired being surrounded by those 'normal' views. But I get what you're saying. I used to live in Manhattan and thought it was funny seeing all those tourists taking pictures.

The one thing I did notice was Kiwis drive like it's the last lap of the Indianapolis 500.

Another thing Stuff reported was trash left by freedom camping. That seems to be a contentious issue in NZ. BTW, I was eating at a nondescript restaurant in Wanaka and who did I see walking in? God himself: Richie McCaw.

I saw this years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTYkSuqY1ZY
User avatar
PCX150Rider
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 1832
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:56 pm
Year: 2017
Color: White
Location: Old Saybrook, CT

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by PCX150Rider »

But I get what you're saying. I used to live in Manhattan and thought it was funny seeing all those tourists taking pictures.
Manhattan eh?
P1010054a.jpg
P1010054a.jpg (129.65 KiB) Viewed 1829 times
TheMaverick
Frequent Poster
Frequent Poster
Posts: 733
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:07 am

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by TheMaverick »

slowpoke wrote:You're right next to Tasman Bay, which is next to that beach the Kiwis bought (forgot the name), which is next to Heaphy Track (I hiked it), which is next to...you get my drift. I could never get tired being surrounded by those 'normal' views. But I get what you're saying. I used to live in Manhattan and thought it was funny seeing all those tourists taking pictures.

The one thing I did notice was Kiwis drive like it's the last lap of the Indianapolis 500.

Another thing Stuff reported was trash left by freedom camping. That seems to be a contentious issue in NZ. BTW, I was eating at a nondescript restaurant in Wanaka and who did I see walking in? God himself: Richie McCaw.

I saw this years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTYkSuqY1ZY
It's a funny old place . Tasman Bay and I are "old friends" - only about 60' deep off memory when when I went SCUBA diving for scallops for friends (since I don't eat seafood I found it amazing how many friends I made as a diver ...). The beach is called "Awaroa Beach" (I'm a part owner to the tune of $1). Kiwi's can be so stupid though - the organisers were discussing their buying power in public - letting the owners know how much money they had to negotiate with. There's a rich dude here (Gareth Morgan) who said (in essence) "let me handle the negotiation and put up a million bucks of my own money - all I ask in return is a small portion (about 2%) for my own use for 10 years and then that will be gifted to the public as well". Common sense says the reaction should have been "Woo hoo - bloody good of ya mate - legend!) but instead most of the reaction was along the lines of "you can take your money and stick it where the sun don't shine" - it was an extraordinary "shoot-themselves-in-the-foot" reaction - one that we're seeing far too often.

The "freedom camping" thing was even more fuel for the "perpetually outraged and offended" - we get these articles about "how certain popular tracks have been ruined by freedom campers" by "ruined" they really mean "sometimes the discarded rubbish builds up requiring a working-bee for a weekend every few years to sort out". Classic case was the "rubbish left in the freedom park" that I drive past several times a day to/from work; (a) I never saw more than a minor amount and (b) what was there was because all the rubbish bins were full to overflowing (in all probability, full of rubbish from locals too tight to pay for it to be disposed of through normal commercial channels). We're becoming very good at creating problems where there aren't any (delicate & easily hurt little snowflakes are plentiful all year round - and I'm not talking about the weather!).

Richie does indeed enjoy god-like status here. These days he flies helicopters for a Christchurch company. Wish more kiwis embraced his attitude of "no complaints - just get on with the job".
Attachments
1.jpg
1.jpg (78.14 KiB) Viewed 1827 times
User avatar
you you
What's a wot?
What's a wot?
Posts: 10000
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:37 pm
Location: Between Lulu and Chichi

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by you you »

slowpoke wrote:Okay, YouYou, here's a couple. Hope this resizing thingymajig works...

1) Road to Mount Cook along Lake Pukaki (yes, the lake is THAT blue)

2) View atop from Mount Maunganui

3) Road to Glenorchy (my favorite road in NZ)

4) Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings (not sure what the real name of the mountain is)

5) Clouds descending into Lake Tekapo

6) World's steepest street in Dunedin (hurricane-like conditions came through shortly after this photo. I still managed - barely - to get to the top with the scooter)

7) Near Arthur's Pass (many travel brochures seem to show this view)

Eight) Florence Lookout near the southern tip of the South Island

These are just some of the thousands I took. Maverick's photo website should be part of New Zealand's tourism board:

http://www.pbase.com/cjsouthern/scenery

I spent three years bicycling around the world from 2013-2016, and New Zealand was the only country I extended my visa - it was THAT amazing. It was also the only country I scootered. I had been burned out from cycling and I wanted to see as much of NZ as possible, so I bought a 49cc. I've mentioned this before in another thread, but NZ is arguably the most livable country in the world. And trust me, I've been to quite a few. I hate to brag (okay, I LOVE to brag!!!), but I've been to about 60 countries on my bicycle since 1991, and NZ is at the very top (along with Chile and northern India) as the most beautiful. My all-time favorite country to visit is Vietnam. I think New Zealand's tourist board should hire me!!!!

Just lovely thank you.
User avatar
you you
What's a wot?
What's a wot?
Posts: 10000
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:37 pm
Location: Between Lulu and Chichi

Re: Official 2016 Motorcycle Accident breakdown analysis for

Post by you you »

JohnL wrote:I feel for you Mel. it's one of the prices we pay for a happy marriage.

No it isn't. Man up Mel. Things would fall apart without you.
Post Reply