Realisticly, how dangerous is riding a bike?

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marklawrence1989

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I'm looking into buying a 125cc Honda Varadero...and so many friends have said how "riding a bike is dangerous" and they go on about horror stories and how theyve heared people having fatal collisions in the past.

I'm just thinking, its a 125cc bike, and I'm 6"2 and fairly big, therefore it shouldnt be insanely powerful. Can anyone just give me a brief idea of the risks and how dangerous riding a bike can actually be?

Thank you,

Mark
 
I don't personally think your risk is very much related to the size of your bike, though a 125 on the street may lose the advantage most bikes have of superior speed, braking, and maneuverability (depending on the rider) compared to cars.

The biggest danger is that other drivers won't see you, so you have to ride as if you are invisible and think at least 3 times further ahead than in a car. The danger of letting your attention waver on a bike is probably 10 times that in a car. I couldn't cite a study for that, but there is too much that can go wrong too fast when you are unprotected and invisible.

Consider how inattentive people are while talking on their cell phone, playing with their ipod, radio or whatever when you are in a car. On my bike I assume everyone is on their cell phone and changing the radio station all the time, every car. That's the best analogy I can give you.

And forget about riding at dusk in deer country, they will cut you in half at speed and you will never see them. They will have to tell you in the hospital what happened.

If you want to ride, you just have to accept the extra risks, even with protective gear (which I highly recommend, all the time, no exceptions.)
 
For real you can get killed on a skateboard

Im not a fortune teller-How safe are you???????
 
its a bit more dangerous than walking where people drive and sure in most cases when or if you get hit by a car its not like you got much of a chance.....and 125 is really small is what i drove back when i was 16 and in the dirt maybe you should think about 250 or bigger
 
I had one and it's pretty small, you can avoid a lot of wrecks, because you are small and go around or inbetween them, but you are in a wreck your odds of getting hurt are much greater because there is no protection...
 
There is a fair amount of risk riding a bike compared to the risks of driving an automobile. The rider must learn to manage these risks to reduce the chance of an accident.

Know the limits of the bike, yourself and ride within those limits.

Be aware of the environment (traffic, weather, road conditions, etc..) and ride accordingly.

See and be seen, always look well ahead and around you so that you can react in a timely manner. Wear bright or light colored gear, use your headlight to get other's attention and when riding at night use retro-reflective riding gear.

These are the basics for managing the risks associated with riding.
 
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