Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle B  Myth 8: If You Are Going to Crash, Lay It Down
I suspect this line was developed by riders to explain why they ended up flat-side-down while trying to avoid a crash.
They over-braked or otherwise lost control, then tried to explain the crash away as intentional and tried to make it sound like it wasn't a crash at all.
Maybe motorcycle brakes once were so bad that you could stop better off your bike while sliding or tumbling. If so, that hasn't been true for decades. You can scrub off much more speed before and there be going slower at impact with effective braking than you will sliding down the road on your butt. And if you are still on the bike, you might get thrown over the car you collide with, avoiding an impact with your body. If you slide into a car while you are on the ground, you either have a hard stop against it or end up wedged under it. Remember that the phrase "I laid 'er down to avoid a crash" is an oxymoron, often repeated by some other kind of moron.
The only events where being on the ground might leave you better off are:
1) on an elevated roadway where going over the guardrail will cause you to fall a long way,
or 2) in that situation you see occasionally in movies, where the motorcyclist slides under a semi trailer without touching it.
That's a good trick if the truck is moving. |
If your going to hit some fixed object like a car or concrete barrier or barb wire fence, telephone pole, something hard,,, and you know that you don't have enough space to break and theirs no ESCAPE AVENUE for you to steer your way to safety and avoid the collision then by all means, lay the bike down in such a way that puts the bike between you and the object your going to hit, stay with the bike in the saddle when you do this and allow the suspension of the bike to take the impact for you.
At 80,000 lbs up, in my semi, I can run over a 4 X 4 piece of pine and turn it into splinters.
Once, while crossing New Mexico, I ran over a 3 cushion leather couch which fell out of the back of this hispanic couples pickup truck.
There was no damage to the Semi, but there wasn't two pieces of that couch left which measured greater than 6 inches across, leather included. And the look on that cute lady's face, priceless!!!! Next time use some rope lady.
If you slide underneath my trailer while it's moving, they'll have to vacuum you up for burial. Depending on the community of course.
Some cities will just firehose you down the drain and forget about it. Yet others will apply this sawdust like stuff which will soak you
up then they scoop that into the dump truck for a more environmentally friendly send off.
Even if your in a full sized 4 door sedan, we'll see the transmission and engine in the ditch and little else. The rest will be in these
little tiny small chunks. And I mean that! You don't even find the trunk, doors, glove box, NOTHING...
Charlie