The Crash Scale

I was talking to someone today about crashes and the fact that there was a story that I have been wanting to write for some time, but hadn’t yet due to the fact that I didn’t want any one person to feel it was about their specific crash.

After my chat today I decided what the heck, and when you read the entire way through this it might make sense that any single person isn’t the cause of a crash anyway, not entirely alone.

Learning To Drive

I was taught to drive through a pilot program in the State of Ohio, which included high performance driving lessons and an intensive approach to traffic and collision understanding. Probably because of that training and the fact that my father was an Ohio State Trooper I approach traffic and crashes from a completely different and quite often misunderstood position and understanding. I was taught from day one that all crashes are a result of multiple factors, some that we control and other than we don’t. In all traffic situations (are subsequently crashes) there are three distinct sets of variables (called factors) that are always in play.

Those Sets were given to me as Conditions, Obstacles and Individuals. Within each set there are always typically multiple factors and every single factor influences the flow of traffic and are a part of any crash. I was taught to not refer to a crash as an accident, not because all crashes are avoidable, but because accident tries to place blame on one particular factor and never is one factor the complete reason for a crash. Saying “It was an accident” stops the search for the combination of factors that lead to the crash, thus stops learning. If you stop learning you’ll continue to repeat the process and in the same set of factors, a crash will most likely occur again.

If you have gone through the MSF BRC this line of thought will look very similar. MSF uses an Oval of Safety and a Chain to show factors and the program I learned under used a scale. Basically, if you overload on side of the scale with danger, it tips and a crash occurs. In fact I specifically remember an example of drinking and driving (back then DUI was not as hot a topic as today) and how it could lead to a crash. They described three factors, one was time of day the other drinking (a single drink) or not and the third, driving a car. Any two of those factors alone and there might not be a problem, but combine the three and a crash was likely. Odd example, but you get the point.

The biggest thing that was stressed during this training was that as an individual (driving or not) you are always a factor in a crash. That doesn’t mean you are the only factor and certainly does not mean you are the largest factor, just that you are always a factor and in any traffic situation you should observe yourself as a factor for your own sake and for others as well.

Factors Are Not Causes Alone

I’m condensing 3 months of training into a single story, so I’ll obviously there is more to what I am trying to convey, but you can always ask and I can answer. The base point that was made after we discussed factors and many different types of traffic flow situations and crashes (Keep in mind the training taught how to drive to avoid crashes and to limit others from crashing around you as well.) is that looking for blame or fault in any crash wasn’t typically helpful. In fact the police award a citation for certain violations of specific code and those codes have point attached to them. The original reason for points was to track how often a person made bad decisions, which created factors that lead to crashes. With enough points those individuals had their privilege suspended or removed. Over the years insurance companies introduced the concept of fault, but you find it very hard to find that verbiage in police code (at least the original codes.)

We spent 3 days on tickets and the explanation that really stuck was that most people think if they didn’t get a ticket they didn’t do anything wrong and if they did the officer was a dick. It was stressed over and over that always viewing yourself as a factor in your and others behavior on the street could reduce your participation in any crash. (Yours and others.) And if involved in a crash, a person should review all the factors of that crash including their actions and attitude as a part. Only critical review would lead to understanding and a way to reduce the chance for a crash. Also understand that mistakes are part of driving, some are small and some are large, but all figure as factors, and most typically a minor mistake combined with a bunch of other factors can lead to a crash. Yes, it may be a mistake made a lot or by many people, at the wrong moment it just ends poorly.


Lessons In Life

A year after the training a crash happened involving a person who was in the same class with me, and it really drove home the lesson. In Ohio we had a lot of roads that were basically gravel of asphalt and once you learned certain corners you could literally slide your way through them. It wasn’t something that freaked us out it just was the way it was. Well, after a particularly long winter the State of Ohio decided to pave on of these roads and that friend of mine went flying into the corner expecting to slide and found……a perfect road. With perfect traction he was setup completely wrong and ended up slamming a corner and rolling the car. When we talked about it later the crash occurred because the road was perfect and since he didn’t change the way he drove (for a bad road) he crashed. Only one factor changed and he ended up crashed. His crash was also a factor for the rest of us not having a crash on the very same corner.

A few years after that I was coming down a road at night in my girlfriends car, saw a possum starting to cross the road and decided to straddle it. It caught under the front wheel, pitched me sideways into a bridge and ended up with the photo you see at the top. Click for more shots. The result of that crash was a totaled car, the loss of a girlfriend and no ticket. While I was not speeding. didn’t break the law and did not receive a ticket, a combination of factors that I was directly involved in lead to that crash. Specifically, it started with washing my car at night and factors piled on from that point forward. (My girlfriend wasn’t in the car, but was a factor. My car wasn’t involved, but was a factor.) Lucky for me I wasn’t speeding and was wearing a seatbelt (not even the law then) which allowed me to step out of the car and be able to tell this story. One slight change in a factor would have left me dead, something I firmly understand to this day.

So, the next time you hear me say that people must accept their part in any crash, (yes, even people not even there) maybe you’ll understand that I am not assigning blame or fault, just saying that looking at the bigger picture reveals a lot more than most would ever believe. It is not about being perfect on the road, it is about constantly understanding all the factors and adapting to balance the scale.

Everyone Dreams, Yes?

Ah, the perfect garage.....it is a core dream we all have and trust me no matter what you have you always seem to want the next level. I mean when the owner of Barber Motorsports Museam talks about his next step you know everyone dreams.

Well, for me there has always been a balance better 2 bikes. And just recently I arrived at what I thought was the perfect balance and then.....well, a Redhead came along.

First, I wasn't looking for another bike, I just happened to ask for a display bike for the SWR Awards Event from Ducati Superstore. Since the event was an Italian Potluck I thought it would be cool to have a spunky Italian attend. I asked Steve Walker of Ducati Superstore if we could use one at the event and he said yes. All I had to do was pick it up the day of the event and return it on Tuesday when they opened again. What an EVIL plan!!!! (His, not mine.)

So, I pick the bike up ride it to my house and then I had a few questions for Steve...they were #1 - Can I wash i? #2 What type of gas does it take? #3 Can I take it on a ride?

I got my answers, Yes - HiTest - Yes.

Step one was washing the bike. For me nothing helps me bond and understand a vehicle better than detailing it. Not understanding how it performs, but how it is designed and how air will flow around it. If you have not figured it out, It is a Ducati Hypermotard and this bike has a very hidden beauty. I washed her very quickly and water flows off this bike in an almost magical manner. Being a naked small bike it was clean and dried quickly.

Well, the event went well and the next day I was anxious to discover this bike. I'll write a review of that experience a little later, but I'm currently looking at financing plans. LOL

BTW, the bike even fits in my garage almost like it was made to live there.

The lure is incredible and I think I've found the perfect mix of bikes. An American V-Twin with a German designed engine, A Japanese sport-sport touring bike and an Italian standard that rides like a sport bike.

Additionally, I think I have found the one and only one bike that makes me think that dealing with a chain wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Time will tell.

The Best from SEMA 2008

Back in 1999 a friend introduced me to Kevin Beard and told me about his new company called Piloti. I of course would be yet another to help correct people's pronunciation of the company's name for well into the future.

While the name may confuse some, once you wear a pair of these shoes you are certain to become a fan. In fact I have worn them on the show floor of SEMA and CES since 1999 because due to their design they are the most comfortable shoes I own.

I wear my various styles of Piloti's everywhere, well everywhere except riding because Piloti has never had motorcycle boots.

Since 2003 I've asked Kevin every year when he would be making motorcycle boots and finally last year he said. "Well we have been getting a lot of requests for a boot that could be worn while riding and would be good to then wear all day at work, so we will see."

This year as I walked up to the booth Kevin was talking with Bob Bondurant, so I spoke with Kristin Z who pointed me to the new Moto Boots. Once Kevin was done with Bob he turned to me immediately and said "Did you see!" to which I smiled and golf clapped.

So, the best thing this year from SEMA is the introduction of the new Piloti Motorcycle Boots which should be available in January of 2009.

I'll post up all the in depth details about these boots soon, but for now drool over the styles shown including a Ducati Red! (I call them Honda Red.)

See the Photo Gallery - Click Here!

When Flowing Gas = No Good!

OK, so I rolled the Shadow that has been occupying the space between by two others bikes into the drive today and decided I probably start it.

I say this because it has been sitting for some time and well, it is for sale. (That's another story.) Anyway a person had called and said they would be trying to come by today to look at it and I decided it would probably be smart to make sure she was running OK.

The bike sputtered a little and was running like it need choke so I pulled the choke out and all of the sudden I see fuel pouring out from under the carbs.... UHG!!!

So, two hours later after pulling the carbs off of the engine and pulling them apart to clean out the vanish and gunk, the bike is running like a top once again!

I guess tomorrow I will pull out all the stop for the garage sale!

Don't Flinch

It is advice my father gave to me when I first was learning to drive. It was in reference to dealing with a bad situation such as hydroplaning and driving onto ice and it has become the one constant in understanding any high stress situation for me regarding just about anything but primarily driving and riding.

In a hydroplane situation you typically don't want to do anything, every high performance instructor I've ever had has always said to maintain inputs and wait the slide out. Any seemingly minor change of input will lead to a drastic change as the vehicle regains traction and it never ends well.

The same is true for a motorcycle, but the rules apply to a lot more than just major situation. Any drastic change of input can obviously result in a crash on a bike, but minor changes or the act of doing nothing on a motorcycle usually is what leads to a crash.

Over the years I have seen a lot of crashes and quite a few on motorcycles. Of all of those 3 motorcycle crashes have occurred directly in front of me and all 3 had a similar sequence of events that lead to the crash. In the last few seconds all 3 of these riders simply stopped riding. (One even put his arms into the air directly above his head.) All 3 could have simply stopped or looked through the turn and would have been fine, but they flinched in their mind and gave up.

I once took a bike down a trail only to find the road disappeared ahead into a 6 foot drop. I leaned back and gave a little gas and landed hard. I mentally had to say "Oh crap I am still going" and got on the gas or I would have fell over and crashed!!

I didn't only because I didn't give up.

On Sunday I met up with a group of guys to help support a triathlon by carrying judges on the back of our bikes. We arrived on time but the organization of the event was not exactly as we were expecting and the rider who was to show us the course gave a hurried description and then said to follow him.

He popped on his sportbike (with sneakers :( ) and jumped onto the course. Here is where me in a hurry, put myself into a very bad situation. I started out of the parking lot, he went straight onto the street and flopped right. I decided to round the corner a bit and then understood the reason he did what he did was that he was too close to the rise of the curb. I had a split second to decide and had to much forward motion to turn hard right onto the sidewalk, so I straightened and gave my bike some gas. The amount of gas I gave the bike saved me, as if I would have done nothing the oil pan would have cause the rear to lever and I would have fallen off the bike.

As you see above the concrete shaved a little off the pan, but not overreacting meant I continued on with the day and no one was the wiser.

Well, in reality I am better for sure. Never again will I be pushed to keep up with someone that didn't plan things properly. If not I know I will pay the price personally. It is in my control to do things the proper way and I should have done better!

On the positive side the guys that volunteered for the event had a blast, were highly professional and were rewarded in the end!

Thanks for a great day and I can't wait for the next one!!

Living On The Dark Side

I've owned tons of vehicles over the years and a few of my own motorcycles, but for the last two purchases I was drawn to the dark side. Yes, a black motorcycle!

The newest bike for me is a 2008 Night Rod Special, which takes black a few steps further and even has a matte, or denim as Harley calls it, finish.

I've owned a chrome Harley before, in fact I laugh when I see people say "everything chrome you can get" about their bikes and I notice about 10 parts right off the bat (including brakes) that are not chrome. Chrome can be an addiction, but black tastes just about the same.

And the end of the day black parts do cost less, well until I get to the forks, but that is a story for later. As I said, black parts cost less but it all comes with a price elsewhere.....and that is cleaning the beast!

If anyone ever tells you that chrome is hard to clean, they have never owned a truly chrome bike. Nothing is as easy to clean as a chrome bike and nothing is as hard to clean as a black bike.

In the end I'm finding that both have their appeal and regardless of which way you go, you'll always have a conversation or two at gas stops.

Ride To Eat

They call it a Ride To Eat or RTE and it isn't one of my three letter creations, you'll have to blame someone else for this one!

I first noticed the RTE on a couple other websites, but it really grabbed my attention on ST-Owners.com, a wesite for the riders of the best touring motorcycle on earth of course, the Honda ST1300 (OK, and a few others.)

It wasn't until I actually participated on a RTE that I really got the deal. It isn't Bike Night and it isn't really a group ride, it is exactly what it says, a Ride to Eat! That means someone sets a place and a time (Breakfast, Lunch and sometimes a Dinner) and then everyone rides to eat there, at that time.

I attended a RTE on Sunday at the Rimside Grill in Pine, AZ. It was a nice little ride for me but others in attendance came from Yuma and Kingman, AZ and we even had a rider from California. It was a two day ride ride for those folks, some stayed in a hotel and others camped in the woods. In the end it was a great ride and awesome company.

To me this was a combination of different things that allowed for a good gathering of folks and a truly, Ride Your Own Ride kind of ride.

Next time you want to try something different give a RTE a try, they really are cool!