Take it easy out there...............

I don't know what's going on in SA this year but today we had our 21st motorcycle fatality for the year, it probably doesn't seem a lot to the 3 Eastern States with much higher population and larger total road tolls but that 21 is out of a total road toll of 93, we all know the risks we take riding but IMHO motorcyclist percentage of the toll here is way too high atm 

Not sure what the answer is to this one , but it has been a horror year on our roads .

Chook wrote:I don't know what's going on in SA this year but today we had our 21st motorcycle fatality for the year, it probably doesn't seem a lot to the 3 Eastern States with much higher population and larger total road tolls but that 21 is out of a total road toll of 93, we all know the risks we take riding but IMHO motorcyclist percentage of the toll here is way too high atm 

That's a tragedy!  Way too many riders die and far more are injured.  My vocation is as a writer and researcher and a lot of that has to do with what happens in our bodies due to the autonomic nervous system's stress response, commonly known as the fight or flight syndrome and sometimes by the lesser known 'freeze' response.  Those responses are hard-wired into humans by 'god' knows how many thousands, hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of years of evolution.  Knowing how one's body works, what happens in the brain due to a sudden shock, or unanticipated imminent crisis; like overcooking it on the brakes into a corner; gives one the advantage, forewarned is forearmed. 

Understanding how the stress response affects the body gives one the opportunity to discover and practice methods designed to bring about instant awareness when the stress response is activated and to learn how to calm down quickly when the blood is pumping and or the red mist descends.  Focus on deep breathing is the most accessible method for instant use however, with certain meditative practices one may learn how to strengthen one's ability to pay attention and stay focused in the now.  Valuable assets for a rider.

Another factor is the makeup of the young male brain, researchers have found that in young males from teens through to mid-twenties the pleasure centre is almost numb and basically needs to be shocked for the individual to feel pleasure.  Thrill-seeking behaviours are fairly normal for young blokes, combine that with a lack of self-control over one's subconscious programmed responses and tragedies happen. 

Education is part of the answer, learn about the autonomic nervous system and the stress response and share that knowledge as often as possible along with rider training.  The rub is though, boys will be boys  and then there's the cars ... and trucks and even other bikes 

We had a horror year last year for motorcycle accidents