That is one opinion, and mine is quite the opposite, especially when it comes to the intercom. Many a time my wife can spot wildlife from a wider angle than I can (I am focused on the road while she "stretches" her eyes as she puts it :grin and give me the heads up if needed.
I never use the phone as I find it too interactive (yes, in spite of my liking of the intercom) but I don't mind radio or GPS directions.

 

Agreed. It isn't GPS on motorcycles that's dangerous. It's cell phones in cars. Facebook, Twitter and now even Pokémon. Everyone is too busy playing with their shiny slabs of glass to notice anyone anymore. Me listening to voice guidance and music in my helmet is no more dangerous than listening to the radio while driving my car.

If you want your zen moment of quite alone with your thoughts in your helmet, go for it. Personally I'm far more focused with some music. If I didn't have it my ADHD would kick in and I'd be staring at the trees as I passed them.

 

I agree about cell phone use in cars whether calling or texting. I do like to 'hear' the engine and gear changes though, so like to have a music-free zone while riding. In a former life I oversaw the making of a student/faculty film dramatising the effects of texting by teens and now used by UK police forces with schools. You'll find it here -

I have been guilty of pressing the GPS while riding though. I know I shouldn't but I only do it when on the open road, straight not winding and away from traffic or urban areas.

 

I do not listen to radio stations while riding. I lock up the cell phone. The GPS is visual only. I do listen to music on a USB stick or the intercom but not both. If riding with a group I do use a CB on my K1600. At work I have to use a radio and the loud speaker.
My bikes are cell phone free zones and my car is a hands free zone.

 

Jeff,
While I believe in freedom in every aspect of living, I completely agree with you on this.
In over 40 years of riding, and 22 of those in a shithole called So. Calipornia, I've never been down.

Peoples attitudes have changed; because now, you better have your shit wired tight, they just flat out don't care.
When I'm in the city, they are all out to kill me; out in the country, I want to enjoy the quiet and the peace of the Almighty's handiwork.

I only have so many years left to ride.

Rock and roll is so overrated.

 

i just got me LT less than a month ago - still learning all the farkles that it comes with -


i have use a bluetooth GPS for 10 yrs and find it much safer than looking down at a map while riding

i have a Scalia rider for chatting with the boss on the back and as stated above - she keeps and eye of for animals and crazy ass drivers
we feel it's a team effort to stay safe , use that for commuting for traffic and tunes

been playing with the stereo on the bike and because i use ear plugs its kinda nice in town at lower speeds or when we stop for a break to have some tunes or listen to the local new- on the highway it's kinda usless

i don't use the bluetooth phone at all - because I have to make decisions, which i find id the distraction -

 

Motorcycles are Dangerous!

Not as dangerous as a car or a truck if you get hit by one...or a train...or an airplane that lands on the freeway...or an asteroid...or an ex woman sometimes.

 

Each to their own.

Is your car a cone of silence? Radio never on? No conversation?

Any difference?

While I respect your opinion, it is one I disagree with 100% at least for music. I do not pair my phone and do not listen to GPS prompts I cant stand them in my ear.

Hey we still love the same bike, in the same color, so at least we agree on our opinion of colors and bikes :wink:

 

I think radio could be more of a distraction than some background music from a MP3 or similar device. Radio has more conversation, news, weather, DJ talking, etc., so it is inherently more distracting. Also, changing stations etc. to avoid this talk could be a distraction. I use a MP3 player with recorded music, but I turn it on, leave it alone, and it is just there in the background. I keep it turned down except on open highways and if I am in traffic or concentrating on where I am going, volume is turned way down. I like it when I am cruising at a good speed, but often I don't even know it is on. Cell phone is in the top carrier, turned off. And it is too much trouble keeping the GPS talking with having to mute, unmute after every stop, so I never have it talking to me, although I might if I were going somewhere with a planned route. I don't use earphones, just the speakers so my hearing is not tuned out by earphones, I can still hear things around me, at least as much as you can hear anything on a bike.

I worry more about distracted drivers coming at me. and even though the use of cell phones and other electronic devices are illegal here while driving, a lot of people still use them. It has got to the point now that the government are looking at legislation to make it a CRIMINAL OFFENSE to use cell phone etc., in a vehicle. Is should be... killing someone while distracted when operating a vehicle is definitely criminal. Don't know how they would enforce it though, they don't seem to be enforcing the current illegality of using these devices while driving.

Jeff, you have got a lively discussing going and I am sure there will be as many opinions as there are riders. It will at least serve to bring people's attention to this and remind all riders of the dangers of distractions, whatever they are.

 

Looks like a stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest here. Just focus your attention on operating the motorcycle safely without distractions. Same for operating your car.

If you are traveling 70 mph, you will go 102 feet in just one second. At 80 mph you go 117 feet. What can happen to you by not focusing fully on the road in front of for just one second? Double that for two seconds. Normal perception-reaction time is only 1.5 seconds. Remember that braking distance is not linear. It takes much more than twice the distance to stop from twice the speed. Factor in to that your perception-reaction time used before you even start braking.

 

Looks like a stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest here. Just focus your attention on operating the motorcycle safely without distractions. Same for operating your car.

Wait, You were unaware that you would stir up a hornets nest with this thread?????? You're right, You'd better leave all distractions deactivated .

 

No comparison between riding an MC and listening to music compared to driving a car and texting. Music is processed differently in our brains than speech and conversation and as an OCD defensive rider aiming for 100% perfection in that I can say w/ certainty music does not distract me whatsoever. Listening to podcast or talk radio, or answering a phone, etc I absolutely won't do because indeed that is distracting. Haha I know because the last time I got ticketed for speeding, which was the 3rd speeding ticket in 45 years, I was in my car OTW home from work listening to an NPR podcast and got nailed in a speed trap of sorts, dead to rights, as I simply was so engaged in an interesting discussion I was not paying attention. Would never happen on a bike I'm way way more focused.

The vast majority of Dangerous Motorcycling is done by Squids and especially in metropolitan areas. The SF Bay Area gets on average 8 motorcycle crashes daily and a good portion of these are on the freeways where reckless riding habits abound. These jokers give MC's a very bad name, cagers are often miffed at their disrespect, and that is fed back towards riders by irate drivers in the form of nasty actions, competing for lanes, road rage, etc. Go to youtube and search for 'Motorcycle Road Rage Compilations'. Often times you see the idiot rider, almost always an 18-25 y/o sport bike rider who is incensed that the cager did not see him, merged into his lane, etc. Then the moron goes out of his way to chase the cager to teach him a lesson w/ a good scolding, and sometimes gets a gun pointed in his face or other.

Most motorcyclists are respectful enough and it just takes these sorts of unconscious fools to bring on the kind of horror that kid got from the old guy in Texas who swerved into his lane and toppled him because the kid was passing on a double yellow line and the old guy quite obviously had a bone to pick w/ bikers. We don't need the rest of traffic to actively try to take us down...we have deer for that:surprise:

 

I doubt any of us are trained professionals in this subject. I surely am not. So, my opinion is just that.

I do listen to music/radio/gps/weather alerts ( not safe to know a level 5 thunderstorm ahead?), and intercom. I have also pushed the menu button on the controls and thumbed through items on the menu to use them. You know, turn on heated grips and select ride modes and so forth.
Maybe we should just walk. No, that isn't safe either as I do Pokemon Go and sometimes don't pay enough attention.

I used to run heavy equipment for 9-12 hours per day. I either installed or carried a radio with me, depending on what machine I was operating. Why? Entertainment surely, but you might be surprised at how much more alert you are at 2am when you can listen to a baseball game or music or talk radio. Yes, there is zero doubt it can keep you more alert. Same on the bike. Maybe I don't need it on short trips, but I want it along on long days.

Yes, there is distractions that we should probably avoid. Bringing up the subject does not hurt. Learning to look out for others that are a danger to you while riding is going to be far more important than any assumed liability from listening to a radio.

 

Thanks Jeff, good information and good conversation.

Sure, Lots of distractions can be dangerous while operating any machinery. One of my greatest distractions in life is when I talk to myself and listen too intently...I'm still learning not to pay too much attention. But seriously, motorcycles are dangerous...especially to untrained and new riders of less than one year and there is plenty of statistical data to prove that. Check some insurance rates and you'll find that insurance companies know that certain types of bikes and even age groups are much higher risk than others.

The greatest risk to motorcyclists I've noticed, watched and learned over 45 years are inattentive drivers making left turns into motorcyclists and drivers with cell phones up to their left ear who decide to do lane changes into a unseen motorcyclists.

Ladder accidents, mini-vans, and guys on phones in pick-ups plastered with HD stickers who sometimes play strange road games with bikers not on HDs worry me a lot more than listening to something while I'm riding.

Always ride as if you are invisible.

 

I ride every day over 2000 miles this week. I have 3 GPS units, my Droid Turbo 2, Satellite tracker & a Radar Detector mounted in my view. My phone is always connected to my helmet & I always listen to music. I'm always changing my GPS units while riding. I also toggle my phone apps. while riding. I use Waze for road alerts & have a weather app. I use. I rode for 22 hours last weekend & my phone apps helped me a lot. I probably have rode over 150,000 miles with my GPS & phone streamed into my helmet.

 

I'm okay with all that stuff. It's the can of lager I'm worried about! :toast:

 

I confess:
I have actually taken my phone off the handlebar holder and taken pics of the road side while driving...
....but on a long West TX straight road without humans.

The only thing I feel guilty about is having to interrupt some Firemen watching a football game to come by and try to revive me.

...Ok, I can hear you all, that was stupid. I won't do it anymore. ..... tis what Catholics say: it's good to go to confession, clears your soul

 

My phone is paired to the Sena on my helmets. I listen to music through the phone (Pandora, Amazon music, no adverts or DJs, or conversations. Just one song after another, though I skip to the next as I please.) and GPS instructions on unfamiliar journeys. My work commute is 15 to 20 minutes and I've got the music going then as well. Sometimes I'm singing to the music, most of the time it's pleasant just in the background. I don't find it distracting at all. I rarely get a call but do find those distracting and so now will not answer unless I tell the caller to hold on while I pull over.

We all know riding is risky, but I'm still more at ease on a bike than in my car ... music or not.

Works for me.
Joe

 

Mr. Perry needs to sell all of his bikes and cars. Throw away all electronics and buy a wheelchair to sit in for his remaining days...

 

Wheelchairs have a lot of electronics nowadays.

 

I wouldn't know as I don't have any electronics on the bike. I know from the car I hate taking calls in the car even with hands free. Forget about texting.

 

The vast majority of Dangerous Motorcycling is done by Squids QUOTE]

Pardon my ignorance, but what's a Squid?

 

Urban Dictionary: Squid

 

I've read through this thread pretty thoroughly and don't recall seeing a single mention of situational blindness. You know; the study showing a man in a gorilla suit walking though a basketball game. It doesn't matter if you are talking on the phone, just listening to music or texting, any and all of those can cause you to be a victim of the human phenomenon of situational blindness and therefore unnecessarily put yourself and others at risk. The way to test if you are susceptible to it is much the same to test if you can benefit from anti-lock brakes. Fill a tub with about 6" of water, step in; if you sink to the bottom you are susceptible if not, you have nothing to worry about. This is in addition to just being distracted by what-ever device you are using which may only divert your attention for three seconds at a time; you know those three seconds where you cover 327 feet at 75mph.

 

uh oh.......

By Age: Older motorcyclists account for more than half of all motorcyclist fatalities. NHTSA data show that in 2014, 54 percent of motorcyclists killed in crashes were age 40 or over, compared with 47 percent in 2005. The number of motorcyclists age 40 and over killed in crashes increased by14 percent from 2005 to 2014. In contrast, fatalities among all motorcyclists rose less than 1 percent. NHTSA says that the average age of motorcycle riders killed in crashes was 42 in 2014, compared with 39 in 2005.

 

Does anyone have the stats for the number accidents for radio/GPS enabled bikes v those without?

I do not, but would not be surprised to hear that fully loaded RT's are less accident prone than non-radioed/non-GPS/Non-intercom sports 1200cc bikes??

 

This letter is a classic example of conflating correlation and causation, and suggesting a change in a behavior that may not be warranted. I think it is important we all make informed choices, and I tend to err on the side of safety. I have auxiliary lights on the bike (Darlas and Kristas on the front, and Billie on the rear), I wear all the gear, including a reflective safety vest for extra visibility, I don't ride if I am impaired in any way, including simple cold medicine, and I try to leave emotions out of it, especially when another driver does something stupid. At the same time, however, I recognize the benefits that can be provided by some of the newer technology, including providing traffic updates, weather updates, and better directions. I balance the risk of distraction with the benefits provided.

Absolute safety is a false dream if we are on a bike. There are simply too many variables and unknowns. Machines break; people do stupid things; a butterfly flaps its wings. Mitigate your risks, take the precautions you feel are appropriate for yourself, but enjoy the ride. If you are so fearful when riding that you cannot enjoy it, don't do it.

Done with my soapbox. Feel the need for a ride. :soapbox:

 

Jeff nice article and sound advice from you that people should consider what is presented in this article.
Some will and some won't but I thank you just the same for posting it.

 

Ditto..appreciate it

 

I wonder how many of the older riders are returning after a 25 year hiatus? I read a story years ago that explained the high accident rate of older riders in saying that these folks had ridden dirt bikes and small displacement bikes when young then 25 years later with no additional training they buy a 100+ hp machine and not so surprisingly are involved in accidents.

Gerhard