User:Bagheera/Sandbox

=Big cats need big sandboxen-=

This is my sandbox. If you want to participate in one of the articles I'm sketching out here, feel free to do so. I will try to only work on one article at a time to keep things simple.

Causes of accidents
Given the common incidence and serious consequences of motorcycle accidents, there has been surprisingly little study of their causes. The only major work done on this subject in the USA is the Hurt Report, performed around 1980 in the Los Angeles area.

Check out this report from Australia: http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/atsb174.pdf It's from 1997 and contain very well performed research.

Summaries of the Hurt Report are available on-line (add reference) and it is possible to distill the main causes of accidents down into three root causes. These root causes are common to most vehicle accidents, regardless of vehicle type, though the relative proportions change.

Second Party Collision

 * Second Party Collisions are those where the motorcycle is hit by another vehicle, and the collision is not due to direct action of the rider. Statistically, this is the most common type of motorcycle accident. (get reference data)

Operator Error

 * Operator Error accidents are those cause directly by rider actions. These accidents are usually the result of a lack of user experience, education, or good judgement.  These accidents are most common amongst younger, less experienced riders. (get reference data)

Environmental Cause

 * Environmental Cause are accidents where something in the rider's environment was the direct cause of the incident. Examples include road debris, adverse weather conditions, unanticipated mechanical failures.  Accidents blamed on environmental causes do not include mechanical failure due to poor maintenance, or operating the vehicle in unsafe weather conditions.  Both of those instances would fall under Operator Error due to poor education, and poor judgement, respectively. (get reference data)

Preventing Motorcycle Accidents
-do the section on improved visibility, etc., here-