This philosophy puts the riders safety in the hands of the drivers of the other vehicles on the road. It relies on the ability of the other vehicles to hear the rider in order to prevent the vehicle from doing something like pulling out in front of the rider or cutting the rider off. In my opinion there are several flaws with this philosophy.
1. Other vehicles on the road can't always hear the rider even with loud pipes. Distractions like music, GPS, phone conversations and even conversations with passengers prevent the drivers from hearing the rider no matter how loud the pipes are. These drivers can't even hear emergency vehicles that have sirens that are designed to cut through the constantly improving sound proofing in vehicles and all the distractions previously mentioned.
2. There are many drivers that will pull out in front of riders or cut them off even when they hear the riders loud pipes. They hear the rider but they are going to do these things anyway.
3. A major cause of injury to riders resulting from other vehicles is getting rear ended while the rider is stopped. This is caused by any number of distractions or other factors. It happens to vehicles and motorcycles equally. Loud pipes do not help prevent this type of accident. The safest thing you can do as a rider is to nestle yourself between other vehicles so that if there is a collision you are less likely to take a direct hit and although you may still get hit and injured your injuries can be minimized. Unfortunately, the laws in the US make this illegal in most of the country.
I would agree that there are examples when hearing a riders loud pipes prevents a driver from accidentally pulling out in front of the rider or cutting the rider off. For me personally, I ignore these examples. Thinking that another vehicle will act appropriately because they hear my loud pipes hampers critical thinking when the other vehicle doesn't hear my loud pipes or do something dangerous anyway. I don't want lull myself into a false sense of security in other vehicles ability to hear me. I choose to focus on ensuring that I am prepared to react to as many bad scenarios as I can think of for any given situation. I am constantly analyzing my surroundings and running scenarios in my head so that I already know what I am going to do when the dangerous situation develops. I choose to try and constantly improve my riding skills rather than relying on others driving skills. My worry would be that even if I have excellent riding skills, I am not prepared to use them in a critical moment because I am expecting the driver to hear my loud pipes.
The situation is the same if you are talking about a pedestrian or bicycle rider except kind of reversed. Assuming you are wearing good protective gear, they are likely to get more injured than you are but you can both end up injured and counting on the ability of the pedestrian or bicycle rider to hear the rider puts safety in the hands of the pedestrian or bicycle rider rather than taking personal responsibility for my actions as a rider. It is my responsibility as a rider to make sure I am not endangering others just as much as its my responsibility to take ownership of my own safety. Once again, relying on the pedestrian or bicycle rider to hear me means I may not be prepared to use my riding skills in a critical moment. But if I am the pedestrian or bicycle rider I am not relying on motorcycles or other vehicles to see me to stay safe. I am equally engaged in analyzing my surroundings based on the level of risk (i.e. I don't generally listen for cars when I'm walking down my hallway
).
I admit that I am a long time lover of the sounds of ICE motorcycles. I have my favorites but the sound of just about any motorcycle can bring a thrill to my heart. Especially if I am hearing it while I am the rider. This comes from exposure since birth to the connection between speed and sound. The loud exhaust provides the sound that becomes attached to the spectacle of speed. The sound of exhaust enhances the experience for a spectator. When the spectator becomes the rider the sound enhances the ride because the riders brain is remembering previous experiences where they were the spectator. It's pretty interesting from a psychological point of view.
But even if it isn't helping or you just aren't relying on it and you are staying prepared to use your skills at all times, it can't hurt to have loud pipes right? Maybe it can. Having a quieter motorcycle means its easier for the rider to hear other vehicles and other things in the environment. The ability to hear these things can be used to the riders advantage to provide important situational awareness. Better situational awareness gives the rider more time to apply riding skills to avoid dangerous situations completely or to get out of dangerous situations with minimal injury.
Many people have told me they think my Zero is the most dangerous motorcycle on the road because its so quiet. Of course, it's not completely silent and in my opinion this is completely backwards. I think electric motorcycles are much safer for riders than ICE motorcycles. Just based on noise alone. When you then take into consideration the following added benefits, in my opinion it is overwhelmingly safer than an ICE motorcycle.
1. No gear changing in an electric motorcycle. This means you can more easily use the throttle as a tool to separate yourself from dangerous situations. You don't even need to think about what gear you are in thus its not a factor in the equation.
2. No transmission in an electric motorcycle. This means you don't need to even think about whether or not you need to apply a clutch when you are braking. Again, not a factor in the equation.
3. The hot parts on electric motorcycles aren't in positions that can burn the rider and they don't reach anywhere near the temperature of an ICE motorcycles hot parts. Avoiding hot parts isn't a factor in the equation.
Although I still love to ride ANY motorcycle I have the opportunity to throw a leg over, I feel much safer on my Zero than I do on any ICE motorcycle. And to top it off, there are many reasons an electric motorcycle is more FUN to ride than an ICE motorcycle. But that's a separate topic completely
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Topic: Loud pipes save lives? (Read 3960 times)