Most riders facing a hazard will attempt an avoidance maneuver, but many choose the wrong one or fail to perform well enough.
Handling the Aftermath
Bummer! You fell down today. Your bike is heavily damaged, and you will soon be getting an emergency department bill in the mail. You’ll be dealing with insurance companies for months trying to sort out the financial mess. The bike can be fixed or replaced, and your body will heal, but what about the condition of your emotions and mind?
Depending on the severity of the mishap, you may have difficulty trying to comprehend what happened. After a crash, many riders question their perception of safety and continue to suffer because they don’t know how to repair the mental damage. This trauma can lead to the person choosing to stop riding if it becomes too stressful for both the rider and his or her family.
PTSD
When a person is involved in a serious crash, there can be significant psychological trauma. Many survivors of motor-vehicle crashes suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can include lingering anxiety that can easily retrigger feelings that occurred at the moment of the crash. We often associate PTSD with exposure to combat conditions, but the National Institutes of Health report that motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of PTSD.
The American Academy of Family Physicians lists several common reactions to being involved in a crash:
•Shock
•Trouble believing the incident really happened
•Anger
•Nervousness or worry
•Feeling uneasy or scared
•Guilt
It’s also common to keep going over the incident in your mind.
Not everyone experiences significant emotional trauma, but some people are more vulnerable than others. The Mayo Clinic lists several factors that may make someone susceptible to PTSD:
•Your inherited mental health risks, such as an increased risk of anxiety and depression
•Your life experiences, including the amount and severity of trauma you’ve gone through since early childhood
•The inherited aspects of your personality—often called your temperament
•The way your brain regulates the chemicals and hormones your body releases in response to stress.
•The American Academy of Family Physicians also mentions several reactions that may indicate the need to seek help:
•An ongoing, general feeling of uneasiness
•Problems driving or riding in vehicles
•Not wanting to have medical tests or procedures
•Overreactions or being overly worried or angry
•Nightmares or trouble sleeping
•A feeling like you’re not connected to other events or other people
•Ongoing memories of the accident that you can’t stop
One technique that some psychologists and therapists use to treat PTSD is called eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is a technique whose effectiveness I can attest to after a health scare resulted in anxiety that affected my day-to-day life. EMDR basically reprograms your cognitive mechanisms to reduce the lingering effects of trauma. Consult a professional to see whether EMDR is something that may help you or a loved on to overcome PTSD.
RIDING TERM
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Survivors of motorcycle crashes often experience this disorder, which includes feelings of lingering anxiety and ongoing memories of the incident.
Debrief and Evaluate
Whether you are involved in a tipover, a close call, or a crash, it is important to take the time to evaluate the situation so you might learn from it. A rider who does not ask “what happened?” is at risk of a repeat performance. Asking this basic question will help you understand how to avoid a similar situation in the future, and it might also help you overcome fear and apprehension.
First, determine the cause of the crash. Resist blaming others. Yes, the “other guy” may have played a significant role in the incident, but you can’t directly control others’ actions. You can, however, influence their behavior and prevent a crash. In a lot of situations, many factors are within your control: your speed, your lane position, how conspicuous your riding gear is, your ability to predict danger before it becomes critical. These are all ways for you to affect the outcome of a situation and feel less helpless.
Small Mishaps Can Feel Big
Sometimes even small incidents can be a big deal. The most common type of mishap in motorcycling is the relatively benign tipover, which rarely causes serious injury but is notorious for wreaking havoc on confidence.
I know several people who dread making tight U-turns, because of the fear of dropping their bike. Previous experience of a motorcycle falling to Earth can engrain anxiety to a point where simple parking lot maneuvers trigger almost paralyzing fear. Riders with low confidence at slow-speed maneuvering are easily spotted as they paddle-walk their bikes around parking lots, instead of maneuvering skillfully with their feet on the pegs.
Unfortunately, slow-speed maneuvers cannot be avoided. The good news is that learning to overcome the fear of slow-speed maneuvers is not too difficult. (Slow-speed maneuvering is discussed later in the book.)
Even a minor tipover can wreak havoc on a rider’s confidence.
Chapter 3:
Managing Risk: How to Ride Smart and Dress for Crashes
Up until now, we’ve discussed the mental and psychological aspects of riding smart. We learned that a rider who has the tools to preempt hazardous situations is less likely to encounter many close calls and is more likely to avoid a crash.
With this foundation poured and hardened, we can now discuss practical methods for avoiding trouble, starting with areas where riders can fall victim to poor judgment and ineffective strategies. We’ll then talk in detail about the importance of seeing and being seen.
Ride Smart
We may not ride to be safe, but this doesn’t mean we want to end up in a wheelchair or a casket before our time. Here’s a short list of consequences that should make you think about the importance of risk management:
1.Pain: Who likes pain? Not me. But pain is what you’ll feel even with a minor crash. Protective gear can significantly reduce injury, but it’s no substitute for riding well so that incidents don’t happen in the first place.
2.Financial Loss: Lost time from work, medical bills, medications, insurance deductibles, bike repairs, gear replacement … the list of expenditures goes on and on. A simple failure on your part can cost you thousands. And don’t even get me started on the costs of risking a DUI.
3.Family: Who do you think will be taking care of you when you get hurt? I don’t know about you, but my family and friends have more important things to do with their time than to help me drink my dinner through a straw or even drive me back and forth to doctor appointments because I’m in a cast. And if you die, who do you think will suffer most? Not you, you’re dead. It’s your loved ones.
I point out the ugly truth to spark your motivation to advance your physical and mental skills, use good judgment, and develop keen survival strategies. Your family and wallet will both thank you for the effort made.