[slownews45]

And despite the complaints, US pax travel (scheduled) is INSANELY safe relative to most other forms of transport.

They fly us around in tin cans at 30,000 feet without killing that many folks per year. I'd love to get status of fatalities per motorcycle mile vs airline mile. Got to be remarkably different.

[runako]

Data for transport modes excluding motorcycles: https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-community/safety-topics...

(airplanes are zero most years)

Data for motorcycles:

https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-motorcyc...

Eyeballing, it looks like motorcycles have roughly ~50x as many fatalities per mile as passenger autos.

[trangus_1985]

I've been riding for a long time. I definitely spent effort understanding risks and safety.

Motorcycle fatalities are mostly similar to factors that cause car fatalities, but extremely exacerbated.

For example, about 40% of motorcycle fatalities involve alcohol. One drink before riding a motorcycle is about equivalent to 4 before you drive.

Riding at night accounts for a significant amount of fatalities, as does unprotected left turns. Oversteering is another major factor, usually because you went too fast through a turn.

Also, motorcycle fatalities are currently rising. This is largely due to older people who have wanted to ride but couldn't or were afraid to. A 65 year old man on a 800lb 1.5L engine bike who's a new rider is going to take a bad situation a lot harder than a younger person on a smaller bike.

Motorcycles are more dangerous than cars, but if you understand the risks and employ constant self-improvement in your skills, you really begin to reduce your exposure to risk. Unfortunately, it does somewhat select for a group that likes to take risks.

[opwieurposiu]

Commercial aircraft are very safe, GA aircraft (your uncle with a cessna), are about as safe as motorcycles.

https://inspire.eaa.org/2017/05/11/how-safe-is-it/

[dmurray]

I don't know why this was downvoted. It's true, and an important correction to the GP's NSC link and the claim that "airplanes are zero most years". Notice that that page compares "scheduled airlines" to "passenger vehicles" (I think they mean cars? Since airplanes, trains and buses are also passenger vehicles...) but importantly does not include GA.

[Spooky23]

It makes sense. Motorcycles are unforgiving in terms of safety features and attract disorganized and reckless people like flies to light.

Successful pilots are the opposite personality. They tend to be adventurous in terms of seeking experiences but are able to embrace following strict rules.

[barrkel]

Per unscientific survey cited in https://www.rideapart.com/news/254972/why-your-next-motorcyc... 85% of pilots have motorcycle licenses.

There are many breeds of motorcycle rider, as I'm sure there are different breeds of pilot. The pipe and slippers brigade very much embrace following strict rules. In the UK, you'll frequently find them in RoSPA, where they follow the System of Motorcycle Control.

I don't know how true to life the Top Gun cliche of fighter pilot / sportsbike rider is, but anecdotally riding a sportsbike is the closest experience a civilian can get to a fighter plane on the ground.

Motorcycle racers are usually pretty exacting about the mechanical state and safety of their bike, and many top ranked competitive riders never ride on the road, only on track. The hazards on track vs on road are almost completely different.

Amateur stunters, weekend warriors and young squids are more likely matches to the cliche I think you have in mind: thrill-seekers who dabble but not particularly serious about it.

[Spooky23]

Exactly, better said! I didn’t mean to imply that riders are reckless, just that the reckless are attracted to bikes.

[slownews45]

I'm actually a rider (or was).

They don't attract reckless people. But what happens, you get used to the speed, the risk, the cornering - and so yes, you start going faster and faster. Problem is - hitting something at 100 on a bike, even just a little something on road - can be seriously game over. I stopped riding (kid / wife etc).