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They make these systems, most have some sort of a lanyard, or fancier ones use accelerometers to detect a fallen rider, then inflate the vest. The hard thing is making something that inflates fast enough, and won't accidently go off and cause a potential crash. |
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Having recently hit a deer on my motorcycle and been
thrown an estimated (by the police) 40 yards, bouncing at
least twice, breaking three ribs, my left tibia, shattering
my left scapula, and disconnecting every tendon and
ligament in my left ankle, as well as sustaining a moderate
concussion (thank you HJC Helmets), let me just say that
there is no guarantee that this would help. Airbags in cars
function well because the occupants are in a fixed and
known position; in a motorcycle crash, there's no telling
where the rider will go. Even if the device offers some
degree of impact absorption, it won't help with the
traumatic contortions of the body as it twists, tumbles,
and slams into irregularly-shaped objects at high speeds,
which is what caused the worst of my injuries. |
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That said, it probably couldn't have hurt. |
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Thanks for the sentiment, though. It gave me a smile. [+]
for that. |
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What was the deer doing on your motorcycle in the
first place? |
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I don't know; that's why I hit it. I realize now that it would
have been a better idea to pull over first rather than brawl
with a ruminant at 45 mph. |
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[zeno], sorry if I came off sounding hypercritical, I didn't
mean it that way. I just think that if stuff like this worked
effectively it would already be baked. |
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[alter] it is, extensively. |
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Kind of wish I'd known that a couple of months ago. Not
that I'd have been able to afford it (I can only assume such
things cost mucho dinero). Saving money is part of the
reason I ride. |
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Available self inflating suits are of limited value for exactly the reasons given by Alterother. |
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To be of any real value, the suit would need to be able to inflate to great size in order to provide useful space in which to absorb energy. |
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As available, I think the suits give more impression of safety than actual improvement. As such, they increase riders confidence and chances of incident. The net result is more injuries. Bad thing. |
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[-] for the general concept of motorcycle 'safety' devices. Better to know the risk and ride accordingly, rather than have the perception of risk distorted. |
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A rapidly-inflating Helium balloon strapped to the rider's back might work. It would inflate rapidly as you are thrown over the handlebars and the deer, leaving you still travelling at some speed but floating a metre or two above the ground. |
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Rockets ... the Martin-Baker "Zero-Zero" seat .... |
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// Better to know the risk and ride accordingly, rather
than have the perception of risk distorted. // |
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Absolutely. I knew the risk, I wore all my safety gear, and I
rode safely. Because of that, I am looking forward to
walking with a cane for the next couple of months*. If I'd
been going just 10 mph faster, my injuries could have been
much worse. Too much confidence can seriously affect a
rider's stability, as a friend of mine says. |
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*<Edit, Sept 16: okay, I was exaggerating for effect. As of
today, I'm still using a single crutch. Not quite ready for
the cane yet.> |
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What could have been a minor accident turns into 106 seconds of Freeway Median Zorb Polo, involving 83 cars, 71 injuries and 38 YouTube videos. |
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...And don't have accidents on hillsides or mountains. Gravity
would cause hilarity. |
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Freeway Median Zorb Polo, hey, that sounds like fun! |
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Maybe for riding in mountainous areas, it could come with
a bungee to keep you attached to the motorcycle as an
anchor... |
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[Alterother], you are so lucky to be alive. I think this
product would have cut your injuries in half, at least. + |
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Thank you. Everybody here has been really supportive of
me and it helps more than you know. Thanks to all the
Halfbakers who have wished me well, including those who
haven't posted those wishes. |
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I have to disagree, however; it might have helped with the
shoulder and ribs, but those are almost healed. The worst
of my injuries were to my left leg, and they were torsional
trauma, not impact or crush trauma. Unless the 'airbag
jacket' could inflate to the size of a zorb, it wouldn't have
prevented my leg injuries. This is where I argue the
impracticality of it, since deflated zorbs are pretty heavy.
Adding to that the bulk and weight of enough compressed
air to fill a zorb, and the garment becomes virtually
unwearable, even as a backpack (and I was already
wearing a backpack). |
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Well "motorcycle inside a zorb", doesn't sound too
hard to imagine, though riding it would be somewhat
difficult ;-). |
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Not really, actually; the movements required to control a
motorcycle are actually quite subtle. Provided I had
enough room to move my fingers and feet (for brakes and
shifting), I could do a
slalom course inside a zorb just by shifting my weight. I
probably couldn't dodge a
whitetail deer that materialized out of f#%*ing nowhere,
though. |
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Until recently I had a colleague whose habit of falling off motorbikes earned her the nickname "Crashie" (short for "crash-test dummy"). She also used to fall off horses. I wonder whether an equestrian version of this might work better, the speeds being lower. |
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Might not be good for the horse, of course. |
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// She also used to fall off horses. // |
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Given that "falling off things in motion" seems to be a recurrent theme for her, perhaps she would be better of being coached in "avoidant behaviour" rather than being supplied with additional protective equipment ? |
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Considering the White-Tailed Deer problem, which no doubt was using the road not only without a crash helmet but compounding the felony by having no lights, reflectors or rear-view mirror, perhaps the answer may lie in forward-looking passive infrared detectors, designed to pick up a living object moving at right angles into the path of the vehicle, and alert the driver/rider. |
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Let us assume the following scenraio: |
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A motorcycle travelling at 75kmh
An average road surface giving a stopping distance of 45m
A deer moving at 50km/h normal to the centreline of a singe track of road. |
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The rider will need to be at least 50 m from the theoretical point of interception when the system
signals an alert. The bike will be travelling at 20 m/s so if the rider does not brake, 2.5 seconds will elapse before impact |
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In this time the deer will move (at 15 m/s) 37 metres. |
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Therefore, at the very latest moment an alert would be useful, the bike and the deer and the point of impact form a triangle, with a hypotenuse of about 62 metres. |
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To be really useful, the system would need to be able to detect a deer-sized target at a slant range of more like 200 metres, particularly when poorer road surface conditions prevail. |
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Given that the terrain is likely to have at least some undergrowth and forestation, this would prevent a
formidable technical challenge, particulalrly since the launch platform is at a low level, the amount of
ground clutter and reflections, and the vibration and motion of the platform. |
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This will still not cope with the situation where a previously stationary deer is "startled" onto the road. |
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Conclusion: Deer detection is a non-starter. |
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Could you have an inner layer that inflated to high pressures to hold the limbs/torso/neck rigid to prevent torsion/whiplash injuries, and a moderately thick outer later that inflated to handle shock absorption. |
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(Trying to think about the impact, and I can't decide if this would make it better or worse). |
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//Deer detection is a non-starter.// |
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Deer suits: the ultimate stealth technology. |
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Except during hunting season. Then a deer suit is really
shitty stealth tech. |
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As for forward-scanning-whatever, side-scanning would
have been far more useful in my case. All indications are
that the sucker leapt out of the woods about 15-20 ft in
front of me (I layed down about 12 ft of rubber before
impact). I don't remember, so I have to go by what
witnesses and the Sherrif's Office/Game Wardens tell me. |
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In a related story, a good friend of mine just put those
deer-scaring silent whistler things on his own motorcycle.
The debate over whether or not they actually work has
been going on for years, but lots of people up here use
them. |
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// lots of people up here use them // |
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Are these whistle-users live people, or people who have died as a
consequence of a road traffic accident involving a deer? Finding
out the answer to that question should pretty much resolve the
debate one way or another. |
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To try to strike a marginally more positive note, if sufficient deer
are killed on the roads, (un)natural selection will eventually
result in a road-vehicle-avoidant deer, pretty much like
hedgehogs have been selected to run rather than curl up. |
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It is equally possible, though significantly less likely, that a
human behaviour trait to avoid travelling through deer-infested
areas at speed by means of mechanically- propelled transport
might develop, although based on previous events it would
appear that the most likely outcome is a wholesale slaughter of
deer. |
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Unfortunately, the State of Maine does not keep very good records concerning the mortality rates among users of a cheap little plastic thing you can buy at a gas station for $3. |
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Perhaps a program to mount them on all the deer? |
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Then all the deer would be afraid of each other. And
themselves. And then there would be no more deer. No,
we don't want that. |
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Attach radar transponders to the deer ? |
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Do research into the corner-reflector gene |
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All research funds currently slated for isolation of the
teleportation gene. Accepting grants and private
donations. Please send clean, unmarked Canadian $,
preferably a mix of twenties and fifties. |
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