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Please read this thru before responding.

The AAA and some media have been screaming a la Chicken Little "hypermiling is dangerous!" They are intellectually dishonest in many areas, particluarly on the dangers of speeding and aggressive driving. Then something else came to mind.

I got a scooter recently and also tried my luck on a true motorcycle - it's not easy (not yet). Even when this becomes second nature for me, the fact remains I have zero physical protection, less stability with just two wheels, and less visibility to other drivers. Biker friends talk of taking defensive driving to a higher degree to deal with this. That and driving proficiency. Sounds like the hypermiling mindset. ;)

For emphasis, I'm not dissing motorcycles. I'm pointing out to hypermiling bashers like the AAA that if hypermiling is dangerous, biking is too.

To be honest I would rather ride my bike ( Kawasaki W650 ) than drive my car. You are more aware of what is happening around you and you do tend to ride defensively. The plus side is I can get approx 75mpg out of my bike and I can park right near the clockhouse of GM when I use it for work. The best bit is its fun to ride a bike!

Chris B

I'm in an unusual situation: my 150cc scooter will need to get 95mpg on my morning commute to consistently beat my Insight. Since they recommend premium and I will avoid freeways (more intersections), I'd probably have to get 105mpg to be as economical as my Insight.

The available stats show motorcycles to be around 35 times more dangerous than cars giver or take. There is no question that motorcycles are very dangerous relative, unfortunately it is not the motorcyclist that is generally at fault, excluding the VIP/CEO Hells Angel wannabees.

Hypermilers on the other hand aren't creating fatalities or accidents.

I've had 40 or more motorcycles since 1973(buy one, play with it awhile, fix it up,sell it). They are infinitely more dangerous than car driving.Heck, they are probably more dangerous to the rider than drunk driving a car is to the car driver.

Now that cell phones are so common riding is even more dangerous. If you are riding down the road, and you see the back of someone's head, and you see their left hand near their ear, and that driver is getting ready to cross the street in front of you, you can bet 100% that they will look away from you to check traffic from the other direction, then just as their head starts to turn forward, they will release the brake, and start moving in front of you before they actually look to check the traffic in that direction.At the last second, they see you, and with luck slam on the brakes, while you are debating which bad choice to make (jam on brakes and maybe get hit from behind,or cross your fingers that this idiot cell phoner wakes up in time)
This particular move has drained most of the fun out of riding for me.

I hate cell phone drivers.
More than you wanted to know!
Charlie

Hope you enjoy the bike. Being a hypermiler you are already a more defensive driver than most, but you will be even more defensive when riding the bike. I've been riding for about 35 years and I always reduce my speed at intersections when I'm on the bike. I've had too many people pull out in front of me over the years with some close calls that it just comes natural to slow down when approaching an intersection. I've had some of my friends wrecked by people pulling into their path. My only accident on the bike was when passing a tractor about 25 years ago and when I got up beside him he started turning left into my lane without ever looking to see if anyone was passing him. I was lucky that there was room to go left with him without hitting him, but when I no longer had anywhere to go I laid the bike down and only had minor injuries and a couple hundred dollars damage to the bike.

I still don't understand. So many people hate other people that talk on the phone while driving, yet there is still a large percentage of people that use cells while driving.

Anyways, driving 10mph over the speed limit really isn't that dangerous as long as nobody pulls out in front of you, so I'll have to say bikes are less safe.

I still don't understand. So many people hate other people that talk on the phone while driving, yet there is still a large percentage of people that use cells while driving.


Everyone thinks "It's okay, I'm different."
...
Anyway, driving is to riding as golfing is to hockey...ing. One is leisure and one is physical.

I've got over 100,000 miles on motorcycles, and their risk is much higher for the reasons stated. I always wore fluorescent orange jackets, rode with my lights on, and had a loud air horn on my bikes. 75% of the people who die on bikes owned theirs less than a year, which tells you something about getting your street smarts. 75% of car-motorcycle accidents are the car driver's fault. With the prevalence of inattentive cell-phone drivers, I won't be taking up the hobby again.

Whole point of this thread is to put another angle on the lies of hypermiling alarmists...there are so many other things the AAA could call out in the name of safety, yet don't.

The sad part is that the danger to both hypermilers and bike riders are (for the most part) the same.

Normally it's the other inattentive drivers that cause the problems.

The reason that hypermiling is safer is the larger vehicle (easier to see, harder to ignore) and more safety equipment.

Inattentive drivers indeed.
+1 to that.