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MRAA and Motorcycle Safety
This site has been created to promote the use of Motorcycle Safety Gear , It is an initiative of the MRAA and Victoria Police.
;When people think about how clothing protects them from injury, they tend to think in two areas: impact resistance and abrasion resistance. These can both be classed as secondary safety (i.e. an accident is unavoidable, so how can I minimise injury). However, you should also think about primary safety (i.e. what can I do to avoid an accident). Clothing can play an important part in both primary and secondary safety.
If you really must fall off your bike you need some way to minimise injury from the impact which will occur during the time it takes you to hit the road the first time, until the time you stop and get out of the road.
Once you've finished bouncing, you need to consider what separates you from the road which will be moving underneath you as you skid along. While your skin is actually a pretty abrasion resistant material , ask yourself one question.
How many cows have you seen with gravel rash ?
Motorcycle leathers will normally be thicker than fashion leather, but in any case it should last about 10 times longer than denim or cotton. It's also pretty good at insulating you against the heat that is generated by friction between you and the road.
If the idea of leather doesn't appeal, there are other materials Cordura or Kevlar which also have pretty good abrasion resistance.
There is a term used by Motorcyclists to describe riders that do not wear any protective apparrell, they are called a
SQUID Â
Squid: ['Noun'] is an irresponsible motorcyclist; generally associated with a new or reckless motorcyclist seen riding erratically and/or beyond his or her capabilities often without appropriate riding gear.
The origin of the word is varyingly attributed as a contraction of squirreley and kid, or an acronym for "Stupidly Quick, Underdressed, Ignorant and Dangerous" or "Stupidly Quick, Underdressed and Imminently Dead"