David L. Hough Down

[dhgeyer]

I got this from the BMW MOA forum, in which Mr. Hough participates. For those of you who don't know, Mr. Hough has written three books on proficient motorcycling, and is considered by most to be the dean of motorcycle safety training in the USA. Much if not most of the material and exercises used in the MSF BRC were originated by Mr. Hough, and used by the MSF uncredited and without permission. He never pressed that issue, as that is not his style. He felt that, if the material was helping train riders, that was what he cared about the most.

Anyway, on July 31, 2010, David Hough had a motorcycle accident which, from his description, was partly to mostly his fault, depending on how you look at it. He was riding a friend's Triumph sportbike. A truck, evidently with its brakelights not working, slowed abruptly in front of him. He overbraked, did a couple of stoppies, and then went end over end. He was, of course, in full safety gear. His only serious injuries were to his hands, which required surgery. He is still recuperating.

What I take from this is that, no matter how good you are, there is risk in motorcycling. We can and should do everything we can to minimize the risk. How much we know, how well we ride, and how we ride makes a huge difference in our chances of being injured or killed. But the risk can never be eliminated. Of course, as I am sure others will point out, there is risk in everything we do. One of my favorite quips is that, if I really cared about safety I'd never go to bed, as that's where most people die.

Still, after our accident 3 years ago, I never pass by a car that's about to turn left from the oncoming lane, or go by a car that could pull out from a parking lot or side street, without the inner awareness that, regardless of all the precautions and things I do to prevent it and/or prepare for it, there is a brief span of time when I am at the mercy of that other driver. If they jump at just the wrong moment, there will be nothing I can do to prevent an accident. That's what happened to us three years ago. It can always happen again.

I don't mean to be all doom and gloom, but hearing of Mr. Hough's misfortune makes me think. Of course I wish him speedy recovery and all the best. There has been a tremendous outpouring of support on the MOA forum. He has touched so many lives in such a positive way.