A fellow motorcyclist wrote me:
A bunch of years ago, I had an AF accident investigator tell me that when looking into the cause of an aircraft accident, they would frequently attribute a crash to pilot error (who was dead) and not blame the living (ground crew/ co-crew) unless it was blantently obvious and no way to avoid it.
My answer:
There’s nothing sinister going on with that. In my own experience as an AF pilot, accident investigator, and chief of flight safety for Pacific Air Forces, pilot error is right on in virtually every case.
Sure, engines and other vital systems fail, but pilots are trained in the appropriate emergency procedures, and if they execute them correctly they will land or at least eject safely. Yes, poor weather contributes to accidents, but pilots who fly into weather are supposed to be trained and proficient in instrument flying, and if they execute the proper procedures they will land safely. Yes, air traffic control sometimes fails to monitor traffic and vectors two aircraft together, but pilots are ultimately responsible for seeing and avoiding, and if they maintain proper vigilance they won’t hit each other.
Of course there are exceptions. Sometimes a failure is so novel and unexpected there is no procedure for dealing with it. Sometimes poor weather coincides with ground- or aircraft-based electrical failure, and the pilot has no idea which way is up and which way is down. Sometimes air traffic control runs two non-radar-equipped aircraft together in weather, when there’s no way for the pilots to see and avoid each other.
If it’s any comfort, pilots arrive at the accident scene a microsecond before anyone else, and are thus the first victims of blunt force trauma. But someone has to be responsible for the safe operation of aircraft, and logic says that responsibility lies with the person flying it. It’s the same with ships and captains. Would you really want it any other way?
Where is this going, and what does it have to do with motorcycling or driving a cage?
I was going to suggest that motorcycle operators are similarly responsible for almost all motorcycle accidents, but now that I think about it, the rules are different.
Aircraft pilots and ship captains are professionals. They have to complete several levels of demanding training and they have to be certified by other professionals. They have to maintain currency and they are regularly evaluated. They have to comply with national and international procedures or suffer career-ending consequences. They share the skies and seas with fellow professionals in a well-regulated environment with common rules.
We all think we’re above average riders and drivers, but c’mon . . . anyone can swing a leg over a motorcycle or slide behind the wheel of a cage. Some of us take training; most of us don’t. Some of us have licenses stating that we’ve satisfied a few minimal requirements; many of us don’t. There are no “procedures,” at least that anyone obeys. We don’t share the road with fellow professionals, nor do we operate in a well-regulated environment. Rules? We’re lucky the majority of us still have the self-discipline to drive on the proper side of the road!
I was in Japan recently, where all drivers are legally considered professionals. Training is tough (and expensive), and the driving test is rigorous. When two Japanese drivers have an accident, both are cited . . . one may be more at fault than the other, but they are both professionals and by definition both failed to do everything they could have done to avoid the accident. What a concept! But what about the USA?
“Driving is a privilege, not a right.” What a crock! If you don’t think driving has become a fundamental right (at least in the USA), you haven’t driven lately. We share the road with cretins, morons, pinheads, idiots, knuckle-draggers, rubes, yahoos, numbskulls, shitbirds, shitheads, shit-for-brainers, drunks, tourists, blind people, feebs, mouth-breathers, jacked-up speed freaks, booger-eaters, cell phone users, droolers, me-first Gen X-ers, distracted soccer moms, gun-carrying maniacs, and outright homicidal motherfuckers. There are no meaningful standards, and the only time drivers obey the rules is when there’s a cop in sight.
I think this has come about because our legal system doesn’t demand professionalism. What are the consequenses of driving unprofessionally and causing accidents? In the USA, who knows? It’s like the speed limit: who knows? It’s part of what Dave Barry once called the National Guessing Game. A van driver in Iowa crosses the centerline and hits six motorcyclists head-on, killing three. He gets a $70 fine. A woman in Virginia turns left in front of an oncoming motorcyclist, killing him and injuring his passenger. She gets a $200 fine. A state senator in Tennessee turns left in front of a motorcyclist and kills him. The senator gets out of his car, looks at the body, gets back into his car and drives off. Hours later, after his blood alcohol is low enough for him to pass the test, state police administer a breath test and pronounce him sober. Nothing is said about the hit and run, or indeed about the killing. No fine, no penalty. In fact the fine state of Tennessee later names that same stretch of road after the state senator. So what incentives are there for American drivers to live up to even the slightest standard of professionalism?
It used to be that well-trained defensive motorcyclists and cagers could anticipate the stupid things other drivers might do and thus avoid accidents. This is still valid in certain areas: you can anticipate the possibility that oncoming drivers might turn left into your path; you can anticipate another driver merging into your lane without checking the rear view mirror first. But how can you anticipate someone deliberately and suddenly veering across four lanes of freeway traffic to make an exit? How do you anticipate someone running a red light on purpose? How do you anticipate the insurance scammer who stops in the middle of his lane on a foggy day, trying to get someone to rear-end him?
The more I think about it, when it comes to driving on public roads, “fault” is becoming a meaningless word. The very concept of “rules”is becoming meaningless as well. Most of us who have had accidents recently have been victims, victims of having to share the road with the lowest common denominator of society. Those of you who have not yet earned a set of broken wings are incredibly lucky. I hope you keep your guard up. Even though I fear that may not be enough these days, it’s all we have.