passenger safety ?

[1969K10]

So, for those of you that are experts, what should a passenger do in situations that are looking bad (accident inevitable)? my guess is that the passenger should always just stay seated on the bike & move as little as possible. However, I'd like to hear from the knowledgeable and informed.
THX

[cwo2lt]

You guess correctly.

[Ken R]

If an accident cannot be averted, it's probably going to be too late for the passenger to do anything but sit there. From the time an inadvertable accident begins to develop to the time of impact is probably between 1 and 3 seconds. I believe that things will be happening too fast for a passenger to react and do something. They are totally dependent on the driver to not freeze, panic, or anything like that.

A sidenote: Hopefully, the person holding onto the handlebars will have time and presence of mind get the motor slowed down as much as possible with proper use of the front and rear brake to lessen the severity of the impact. I'm a firm believer that practicing emergency stopping is absolutely necessary. Otherwise we may ride for many years without ever having to test our skills.

Just my opinion

Ken

[shinbone1028]

I always tell my passengers to ride me if we go down,if possible.
Having been down w/a passenger once,I can say it does work,she rode me and was hurt less,but neither one of us had a choice,it just worked out that way.
I'd also suggest getting away from the bike if you can,road rash is bad,broken bones can be worse.
Bottom line here is,if the bad thing does happen,theres not much you can do,you are OUT OF CONTROL.If you weren't you would still be up.
Not going down is best,I rarely ride with a passenger anymore.

[evilspringer]

I have been down three times and fortunately did not have a passenger. But I always tell them if something should happen to try and be still as possible and hang on. And yes getting away from the bike as quickly as possible and coming out with road rash is much better than broken bones. I have experienced that, my front tire blew out at about 90 mph when I has heading down to Dayton Bike week last year. As I was pulling off to the side when my front tire went across the rumble strips it was like a sudden stop. I basically pushed my way off the bike and slid one way and the bike slid about 1000 ft the other. I walked away with some bruises and road rash and that was it.

[cwo2lt]

A suggestion for everyone who rides two up a lot. Take the Experienced Riders course with your wife on the back. You'll both learn a lot.