2Wheeltips

In his 2008 book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell recounts the story of (South) Korean Air Flight 801 which tragically crashed due to multitude of factors.
What is even more unfortunate is that this could have been a story of many Korean Air flights during this time (1980s) which also resulted in a tragic demise. The problem was so great that Korean Air was about to lose it’s federally granted flight license and came very close to going out of business entirely.

What I found fascinating is how similar flying and riding is in terms of accident-probability. The author suggests that accident-probability is related not to a single factor – say bad weather for example - instead it’s the number of factors happening in concert that overwhelms our senses, creates stress reactions and ultimately leads to our downfall. So what factors contribute to accident-probability?


Accident Factor 1: Bad weather
This one is a no brainer. What I found interesting is that for an airplane – as well as a motorcycle accident - to occur, the weather doesn’t have to be really really bad, just kind of bad. Mild rain, light fog, even glare on a very sunny day can be problematic.

Accident Factor 2: Running Late
This puts undue pressure to “hurry-up” and makes us very prone to making simple mistakes that we normally wouldn’t under “normal” circumstances.

Accident Factor 3: Pilot (Rider) Fatigue
What is interesting about fatigue is that it often goes unnoticed. We get so focused on the task-at-hand that we forget to “check” ourselves. Are we tired, dehydrated, hungry (low blood-sugar levels), etc.

Accident Factor 4: Power Distance Index (P.D.I.)
The term and concept come from psychologist Geert Hofstede—which is a measurement of how much a particular culture values and respects authority. Planes are meant to be flown in teams of two; pilot and co-pilot. In countries like South Korea, where PDI structure is practically hard-coded, the co-pilot will not correct the pilot if the pilot makes a mistake because a subordinate wouldn’t even imagine such insolence. One mistake then leads to another and so on.

How does this relate to biking? It’s all about communication. Sometimes, when we are on our bikes, we fail to communicate our intentions to people around us. However, if you would like to draw a direct analogy, we could look at issues surrounding tandem-biking (riding with a passenger). From making sure the tire-pressure is adjusted for additional weight to proper training for the passenger; any number of communication errors could occur and result in undesired outcomes.

How many accident factors does it take to get into an accident? According to Mr. Gladwell, seven. Seven accident-factors in a row is enough to overwhelm our senses and create stress-reactions (which is hard to come back from) which then leads to crash.

If you are interested in additional Accident-Factors, leave a comment

Sue Collini Out

100 points if you know what show the phrase "Sue Collini Out" is from.