Does ATGATT have a downside?

...to ATGATT

Finding a place to put it all. I am a year around rider and I have what amounts to about a cubic yard of gear.

The latest studies have found that states that makes helmet repeal laws have an imidiate and sharp rise in motorcycle fatalaties. I've never seen studies that sugest that more safety measures don't make any difference in fatalaties.
Safety is 95% how you drive and 5% luck? Never heard such a thing before, what I have heard is that safety comes through better drivers education, layout of traffic patterns, seperation of pedestrians, bicycle and motorized vehicles, ABS brakes have helped a lot when people finally learned how to use them (look at drivers ed again) airbags have saved countless people from terrible anguish from impact with the steering wheel or winshield, seatbelts have saved more people than any other safety measure invented for cars.
The times you are referring to was a time with a lot less traffic congestion than now and it has to be said that the cars that we now admire for their beautiful interior and exterior designs were mere death traps.
Maybe "Unsafe at Any Speed" rings a bell?

Safety isn't about you being scared or not, it's about giving you and I the best possible outcome of an accident. The vehicle you're driving shouldn't contribute to your death in case of a crash, it should be, in other words, safe to operate for you and those around you.
Helmets, armoured clothing, ABS, anti skid control systems, wheelie prevention systems and whatever the next safety measure they'll invent for motorcycles doesn't kill more people and to say so is absolutely rubbish.
Again, education of new motorcyclist in the US is an absolute joke and that is a very contributing factor to the high amount of motorcycle accidents and also, as the Hurt Report found out and I think that still stands, that there's simply too few of us to make Mr. and Mrs. Cageloaf notice us and if they do indeed notice us the disdain for motorcyclists in the US is still significant and we're not seen upon as being the upstanding pillars of society that we truly are

The thing that bothers me the most is the loss of some of my peripheral vision when wearing a full face. I always glance over my shoulder when I change lanes, and my helmet blocks my view of cars behind me. I fear that some idiot doing 100+mph will rear end me because they were in the blind spot and I didn't see them.

I don't agree with you there, but I guess it depends a bit on how old your helmet is. Mine is two years old and I have excellent peripheral vision and have never needed any more than this helmet gives me. The new helmets have even better view than last years models, but mostly I think it's a mental thing with you. If you got your vision tested I think you'd find you don't lose any. Racers use the same helmets we do (or some of us do, bloody things are expensive damhik) and rely almost entirely on their peripheral vision and speeds are quite a lot faster than on the road.
So there

My helmet is 1 year old, and where the visor ends is where my vision ends. I am not an owl! My open face gives me a better view, I can easily see at least a half mile down the road behind me when glancing over my shoulder wearing it, vs about 100 yards when wearing my full face.
OTOH I am of asian descent, so maybe I have more peripheral vision than you

Unless you are a fish or are talking about a helmet made back in the '70's I call

I think most who go down with gear are very thankful rather than proud about wearing the stuff.

I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on Motorport gear. Despite the cost it looks like serious protection.

In some ways, ATGATT is like trying to stop a rainstorm with a kleenex. Might keep the grass dry for an instant, that's all. Like when the human body hits a telephone pole at 50 mph. You still end up wet.

maybe my chinbar hits my shoulder when I am glancing? I know for a fact I cannot see as far back as when I wear the open face lid.
Why would I make this up? I am not one of those helmet hating idiots that think helmets are dangerous.

You need better gear and or riding lessons.

And not wearing ATG would help you in that instance? Nothing would.

It's there for the times it can work and not having it wouldn't... like skidding along the pavement after a getoff, or hitting the ground after flying over someones hood. Compare a non-ATGATT and an ATGATT rider after both of those instances and see who's comfy.

I hate statistics, polls and most all studies. I had a concentration in Info Analysis during undergrad and am working towards my MA in the field. One thing I've learned...there is no perfect, completely unbiased study. I could take the data for those statistics, change the variables, and give you whatever the hell you want.

Heck...the argument that wearing ATGATT makes you take more risks because you feel invulnerable? How about people who don't wear proper gear are more likely to take risks because they aren't concerned with proper personal safety in the first place (can't be bothered to wear protection)?

It's all in how you phrase it.

Oh I wear gear, don't get me wrong. I still feel vulnerable. No amount of gear can eliminate that, not for me anyway. Gear helps alot when you get stuck between your bike and the asphalt. Not so much when you slam into a Ford Bronco.

Amen.

My Level II vest will stop most common rounds, but it won't stop rifle rounds. That doesn't mean I'm not going to wear the damned thing because it won't stop rifle rounds. It just won't protect me every single time someone shoots at me.

You need to stop pissing off people

I saw someone mention gear takes up a lot of physical space but I don't think anyone has mention the cost down side. Surely I'm not the only one who is constantly buy new gear becuase its "exactly what I've been wanting" , or "looks great" or "oh new gloves" "its on sale" Maybe I should learn to get rid of things when I get a new one, but what fun would that be.

Not in my case.

Every day, as I put on my suit and my boots, I am reminded how dangerous the act of riding a motorcycle is. Putting on the gear helps me to shift mental gears before getting on the bike.

I am extremely aware of the fact that my gear will do virtually nothing for a direct impact, and that it is completely up to me to avoid that direct impact.

That's what the flea market is for What you got?

A long time ago I sold motorcycles at a dealership. When I'd sell a bike to a new rider, and we were done with the deal and waiting for the bike from service (checkover) I'd tell them: " Now that you are riding, people - friends, family, strangers will feel the need to tell you thier 'horror story' about an acquaintence of thiers that came to a Bad End, all because of Motorcycles - and I'm going to be the first:

When I was 16 and lifeguarding I rode home on my Suzuki GT380 for lunch one day, and rounding a corner I've used thousands of times I clipped a gravel patch and went down. Well, I had some jeans on and a jean jacket - they were a bit torn up, and I was sore but I picked the bike up, kick-started it and went home and had lunch. When I was done I went out to the carport and there on the mirror was my (purple metalic flake) helmet - right where I left it with a pattern of small stones imbedded into the surface. I never knew my head had hit the ground.

Wearing your gear probably WON'T save you if you take a head-on into a bus, but it WILL go a long way to saving you from the typical low-energy spills that can happen to ANY rider in daily use. SO WEAR YOUR GEAR.
Thus endith the sermon, go forth and have fun.

My buddies tell me that I look like something that comes in a HAPPY MEAL when geared up. They ride harleys with very little protection. I worry about people that think gear is non-sense. I wear everything right down to a LEATT BRACE. I hope my gear will allow me to eat my Happy Meal instead of sucking it through a straw. I know this is a little harsh but it's how I feel.