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Motorcycles - Cool but Deadly
Posted in Health & Wellbeing, Parenting, Teens
by Ronit Baras on August 5th, 2008
Tags: family matters, health, lifestyle, parenting, parenting teens, safety, teens, wellbeing
It was Monday morning and I had just taken my 7-year-old daughter to school. On the way back, I passed my son’s high school. As usual, the high school intersection was full of parents dropping their kids off. I turned left after a motorcycle. A parked car started making a U-turn and hit the motorcycle! The rider flew in the air over 30 meters and his motorcycle dragged on the ground after him. It looked like a scene from a stunt movie but this time it was real - no stunts, no practice - a young man was on the ground, next to the traffic light, surrounded by dozens of high school students who had crossed the street to go to school.
My heart was pumping, as if I was involved in the accident myself. I was the one driving behind the motorcycle and while the rider was in the air, I was screaming in my car in shock, screaming and praying. He was so high in the air he needed a miracle.
Teachers from the high school heard about the accident and rushed to help. The deputy principal arrived and asked the kids to go to school and leave the scene and I thought I would have let them stay and watch.
When I was very young, I read an article about a kid who wanted a motorcycle so much he convinced his mother to let him get his license. At that time, before the age of 18, kids needed parental consent to ride a motorcycle. Because he was an only child, his mother refused at first, but he finally managed to get her consent to ride. One year later, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. In the article, the mother talked about the arguments she had had with him about riding safely, when in fact, her son had died because of someone else’s mistake.
So there I was, watching this young man lying on the floor and saying, “I can’t feel my legs” and I thought about his mother. I thought about that mother in the article, trapped in the cage of regret called “if only”.
A tow truck arrived first, an ambulance came after half an hour and the police arrived over an hour later. The car driver was a young man too. He was standing there, trying to make the motorcycle rider comfortable, looking pale and worried to death.
I looked around at all the high school students hurried by the deputy principal to get to their classes. People talk to them about speeding but this only makes them think it is cool to speed. I wanted them to know that when they go to their moms and say “But Mom, I’m a good driver”, “But I drive safely” or “But I can take care of myself” they do not know that in accidents, there is usually only one driver making a mistake, while the others just suffer the consequences.
I wanted them to stand there and look at both of them - the car driver and the motorcycle rider - and think which one of them was in the best position. Which one risked paying with his pocket and which one risked paying with his life?
I wanted them to understand that if the guy on the floor, not feeling his legs, had driven a car, the dent or even a totally smashed car would not hurt him that much.
Two of my sisters were involved in scooter accidents at low speed and there was no one to blame.
My nephew died while riding a motorcycle because a car driver came out of a street and could not see him. He was only 21. He was a safe driver, having been a rider in the military police for 3 years and he did not speed either. He was well known as a responsible young man. If only he drove a car instead…
I looked at the car driver, who was shaking all over. I was shaking too. I looked at the young man on the floor and imagined my nephew lying there on the floor. My heart broke. If he had driven a car, instead of a motorcycle, it would be something that could probably be fixed with money.
Because some things cannot be fixed.
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8 Comments to “Motorcycles - Cool but Deadly”
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Hi Ronit
I could not agree with you more! I have always had a thing about motocycles and bicycles. People criticise me saying I am awful for not wanting them on the road - but I have good reason to… and this is the reason. Motorcycles are meant for specific places - for example, in small islands I visited in Greece - motorcycles are perfect for the small lanes and the likelihood of someone getting hurt is small as generally the cars are lucky if they can even get up to 40km per hour. But here in Australia - at 80-100km per hour they have no chance. If you choose to ride in these conditions you must have a death wish I think. And even more so for bicycles. I have never understood why bicycles have to ride on the road and are not allowed to be used on footpaths. Surely a collision with a bike and a pedestrian on a footpath would be far less devasting than a bicycle with a car on the freeway! I wish these riders cared more about themselves and would choose a vehicle that could possibly save their lives.
Motorcycles are risky, certainly. For this reason, we have rider’s training and protective gear. The rider’s training teaches us to recognize dangerous situations and avoid them, the gear protects us when something unavoidable occurs.
I know several riders who have been in crashes similar to the one you described. Because they were wearing their gear, they lived to ride another day. In many situations, a motorcyclist can avoid an accident that a larger vehicle could not.
We are all, every single one of us, going to die eventually. Fear of death will not keep it away. Why spend our life living in fear?
Motorcycles are not for everyone. For those who enjoy them, training and proper gear keep us from becoming statistics. The majority of motorcyclists who get killed are untrained and under the influence of alcohol.
I urge everyone to watch for motorcycles (and bicycles) while driving, and give us a little extra space. If your children want to ride, be certain they wear proper gear, and go through rider’s training.
Let me get this straight…you are saying that motorcycles are dangerous because car drivers are uneducated, distracted, and not looking out for them. So your solution for staying safe is to stay off the motorcycle???
I do my part by taking a motorcycle training course every 3 years, riding safely, and wearing proper safety gear. When was the last time you took an automobile driving refresher course? Why should I have to give up my rights to drive the vehicle of my choice because of your inadequacies?
[Disclaimer: this comment is not intended as a personal attack, but merely demonstration of an opposing point of view]
Motorcyclists accept risks that terrify you, that much is clear. The only solution is for you to never ride a motorcycle.
Your limits are your own. Don’t presume to impose them on anyone else. Somewhere there’s an agoraphobe saying “Just think how safe both those boys would be if they had stayed at home in bed.”
Thank you all for the comments.
Let me make myself clear: I am not asking riders to stop riding. I am saying that riders should take into account that much of their safety on the road depends on other drivers and is actually out of their hands.
Mrs Road Captain, I believe in fairness as much as the next person, but the world is not a fair place, it is the way it is. Since drivers don’t take refresher courses, riders should take that into account.
Also, refresher course don’t help when a driver is tired or suddenly distracted. In a collision between a car and a motorcycle, the rider is simply more vulnerable.
A hospital manager in Melbourne told Gal once that the local statistics were that 75% of riders of motorcycles over 500cc (big bikes) end up in hospital. Does it matter why? It doesn’t to their parents and the other people around them and I’m guessing not to them anymore.
Keep safe,
Ronit
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Motorcycles are not for everyone. For me, it is the only way. I am 50 years old. Been riding since I was 18. Sure, I’ve been down a few times but to me, the risk is worth it.
I think it would be safer for our young riders if we adopted a graduated cycle endorsment like many countries in Europe. 100cc for a year, 250cc for a year.
Learn to ride. Too many rookie riders out there on bikes that FAR exceed the riders capability. Too many rookie riders become statistics
Hi Rainman,
I agree, motorcycles are not for everyone.
I have to say that there will be always responsible people using the motorcycle as transportation method and they are mature and understand, knows the risks and will be fine but young riders do not treat the motorcycle that way. By the way, I have a family member that for years drove a motorcycle and had accidents, big accidents and in the hospital, half dead he said it only happened because he didn’t have an expensive gear to protect him ( saying nothing about driving 180 km an hour) so I know it is not rational.
I think the most responsible person is at risk from car drivers only because when they are hit, it is a big hit (not shield to protect them). So I agree that limiting the size of the motorcycle and gradually building it up is wise and can help but it can never help protect from crazy car drivers.
Thanks for coming here. Come again.
Ronit