You can still see the tears flowing down your mom’s face the day you told her you’d bought a motorcycle. You were 27 years old. Like many moms, she pleaded with you not to be selfish, not to go out there and get yourself killed.
Many people think motorcycles are dangerous. Yet it’s not motorcycles that are dangerous. It’s people. If people took more care on the roads, there would be fewer motorcycle accidents.
What do we mean by people? Do we mean motorcyclists?
32% of motorcyclists were speeding when they died in fatal accidents, according to 2017 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Another 29% of motorcyclists killed did not have a valid license.
If you take out speeding motorcyclists and those who did not have a valid license, you would reduce the number of fatal motorcycle accidents by 61%. In other words, if you abide by the law, riding a motorcycle is much safer.
What about other people on the roads? How many motorcyclists do they kill?
57% of fatal motorcycle accidents involved another vehicle according to the NHTSA, and 42% of all motorcyclists who died on the roads were killed by a driver turning left across them.
If more drivers checked their mirrors sufficiently and fewer motorcyclists broke the law, maybe your mom would have a different image of motorcycling. Perhaps you could persuade her to hop on the pillion seat and discover just what fun it can be.