Motorcycle Riding Safety is important...
Oh Well... The only fella I need please is me... and since my opinions are free... You get your moneys' worth.
One of my problems with it all is that the lives of so many people are consumed with being SAFE! ARRRRGGGHH!
They aren't made any safer by their Motorcycle Riding Safety obsession... just more scared and paranoid.
Much of the the problem I have with it is found in the statement, made long ago by some old time philosopher: "There comes a point, when doing what is necessary for survival... you render survival worthless."
There is a limit to the actions I will take in the interest of Motorcycle Riding Safety... or safety in general... beyond which I will not go.
You get to the point that you've loaded on so many 'regulations and rules' that you've turned the joy of what you were pursuing into a miserable burden... and so then... why bother?
I'll be smart, I'll be prepared, and I may not be off the wall reckless... but this mindless obsession with supposed safety just bores me to tears... I mean... who has ever... or will ever... get out of this deal... ALIVE? I'd like to meet that sucker!
It'd give me more riding time! Motorcycle Riding Safety... or Not!
So... I'll do what makes sense... what doesn't unreasonably degrade the joy of riding... and just walk away from all the rest of the fear mongering that's sold out there...
One thing I won't do is try and impose my values on anyone... If you don't want to see things the way I do... That's OK. Fine! It don't matter to me... Think how you want to... That's exactly what I'm talkin' about!
Unless what you're doing sets up a clear and present danger to other people... what you're doing is none of my damn business! You want to go out and do dumb things that gets you all stove up... That is your business... not mine.
Such as in Helmets... For anyone... to tell ANYONE... "YOU MUST WEAR A HELMET" is a society arrogantly overstepping its' authority... You can say... "If you go cripple yourself we ain't gonna foot the bill"... that's fine... but taking that risk (not wearing a helmet) is a personal choice... and none of my business.
It's an issue of Freedom... something I'm kinda touchy about! :-) If you don't draw the line right up front... Those who can, will encroach on every Freedom of yours... that they can get their hands on.
Just for Clarification... I wear a Helmet... except in very rare, no opposing/intersecting traffic situations... such as cruising slowly down a one way mountain road... otherwise... that crashpot is securely strapped in place.
... but I will not... not for a minute... Judge those who choose to do otherwise... nor will I impose my opinions on them... they're Free to do as they please.
Now... that we've got that out of the way...
There is more than just Helmets to think about when considering Motorcycle Riding Safety.
I'm calculatin' there's a few different 'areas' that you can dig into when thinking about Riding Safety. Things like sound, visibility, equipment, and awareness... and this is another spot where you might consider my ideas to split off a bit...
There's a pretty big group that claim... in almost constant debate with various governments across the country, that 'Loud Pipes' save lives. Others swear that Helmets, Jackets and other bits of equipment, assembled in colors so bright they hurt your eyes, make you more visible.
... And yet others put their trust in various forms of equipment to provide padding, abrasion protection and impact shielding in the event of a wreck...
My problem with these ideas is this... they either put the responsibility to avoid a collision on 'somebody else'...or they try to protect you... after the wreck is happening... both of which I consider, for the most part, a waste of time.
The Motorcycle Riding Safety 'behavior' I choose to pursue is one in which I seek, to do things that - I - can control; things that avoid allowing the situations in which a wreck can occur... to happen in the First Place!
Doing anything which counts on the 'Other Guy' seeing or hearing you is to me... a guaranteed failure... How many times have you heard of Truck Drivers describing a wreck, where they described the Driver they ran in to as; "Looking straight at me... then pulling out anyway... right in front of me... I couldn't avoid them!"
Now, maybe I'm bein' pissy here... but it seems to me that if these bozos can't see, or hear, an 80,000 pound Semi-Truck, counting on.. no... relying on them, to SEE your 700 pound motorcycle is an exercise in futility!
And I don't want to go floppin' and bangin' around on the asphalt, at 60 mph, to find out if that fancy equipment is going to do what the manufacturer claims it will...
Don't get me wrong... I wear Leather Jackets, Helmets, gloves, safety glasses, chaps and such to give me sensible, reasonable, protection... but for the most part... it's protection from the elements... not crashing.
No Sir!
When it comes to Motorcycle Riding Safety, there's but one thing that seems to me, has any hope of protecting you from wrecks, crashes, collisions and other sorts of activities where you're trying to have your body occupy the same space as cars, trucks, trees and such.
What is that one thing?...
Awareness! ... Maintaining a sharp, trained Awareness of your surroundings... and everyone else on the road.
Don't rely on them seeing you... YOU SEE THEM!
Don't rely on them avoiding you... YOU AVOID THEM!
I have a lot more confidence in my ability to stay out of their way, then I have in the ability of ANYTHING ensuring that THEY see and AVOID me!
I can summarize my Motorcycle Riding Safety philosophy in five words... Ride Like You Are Invisible!
Do this and it won't matter what you have on... or... how noisy your pipes are. This is one time where making an assumption is the right way to go.
ASSUME that no one else can see you... The result is you're automatically on the alert coming into intersections... and doing what is required to keep you safe.
You're automatically making sure that the opposing traffic is stopping... before you enter the intersection. That no one is running the red light or the stop sign.
You DO NOT PROCEED... simply because you have the right-of-way. You yield to the offending driver... rather than taking your right of way... by planting your nose on his windshield!
In pursuit of Motorcycle Riding Safety... if you assume you are invisible... you are watching that car that is passing you, EXPECTING him to cut in to you...
As you are approaching a driveway that is occupied by a car preparing to pull out... you Assume the blind bugger is going to pull out in front of you.
Adopt this Motorcycle Riding Safety philosophy; "Assume You Are Invisible"; Train and condition yourself to ride in accordance with it... and without even thinking about it... without degrading obsessions, you will begin to automatically position yourself, to keep you, and your motorcycle, out of harms way.
And while your 'subconscious' parts start working to keep you safe... more of your 'conscious' pieces can enjoy the scenery...
... as you thunder down the road in Motorcycle Riding Safety!
Return from Motorcycle Riding Safety to Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
