Well meaning folk
Discussion
Dunno about you lot but I'm getting really p*ssed off with friends, neighbours and others all telling the wife about the number of bikers killed or maimed that they know.
Only picked up the new bike last Friday and already the wife is telling me how worried she is that I'll be in an accident.
Ok so we all know the risks and choose to accept them and we ride accordingly. Whilst these people all probably mean well, I wish that they'd keep their thoughts to themselves. Even my 8 year old daughter is now worried.
Only picked up the new bike last Friday and already the wife is telling me how worried she is that I'll be in an accident.
Ok so we all know the risks and choose to accept them and we ride accordingly. Whilst these people all probably mean well, I wish that they'd keep their thoughts to themselves. Even my 8 year old daughter is now worried.
I get 1 of 2 types of comments form most people when they know I have a bike.
either they tell me how dangerous it is usualy followed by accident stories mainly grusome ones.
or they tell me I ought to fall of becaus all bikers are Tawts. usualy followed by a rant about filtering which spoils their entire day when they are driving to the coast.
just how filtering past them when they are stuck in a traffic jam spoils their day Ive yet to work out.
either they tell me how dangerous it is usualy followed by accident stories mainly grusome ones.
or they tell me I ought to fall of becaus all bikers are Tawts. usualy followed by a rant about filtering which spoils their entire day when they are driving to the coast.
just how filtering past them when they are stuck in a traffic jam spoils their day Ive yet to work out.
pesty said:
I get 1 of 2 types of comments form most people when they know I have a bike.
Either that or they look at you as if you're totally box of frogs mad, or go off and talk to their mates/colleagues whereupon you can hear them muttering 'see him, death-wish, he's a biker' or you get treated with great sympathy as if biking was some sort of incurable disease.....hmmmm maybe that last bit _is_ true
Trouble is it all seems to be bad press at the moment, what with stats flying about/ news broadcasts etc. Never gives a good perspective. Everyone i know who doesnt ride gave up on trying to lecture me ages ago, maybe i could read into that that they may not care or the truth which is they know they are wasting their time!
I do think the encouragement on advanced trainning is good, everyone could benifit.
I do think the encouragement on advanced trainning is good, everyone could benifit.
My mother called me the other night - "switch over to bbc1 now, theres a report on - apparently the number of bikers on the road has grown and casualties are getting more common"
My reply?
"So...more bikes on the roads and by some strange coincidence, more crashes as well? If you doubled the number of cars on the road, youd probably double the number of accidents. Its sensationalist bullshit, typical of the media."
My reply?
"So...more bikes on the roads and by some strange coincidence, more crashes as well? If you doubled the number of cars on the road, youd probably double the number of accidents. Its sensationalist bullshit, typical of the media."
hertsbiker said:
don't worry about it. They're only jealous! either of the bike, your skill at riding it, their insecurity at not being able to, or the fact you can filter when they are stuck in traffic!
My thoughts exactly; most people bring the death-wish mode on when you tell them that you ride a superbike. From my experience, it is directly related to jealousy/envy of you making the choice to exercise an extreme form of transport that doubles up as a great pastime.
The fact that you are shrugging off the danger of it all maybe makes them feel undermined as a human and in their defence rattle off some facts and figures that are issued by the government as scare tactics.
The thing is, just by waking up in the morning you automatically put yourself in danger. I don't think that the rockers/mods/hells angels/bad boy biker groups have sold biking to the public very well in the past and the stigma is still there. Biking is BAD! ...
......... but bloody enjoyable!!
It's a shame people don't pay more attention to the positive points of being a rider - one of these being that you are far more aware of what's happening than the average mumpty/sales rep/BMW driver etc. (no offence meant :-) )
Lost count of the number of times I've seen a hazard ahead and reacted to it in plenty of time whereas the cars ahead have had to slam on the brakes as they haven't seen it or anticipated it.
Yes, if you're on a bike and in an accident you're more likely to be injured than in a car but how safe would the roads be if all car drivers had the same road awareness that most bikers do.
Not sure the safer car advertising helps either, drivers feel so comfortable and safe behind the wheel that they don't need to pay attention as all the crumple zones, impact bars and airbags will protect them - never mind the other car/bike/pedestrian in the accident.
Lost count of the number of times I've seen a hazard ahead and reacted to it in plenty of time whereas the cars ahead have had to slam on the brakes as they haven't seen it or anticipated it.
Yes, if you're on a bike and in an accident you're more likely to be injured than in a car but how safe would the roads be if all car drivers had the same road awareness that most bikers do.
Not sure the safer car advertising helps either, drivers feel so comfortable and safe behind the wheel that they don't need to pay attention as all the crumple zones, impact bars and airbags will protect them - never mind the other car/bike/pedestrian in the accident.
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