Finally the temperatures are heading in the right direction for the time of year and then we collectively get our bike out of the garage. Another recurring phenomenon is that the same weekend the media reports on accidents with motorcyclists, more specifically accidents with sports motorcycles.
A dramatic accident, in which the fact that the bike was driving too fast was indisputably demonstrated. A dramatic accident in which everyone who drives a motorcycle has paused for a moment about the dangers of their hobby after hearing the deeply sad message.
A dramatic accident in which the general media cannot resist portraying sports motorcycles as weapons that should be banned ...
“Always stronger, faster, more deadly,” they write in big letters in the media, with yet another photo of a Suzuki Hayabusa, Kawasaki ZX-12R or some Honda Fireblade, with a driver without gloves and in sneakers to perfect the portrait.
We do not want to posit that these types of speeds belong on the public road, but the title of the article is fundamentally incorrect, all the more because in recent decades the manufacturers have devoted a great deal of effort to passive safety by means of traction control and increasingly efficient ABS systems.
It is not incorrect to conclude that as if the fact that you do not want to ban / restrict high-performance engines would automatically mean that you are in favor of road accidents
That is, of course, nonsense. I am a father myself and my children are the most important thing in my whole life. But that does not mean that you should immediately throw out all sense of reality.
If you think a little longer, you will soon come to the conclusion that it is not with the high-performance vehicle where the problem lies, but with the person sitting in the saddle or behind the wheel.
A person of flesh and blood who can make an error of judgment at many times and for many different reasons.
Did the driver who caused the accident kick at speed?
Was he late for an important appointment?
Or angry because of an argument with a friend? Was he absent-minded?
However, would the outcome of the drama have been different if he had been on a naked 600cc middle class?
Tired? Distracted? We will never know, because he / she cannot always retell it.
The reason is secondary to the fact that he has violated the traffic law and made an error of judgment with a dramatic outcome.
This creates exciting possibilities and interactions, with the irrevocable side effect of drama and danger. The latter is something that we try to ban from our society, in every possible way.
In the case of motorcyclists, this means better training and safer bikes and clothing. Cyclists are increasingly wearing helmets and cars are full of airbags. The world is safer than ever, yet these kinds of dramas cannot be eliminated.
Regardless of whether it is a sports bike or not.
So if you might make your first meter of this year with your motorcycle this weekend, be careful, alert and above all, be honest in your skills. A mistake is easily made, sometimes with dire consequences.
Above all, enjoy the freedom the bike provides, and as with anything, in moderation.
Below is another video that makes you think.