Comment by buildsjets
14 hours ago
I get it, I have over 60,000 miles commuting on two wheels (Most of them on my 2003 Kawasaki ZR-7s that I have owned since new and just rode to work on Thursday), in all kinds of inclement weather, primarily to avoid parking hassles and traffic. But I'm also lucky to be alive, because one day, I was waiting at a red light, and the guy who was stopped about 2 car lengths behind me was so drunk he hallucinated that the light turned green, punched the gas, rear ended me, and drove me and my bike into the 3 cars ahead of us. I was remarkably uninjured, but could easily have lost my legs or worse. There was nothing I could have done or forseen to avoid the collision.
My wife had a separate motorcycle accident on her Ninja 500r that she caused by turning left against oncoming traffic and getting T-boned. The car bumper hit her directly on the right foot, breaking most all the bones in her ankle, then flipping her over the hood and breaking her femur. She had to have bunch of bones in her foot fused, walks with a pronounced limp, and can't go to any event where she has to stand for more than 30 minutes at at time. We used to go to all kinds of rock concerts, now she has to skip the pit and is stuck in balcony seating.
Motorcycles can be convenient and a whole lot of fun, but do not underestimate the statistical likelihood of a life-changing accident, especially if you are in a position where you have dependents that you have financially and emotionally committed to. I have cats, they won't care if I eat it, so long as THEY get fed by someone.
In the parts of Europe where I've lived, Western/Northern EU, the ERs nickname motorcycle as "donor-wagons".
"Donorcycles" in the US.
Carry term life insurance and long term disability so you can support your dependents if killed or injured, which you should be doing regardless of the motorcycle if you have dependents.
A former neighbor died from slipping on his icy front steps. Again, carry proper insurance if you have dependents. You can die unexpectedly from things far less dangerous than motorcycles.
> You can die unexpectedly from things far less dangerous than motorcycles.
Existantials are always trivially true. But statistically:
> The lifetime odds of dying as a motorcyclist are roughly 1 in 726. While data specifically tracking "slipping on ice while walking" is rarely isolated on its own, it falls under the broader National Safety Council category for deaths by falls, which has a lifetime odds of 1 in 89.
However, if we compare reduced life expectancy:
> General lifetime falls reduce life expectancy significantly more across the whole population than motorcycle riding, but a motorcycle crash reduces a single rider's life expectancy far more severely.
> Riding a motorcycle poses a vastly higher immediate threat to your lifespan than the everyday risk of falling. On a per-hour basis, riding a motorcycle costs roughly 5 microlives per hour of operation (shaving 2.5 hours off your life expectancy for every hour you ride) because of high speeds and a lack of external frame protection. In contrast, the risk of general falling—despite including hazards like ladders, stairs, and slippery surfaces—costs the average person less than a small fraction of a single microlife per hour of daily movement. While falls ultimately claim more total lives because everyone is exposed to gravity daily, an individual actively trading riding time for walking time dramatically improves their statistical life expectancy by drastically lowering their microlife expenditure.
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My sister and I used to wait after school at the ER for my mother to finish her shift. Back then we could wander in to the ER if we were bored (basically no privacy for the patients).
Because of what we would see, neither of us has ever ridden a motorcycle on the street.
Rode one for 5 years in my 20s and sold it after 2 close calls. Kawasaki Ninja 550 and then 750. The 750 had a scary amount of power.
I consider myself lucky that I didn’t have a serious accident.
> I was remarkably uninjured, but could easily have lost my legs or worse.
Same. Used to do MX (Yamaha 250 2 strokes) when I was below 30 y/o, as well as off-road/dirt biking, but it's on the road that I got one terribly bad accident (flew over a car than ran a red light while I ran an orange one), with an XR 350, where I ended up unconscious and woke up without being able to see anything (freaking scary and I did last about an hour maybe? Don't remember but I woke up in the ambulance and only started seeing while at the hospital).
I also another crash as a passenger on a... Vespa. Insanely dumb crash.
Both times I escaped mostly unarmed (broke a thumb requiring surgery to put some kind of a nail in it and then remove it).
My brother got a terrible tank slapper at the absolute worst moment: usually you can accelerate to lift the front wheel to get rid of it but there were cars in front of him... He literally flew over his own bike (a Triumph Street Triple) without hitting anything: just due to the tank slapper. He thankfully stopped gliding before hitting the cars in front of him (and nearly got hit by his own bike).
I love bikes but I don't do any anymore and they do freaking scare me. As a father now they're actually my nightmare.
My brother bought a new Triumph (once more a Street Triple) and he's got a CBR 600RR for the track but I just quit motorbikes altogether.
> I have cats, they won't care if I eat it, so long as THEY get fed by someone.
Your wife and friends will care. Don't eat it. Glad your wife is OK: could have been worse.