What Paint Brush Do You Paint Other Riders?
I have to say that the following article is more of a “rant” directed at those who do not seem to care about others. So please know this is an area that absolutely makes me very-far-from-being-happy, and hopefully you will understand why I say what I say.
Have you ever tried to get out from under a bus? Have you ever tried to clean up from being painted with the same brush as everyone else? Well, those are some of the problems when the actions of only a small minority of motorcyclists gets all the publicity and attention of the public, throwing all of us under the bus, and painting us with the same brush!
I personally may not always follow the speed limits set on the highways but I do not go to the excess to draw attention to myself. As motorcyclists, we are, or should, be aware of the inherent dangers facing us, and all those around us when it comes to operating motor vehicles in an unsafe manner. It just doesn’t make any sense why someone who has earned the privilege, and it is a privilege, to operate a motor vehicle on our highways, and do so in a manner that can cause death, damage, and heartache to so many others, just because they don’t care. Or is because they have been so spoiled that they have never been told, “No, you can’t do that”, and that “no means no”, or have gotten away with everything else so far, so why not try it out here on the road. What could possibly happen?
What could happen? Lots! I could write about accident statistics which show that anywhere between 60 – 75% of all motorcycle accidents are single vehicle incidents, with a good deal of them coming from excessive speeding. No, not going to do that.
Single riders causing issues for drivers and riders around them is bad enough, but the “herd” mentality of many bikes riding together seems to be a newer form of “being collectively stupid”! To add to this, your insurance rates continue to climb as these individuals continue to crash and burn. So while you may not be a part of any of the problem riders out there, you and I are paying for their actions by having our insurance rates spike upwards.
Have you ever tried to get out from under a bus? Have you ever tried to clean up from being painted with the same brush as everyone else? Well, those are some of the problems when the actions of only a small minority of motorcyclists gets all the publicity and attention of the public, throwing all of us under the bus, and painting us with the same brush!
I personally may not always follow the speed limits set on the highways but I do not go to the excess to draw attention to myself. As motorcyclists, we are, or should, be aware of the inherent dangers facing us, and all those around us when it comes to operating motor vehicles in an unsafe manner. It just doesn’t make any sense why someone who has earned the privilege, and it is a privilege, to operate a motor vehicle on our highways, and do so in a manner that can cause death, damage, and heartache to so many others, just because they don’t care. Or is because they have been so spoiled that they have never been told, “No, you can’t do that”, and that “no means no”, or have gotten away with everything else so far, so why not try it out here on the road. What could possibly happen?
What could happen? Lots! I could write about accident statistics which show that anywhere between 60 – 75% of all motorcycle accidents are single vehicle incidents, with a good deal of them coming from excessive speeding. No, not going to do that.
Single riders causing issues for drivers and riders around them is bad enough, but the “herd” mentality of many bikes riding together seems to be a newer form of “being collectively stupid”! To add to this, your insurance rates continue to climb as these individuals continue to crash and burn. So while you may not be a part of any of the problem riders out there, you and I are paying for their actions by having our insurance rates spike upwards.
These individuals may think they are not doing anything wrong but they are the ones that receive the spotlight many think represents all riders – which is as far from the truth as you can get! The vast majority of riders do their best to follow the rules of the road and just as importantly, raise large amounts of money for a large number of charities, such as Ride For Dad and food banks.
On a different note, I am not saying that these riders in question are all riding “crotch rockets” or sport bikes (which I believe get an unfair rap because of those who do their antics with these bikes), but a good number are also riding other styles of bikes as well.
This “rant” may be rambling, and there may not much we can do to stop “spontaneous stupidity”, but if we work together to help educate the public with our own proper riding, perhaps, and just perhaps we can help change attitudes others may have for the rest of us.
And with that in mind, don’t forget to
Ride Skilled, Ride Smart, and Ride Safe.
On a different note, I am not saying that these riders in question are all riding “crotch rockets” or sport bikes (which I believe get an unfair rap because of those who do their antics with these bikes), but a good number are also riding other styles of bikes as well.
This “rant” may be rambling, and there may not much we can do to stop “spontaneous stupidity”, but if we work together to help educate the public with our own proper riding, perhaps, and just perhaps we can help change attitudes others may have for the rest of us.
And with that in mind, don’t forget to
Ride Skilled, Ride Smart, and Ride Safe.