Posted by biz-teach on May 05, 2002 at 06:00:05:
In Reply to: Your gonna kill yourself . . . Motorcycles are dangerous! posted by Ron Taylor on March 20, 2001 at 02:02:29:
I made the decision to buy a bike last Sept. after dreaming about getting on one again for years. I'm a Dad, husband, teacher, and son-in-law!, among other things. When I was talking about getting a bike, these people you speak of made me scared. I'd think, I'm rolling the dice if I do this. Am I nuts?
Then I took the safety course and I realized how safe you can make riding. 92% of crashes happen to people that either taught themselves to ride or learned from a friend. That's a pretty strong statistic that if you take training, you're odds of living to see another country road increases.
I'm even a better CAR driver because I'm expecting the unexpected at all times.
I don't hunt and go into the woods with trigger-happy hunters. I wear my seatbelt wherever I sit in a car. I don't smoke. I consider myself a "safe" person, but I love the freedom and thrill of riding.
It's hard for me to ignore these people because of my personality. But I know I really can't change their attitude. I can only change mine. I usually let the people "lecture" me and change the conversation.
Ride happy and safe.