WHAT’S A BAD ATTITUDE ON A MOTORCYCLE?

1) Most would likely agree that riding down a highway on a noisy motorcycle while shooting a gun randomly at signs, trees, fences, etc., would not constitute the most responsible motorcycle behavior.

However, if that were done only once in a rider’s life, and it occurred in a rural area where nobody lived, and somehow it was known beyond any reasonable doubt that there was no possibility that anyone would get hurt, would that be worse than the following?

2) Any rider on any day – or every day – blithely riding along with the attitude that he/she is invincible and could never be subject to a motorcycle accident.  Or, perhaps stated less strongly, any biker riding along on a public road with the same attitude that he/she might have as a typical driver in a car or truck.

I certainly would not condone attitude #1, but I would say attitude #2 is riskier to the survival of the motorcyclist and environment.

Riding a motorcycle is so enjoyable, that it’s easy to be immersed in the experience – and lose connection to the reality that bikes are inherently more dangerous than driving a 4-wheeled vehicle.  A prime factor that makes bikes pleasurable is that the rider is not surrounded with all that steel protection.  A rider is less encumbered and more a part of reality than someone in a car, who could potentially view the world going by as just something else on the TV screen.

A bad attitude for a motorcycle would be the typical attitude that any car driver may have speeding down the road while talking on the phone and drinking coffee. Due to the real-world risks that riding bikes necessitates, a motorcyclist inherently needs to be more alert, more responsible and more in tune with the environment than any other motorist on the roadway.

(Click here for a BETTER WAY TO SHOW BAD ATTITUDE)

What’s your attitude as a motorcycle rider?

COMPARE MOTORCYCLE SAFETY APPAREL AND GEAR:

Click for PROTECTIVE GEAR