Quote:
Originally Posted by Mc2guy
Schneed,
Since Lavar is likely going to be fine, I don't have a problem with this debate right now. Your point that riding a bike is inherently more dangerous due to the higher likelihood of injury is well taken and I don't dispute you, but the same arguement could be applied to cars too. Convertibles, small cars, sports cars, pickups for example all represent much higher injury/fatality rates than minivans. Does that mean we all should drive minivans, or that it is "dumb" to drive a smaller car? How about riding a bicycle or walking? More pedestrians are killed per mile traveled than any other mode of transportation in this country...should we label walking as "dumb?"
Motorvehicle transportation has inherent risks no matter what you drive/ride/fly. Just ask the families of the roughly 50,000 people a year who die in auto accidents each year, or of the 3500 who die on motorcycles. My point is that proper training and discipline can mitigate the lion share of those risks. You will never eliminate the risk of a freak accident, but you can put the odds in your favor.
My point is that your choice of transportation has less do with that risk than your behavior while operating your vehicle of choice. Hence I take issue with your labeling motorcycles as "dumb."
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Yeah your point is valid.
First, I do think driving a small car like a Porsche is pretty dumb. They're dreadfully unsafe in crashes. So you're right, the same logic I'm applying to motorcycles definitely applies to very small cars (especially fast ones).
But I do agree that you can mitigate a lot of the risk by driving safely. Just not as much as you could by driving a car safely. That's why I just can never in a million years understand the decision to ride a motorbike, no matter how safely you operate it. It doesn't make logical sense.
But then again riding a bike isn't about logic. People just like it. And to me, doing something that doesn't make the most sense in favor of doing something fun is by definition, unsmart.
But yeah, it's not as unsmart as driving a motorbike recklessly.