I’m not in a position to preach, but the number of times I’ve had motorcycle accidents… well, it easily exceeds twenty. If I really looked into it, there might be more. My apologies.
Now,
naturally, some of it comes down to my own carelessness. I think concentration and attention are extremely important when riding.
Moreover, with the spread of smartphones in recent years, it’s become easier for people to lose focus and attention. I sometimes think that modern times have created an environment where accidents happen more easily.
When an accident happens, there’s always another party involved.
Even now I think about it—both the other person and I might be inattentive, or we might have that casual thought of “can I make it through this timing?” which comes up easily in everyday moments.
And when both of our bad timing aligns perfectly, that’s when the accident happens.
I often hear the opinion that “it’s because you’re going too fast.” From a probability standpoint, that’s definitely got a point.
Certainly, when riding safely, you definitely have more time to “stop, decelerate, or avoid,” and you can make better judgments, so the safety margin increases dramatically.
Conversely, when you’re going fast, you have to make judgments and maneuvers in fractions of a second, so the risk goes up significantly.
Even when you’re not going fast, it’s hard to avoid a car or person that suddenly appears from a blind spot, so I think it’s necessary to always cultivate attention and imagination even at safe speeds.
I think now that if you can develop a sixth sense and imagine unexpected situations, the probability of accidents and crashes drops dramatically.
When you hear about someone else’s accident or crash, don’t treat it as someone else’s problem—put yourself in their position and imagine how you would handle it. I think that broadens your perspective and changes your riding.
I sometimes see commercials like “Bikes are so fun! Woohoo!” but…
I always think that among all the hobbies involving vehicles in this world, there’s nothing else with such a high potential to take someone’s life and freedom.
I talk often with long-time motorcycle customers, and
we agree: “In the end, we were just lucky.” Soberly.
Because there was always the possibility that the first crash could have taken everything from us.
So clench up and ride your bike, and let’s enjoy it.
