Motorcyclists

Today I was volunteering as paramedic again. It was a hot summer day in Austria and of course, there were a bunch of motorcyclists on the roads.

As always I saw a bunch driving like crazy, risking their lives and the lives of others, but that’s for another post.

Today I want to talk about the drivers who don’t wear, or wear too few, protective gear.

In Austria, only the Helmet is enforced as motorcycle gear. Nothing more. Sure, special shoes, gloves and leather or Gore-Tex clothes are recommended but not mandatory.

I saw a couple driving on the highway with only a T-Shirt and short jeans.

I am not sure if these people think straight. Sure, you probably only need the protective gear if you have an accident. And of course, you didn’t fall off the bike the last ten years, but what protects you in not falling off today?

Let’s think about it. In the MotoGP, they are sometimes falling with about 200 kilometres per hour. They wear heavy protective gear and are still injured.

Now, comes a dumb driver “Oh, I don’t need protective gear, I don’t fall off the bike”.

Well, let’s imagine he did fell off. No leather, no Gore-Tex, no gloves. What do you think will happen to his skin? Asphalt isn’t smooth, it’s like a large sanding paper.

I don’t think that the skin missing would be the only problem. I think the flesh would be drawn from the skeleton. If you’re lucky, you probably die because of the accident. If not you’re probably going to die on some serious protection.

Wear protective gear!