Riding is best learned with the appropriate amount of respect, a motorcycle safety foundation certified riding course, and lots and lots and lots of practice.
Or you can just hop on a bike for the first time in SEA, where even children and grandmas ride, and its treated with the same cultural reverence as a minivan.
India is tough, but everyone goes slow in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia so most accidents are relatively minor. Lotta people texting with phone in hand while riding. They’re cracking down on drunk driving at least.
I don’t blame you. I hope I didn’t sound like I was minimizing your concerns. Motorcycles are absolutely more inherently dangerous, especially for the rider, than cars. Not only are motorcycles harder to see, but sometimes just being around them seems to [occasionally] make other drivers act dumber for some reason. You have no cushion around you like you would with a car. You have to put a lot more effort into being visible, thinking ahead, and anticipating danger zones. If you’re in an accident, you don’t have the luxury of four walls, a seatbelt, and airbags.
Then there’s the “physics” which are very different from the physics of a four wheeled vehicle. You not only have to understand those, you also have to basically beat your own instincts out of yourself so you automatically respond correctly when you do inevitabely find yourself in an emergency situation.
Statistically, the majority of motorcycle wrecks occur at speeds under 30 mph (~48 kph). Usually because someone didn’t see the rider and/or the rider either wasn’t aware of or didn’t know how to apply the appropriate technique. As a rider, you will be much safer with proper training and safety gear. But you will never be as safe as in a passenger vehicle. I don’t blame people who look at motorcycles and go “Nope. Hard pass.” at all.
I, unfortunately, have to commute 35 miles one way, usually on my Honda motorcycle. I wish we had any semblence of mass transit at all. But we do not.
I am not brave enough to ride
Riding is best learned with the appropriate amount of respect, a motorcycle safety foundation certified riding course, and lots and lots and lots of practice.
Or you can just hop on a bike for the first time in SEA, where even children and grandmas ride, and its treated with the same cultural reverence as a minivan.
Honestly, traffic in most India and SEA makes me really really not want to get anything that can fall over.
India is tough, but everyone goes slow in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia so most accidents are relatively minor. Lotta people texting with phone in hand while riding. They’re cracking down on drunk driving at least.
I see the fun in it but man do I not trust other vehicles on the road even in my own car half the time
I don’t blame you. I hope I didn’t sound like I was minimizing your concerns. Motorcycles are absolutely more inherently dangerous, especially for the rider, than cars. Not only are motorcycles harder to see, but sometimes just being around them seems to [occasionally] make other drivers act dumber for some reason. You have no cushion around you like you would with a car. You have to put a lot more effort into being visible, thinking ahead, and anticipating danger zones. If you’re in an accident, you don’t have the luxury of four walls, a seatbelt, and airbags.
Then there’s the “physics” which are very different from the physics of a four wheeled vehicle. You not only have to understand those, you also have to basically beat your own instincts out of yourself so you automatically respond correctly when you do inevitabely find yourself in an emergency situation.
Statistically, the majority of motorcycle wrecks occur at speeds under 30 mph (~48 kph). Usually because someone didn’t see the rider and/or the rider either wasn’t aware of or didn’t know how to apply the appropriate technique. As a rider, you will be much safer with proper training and safety gear. But you will never be as safe as in a passenger vehicle. I don’t blame people who look at motorcycles and go “Nope. Hard pass.” at all.
“oh fu-”
I’ve had my spills on mopeds as a teenager, having them at 55mph – ehhhh.