Would you ever own a motorcycle? YES or NO?

[borinick1492]

I LOVE motorycles. But I also know many people see them as death traps. Including my mother. My father owns a motorcycle. Heck he's been riding since before I was born. But that doesn't change her view of them lol

Either way, I was wondering since a lot of you work in hospitals, if it has changed your view of motorcycles. In a more negative way.

Which is funny because I was going down the road once and I saw this male nurse on a sports bike, and not only was he not wearing boots, but he was wearing crocs! Those things will fly right off if you crash. And how did I know he was a nurse? He was wearing scrubs! lol at least he had a helmet.

[No Stars In My Eyes]

First job in nursing career was on a fresh spinal-cord injury unit. So many kids my age paralyzed after motor-cycle wrecks, 90% of which were NOT their faults. I LOVE riding on a motorcycle, it's like having music in my body and soul. BUT I do not trust others on the road around motorcycles.

[nicurn001]

In any car versus motorcycle accident motorcyclist get the worst of it , but that is true of a car versus 16 wheeler incident most of us live with that risk .

I believe everyone should have to learn to ride a motorcycle early in their driving / riding life because in order to syurvive upon a motorcycle you have to be aware of and reactto everything that influences your travelling experience .You have to take note of the road surface , weather , condition of all your vehicles systems ( brakes , steering ,gears etc..).You have to pay attention in order to hope to survive the dangers other road users present to you.

All too often 4 wheel + drivers view their vehicles as extensions of their living rooms / lounge chairs drinking coffee , reading and writting texts , using their mirrors for anything but keeping track of other road users,thinking their indicators / blinkers ( here I show my being culturally challenged , as being from the UK can't be sure I'm using the correct US term for lights that you may use to denote change in direction / lane) aren't working because they keep turning on and off ;-)etc..

I believe strongly that if all road users had to spend some time upon a motorcycle there would be fewer injuries as these drivers would have learnt how to anticipate and take note of all the influences upon their driving , they would also have greater awareness of the risks the motorcyclist face and hopefully be more sympathetic and caring of their fellow road users .

I rode for 30 years in both Europe and America , without injury and would still be doing so ,but it would be rather difficult to do so with a wife and three kids aboard the bike .

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

Hospice nurse here. My perspective is ....life is too short to live in fear. I wear all the protective gear. Most of the time I ride in low traffic areas. Big on defensive riding...and I keep my insurance up to date...LOL. We just had a kid get ran over in the parking lot. Several people died or were sent to the hospital during our big RABRAI bicycle ride across Iowa. I won't stop enjoying thunderstorms for fear of lightening or tornado's and I won't stop riding my bike as long as I am able.

I bet you also don't ride while impaired, do wheelies in traffic, buy more bike than you can handle in order to impress your friends, show off, or passively consider the saddle an extension of your living room.

While it's horrible to someone maimed or killed for any reasons, many nurses have only seen the victims, and not the hundreds of thousands who ride safely that never end up in the ICU, or even the ER.

Some of the things I like about riding, beyond the obvious freedom, wind in my face, is being much more aware of my environment. Also, riding is a much more active experience vs the increasing passive driving experience.

There is so much we can do to mitigate the risks. I ride sober, wear gear, ride a bike appropriate to it's environments & my skill level. I've taken both Basic & Experienced Riders courses, and actively scan my environment & practice predictive-defensive riding at all times.

[ckh23, BSN, RN]

Not after working in trauma

[Aeterna, BSN, RN]

My uncle died several years ago in a motorcycle accident. For a while, that totally turned me off the idea of motorcycles. However, I've lately been toying the idea of buying a motorcycle and learning to rid it someday - not in the near future, but someday. I doubt I'd go riding on it on the highway or anything, just to get around town and whatnot, but it looks like a lot of fun.

We take a lot of risks in life but do it anyway. I get in my car and drive. I jay-walk. I walk into work and come into contact with all sorts of microbes and handle cytotoxic drugs and risk being hit by patients with dementia or hurting my back. So riding a motorcycle would be just one more thing to add on to the already long list I have going on!

[kaufer01]

While I can't deny I'm sure it'd be fun. I've worked as an EMT and seen people literally be scraped off the road. However, I've seen just as many car accidents and people that have gotten struck by vehicles while they were walking. So I can't say I'd never own one, as it would just add to the long list of risks I already take, I just don't see it in the near future.

[xtian]

I had a sport bike for a bit and drove it in the tristate area of all places. I drove it to school, up and down the east coast from FL to NY, raced at the track, etc. I thank God nothing happened to me and suddenly came to my senses and sold it. I didn't have any close calls other than almost dropping it while parking or something stupid. However, the level of care and alertness it requires is too much to make it enjoyable. It is very addictive though, I'm thinking about picking a new one up next year and using it as a track only bike where you at least have a controlled environment.

[Babs0512]

No, not after working in the ER - not enough protection for the biker - seen too many horrible biker injuries - many fatal. My husband (EMT) and myself both feel those who ride bikes are "Organ Donor's". No matter how careful the biker is, he can't control the other guy.

[maelstrom143]

No...I am way too clumsy

I like riding w/DH, though.

[magnoliophyte]

I rode motorcycles for 8 years as a primary commute vehicle. There's definitely an element of luck to it, but that goes the same in any other vehicle.

The big difference is that a mistake, or stroke of bad luck on the motorcycle means you'll almost certainly die as opposed to having a chance of dying or getting merely injured.

These days, I only ride on weekends for recreation, and not within the city. I stick to out in the country.

[getoverit, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

I've had a motorcycle for a long time, mostly antique cruisers and I don't ever see myself not having one. and believe me, I've seen more than a few people torn to bits...many times we'd fly the passenger because the driver didn't survive. First time I ever saw anyone cut completely in half at the waist was a bike wreck against a fire hydrant and I've seen more than a few decapitations as well.

I don't consider myself an "organ donor" although I've heard the term plenty of times (or calling them "donorcycles").

You're right that you can't control the other guy and it requires a high level of situational awareness. I can't count how many close calls I've had...every single one of them was someone either pulling out directly in front of me or shifting over into my lane without looking. I love riding but I'm a chicken on a bike and my mother-in-law wouldn't let her daughter ride around with me if she didn't believe that.

Inherently dangerous, absolutely; although I'm much more likely to survive a motorcycle wreck than a helicopter crash but I rarely get asked why I would climb into a machine that doesn't fly so much as it beats the air into submission.

and for aeterna: riding on the highway is much less dangerous than tooling around town. I can't think of any close calls I've had on the interstate (we're all going the same direction and there's no stop signs or red lights for people to run), most wrecks happen in town.

[Sweetandsour142]

I'm an ER Nurse with a motorcycle.