Published
HI,
im wondering if you would let your kid get a motorcycle if they wanted.
my grandfather was a physician and would not let my mother or her sisters ride motorcycles.
so Im wondering if this had to do with the number of motorcycle related deaths/carnage he had seen. Do you see many motorcycle related accident victims?
thanks
My dad has a Harley. he had it all while I was growing up, I went on motorcyle "runs" with him. My bf cant stop talking about getting one as soon as his record clears up (insurance is crazy expensive) but for some reason it bothers me. I think it depends a lot for me on the quality of the driver. my bf thinks he shouldve been a race car driver..... he is a good driver but confidence can be dangerous.
That's what we call 'em in my neck of the woods, too.
Of course, having witnessed a nasty motorcycle wreck when I was about eight years old might have something to do with my personal feelings on the issue.......saw a guy slide right under a bus, and when he came out the other side he was missing one leg from the knee down. He survived, but watching that leg squirt out from under the bus was pretty gruesome. So no, I've never permitted my kids to ride, although I'm sure those days are coming to an end, as my oldest son has expressed a keen interest in Harleys and he won't be 16 forever!
My parents got my brother and I motorcycles when I turned 16 so we could have cheap transportation.
Having work neuro I hate motorcycles, consider them dangerous and don't understand the mentality of not wearing helmets and I cringe when I'm going 70 on the interstate and get passed by a motorcycle going 100 miles an hour.
Most of the time however, it's not the motorcycle driver you have to worry about, it's the drivers behind the wheel who ignore motorcycles or think they will miracalously disappear out of their was they pull in front of them.
I don't have kids so it's a moot point, but I'm not a dictator and probably would allow my child to have one if he/she really seriously wanted one. I would teach safety, etc.
Statistically, especially young male drivers, cars are pretty dangerous too in the younger population. :)
I used to ride at least every other weekend with my ex husband. We went on lots of benefit poker runs...some in November!!! Those were for Toys for Tots....froze my butt off! But always figured we were contributing to good causes. We also rode a lot for pleasure. Fall in Ohio is beautiful and usually just the right weather for riding. And there is no place as beautiful as Sturgis, South Dakota!
Back then I had no worries. I was young, healty, with two beautiful sons. I trusted my husband completely when he said "you don't need to wear a helmet honey, let the wind flow through your hair." So I did...I never gave a thought to dying.....
Well, things have changed. When I first tried getting on a bike after my son's brain injury, even with a helmet, I almost had a panic attack. "What if something happens to us...who's going to take care of the boys? Especially now that Jacob has a brain injury?" What if we crash and I get a brain injury?????? How can I then help my Jacob get better? What if my brain injured son is left with no parents??? OR WORSE....what if they are left to take care of two brain injured PARENTS????"
My son's brain injury was anoxic...from a near drowning, not a TBI...but still....
I was only on that Harley one time after my son's accident. I can't do it anymore. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, or maybe because I nearly lost my boys....but I just can't do it. I guess it helps that we divorced shortly after the accident.
hypnotic_nurse
627 Posts
NO WAY. My little brother died not two blocks from our house after a pickup hit his motorcycle. It's been 30 years and I still miss him.