safety first, kids!

[teridawn]

On the way home I got passed (on the right, btw... I really hate that) by a, well, person on a motorcycle. It was kind of a tiny motorcycle. But that's beside the point.

Point being, while a helmet was in use as prescribed (yay, guy-- er, maybe), there was also a long sleeved cotton shirt (hm. Not so good with the yay) for 'protection'--thank God it was long sleeved... otherwise a bug might have made an ugly spot on his/her elbow.

Further, much to my amazement (I'm occasionally easily amazed), topping the ensem were some light brown torn-off shorts (cut-off being far too generous a term), and finally, a pair of freakin' Birkenstock SANDALS...the kind that 'slide on', and... no socks... not that the sockless thing would matter in the long and short of it. Obviously Mystery Motorcycle Rider is not a keen lover of his or her toes... or legs... or really, anything below the chin.

Now, don't get me wrong, it wasn't a very big motorcycle as motorcycles go, but hey, if it'll take you where you want to go at a speed wherein it would hurt... really... really... badly to hit the ground. Then it's big enough.

I do recognize that, as a active driver in control of a vehicle greater than say, oh, I dunno, 80 lbs, I probably shouldn't have given this as much thought as I did, but the mental image just would not go away.

Um. heh. I could have rambled on about Mike Grell and how awesome he was back in the 70's (and probably still is), and all the cool stuff he's hiding from me in the back of his closet, as well as all the hot pr0ny imagery that plagued me on the drive TO work this morning (and I still might), but the mighty, potentially toeless, motorcycle pilot will not let me go!

Comments

Idiots on bikes

[amf-wip.livejournal.com]

Two guys on a motorbike crashed into the side of my (then) Mercury Topaz, and wrote it off. They were doing about 80km at the time, and I was stopped.

One helmet went flying, at least one shoe came off... not wearing proper leathers really wasn't an issue for them. Breathing... breathing was an issue. So were internal injuries. Neither one of them lived.

Really, on a Death Machine like that, if you're going over 50km (30mph), road rash is going to be the least of your worries if you crash.

Re: Idiots on bikes

[philexos.livejournal.com]

Yep, speed is a great factor when you hit the ground, and leather or heavy denim isn't going to save your life in a worst case scenario. It's also nice to know that everything 'around' you is moving pretty fast as well, and, say, a rock clipped by the wheel of another vehicle could do far more damage than crack a windshield without a reasonable amount of protection. My brain just, automatically, goes to worst case scenario, and this guy gave me the 'major' creeps.