Why don't they just accept that motorbikes are deathtraps and campaign against people riding them?

[GoshAnneGorilla]

Instead of spending so much time and money going on at car drivers, wouldn't it be better to discourage people from using motorbikes in the first place?

[Sparklingbrook]

Mmmmm. They scare me to death but some people seem to like them.

[Tee2072]

Because we don't live in a dictatorship and people are allowed to risk their lives any way they like.

[DesperatelySeekingSedatives]

YABU

[GoshAnneGorilla]

Tee - So why are seatbelts, speed limits and MOTs mandatory then?

[Sparklingbrook]

I think it's odd that Learner motorbike folk can go out alone. How does that all work?

[BackforGood]

Surely crash helmets are the equivalent of seatbelts - not preventing you from using them. You know, cars kill quite a lot of people each year, and so do lorries, but they are also very, very useful, as motorbikes are.

[katedan]

I sort of agree with OP. There is a lot of money spent campaigning for drivers to notice motorcyclists and to take care around them however it is fair to say most motorcyclists ride too fast ( I think that is the thrill of them) and if motorists do not see them it is often because they come out of nowhere. I am not sure a total ban is the answer as you will push it underground and make it even more dangerous however I think there should be stricter laws for motorcyclists and more stringent tests for them to be able to pass their test.

[Sparklingbrook]

Yes, I never seem to see a motorbike pootling along at the speed limit funnily enough.

[saycheeeeeese]

I have a friend who is a traffic policeman, he says that if people could see what he has had to see in terms of motorbike accidents then no one would ride one.

But the same could be said for cars they are death traps too.

[Tee2072]

Because a bunch of sissy pants decided we needed them.

I honestly do feel that way. If we live in a free society, then we should be free to die in a way of our own choosing.

I also feel that way about car seats. I have no problem with them being available. I have a problem with them being the law. It's infantilising the human race to make laws about how we have to keep ourselves safe. Give us the information and the product, let us decide for ourselves.

But I'm an anarchist at heart and always have been.

[SoupDragon]

What would be useful would be some kind of campaign to educate the twats on motorbikes who think a) they are invincible or b) the speed limits do not apply to them

[SoupDragon]

we should be free to die in a way of our own choosing.

Unless that forces pain and suffering onto someone else.

[SoupDragon]

I also feel that way about car seats. I have no problem with them being available. I have a problem with them being the law. It's infantilising the human race to make laws about how we have to keep ourselves safe. Give us the information and the product, let us decide for ourselves.

But in the case of car seat, you aren't deciding for yourself, you are deciding for a baby. The laws protect the baby, not you.

[Tee2072]

Yes, well, that's the problem with most things. There's always someone else involved whether you want there to be or not.

And before someone says 'well why should the NHS pay?'

Well why should they pay if you smoke? Or drink to excess? Or have a preventable lifestyle disease?

Same thing.

[Tee2072]

Isn't it my job to protect my baby? Why does the government get to decide the best way to protect my baby?

[Sparklingbrook]

I think there is something sinister about people in motorbike helmets. they are unrecognisable and faceless (for want of a better word).

[Tee2072]

That's why all banks have signs in NI telling them to remove them, Sparkling. Never seen that anywhere else!

[ChunkyPickle]

I think you just aren't noticing the riders who do happily pootle around at the speed limit - I know that I used to...

I don't think you can say that because drivers don't want to take the care to notice them, they should be banned - if that were a valid reason, then pushbikes, kids scooters and pedestrians should also be banned, as should any private car with an engine over 1l, sharp bends in the road, and animals that run out.

Motorbikes are enjoyable, take up less roadspace and parking, and are very practical for single people commuting, because a few people are idiots, and because they are more dangerous than a car (perhaps we should also all be forced to drive volvos?) doesn't mean they should be banned

[KobayashiMaru]

They get to decide because of all the idiots who don't decide properly for their children, thats why. Sometimes the governments job is to protect your child from you

[SoupDragon]

That's why all banks have signs in NI telling them to remove them, Sparkling. Never seen that anywhere else!

Yes, there are "no helmet" signs are in English banks too.

[alienbanana]

Why don't we ban cyclists while we're at it. They're all cunts too after all.

[BarredfromhavingStella]

Don't be so ridiculous, YABVU.