To think that protective clothing should be compulsory for motorbike/moped riders.

[Saggyoldclothcatpuss]

After seeing a teen picked up from the ground (thankfully unscathed) after coming off his moped this morning, I started wandering about this. My friend is a biker, and told me that when you take bike lessons, you are advised to wear protective clothing, but it's not a legal requirement. I see these youngsters whizzing round wearing shorts and teeshirts, or jeans, and they have no protection at all. Apparently, you lose 1mm of flesh for every foot you slide when you hit the floor in a skid!

i don't think it should be compulsory

i think if you're stupid enough to ride without it then you deserve everything you get

too much molly-coddling in this country already. you make your choices you live with the consequences

YANBU. I've seen some really nasty accidents and know that while it doesn't look particularly cool to be wrapped up in leathers or the fabric equivalent it looks even less cool to be wrapped in bandages.

thisisyesterday, the problem is that the prat who has just come off his bike and who is now in A&E may be making your sick child wait that bit longer and the cost of patching the dickhead up may be preventing your sick child from obtaining the drugs we need. An accident to a biker who doesn't wear leathers affects more than just that individual.

well yes, this is true...
but still, I do think we take it too far with rules about what people can and can't do.

Totally agree with you. Even a very minor accident on a bike can cause very serious injuries.

My sister rides a huge suzuki now, but her instructor showed her a video of a pig being dragged along by a car doing 60mpg to illustrate the damage to flesh that is likely if you come off a bike at speed, and skid across the tarmac. Most of the pig was ripped to bits. Leathers provide the extra layer to wear through while you're still skidding along at speed.

My sister had a minor accident while only wearing ballet flats when she still rode a moped, couldn't have skidded more than a few inches.. she had road rash across the whole top of her foot. She was only pulling out of someone's drive!

thisisyesterday - I respectfully disagree. In the same way the helmets and seatbelts are compulsory, decent body protection should be too.

Having a (small) permanent scar on my elbow after a low speed (10-20mph) crash that wrote off my bike, whilst actually wearing full leathers, I can't but agree - I can't imagine the mess I would have been in if I wasn't wearing leathers. It should be simple common sense, but somehow it isn't.

Yadnbu!!

Totally agree with you, I think it should by the same for anybody riding a bicycle too, helmets should be made compulsory.

One law that does confuse me re motorbikes, take a BMW C1, they have proper seat belts and a roof, your head would not touch the ground in an accident, yet we are the only country that make motorcyclists wear a helmet while driving one just because they have two wheels...

I have to say, unless you have a beer belly, I actually think leathers are very cool! sexy

But where would it end?

How about those on pushbikes - they can get up to quite some speed too - should they also be made to wear protective clothing?

How about kids on their scooters? Runners? Walkers? People coming down steps? Should there be a speed over which people are required to wear knee-pads for any mobile activity?

Should people be required to wear shoes just in case they step on something?

As to the casualty argument - perhaps we should ban climbing frames then, since (unlike a scooter or motorbike) they are entirely frivolous but can cause serious injury which would necessitate a trip to A&E and be infront of that sick child/take money to patch up which could be spent on drugs.

Making protective clothing compulsory would be making laws for the sake of it, and simply push up the expense for everyone.

Well 50cc peds don't go any faster than a pushbike (although I've mangled myself enough when cycling) but any bigger definitely demand respect.

I'm always bemused by the elegant ladies I see on 125cc scooters in London with nothing but a pastel Davida helmet and black Prada to protect them from the asphalt.

I wear full leathers, fullface helmet, boots, gloves and a back protector even just for popping into town. My bike instructor really hammered it in to me, but then I was pretty safetly conscience anyway from driving loony and unforgiving cars.

YADNBU
A friends daughter has been in and out of hospital for the last few months. A driver missed her turn and braked suddenly in front of this young girls moped. She basically lost most of her buttock in the accident. Skin grafts etc, but she's still in a mess. To hear of a young girl going through major horrendous surgery, only just coping and on morphine for days unreasonable.

Can't wait for DP to get in now, his arguement for riding in shorts is really quite persuasive. Watch this space.

But Five - just because there's no law to require it, doesn't mean she shouldn't have been wearing protective gear!

Just because there's no law preventing me stepping straight out into the road without looking doesn't mean I do it.

YANBU to think that bikers should wear leathers but YADBU to think the law should take an interest in it.

Laws intended to protect people from the consequences of their own actions are bad laws.

DH has had some serious road rash accidents on his pushbike - one of his arms is scarred from elbow to wrist after a taxi opened a door onto the road and he hit it at 10mph and somersaulted over the top. Another friend went into the back of a car that suddenly decided to turn right without indicating and was grazed down one side from waist to ankle. Nasty but unremarkable accidents on pushbikes. The same kind of accident on a motorbike without leathers, when you'd be going at 30mph or more - you might as well sit at home and go over yourself with a cheesegrater.

Helmets are a legal requirement, and so should protective clothing.

'i think if you're stupid enough to ride without it then you deserve everything you get'
Actually, thinking things over, I agree with this statement. I wouldn't dream of riding a horse out without the appropriate clothing and safety equipment, but I know people who do, and I think they are Fools!

My friend came off her moped at about 22 mph and the layers of skin that got torn off was just horrible. That was wearing a sort of cheaper protective trousers than leather. She invested in proper leathers straight after.

I hate seeing lads zooming about in t-shirts in the summer. They just look so dim, not cool.

oooh riding in shorts.. well, it'd keep your speed down, imagine the stinging being hit by flies at speed.. then having to wash them all off your legs EUGHHHHHH

"Laws intended to protect people from the consequences of their own actions are bad laws."

You're assuming that all bike accidents are the bikers fault. So many drivers don't even see bikes... no wonder they ride along with their lights on in the middle of the day.

Why is it law that you have to wear a seatbelt in a car, or have a car seat for your child? Because people have accidents and they are safety devices designed to minimise injury.

Why is this different to making sure someone's leg doesn't get ripped off when a car slams into the side of their bike because they didn't see them?

It's a tricky area. You can always make a case for saying the more safety equipment is necessary because it would reduce injuries. Proper crash helmets with neck braces for horse riders, five-point seatbelts in cars etc. But there does need to be a balance between ever more safety legislation and personal choice.

I've ridden bikes while wearing full kit and I've also ridden bikes while wearing relatively little. It all depends on the situation. I've also had bike accidents and regardless of what I was wearing at the time I was "lucky" enough that all the injuries I sustained were caused by impact rather than sliding.

Most importantly each time I did get injured I knew the risks I was taking and accepted that in any accident I might not walk away.

Also, if you're delayed in A&E by the results of a road traffic accident it's six times more likely that it's a car occupant who's holding you up than a biker.

If a car slams into the side of your bike it doesn't matter if you're wearing shorts or full leathers. You're probably going to lose your leg.

Leathers make a difference when sliding down the road. They also make a minor difference if you hit something solid while sliding because they help hold the broken bits more-or-less together. They make no real difference to significant blunt force trauma like a direct hit by a car.

Jareth - the consequences I think that were being talked about were the consequences of not wearing protective clothing.

I think that car seatbelt laws are more to do with ensuring that cars are all fitted with them (so I have the choice of wearing one) and to force people to buckle in their children (who are too young to make an informed decision for themselves)

I've slid down the road in jeans, and I was lucky in that I only slid a bit and rolled the rest.

It cured me of carrying change in my pockets I can tell you!

At no point did I think that it was the government's fault for not making me wear more protective clothing!

of course it should.

Also, the law regarding pillion passengers should be changed. Currently, the only legal requirement is that the pillion should be able to reach the footrests. There is no requirement for any safety clothing other than an approved helmet.

Hence there are some idiotic fathers carrying their 3 yo kids around in shorts and t-shirts. Some have moved the footrests to accomodate short pudgy legs.

Outrageous

Ok, direct hit to the side of the bike was a bad example.

My sister constantly has to avoid cars that haven't seen her. She says she must consider herself to be invisible, if she realises that car drivers can't/don't see her then she's much safer. She wears full leathers/boots/face helmet and I agree that nothing will save her if a lorry slams into her, but if she swerves to avoid some dick pulling out of a junction because he just didn't fucking look, and she comes off her bike as a result, then her leathers and helmet will hopefully save her life.

Why is her helmet compulsory, but leathers not?

I do understand the arguments about over-legislation, I really do. I don't think this is about a nanny state though. There are 16yo kids on mopeds that can go up to 60mph, and they're allowed on duel carriageways. At the very least there should be something to ensure that under 18's are safe on their bikes.