ExDP wants to take DS on motorbike

[YouCantCallMeBetty]

ExDP doesn't drive and mentioned today that he wants to get DS (13) a helmet so he can take him on the back of his motorbike to and from visits (atm he gets the train to meet him or relies on girlfriend to drive him).

DS seems a bit wary and I am properly terrified at the prospect, I'm not a rider and, while I get that bikes are exciting for loads of people, I can't think of anything other than the risk here.

Would you be ok with this? I would willingly do all the driving for contact visits for the next few years as an alternative but don't know if I'm being a bit risk averse and over protective.

I know some (many?) people have nothing against motorbikes, but personally I would do everything I could to avoid my DD going on one.

No way. I would never allow this and your son doesn't seem keen, either.

I'm a biker. I understand your fear but it shouldn't necessarily be an issue. What kind of rider is he? To me there's a big difference between a sensible, experienced rider pottering along on a triumph and a boy racer type sports bike rider. Would he be willing to pay for all the gear for ds, armoured jacket, gloves etc?

It doesn't matter how good a rider he is. The main risk is from other road users. I know an instructor who recently nearly died in an accident. He did everything right. The driver in front of him just didn't notice him. If he was in a car he would have been fine. Maybe a bit of whiplash at most. But because he was on his bike he c nearly died and faces surgery after surgery to correct all the things that got broken. He may as well have been running along in the road.

I know someone who was seriously injured as teenager on a motorbike. It would terrify me.

My dad is a very safety first type, and he got knocked off his bike and was out for over half an hour, rushed to hospital, stayed in overnight, in a very slow crash where someone turned in to his back end.
It's typically not the Bike rider you have to have trust in, it's all the other road users.
At 13, i'd personally say no.

A boy in yr6 at my DC's school, so 10 or 11, often comes on the back of his DF's motorbike. I'd be alarmed if he was 5.

YANBU. I'd offer to drive DS myself if at all possible or just have him take the train as he has been doing already.

Thanks everyone. It's a sports bike he owns so fairly fast and powerful, sadly not pottering along on a triumph I think I'd feel less worried if that was the case!
ExDP has offered to buy helmet, boots & jacket.

Even the most sensible biker can be slain by another ignorant road user. The Sunday Steves just get injured or killed quicker. It’s inevitable that if you ride, you’re an accident waiting to happen, all bikers know that deep down.

For what’s it worth, most bike accidents are from cars pulling out on them. The pillion usually gets catapulted over the top of the rider. You can survive that most times. You’d have to be going at very high speed for a fatal in that scenario.

I’d be less concerned with the rider, than his ability to ensure his son is kitted out and checking the lid is correctly fitted each time, and he has gloves and leathers on the boy.

Don’t look at YouTube videos of bike crashes. Seriously, don’t.

No no no no no no and no again

Give over. I was riding pillion from the age of 8. As long as he knows to lean in slightly to corners and hold on round an additional belt grip on his Dads waist (or the back handles) he'll be fine.

@DairyisClosed as a safe rider you learn to preempt those situations. Unless the car was dropped on him from above then he is also somewhat to blame for even being near enough.

You also need gloves and leather pants.

I rode pillion a lot with my dad but on a big bike, tourer not race.

Trauma doctors refer to motorbikes as organ donor machines for a reason.

Helmet, armoured gloves jacket pants and boots at the very least.

But any rider can end up in an accident. My step dad has been riding bikes since he was 17. He's an amazing rider and i was going out on his racer bikes at ages 12 and over because i wanted to. My step dad is also a traffic police officer on one of the big flashy obvious police bikes. This year someone pushed his stationary bike with locked brakes wheels etc into oncoming traffic at a 6 lanes crossroad. You can never account for other drivers no matter how safe you are.

I would say if the kid wanted to and you knew he was a safe and cautious rider on easy roads with ALL the gear correctly fitted then yes.

But as your child isn't keen and he isn't willing to buy all the gear. Then no.

You know the medical nickname for motorbikes? Donorcycles.

Well for me it would be a resounding No.

amused at the poster who seems to think a correct leaning in and additional grip on corners is all that is needed to render a fast and powerful motorbike perfectly safe.

Your son isnt keen. That should be the end of it.

If your son is not keen, then definitely no.

Accidents are largely other people not seeing the motorcyclist.

Motorcyclist here, one of my worst accidents was a pedestrian crossing Piccadilly, looked the wrong way after crossing the bus lane from Fortnums, and ran into the back of my bike, behind me, unfortunately I was going very slowly, less than walking pace which is why I'd not seen her coming as she was behind me, and caused the whole lot including me to fall over onto the edge of the kerb. We reckoned she was a shoplifter running from Fortnums, she feigned dead in the road for ages! We established she was Italian and not actually hurt (she had a softish landing on me, wheras I got the kerb), but as soon as the police arrived she got up quickly and ran off before they got out of their car.

@romeobunny he was going round a roundabout in heavy traffic. Cars in front and cars behind. The driver just suddenly changed his mind and pulled out from the inner lane to the outer lane of the roundabout to take the exit. Short of staying off the roundabout until there was no traffic on it (and pisding off all the drivers behind him) there really was t anything he could have done.