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| Brandon Wright, in front of still photos from the video of his crash, speaks at a press conference for motorcycle safety |
In the company of strangers
Whenever you leave your house, whether it’s in a car, on a bike or motorcycle, or as a pedestrian, you’re surrounded by strangers. You may recognize vehicles here and there, and maybe even see someone you know. But all in all, the people out on the roadways with you don’t know you and you don’t know them. And yet, you have their lives in your hands and they have your life in theirs. It’s a pretty profound way to think about driving, riding or walking, but it’s really true. Driving is a great responsibility, one which we often overlook or take for granted.
Setting the ultimate example
“Who needs the Avengers when you live in Logan?” Brandon Wright asked as he spoke about the group of people who lifted a burning vehicle off him and pulled him to safety. The car had turned left in front of him as he rode his motorcycle – apparently the driver didn’t see him.
The group of people – strangers, really – walked up to what Brandon pointed out was essentially a ticking time bomb. Together as a team, they lifted the vehicle off of Brandon and pulled him to safety. In 2011 in Utah, there were 28 motorcyclist fatalities; if not for the heroic efforts of these people working together, there might have been 29.
The lessons
If we could rewind, the best thing would be for the crash to have never happened. But it did, and fortunately the outcome wasn’t as tragic as it could have been. The best thing we can do is to learn from it.
What you can do
Both riders and drivers can do a lot of things to keep themselves and each other safe. We’ll work to bring many of these things to light here and in other spots — and we’d love for you to share your ideas, too.
Drivers can start by really looking for and seeing motorcycles. This is sometimes easier said than done, because they’re smaller than cars, there are fewer of them and here in Utah, we typically only see them about half to 2/3 of the year. And it means you have to think about them. The quick glance you give before exiting a driveway or making a left turn will help you see an SUV or even a compact, but you might miss a motorcycle. They can also easily disappear in your blind spot — check it even if you think you don’t need to.
Riders can make sure they get properly licensed and trained, wear all the right gear (check out rockthegear.org for an interesting perspective), and never assume that other vehicle drivers see you and will yield. And riders can think about trying something else, too.
Teach people about motorcycles and the challenges motorcyclists face. There are members of your family, friends, people you work with, people you play basketball, softball or golf with that don’t ride motorcycles. As a rider, you’re part of a special group, and you know a lot of things that drivers don’t. But if drivers knew some of those things, it would help them understand motorcycles more. And the more they hear about motorcycles, the more aware of them they will be.
I’m not talking about standing on a soap box, confronting people, playing a blame game or tossing around snarky sayings. But teaching – sharing information. You might have a Facebook profile where you can share interesting things you find on the Internet (check out this motion induced blindness tool from MSF.)Maybe you could ask your employer if you can talk about motorcycles at a brown bag lunch. It might be difficult at first, and it might take some bravery to put yourself out there. But we already know you’re brave – you ride a motorcycle.
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| The media, motorcycles and a message |
Work Together
In the end, we’re all out there on the road together. We can positively or negatively impact ourselves and everyone else out there by simple choices and actions. Let’s be like the heroes in Logan and regardless of how many wheels we’re on out there, let’s work together to keep each other safe.
