These days, there are questions that need to be asked before making value judgments about people.
- Who are today’s motorcyclists?
- Who are the users of two-wheeled vehicles today, are they all motorcyclists or are some just occasional users for convenience?
As I wrote in my Reflection text about being a Motorcyclist, to be so, I don’t need to overdo my freedom, interfering with the freedom of others, I respect the vehicle I am driving (riding). Also, if my life may depend on mechanical issues, it always will and, in my opinion even more so, on my driving behavior!
I think that, therefore, we can conclude that not all users of two-wheeled vehicles are motorcyclists.
There is a group of people who, under the Portuguese legislation are allowed, with a car license drive, to ride motorcycles up to a certain power (not a specific engine capacity), without any previous experience. They now drive motorcycles or mainly scooters, some with 750cc, with power “inhibited” to that permitted under these driving license circumstances.
To a certain extent, this opening would make perfect sense because heavier motorcycles are usually more stable, have more passive safety equipment and so we could say that it minimized the risk of accidents, compared to 125cc bikes. I said to a certain extent because once again, the risk is reduced or increased not only by the vehicle, but fundamentally by the driver of that vehicle. It is unfortunately common to see the behavior of some of these drivers with the attitude that, now that I have the car in the garage and I am riding my motorbike/scooter, no one will catch me and I will go faster than everyone else!
For this reason, especially in urban areas, the biggest scares/chills I have had were not with cars, but with these two-wheel vehicle´s drivers. There was even, a few years ago, an individual with a scooter who was already known for the number of accidents he had caused in Lisbon, and then fled. It was only identified when caught with a concerted stance between motorcyclists who, in an act of true citizenship, shared the characteristics of the vehicle in question and, with the authorities, managed to stop it.
What remains in history is that there were “bikers” in Lisbon who drove around like crazy and caused accidents, having then fled… not the act of citizenship of those who promoted their arrest.
But this is an attitude that is only within the reach of each person, and I’m not just talking about situations like these, but all the others that we encounter on a daily basis, as ordinary citizens. Let us be coherent citizens, let us be guided by values that allow us to live peacefully, in which we respect each other in our differences.
Enjoy your ride.
