Squids in the US?

[macros87]

just wondering anyone know how encouraged rider protective gear is over here? ive been here several times, but i didnt ride back then so i just didnt notice, but i have seen no one wearing gloves! no one! about 3 people wearing full face helmets but i guess thats your choice, and maybe 3 people wearing some sort of jacket (non that i could tell were jackets ment for riding) so short sleave t shirts are reigning at the moment with summer and all...

this is something i have obeserved after about 30 bikes i have watched so maybe my sample is too small and to many were harley types but thats just what they do here right :P it is nice to see different bikes from the usual tho

[SARGE]

just wondering anyone know how encouraged rider protective gear is over here? ive been here several times, but i didnt ride back then so i just didnt notice, but i have seen no one wearing gloves! no one! about 3 people wearing full face helmets but i guess thats your choice, and maybe 3 people wearing some sort of jacket (non that i could tell were jackets ment for riding) so short sleave t shirts are reigning at the moment with summer and all...

this is something i have obeserved after about 30 bikes i have watched so maybe my sample is too small and to many were harley types but thats just what they do here right :P it is nice to see different bikes from the usual tho

in Ohio where im from .. you are only legally required to wear a helmet for the first year on your license.. after that ..only eye protection is required..

i always wore full gear on the interstates and when i knew i was gonna get sporty.. the rest of the time i was in a tank top, jeans and boots ..


dont think i died...

[Slyer]

Anyone who's had at off at even 50kph will see our point of view.
Clearly they just never crash over there.

[PirateJafa]

Anyone who's had at off at even 50kph will see our point of view.
Clearly they just never crash over there.

Better quality roads for a start.

[Slyer]

You have to have good roads when the average weight of a family vehicle is 2 ton

[Taz]

America still believes in freedom of choice I believe. Sheeple over here like to be told how they should live etc.

[rachprice]

Much the same in Oz.....shorts, t-shirts, jandels, I saw crocs the other day! But the one thing that gets me is no gloves.....screw that! They are the first thing you put down, how you gonna wipe your ass??

[Taz]

Believe it or not you don't have to crash and you can ride accordingly to minimize your chances considerably. Most noobi's on here are of the opinion that you "have" to crash when learning and that you will crash yearly after that. It's not true guys and gals......

[balans]

Perth is pretty bad, especialy in summer. It is quite common to see a rider with their girlfriend on the back both dressed in just sneakers, shorts and a t-shirt with only a helmet for protection blast past you on the freeway.

Oh and the other during my morning commute (raining) I saw someone on a scooter in boardshorts. I assume the logic was that he'd just get wet and when he got to work change into dry clothing.

[Real_Wolf]

Anthrax, your quite mistaken.

I know that eventually, I will crash. No matter the precautions, the simple statistics show that if I obey EVERY rule, drive carefully, avoid crazy drivers, at some point I will still crash.

So you may say that some are of the opinion that you have to crash while learning, some do, some don't, nor will you crash every year, but something as simple as a little bit of oil/diesel on a wet smooth tarmac road, when its raining, with the light such that you can't see the road surface properly, and your back/front wheel can just spin and then you will come off it.

Protective gear isn't there because you think you are going to fall off, its insurance. However unlike insurance on your bike, this is so that when you fall off you don't lose limbs, break bones, become paralyzed, grind your hand into mush, smash your head against concrete a few times, rip your jaw off.

For those who are unconcerned by the above, and believe that they can live with all that happening, I'd say feel free to not wear protective gear. Tis their funeral, and judging from statistics (admittedly dodgy, tis online), the Americans have a much higher crash fatality rate, per capita of motorbike riders, than us, by FAR

[Ragingrob]

"Knowing" that you will crash... Why would you wanna "know" that?!

Knowing that there's a high probability that you will be involved in a crash is fine, but there is nothing definite about crashing.

Wouldn't you rather be that 1% that never crashes in their life?

Sure we want to prepare for whatever may happen, but we aren't preparing for the inevitable.

Not everybody crashes, so it is not definite that you will crash.

[Squiggles]

the simple statistics show that if I obey EVERY rule, drive carefully, avoid crazy drivers, at some point I will still crash...........

Pah, you'd like to live your life being a statistic then? Last i checked nobody was guaranteed to have an accident

Its interesting the comment re gear. Its not guaranteed to save you, its there in an attempt to reduce the chance of injury. Believing it will save you is a bit overconfident

[Ragingrob]

Just like Kerrie from MSW said to me... "All you're doing is buying the panels to put around your chassis as if in a car".

[Slyer]

Buying an extra layer of skin and ruining that is a lot easier than growing your own back, simple as that.

[Real_Wolf]

heh, rather not be a statistic, however I'd definetely bank on the 'more likely to' case of wearing protective gear. It might not save you, but your alot more likely to be saved with it than without