I was witness to an unpleasant motorcycle accident on the weekend when a motorist pulling onto the provincial highway near where I live, ran into a motorcyclist who finished against the guardrail (which frighteningly runs alongside a railway line but this doesn’t have to be any more dramatic than it already is). I was shopping with a friend at the time and there was a sickening feeling that while we were out buying shoes, someone could be dying just 50 metres from us.

My friend is totally against motorcycles as forms of transport. He reckons they are extremely dangerous, cars are much safer and motorcyclists always do silly things. Our opinions differ, although on the last point I’ll say that motorcyclists often do silly things and take risks that they probably shouldn’t, just because a bike is nimbler than a car. But not always.

My philosophy is often to take the reverse approach to solving a problem. I believe that as humans, we are very set in our ways and like to move with trends, and this is a mentality that holds us back. In the case of the bikes vs cars debate, my friend would argue that bikes need more limitations and that it would be better for everyone if there were less on the road. I go with exactly the opposite argument, saying that we actually need more riders on the road and drivers should be much more aware of interacting with other people - be they bikers, cyclists or pedestrians - while driving.

I noticed this in our recent behind the scenes experience at the MotoGP. Being the event that it is, thousands of motorcyclists turn up and it’s one of the few times in my life, where driving a big hire car sedan, cars have been in the minority on the roads. It is quite striking to know that you can’t occupy the entire lane and must accept that, even just for sheer numbers, the bikes have right of way. You can also fit a lot more people on the road and get there quicker - the benefits are obvious.

When you’re in the majority it’s always the safe and easy option to run with your majority and stick to what you know. You’re never the one that has to compromise. Mike Werner makes a similar point on his “In the Fast Lane” blog when he mentions that Dutch drivers would prefer to pay more tax than sit in traffic jams.

Apart from the fact that taxing people never really seems to work to solve problems (as most of us can afford a little extra for what we consider necessary, we generally pay and put up with the problem), there is a clear shortsightedness in the idea to pay more to resolve traffic problems rather than look at a solution that would actually directly deal with the problem.

As Werner says: “Of course, people could avoid traffic jams altogether by using motorcycles. Lane splitting is legal in The Netherlands, so you’d have little problems with traffic jams, and it’s more fun.” Video originally posted on TwoWheels here: “Give motorcyclists a second thought.”

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