Motorcycles are just not worth it

I was driving to work and traffic was much heavier than it usually is for the morning rush.  Sitting in traffic, thinking I’m going to be late…oh well.  I finally get to the cause of all of this, and what do I see?  I motorcycle lying on its side, and the apparent driver lying face up on the ground with, I would assume, the people who hit him standing over on the cell phone probably calling 911.  Here is what I don’t get and what no one will ever be able to convince me otherwise.  Why in the world would you drive a motorcycle regularly.

There is no argument out there that makes it worth it.  It saves money on gas.  True.  You can drive in the carpool lane and even between cars, thus saving you commute time.  True. Its more fun than driving a car.  Subjectively true.  And there are probably tons more that motorcycle riders can tell me.   You know what?  All are probably true.  But all of that is moot!!

You can be the safest motorcycle driver in the world.  You can drive defensively.  Have the best reflexes.  Make the best and safest decisions while driving.  I will grant you that even if you do all this and never, ever make a mistake, it still does not even matter.  Why?  Because all it takes is for one stupid driver to not pay attention or just an idiot who never should have gotten his license to ram into you and its pretty much game over.  And you know what?  There are a lot more than 1 bad driver on the freeways at any given time.  A lot more.  You see it everyday yourselves when you are navigating those freeways.

So yes, all of your arguments are true.  I’m not saying that you can’t die driving a car.  But, a minor accident in a car is not likely to hurt you.  A minor accident while on a motorcycle?  Not exactly the same.  You weigh 200 pounds.  The car that hits you?  Maybe 3,000 pounds.  Who do you think is going to win that collision?  I’m not saying that you can drive a motorcycle.  Just go dirt biking or something like that, treating it like an extreme sport such as paintball or skydiving or whatever.  But to drive on a bike everyday on the roads with tons of crappy drivers surrounding you?  Is your life really worth the few dollars you save on gas money?  If you say yes its quite sad, but I’d venture that most of you would say no.