Getting Annoyed.

I wish to talk briefly about motorcycle deaths here in New Zealand.    Riding a motorcycle is inherently dangerous. We know that.   On average one motorcyclist a week is killed on New Zealand roads.  I accept that some of these deaths is simply a case of the rider being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  What annoys me of late is the amount of deaths by stupid, young, mindless idiots , who are killed by evading police, or on a stolen bike, or seen previously doing 150kms down a wrong way street.  It seems to me all motorcyclist get labelled hoons for this very reason.

The media take great delight in telling us these facts. But at the end of the day some people will only look at the end of year statistics and no real analysis goes into how many motorcycle accidents.....are really motorcycle accidents.

Every time I throw my leg over Beth ( The bike) I am well aware of the dangers that lay before me. But I continue to do it.  Why? Because I am not some young testerone filled idiot with a death wish.  I do it because I like riding.  I like the smell of the grass and the wind in my face.  I like the sense of freedom it brings, the sense of accomplishment after every ride.  The places I have seen and the people I have meet.

When you take the hoons out of the equation, how many deaths in New Zealand are there really? What is the correct figure, not the one that is pumped up because of mindless neanderthals.  I don't wish to be lumped in the same category!   Yes a motorcycle death is a motorcycle death, but knowing the real facts behind each one may go a long way to redirecting the never ending criticism we all receive because of it.