Daredummies

How many times has it happened to you? You're driving down the freeway and all of a sudden... Out of nowhere... Some nut passes you on a motorcycle rolling about 120 mph. You're so distracted by the fact that you think you're about to watch someone die, that you forget that you're driving. I've seen this too many times.



I've never really cared for motorcycles. Maybe because my father got into an accident on one when I was a kid. He was riding down a busy street and some fool drinking a Big Gulp had his head tilted back and veered into my dad's lane. Luckily, despite it being a head-on collision, my father only suffered bruises, cuts and a broken leg. The speed limit on that street at that time was 40 mph. What happens when you wreck and the speed limit is 70 mph? Bad things, man. Bad things.



I was returning from Downtown Jackson recently when this person flew past me on his "crotch rocket." I was doing 75 mph at the time and I'm guessing he (or she) was doing 100 mph. I was passed so quickly that I couldn't even tell you the color of the bike. I never saw it in my mirror, but I heard it just seconds before it passed me. What if I had decided to change lanes?  If you're going to drive fast enough to go back in time, then shouldn't you do it when there's no traffic?  I had a college roommate who worked at the airport.  He and his bike-riding buddies would take their motorcycles and race on the runway after work.  He told me that he once reached 190 mph before his helmet visor flew up and a bug hit him in the face.  The impact of a bug hitting him in the face at 190 mph embedded the bug in his cheek.  But, at least there was no traffic out there and the runways are generally smooth.  I still think he's nuts (and lucky that the bug didn't hit him in the eye).



Some of these daredevils daredummies like doing tricks while traveling 75 mph on the freeway. Nothing says "I'm an idiot" like popping a wheelie with cars moving all around you. You would think that these people would realize that one slip or even one small rock under the tire could throw them into traffic. And even if they're lucky enough to not be thrown in traffic, hitting the ground at 75 mph is not the flesh weight loss plan I want to try.



The most nerve-wrecking of them all is "lane splitting." That's when someone rides their "widow maker" straight down the dotted lines of the street in between stopped/slow moving vehicles. I've only seen this happen in person once or twice, but I was so tempted to open my door just as he passed me.  I know, I know, shame on me.



What makes someone have no disregard for their life like that? I'm not saying that motorcycles can't be fun, but the margin for error is a lot less than for someone in a car. It's one thing to perform a stunt, but to do so with other moving vehicles around you? You may think you know what you're doing, but what if the people around you can't drive?





How do you feel about amateur stunts performed on motorcycles on your streets?