4thTimeLucky

I don't want to sound like someone who lives by the numbers, but I think your list proves why stats and studies are important.

S&Ss tell me that using my microwave and cell phone are safe and the risks tiny. They tell me that even though plane crashes are always on the news, I'm safer in a plane than in a car... that violent crime is actually falling... and that bears very rarely eat campers. They tell me that I would be dumb to take ecstacy without drinking water and that I can expect to lose a few years off my life if I smoke. Fatality (and related) statistics are (even if they don't realise it) behind most people's... decision to use protection when sleeping with strangers... their opinion on the war in Iraq... their choice of insurance... even their choice of holiday destination (would your company let you go to Hong Kong right now?).

Given all this it doesn't seem to be unreasonable to want to know what the stats are for motorbiking. If fatalaties are the same as for bicycles and cars then great. I have experience of those and can accept the risk. If however 1 in 10 people who ride a bike for more than three years are involved in an accident that requires hospital treatment, then that's the sort of thing I'd like to know about before starting out.

I don't want to come across as a kill joy. I love living life as much as the next person and take risks in doing so. But bikers wear helmets for a reason and I'd just like to have a better understanding of what that reason is (beyond a picture of a man with no face!).

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I've been 4thTimeLucky, you've been great. Goodnight and God bless!