Drive Like You Mean It by Mycah

Drive Like You Mean It by Mycah - July 2017 Scholarship Essay

Imagine for a moment riding a motorcycle. There is only you, the bike rumbling beneath you, the redwoods rushing past, and the road. Then, all of a sudden, you're sliding. A multi-ton car has made a left turn into your lane (the most common way for riders to be hit) and you and your 300 pound bike are sliding along the pavement, painfully, terrifyingly, possible into incoming traffic and adrenaline filled. This is a daily possibility for motorcycle riders.
If I were to give a TED talk, I would give one on safely driving around motorcycles. Many motorcyclists wear all sorts of protective gear, but against multiple ton machines we are still very vulnerable. I would give this talk to increase the possibility of drivers watching for bikes to avoid accidents like this.
The most common reason for motorcycle accidents, according to several reputable sources like Nolo.com, Rideapart.com, and others, is drivers making a left hand turn into a motorcyclists right of way. The base of this issue, though, is that drivers often just don't look for motorcyclists. We are small, and many of us only have one headlight, so drivers aren't used to watching for us. One theory even talks of the brain simply deleting the image of a motorcycle due to our small size, while another is that drivers cannot properly predict our speed and so drive into our lanes thinking they have more space than they really do.
While a small accident can mean a small ticket and a fender-bender between cars, even a low speed accident for bikers can mean death. A TED talk would be a fantastic way to provide important information for drivers about how to train themselves to watch for bikes - and save a lot of lives in the process.