41
Six motorcyclists died in Washington State last weekend across five separate accidents
(hexbear.net)
Look I'm as much "fuck cars" as the next guy but riding a motorcycle on a highway is unironically suicidal. I personally know a guy who got in a bad crash on one but miraculously survived; he had a year long recovery period but will have various pain and dysfunction in his body for the rest of his life. I also know some people who did pathology rotations (state medical examiner office, autopsy basically) and the big three categories of bodies coming in were drug overdoses, suicides, and motorcycle crashes.
One of the facebook comments links to a seventh person who died a few days before these on June 18th: https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/motorcyclist-killed-sr-530-crash.amp
If you eliminate people riding without proper gear, people riding without motorcycle licenses, and people riding inebriated, the death statistics for motorcycles get cut by more than half. No doubt it's more dangerous than driving a car, but if you're sober, properly trained and experienced, and you wear all the gear, it's not at all suicidal.
I changed my primary care physician a few years back because literally every time I went in he would waste time trying to convince me to stop riding a motorcycle.
if he succeeded in convincing you that would have done more for your long term health and risk of death than literally any other intervention so I don't blame him for trying
I know a lot of medical providers and they see a lot of mangled bodies from motorcycle accidents.
Your risk of death is 100%. I drive a convertible even though it is much more dangerous than a sedan in a rollover or T-bone. Many of us here shoot guns, do direct action, have no health insurance, etc. As long as they're registered organ donors, why should doctors hassle bikers? Bikers know the risk better than the general population, they just want it more.
I suppose bikers will go for routine checkups and respond to the doctor, "Jeez, I've been riding for ten years and nobody ever told me it was dangerous!"
The lessons are the same from every public health concern: risky sex, obesity epidemic, smoking. Badgering people is really fucking annoying for everybody involved - so annoying that they'll have worse healthcare outcomes in general - and basically nobody will make lifestyle changes because of it. The most you can do with non-structural solutions is get people to take prophylactics or wear a helmet.