Well I must live in a strange area?
EVERYONE here wears black. 90% don't wear helmets. Fewer wear armored jackets, to the tune of maybe 2%. Armored pants are even more rare.
I know that I am the oddball on the road wearing protective gear. In fact so odd that when I see anyone else wearing gear I actually notice it. My buddies are HD/cruiser guys. They wear leather vests, or t-shirts.
In a strange way, it pleases me to know that there are so many riders out there that wear minimal safety gear. What it says to me is that some serious injuries and deaths among motorcyclists are partly the result of widespread lack of safety gear. This makes motorcycle injury/deaths statistics worse than they need be, and are as much a reflection on riders attitudes toward safety as they are the result of the inherent danger of the sport. So, when I ride with safety gear, I feel like my chances of survival are better than what overall statistics might suggest, because there are so many “careless” riders that I assume are accounting for more of the injuries and deaths. The more riders I see with bare heads, t-shirts, shorts, and sandals, the better I feel my survival chances are compared to what statistics would suggest.
Last edited: