I used to dream of owning a motorcycle, but due to personal reasons, I don’t really care anymore. Anyway, I think I’ve seen more motorcycle drivers in my two years here in Australia than I have in my entirety of living in Utah. The only thing that really drives me crazy with the motorcycle drivers is when I see a driver (or passenger) wearing shorts, flipflops, and a t-shirt. Can you imagine what would happen if they crashed?! Forget all the crushing injuries or fractions! They’d die for the simple fact that they lost all their skin skidding across the black top! Just thinking about it gives me shivers.
I never gave much thought as to why the stereotypical motorcycle driver wore leather jackets, but leather is the best protection a motorcyclist can have in an accident. Leather will stand up to quite a bit of wear, tear, and abrasion before it gives. The largest organ of the human body is actually your skin. On average, a person’s skin alone weighs about 3.6 kilograms and has a surface area of almost 2 square meters.
Losing too much skin from skipping across the road is going to put your life at risk in the event of a wreck.
Unfortunately, jackets and chaps alone won’t protect everything, so absolutely do not forget to wear your helmet! It is even more important than your leather clothing. Gloves are also important: if you crash, you’re going to try to brace yourself with your hands and they will be torn up without some protection. Also! Proper shoes! No stupid flipflops, thongs, whatever you want to call them! Boots to cover and stabilize your ankles are preferred.
So if you own a motorcycle, don’t be the idiot going down the road in shorts and a t-shirt. Be safe! Wear the proper gear!