CaptCrash
Dazed and Confused
This whole ugly business in New York with a gang of riders chasing down an SUV and the ensuing violence done on both sides doesn't really surprise me. To my memory this isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened, I seem to remember incidents like this occurring before. I also spend a moderate amount of time on the web in motorcycle forums and therein you'll find some pretty tough talk. The subject occasionally turns to retribution against automobiles for real or imagined trespasses. Comments about kicking doors and breaking off mirrors as well as bravado filled rants about armored gloves and punch-proof helmets often pop up.
It's an "Us v. Them" world where there is no innocence and every car that drifts around in its own lane is making calculated moves to enrage or hurt us. An inattentive driver who gets surprised and brakes hard and late is brake checking us, a failure to signal or check a blind spot is attempted murder and there are no innocent mistakes.
In our hard Mad Max view of world we create a place where lethal force could be wielded against us or by us at any danger filled, hate fueled, combative second. Damn cagers. And minivans. And Priuses. And Camrys. And soccer moms. And girls putting on makeup. And fat guys eating greasy burgers. And suits, stockbrokers, and salesmen. And middle aged women....and men. And old farts. And pretty much anybody who pisses us off.
Think about how often do you hear or read the advice, "Ride like they're all trying to get you".
What does that mean? It means that every other user on the road isn't just a danger, they're an enemy that is actively seeking to hurt you. Not to say I don't believe in defensive driving; you need to be alert, active and processing your environment. However once you turn the other users around you into active assailants then you open a very curious door: the right of self-defense. Here's a hard question, if you're being actively bullied and threatened when do you stop, stand up and fight? Seems a simple answer in a bar or restaurant. Could be a simple misunderstanding quickly remedied with with an "sorry, didn't see you" or "my bad". On the road there is no such opportunity for sorting blame or assigning motive. In fact, if we pre-assign blame with "they're out to get us" we also predetermine our reaction.
We are looking for a fight. The problem is often the fight isn't looking for us. I remember a incident I had way back in the early 80s. I was riding a GS550e that was piped, jetted and made a beautiful noise. I was on an expressway that had the occasional stoplight and I was sitting there daydreaming and the light went green. I did a normal, no hurry, no drama launch. After a moment I heard this terrible, sucking, raspy rattle and I looked to my right and right next to me was this POS Datsun with a teenager pilot. He was white knuckling the wheel and had his shoulders and head pressed back into the seat. Clearly he had it to the floor.
"Oh!" I said to myself, "We're racing..." I held back a moment because I was curious if the thing was going to blow up. Then I turned some ponies loose. I had no idea I was racing. Just like loads and loads of us, lost in a moment of everyday life, don't check our blind-spot or forget to signal or remember we need to be in that other lane right now and bail before we look...
If we view the world as a hostile place where we wage war in traffic then it's easy to drift into a kill or be killed mentality. We dehumanize other users and suddenly "cagers" are not people anymore but things. Things that are contemptuous, evil, worthy of disposal or destruction. Yeah, we put our heads in a place where once in a mob that guy is no longer a father, brother, husband or son...just a thing that needs to be taught a lesson. Is that the motoring world you want to be part of?
Be safe.
It's an "Us v. Them" world where there is no innocence and every car that drifts around in its own lane is making calculated moves to enrage or hurt us. An inattentive driver who gets surprised and brakes hard and late is brake checking us, a failure to signal or check a blind spot is attempted murder and there are no innocent mistakes.
In our hard Mad Max view of world we create a place where lethal force could be wielded against us or by us at any danger filled, hate fueled, combative second. Damn cagers. And minivans. And Priuses. And Camrys. And soccer moms. And girls putting on makeup. And fat guys eating greasy burgers. And suits, stockbrokers, and salesmen. And middle aged women....and men. And old farts. And pretty much anybody who pisses us off.
Think about how often do you hear or read the advice, "Ride like they're all trying to get you".
What does that mean? It means that every other user on the road isn't just a danger, they're an enemy that is actively seeking to hurt you. Not to say I don't believe in defensive driving; you need to be alert, active and processing your environment. However once you turn the other users around you into active assailants then you open a very curious door: the right of self-defense. Here's a hard question, if you're being actively bullied and threatened when do you stop, stand up and fight? Seems a simple answer in a bar or restaurant. Could be a simple misunderstanding quickly remedied with with an "sorry, didn't see you" or "my bad". On the road there is no such opportunity for sorting blame or assigning motive. In fact, if we pre-assign blame with "they're out to get us" we also predetermine our reaction.
We are looking for a fight. The problem is often the fight isn't looking for us. I remember a incident I had way back in the early 80s. I was riding a GS550e that was piped, jetted and made a beautiful noise. I was on an expressway that had the occasional stoplight and I was sitting there daydreaming and the light went green. I did a normal, no hurry, no drama launch. After a moment I heard this terrible, sucking, raspy rattle and I looked to my right and right next to me was this POS Datsun with a teenager pilot. He was white knuckling the wheel and had his shoulders and head pressed back into the seat. Clearly he had it to the floor.
"Oh!" I said to myself, "We're racing..." I held back a moment because I was curious if the thing was going to blow up. Then I turned some ponies loose. I had no idea I was racing. Just like loads and loads of us, lost in a moment of everyday life, don't check our blind-spot or forget to signal or remember we need to be in that other lane right now and bail before we look...
If we view the world as a hostile place where we wage war in traffic then it's easy to drift into a kill or be killed mentality. We dehumanize other users and suddenly "cagers" are not people anymore but things. Things that are contemptuous, evil, worthy of disposal or destruction. Yeah, we put our heads in a place where once in a mob that guy is no longer a father, brother, husband or son...just a thing that needs to be taught a lesson. Is that the motoring world you want to be part of?
Be safe.
