Initially, I was about to do a small safety-related write-up as I was watching a bike stunt trick go wrong, but as the video reached the end, I god rather unnerved and decided it was time for a more ample piece.
Just like car rally racing, bike stunt shows come with a latent, yet huge dose of danger. As if such things were not already very dangerous, pretty much like any motorsport is, in certain cases the audience is in even greater peril, whether they realize it or not.
Things can and will go wrong whenever possible, and when this happens, people get hurt. Even more, when things go really wrong, people die. It's sad, frustrating and nerve-wracking, but that's the way it is.
Now, those awesome riders getting up on their bikes to show people that motorcycles can be ridden in the most extreme ways (some of which don't even seem to be real) know what they're up against: the unforgiving gravity force which never fails, the impersonal power of the bikes, the blistering heat of the exhaust and the cold, crushing force of a bike falling on one's feet or hands, and bad luck.
This "evil flush" is trying its best to put an early end to the show and it's only the stuntmen's skills that stand between failure and glory. However, there's a huge difference when it comes to stunt riding: these events often take place in parking lots and all that separates the riders and the audience is a row of barricades, and they only offer little shielding against a runaway bike, if any at all.
I only know so well the magic attraction bikes, bike shows and bike stunting exert over people. It's an enthralling experience and it's nothing wrong with that. But when it comes to bringing kids to a stunt show, things are very different.
One simply cannot have kids unsupervised on the premises at any goddamned time! The fact that a person is leaning against the barricade is already one step into the snake pit. Why would any mother in her right mind just leave her two kids watch the bike stunt show while she is meters away?
Some people assume that as the stunt riders are well trained, nothing bad can happen. Tough luck, it does happen, especially when we expect it the least, and guess what: the human body is not exactly the best opponent for an incoming 200-kg chunk of metal. It's the bike winning such confrontations almost every time.
While a moving motorcycle slamming into an adult is sometimes more than enough for a trip in the coroner van, having a kid in such a predicament is sure death.
Back in 2006, a very tragic death occurred during an amateur drag race, when a biker lost control of his machine and the motorcycle hit a 13-year-old girl. Unfortunately, the little girl had gone out the area the race organizers deemed as safe. Tens of inches past the safety line were enough to expose the girl: the bike hit her full-on to an instantaneous death. So yes, things do go very, very wrong!
Sorry to say this, but the lady in the video I have mentioned is an idiot. Especially with so many empty seats available behind her. She could have kept her two children way safer, and even enjoyed the stunt show better, given the view... but her parenting failed bitterly. I can only hope, for her and her kids' sake, that she learned the biggest lesson in her life as a mother: one has to keep kids safe!
It is somewhat “parentally-heroic” seeing her darting ahead for her children while other adults flee from the incoming bike, but it was only luck which saved her kids that day. A faster bike would have effortlessly ploughed through the barrier, most likely causing severe injuries to more than the little girl we can see falling, and then, all the safety and all the love would have been in vain.
Kids will always be kids and they'll be attracted by countless things, but it's down to us to keep our offspring away from such unnecessary danger. It's not the barricades and not the riders' skill the thing that shields our kids in such situations, but it's our safety-focused judgement that can prevent more tragedies from happening.
Ride safe, and be safe! Love you all!
Things can and will go wrong whenever possible, and when this happens, people get hurt. Even more, when things go really wrong, people die. It's sad, frustrating and nerve-wracking, but that's the way it is.
Now, those awesome riders getting up on their bikes to show people that motorcycles can be ridden in the most extreme ways (some of which don't even seem to be real) know what they're up against: the unforgiving gravity force which never fails, the impersonal power of the bikes, the blistering heat of the exhaust and the cold, crushing force of a bike falling on one's feet or hands, and bad luck.
This "evil flush" is trying its best to put an early end to the show and it's only the stuntmen's skills that stand between failure and glory. However, there's a huge difference when it comes to stunt riding: these events often take place in parking lots and all that separates the riders and the audience is a row of barricades, and they only offer little shielding against a runaway bike, if any at all.
I only know so well the magic attraction bikes, bike shows and bike stunting exert over people. It's an enthralling experience and it's nothing wrong with that. But when it comes to bringing kids to a stunt show, things are very different.
One simply cannot have kids unsupervised on the premises at any goddamned time! The fact that a person is leaning against the barricade is already one step into the snake pit. Why would any mother in her right mind just leave her two kids watch the bike stunt show while she is meters away?
Some people assume that as the stunt riders are well trained, nothing bad can happen. Tough luck, it does happen, especially when we expect it the least, and guess what: the human body is not exactly the best opponent for an incoming 200-kg chunk of metal. It's the bike winning such confrontations almost every time.
While a moving motorcycle slamming into an adult is sometimes more than enough for a trip in the coroner van, having a kid in such a predicament is sure death.
Back in 2006, a very tragic death occurred during an amateur drag race, when a biker lost control of his machine and the motorcycle hit a 13-year-old girl. Unfortunately, the little girl had gone out the area the race organizers deemed as safe. Tens of inches past the safety line were enough to expose the girl: the bike hit her full-on to an instantaneous death. So yes, things do go very, very wrong!
Sorry to say this, but the lady in the video I have mentioned is an idiot. Especially with so many empty seats available behind her. She could have kept her two children way safer, and even enjoyed the stunt show better, given the view... but her parenting failed bitterly. I can only hope, for her and her kids' sake, that she learned the biggest lesson in her life as a mother: one has to keep kids safe!
It is somewhat “parentally-heroic” seeing her darting ahead for her children while other adults flee from the incoming bike, but it was only luck which saved her kids that day. A faster bike would have effortlessly ploughed through the barrier, most likely causing severe injuries to more than the little girl we can see falling, and then, all the safety and all the love would have been in vain.
Kids will always be kids and they'll be attracted by countless things, but it's down to us to keep our offspring away from such unnecessary danger. It's not the barricades and not the riders' skill the thing that shields our kids in such situations, but it's our safety-focused judgement that can prevent more tragedies from happening.
Ride safe, and be safe! Love you all!
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