Dangerous machines or dangerous drivers?

Nearly a year and half ago, I received a phone call from a sherif asking if I was Antonio's wife. "Yes." Immediately the blood from my face drained and my breathing became constricted as I weakly asked, "Is he okay?" "Ma'am, he has been in an accident but yes, he is okay." *gulps* That was the phone call I had always dreaded for so many years.

My husband has had a love affair with motorcycles long before he had met me. Sure, they look nice and I like hearing the hum and roar of the engine but, I have never cared to see my husband on one of them. They are dangerous machines. Most drivers on the road miss seeing them because of their sleek size. Often I spot drivers who get too close to motorcyclists. Some even dare to try to block their path when they see a motorcycle zipping through the bumper to bumper traffic. The dangers of the road are similar to bicyclists. The general traffic fails to see them and respect their space.

This was not my husband's first spill from his bike- he has many scars to attest to my claim of their danger. He loves riding the darn thing so I just hold my breathe and try not to think about it. When he was younger, he drove for fun. Now that we are more mature, he drives his moto for practical reasons. It's his number one source of transportation to and from work. Tony works in the downtown area of Los Angeles- it's about eight miles from where we live but, the morning traffic is a killer. Drivers from our distance can easily spend anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes crawling to work in the morning and, even more time when there is an accident on the road. Tony zips right through that mess in 20 minutes on his bike. If we all had smaller vehicles or some type of bike (motorcycle, moped, bicycle...), we too would not waste so much time in traffic during the am & pm rush.

The dangerous machine.

As life would have it, my husband was tapped by a gruff and careless driver who apparently had forgotten he was not driving a bike himself. Unfortunately this happened at a construction site and there was gravel on the ground in the direction where the bike was bumped into. This sent my husband flying in one direction while his bike went in another hitting the back of a car. The owner of the SUV who was unlucky to receive my husband's bike, was far more concerned with the scratch on her *dear* vehicle. Never mind the fact that my husband was lying on the ground bleeding profusely from his hand. She never even asked if he was okay. Arggg!! Some people!!!

My concern is mostly about the lack of respect that all cyclists get on the road by drivers who feel they own the road. People! You need to share the road. Cyclists have the right to be on that road with you.

Perhaps it is something psychological in some drivers that makes them feel like someone is cutting in line. That someone, is taking a short cut while they are stuck at the back of the line. I am not a behavioralist so I don't know or understand why people forget about their humanity when it comes to cyclists. This is the reason why I had refused to have his motorcycle fixed all these months. I'm afraid of other drivers hurting him again or worse, causing his death one day.

Thankfully, all that had happened that day was nerve damage to one of his fingers. The specialists told him he would eventually notice permanent weakness on that hand and that it would get worse as time goes by. He may not have the strength or grip that he used to have but at least he still has his finger and his hand intact.

Granted, there are motorcyclist who forget they are not the only ones on the road. Driving safely on ANY type of vehicle is a Huge responsibility of the driver. Vehicles can and have killed people. All vehicles are potentially dangerous when we forget the safety of others while on the road.

I can't say this enough- Drivers, please remember to share the road with cyclists. It could mean the life or death of a fellow human being.