Thomas Smith

You've seen the bumper stickers. "Watch out for motorcycles. They are everywhere."

Today I am here to plead with you; Believe those stickers. Listen to them. Watch out for motorcycles.

This idea has become much more important to me in the past week than I ever could have thought it would. This comes after a close friend of mine, considered family, and his girlfriend were in a very serious motorcycle accident on U.S. 58 near Hillsville, Va.

Last Sunday night (Aug. 24), they were T-boned by a truck who "just didn't see them," while traveling at 55 mph. Both were airlifted to Baptist Hospital, both suffered severely broken left legs. One was just released yesterday, the other still has surgeries and recovery time to go. Both will be in physical therapy for months and forever changed by their ordeal.

While the nature of the accident and their injuries leads me to believe they were "lucky," the whole ordeal of thinking my friends were dead brought me to a couple of realizations.

"Life is short," "Be careful" and "You cannot control other people's actions."

You may think, "Oh I can see a motorcycle, I look out for them." Well. DO IT. All the time. Be aware.

Our minds are not programmed to look for motorcycles. We've all done it one time or another -- been on the highway and started to move over and saw that bike there riding in the left lane.

"Where did that come from," you ask yourself?

Another point which I am newly passionate about is motorcycle safety.

While riding around Mount Airy this week, every time I saw a motorcycle rider with sandals, or a tank top, or shorts on while riding, I shuttered and got a little angry.

Who do those people think they are? Superman? Are they immune from another's actions? Maybe at one point very recently I would have seen nothing wrong with that. But now, I do.

If my friends were not wearing the proper safety gear, they would be dead and this column would be about the life of my deceased friends. This is no exaggeration.

People might say, "I'll ride with what I want to on," or "I ain't going to get hurt, I am a good driver."

This is all well and good, but when you are sliding across the pavement with your tank top and shorts on, or watching as another driver is trumping your good driving skills while slamming into you at top speed, the thoughts which run through your mind may not be so head strong and immature. They don't call them "Graveyard Ponies" for nothing.

People can do what they wish. This is a free country, and if someone wants to act stupid and endanger their lives, that is OK by me (however I wish they wouldn't). But when faced with being "safe" and "uncool" as opposed to "cool" and "dead," I'll take the former every time.

The point is: It's not about you.

My friend was a great rider. He did everything right. Didn't take too many chances.

But those driving skills meant absolutely nothing when faced with the grill of a Ford F-150 truck. Nothing. And neither will yours.

So the next time you go out riding on Sunday afternoon, whether it be in a car, or a truck, or a motorcycle, or whatever, be aware of your surroundings and do what you know to be safe. Because your carelessness and bravado could cost you more than you may be willing to pay for.

Thomas Smith is a staff writer for The Mount Airy News.