Ghost Riders

 

     Myriad of decades ago, I thought of owning a motorcycle. I had a girlfriend at that time, so I thought it’d be nice if we had our own little vehicle to go around with—and taxis were so expensive. Yep, I don’t do jeepneys whenever I’m with a girlfriend (which is rarer than a Halley’s Comet appearance). Car was safer, yes, but I couldn’t afford one. 

     But while I was still planning on acquiring a motorcycle, the relationship suddenly went kaput. No one to go around with, and I’m okay with public transpo, so, the plan of owning a motorcycle started to vanish in my mind. And it would probably never reappear (there's this very strong possibility that I wouldn't have a girlfriend again). Lol.

     And also this: Just a few moments ago, I was scrolling through my FB News Feed, and I saw three accidents involving motorcycles (two of them fatal). Every day, you scroll through socmed and you’d stumble upon an accident involving motorcycles: a family of three being killed while riding a motorcycle; a teenager crashing his motorbike into a truck; a child falling off the back of a motorcycle and then being run over by a truck; a husband and wife crashing their motorcycles and leaving four children; and the list would go on and on.

     According to MMDA, there at least 78 motorcycle accidents occurring daily nationwide, many of them fatal, or at least, life-changing. This is probably because it’s so easy to acquire a motorcycle these days. You know how to ride a bicycle? Then you can ride a motorcycle. Just a little cash deposit and a motorcycle will be gladly delivered to you. And most of these motorcycle owners don’t bother to properly learn traffic and road safety rules. Many of them don’t even bother to get a license. Just a few days ago, I saw a viral video where a female motorbike rider could be seen stopping at a green traffic light, and then moving at a red light. Imagine, meeting this rider in an intersection. You’d be glad to meet a vicious biker gang member instead.

     Imaging going around on a motorbike and encountering these people who don’t recognize traffic light colors, those who don’t know a single traffic rule, and those who do exhibitions on busy roads.

     Yep, there’s a reason why so many people call motorcycle riders kamote or potential organ donors, or ghost riders, meaning, these riders are future ghosts soon.