While still in single-digit ages, there was a rule my mother emphasized and explicitly forbade beyond the emphasis:

You will not ride a motorcycle. Ever.

...my mother had declared, adding, "Apart from that, do whatever you want." As many of my close followers know, I've indulged in quite a bit beyond that rule in recent years.

In these days when I'm approaching my forties, sharing this rule with you may seem ridiculous. However, when an authority figure you respect grants you almost unlimited freedom but sets a simple condition alongside it, it has a soothing effect on your rebellious nature.

"Why?" I asked, and she simply responded, "too dangerous." Since the days when my mind started working, I've been doing calculations, and I still can't grasp the benefit/risk ratio of riding a motorcycle. That's not my main concern, and every rider takes their own risks, but I want to delve a little deeper into this 'danger' element, hoping it might benefit someone.

Why a motorcycle?

There are three main reasons for making this choice:

1. Excitement it offers,

2. Affordable transportation,

3. Avoiding traffic.

When compiled this way, it does seem like an attractive offer. Nevertheless, there is no other mode of transportation in the world that is so widely used and puts its rider at such a high risk of life. It's like using 10x leverage in crypto; sunshine and roses until things go south.

If you have a car accident, the first thing that comes to mind is your insurance company's phone number. The worst-case scenario, if you're lucky – as long as you didn't exaggerate – is the mark left by the seatbelt on your chest.

However, if you have a motorcycle accident, death becomes a sympathetic option compared to other possible scenarios.

Target audience

At this point, I absolve those who cannot afford to buy a car due to their financial situation and choose a motorcycle to get to work and use it properly, following the rules. I might join your ranks one day, who knows?

What I don't understand is the segment of people who can afford to buy a car, even if it's second-hand and in the lower segment, yet consciously choose a motorcycle. Sure, with the same budget, you can get a much faster, more exciting, and noisier machine, but for what? Forget the value you assign to your own life; does no one love you, who will cry for you?

Herd psychology

I currently reside in Colombia, and my experiences with traffic and motorcycles here are not much different from those in Turkey. A group (gang?) of motorcyclists easily bends or breaks the rules, taking advantage of both the confidence it gives them and the frequent disregard of traffic police.

Of course, when you look through their eyes and listen to their experiences, you encounter valid complaints about other drivers. From squeezing between cars to dealing with suddenly stopping commercial vehicles, motorcyclists face various issues. I don't want to get into the debate of who is right or wrong, as my concern is different.

Useless noise

Probably one of the most underestimated problems of our time is noise pollution. It has proven harmful in various ways, from mental health to productivity, and some nations seem to completely ignore it. When you travel to Europe or the United States, it's as if you suddenly put on noise-canceling headphones, indicating a clear indicator of the level of development between where you came from and where you are.

Motorcycles, while being one of the building blocks of noise pollution, are not the sole reason, of course. However, when you analyze the sources of noise, you often discover that it is a valid reason, and preventing the sound they produce is almost impossible – except for motorcycles.

Take ambulances, for example. They need to make noise to clear the way and reach the hospital on time. Your neighbor making a hole in the wall due to renovation cannot do it quietly, and probably, they are not happy with the noise they create themselves. The crying baby on the plane or bus has a need, or maybe they are not just happy to be there at that moment, and their mother is doing her best to calm them down. If fireworks are non-stop, someone is celebrating an event, so fire a few shots, and you can join in the celebration.

However, the motorcycle that cuts through the silence in the dead of night with its loud exhaust, waking up every neighbor on each street it passes, has no purpose other than satisfying the ego of its rider. There is no understandable or defensible aspect to the fact that motorcycles, in general, make about twice as much noise as other vehicles on the road. If there is anything more incredible than motorcycle riders considering this a right, it is the almost non-existent sanctions on this issue – at least in less developed countries. Perhaps, it is going this way because nobody is asking, "Hey, wouldn't you be bothered if dozens of people passed by with a running drill or electric saw in front of you every day?"

There are some reasons why motorcycle riders are generally unaware of the noise and discomfort they cause. The helmet they wear partly absorbs the sound, one. They have already moved away from the environment long before any reaction comes, two. All that noise is an extension of the adrenaline that riding a motorcycle gives them, and most of them actually enjoy this noise, three. Of course, none of these changes the fact that motorcycles are the main enemy of peace in urban life.

It's worth repeating: I try not to use the term 'motorcyclist' carefully to avoid saying 'motorcycle rider' for the courier who works tirelessly from morning to night for a few pennies.

These machines urgently need to be subjected to strict regulation to control the noise they produce; that's the bottom line.