With the COVID-19 pandemic, the burning of the day is: “When will this end?”
Despite the stagnation since mid-March 2020, we are still in the process of putting in place measures to mitigate the spread. Promising efforts are being made for remedies and vaccines, but it turns out that we have not yet reached that point.
The motorcycle and COVID-19 can be fatal. For motorcycles, the threat of a fatal twist of fate is 35 times greater than that of a personal car, according to the foreign motorcycle awareness organization Dying to Ride. For COVID-19, this is fatal for some unfortunate ones. However, the actual “infection mortality rate” is unclear because researchers and fitness officials still lack accurate and reliable data.
Faced with the threat of injury or death, motorcyclists adopt a threat mitigation technique. In the words of Rick Baltz, internal auditor and motorcyclist: “It’s about bringing a balanced technique to the threat. If a user or organization handles absolutely all threats, it will become stuck with no option of praise or growth. Of course, there are threats related to driving a motorcycle, however, those threats and knowing how to drive the motorcycle safely are highly praised “.
Despite the risks, motorcyclists take express action to mitigate risks. Let’s take a closer look at these practices and see how they develop in this COVID-19 world.
1) Practice ATGATT or All the Gear All the Time, where the rider has an integral helmet, jacket, pants, boots and gloves every time he rides a motorcycle. The Arrive Alive online page even requests all these PPE devices or non-public protective devices. For COVID-19, this means dressed in a mask, glasses and/or visor.
2) Be cautious: experts say runners at all times look 14 seconds forward, look for imaginable dangers, as well as the roads around them and minimize distractions. Specifically, they will have to get away from a car that sneaks into traffic, be alert when they reach a junction where other people cross the lanes, and slow down when the road becomes rough and full of grooves.
For COVID-19, on the other hand, the main culprit are person-to-person interactions for long periods of time. Conditions that maximize the threat come with overcrowded occasions and poorly ventilated spaces and places where other people speak out loud or sing. So, in practical terms, this means washing your hands regularly, avoiding touching THE HOMES (mouth, eyes and nose), practicing physical distance, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. Several articles have pointed out that droplets are expelled through the mouth or nose when other people cough, sneeze, laugh, sing, breathe and talk; and become inflamed when the drops enter through the eyes, nose or mouth.
Threats to older adults from contracting COVID-19 appear to be similar. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “In adults, the threat of serious illness due to COVID-19 increases with age, and older adults are at maximum risk.”
Given those results, use ATGATT, be careful and be very careful. Thanks to these threat mitigation practices, I am beginning to do so responsibly and safely again. And that includes long walks on my Yamaha Tracer 900.
Live and safely!
Jaime Faustino is a progressive professional who rides for painting and pleasure, whether it boils or rains cats and dogs.
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