Ironic Deaths

Not really....I don't think any of us are dead, ironically or otherwise.
Between the science geeks and religious nuts on here, a dead poster wouldn't have much chance

 

I know it's wrong to laugh at death, but that story is a little hilarious.

 

http://www.qsl.net/w5www/deaths.html

The top-middle articles are unverified, but sources are given for the middle-bottom ones. Some of the deaths are more unusual than ironic.

 

Do those perfectly normal or accidental deaths attributed to not sending out chain-mails applicable? Hehehe.

Seriously, none that I can think of except for John Denver and his "Leaving On A Jet Plane" song. But that doesn't really count as ironic.

 

It is never really ironic when a motorcyclist dies, more inevitable. I must say that this guy managed to stand out as an idiot among idiots. Not only did he drive a motorcycle which in my opinion already pretty much amounts to suicide he thought it was a good idea to do so without a helmet. Hand out the Darwin.

 

Watching the tour de france the last few days, I began wondering again why people think riding a motorcycle is the most dangerous thing to do. When I ride the speed professional and even well trained amateur cyclist can achieve, I wear a full leather outfit and a full faced helmet, while they race around in shorts, a t-shirt and a helmet on their head the size of a kippah. But people rarely complain about how dangerous riding a racing cycle is.

And I can see the irony in his death, but people should be free to choose how to get on their motorcycle. If he wants the added risk of not wearing a helmet, for the extra sense of freedom (because believe me, nothing feels more liberating than driving a big Harley without a helmet on... well sky diving does, but the no helmet thing is a close second), then why shouldn't he be allowed to do so?

 

Five weeks ago a Turkish-German couple got themselves killed by the very booby trap (the man was an engineer) they had installed in their holiday home in Turkey when they went on vacation. Apparently they had forgotten about it. The man got shot five times, his wife three times. They were dead immediately.

At least they have the final vindication that no burglar would have survived the attempt to break into their house either.

 

I personally have not seen any accident in a bicycle race yet but I've seen some of the accidents on YouTube. In a way of speaking, I do agree that for the sake of racing, a cyclist is ill equip in the protection department. However, as you are sort of comparing it with motorcycle riders. This is what I have to say and it's based on personal experience. Since I've been on a mt. bike for about 5 years, I've only witnessed around 4 bike accident where the riders literally got thrown off their bikes. 2 of which includes myself. None of them resulted in serious injuries and 3 happened off-trail (out in the mountains) while one in the city. Motorcycle accidents, I've seen a lot more. Close to 20 something. And it's like 7 out of 10 vehicular accidents I've seen includes a motorbike. And that's excluding the tales that my friends have to tell. Fact is, in this country, motorcycle is fast becoming (if not already) the number killer. I guess what I'm trying to say is, you don't need to compare the safety equipment or protocol with other sports/hobbies to know the danger of motorcycling.

 

Mesmero, just look at the stats. I wouldnt be surprised if the death rate for men under 30 getting motorcycles is actually higher than people who actually die from suicide attempts.

 

Nior, I'm not denying that riding a motorcycle isn't dangerous. Everything is dangerous really... well, everything fun is considered dangerous. I'm just a bit tired of people treating bikers as the most suicidal idiots ever, while there a lot more hobbies that bring a risk with them. I guess Joacqin just irked me a bit. I never met one motorcyclist with a death wish and most are very aware of the dangers.

Joacqin, in Holland (where you're required by law to wear a helmet and protective clothing and people are generally attentive of motorcycles), the total number of motorcycle deaths was 63 in 2010, versus around 1525 successful suicides. I don't have any specific details about age groups or gender, but men are the biggest contributor in both categories, so I'm willing to claim that motorcycle deaths are actually much lower than suicide deaths. I'm guessing figures in other Western countries are comparable.

 

Good god man! How many people ride motorcycles over there?!?! I pass hundreds of cars on my way to and from work every day, and I rarely see more than one or two motorcycles. And this is the summertime when people are most likely to ride! I have no idea what percentage of accidents here involve motorcycles. I would not surprise me if it was disproportionately higher than the percentage of riders out there. However, I have a hard time believing that 1% or 2% of riders are invovled in 70% of all accidents.

As far as wearing helmets go, I certainly would use one. OTOH, if you ride on the highway, and get into an accident going 75 mph, it's unlikely that any protective equipment you're wearing will save you.

 

@mesmero, of course you've never met a single motorcyclist with a dead wish. I mean, have you ever met a soldier or a stunt man or a fireman with a death wish? You compare your motorcycle safety clothing with that of participants of Tour de France... shouldn't you be comparing Tour de France with the equivalent motorcycle race? And no, not everything fun is dangerous... you should know because Holland is practically the biking capital of the world. And correct me if I'm wrong but helmet law for cyclists is not enforced (or non existing) there. Unfortunately for you and I'm very sorry to say this but I am also one of those people who actually believe that motorcyclist are idiots, not suicidal idiots per se but idiots. Well, my exact belief is actually that motorcycles can make their riders idiots. That is based on years of sharing the roads with them plus some accidents stories that my cousin, who is a nurse, told me. And oh, there's also this noise pollution that I can't stand.


@Aldeth, the past few years had seen motorcycle riders increased significantly, I don't have any figure but the streets are visibly littered with them. If you stand beside a major street and count the number of motorcycles passing or parked near by, 200 is not impossible in an hour. Lots of "underbone" or scooter class cropping up as they are really cheap. You can own a brand new one for only US$1000... and it's 6 months to pay (installment basis). It's really became the main choice of transportation for the low and lower-mid class communities. And finally, just to clarify, the accident percentage I gave is only the accidents that I have personally seen (that is with my own eyes, not always as it happened but the aftermath) and that's in a span of about 5 years. It is in no way the official percentage ratio of motorbike-vehicular accidents in the Philippines, as I have no information of that. But what I said about motorcycles becoming the number killer here is actually true... heard that one on the news.

 

nior,

I wasn't disputing your figures, just more shock and surprise that there were that many motocyclists in the Phillipines. In the US, only a few percent of people own a motorcycle, and most of those who do don't own a motorcycle as their primary, nevermind only, form of transportation.

Then again, a motorcycle isn't a very practical form of transportation during the cold and snowy winters, a problem that doesn't exist in the Phillipines.

 

Here, in the state of Illinois, you are not required by law to wear a helmet when operating a motorcycle. I have yet to see someone actually wear one in Rockford. My wife has her PHD in Physical Therapy, she is a Neuro Specialist actually. She runs a PT department at a nice Rehab Hospital in town. She sees A LOT of head injuries from bike accidents. Though I usually don't pay much attention to what she has to say, I do when it comes to rididng, as I previously owned a couple street bikes. 600 Ninja and Hurricane and a 750 CBR. I was pretty aggressive when riding as well. Now I that I am all growed up, I don't ride except on a very rare occassion, maybe once a year on a friends bike. That is because I have kids and the risks are pretty great with more and more drivers on the roads. Now, I get my info through her, which I would assume is pretty accurate as it can be impactual in her field. She says in the last 20 years, there have been over 15,000 brain injuries in our state due to injuries stemming from accidents while driving a motorcycle. I don't know how many actual bike riders there are in this stae, but that is A LOT of brain injuries either way. I do not want to go all veggie from a bike dump, so I limit my riding to once a year.

 

Hence the existence of helmet laws. Helmets can be the difference between death and injury, severe brain trauma or less severe brain trauma, etc.

There really is no comparison to bicycle riding. What's the max speed on a top-notch bicycle? (Honest question.) Motorcycle accidents can be quite spectacular ... a biker who launches at 100 mph can travel 100 yards or more down the road once he's left his bike. (For some reason helmets go a lot farther when they come off, heh. Like 500 yards. Maybe it's because they make better projectiles, being generally round and all.)

 

I recall a story about a psychic who predicted the date of his own death some number of years in the future -- he then committed suicide on that date.