This has been a very terrible and very real lesson in mortality. Wish we had some basic social safety nets for middle-aged unemployables (e.g. single-payer healthcare).
But somehow no old bold riders.
In other countries they are a huge means of transport.
"Oh, but this is acceptable risk"
Well, for billions, a motorcycle is too.
E.g. the most common motorcycle in Vietnam is the 110cc Honda Wave with a top speed under ideal conditions of ~60mph. It literally would not be called a motorcycle in the US.
I don't think any city in Europe is as anti-human as your standard American metro, suburb, or small town.
Also: European metro areas are full of two-wheeled not-motorcycles, like the Honda above.
Agreed
> Also: European metro areas are full of two-wheeled not-motorcycles, like the Honda above.
Not the European metropolitan area I live right next to and travel to/from, they are proper motorcycles, who also travel on the highway, which isn't legal for the "two-wheeled not-motorcycles" you talk about.
It's OK to not be aware of how everything is everywhere in the world, no one thinks less of you for that. However, being so confident about something you obviously can't know, isn't as harmless and does indeed make you look slightly weird for being so combative about it.
Your point is that there are cities that are full of motorcycles. My point is: sure, but most of those in most cities are not the 1000cc+ motorcycles Americans are typically referring to, and even if they are, a city full of motorcycles is a completely different risk environment from a city that is not full of motorcycles.
The bikes, usage patterns, and environment are all totally different. It's obviously silly to act like they're not.