Motorcyclists have become full participants in the movement for a long time. Every year their number is growing. People of all ages ride motorcycles, regardless of religion, politics or profession. They are united by love for their "iron horses". Unfortunately, the number of road accident victims with the participation of bikers is also growing. Ultimately, this led to the appearance of Memorial Day for the dead motorcyclists.
Some statistics
The numbers indicate that the death toll is increasing in all countries. For example, in the USA in 2010, 4502 deaths were recorded involving bikers. And only for 9 months of 2011 - 4,500 such incidents.
In Russia, 45% of all accidents involving motor vehicles end with death. 60% of accidents occur at night. 50% of all cases are incidents with fixed objects. Surprisingly, most of the accidents occur on weekends, when, it would seem, the traffic is not as intense as on weekdays.
The average age of the victims is 22-38 years.
Of course, the largest part of accidents occurs from the beginning of spring to the end of autumn. At this time, all owners of two-legged metal horses, popularly known as "snowdrops", along with motorists who did not go on the road in winter, went out onto the roads.
Most motorcyclists are located in East Asian countries, where 4% of all victims of road accidents are those.
The advent of Memorial Day
In general, the largest number of accidents involving bikers occurs with men. Only 1% of the dead are women. Memorial Day of the dead motorcyclists also appeared by chance. One of the accidents turned out to be so resonant that it could not be ignored. Most likely, this happened because a young girl died in it.
Anna Mishutkina
Anna Mishutkin, her biker friends called Nikita. The girl was about to get married. One raised a 5-year-old daughter. On the day of the tragic death, she and her friends participated in the search for a stolen motorcycle from one of the bikers. It happened in Simferopol on September 16 in 2008. At great speed (170 km / h) Anna was hit by a Bentley car on her Suzuki. The driver was the son of one of the Crimean deputies. The motorcycle exploded from a powerful blow. The girl died at the scene of an accident. The court in 2011 exempted the driver from liability. But so far, all sorts of incidents have happened to the family of Vitaliy Feingold. In January 2015, he received two gunshot wounds in Simferopol. Law enforcement authorities said the conflict was due to interpersonal relationships. Whether this is so is unknown, but the story with Nikita remained in memory forever. All friends remembered her fighting character, determination, loyalty to relatives, active participation in the country's motorcycle life. Songs and poems are still being dedicated to her.
Anna was buried on September 18. Despite the rain, many of her friends came to say goodbye to the girl. After this incident in Ukraine, every year, bikers organized a Memorial Day for the dead motorcyclists. Bikers from different countries liked the idea, and such an event began to be organized in all corners of the globe.
Memorial Day of the dead motorcyclists in 2014 gathered a grandiose number of like-minded people. People talked on the network, gathered together to remember those who left this life because of love for a motorcycle.
Holding Memorial Day
Memorial Day of the dead motorcyclists unites all bikers. It is held traditionally. Bikers line up in columns and drive slowly through the city with mourning ribbons. They visit the temple. And at 20-00 a funeral cross of candles is lit. People line up in a circle and after the roar of engines in the headlights spend a minute in silence, remembering all those who died on the roads.
Memorial Day in Russia is celebrated in different cities. It is organized in Chelyabinsk, Novorossiysk, Moscow. The motto of the memorable event: “Smooth heavenly roads!” Each of the bikers, unfortunately, has a friend or acquaintance whom he recalls on this day.
Of course, motorcyclists set another goal, organizing Memorial Day. They direct their strength and energy on this day so that motorists pay more attention to them. The action reminds all road users that motorcyclists have the right to travel on roads, like everyone else. Moreover, they are completely unprotected, despite the ammunition.
Book of memory
Bikers managed to organize not only Memorial Day of the dead motorcyclists. In Moscow, Minsk, Kiev, Simferopol, activists created Memory Books, which are posted on the Internet. They posted photos of dead bikers, a small description of a traffic accident that led to death. And a few kind words of memory of the departed.
I want this book to never be replenished with new names and dwell on those pages that are already written.