Motorcyclists have become full participants in the movement for a long time. Every year their number is growing. Motorcycles are ridden by people of all ages, regardless of religion, politics or profession. They are united by love for their "iron horses". Unfortunately, the number of victims of road accidents involving bikers is also growing. This eventually led to the Day of Remembrance for the Dead Motorcycle Riders.
Some statistics
The figures show that the death toll is increasing in all countries. For example, in the United States in 2010, 4502 deaths were recorded involving bikers. And only for 9 months of 2011 - 4500 such incidents.
In Russia, 45% of all accidents involving motor vehicles end in death. 60% of accidents happen at night. 50% of all cases are incidents with immovable objects. Surprisingly, most of the accidents occur on weekends, when, it would seem, the traffic is not as heavy as on weekdays.
The average age of the dead is 22-38 years.
Of course, the largest number of accidents occur betweenearly spring to late autumn. At this time, all the owners of two-legged metal horses, popularly nicknamed "snowdrops", go out on the roads, along with motorists who did not go on the road in winter.
Most of all motorcyclists are in East Asia, where they account for 4% of all road accident victims.
The Emergence of Memorial Day
In general, the largest number of accidents involving bikers occur with men. Only 1% of the dead are women. The Day of Remembrance of the Dead Motorcyclists also appeared not 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 Mishutkina was called Nikita by her biker friends. The girl was about to get married. One raised a 5-year-old daughter. On the day of her tragic death, she and her friends participated in the search for the stolen motorcycle of one of the bikers. It happened in Simferopol on September 16, 2008. At great speed (170 km / h), Anna was hit by a Bentley car in 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 the accident. The court in 2011 exempted the driver from liability. But so far, all sorts of incidents have occurred with the family of Vitaly Feingold. In January 2015, he received two gunshot wounds in Simferopol. Law enforcement agencies reported that the conflict occurred due to interpersonal relationships. Whether this is so is unknown, but the story of Nikita remained in my memory forever. All friends remembered her fighting character, determination, devotion to relatives, active participation in the motorcycle life of the country. Until now, songs are dedicated to her and poetry is written.
Anna was buried on September 18th. Despite the rain, many of her friends came to say goodbye to the girl. After this incident, every year in Ukraine, bikers organized a Day of Remembrance for the dead motorcyclists. The idea was liked by bikers from different countries, and such an event began to be organized in all corners of the globe.
The Day of Remembrance of the Dead Motorcyclists in 2014 brought together a grandiose number of like-minded people. People communicated online, gathered together to remember those who left this life because of the love of a motorcycle.
Commemoration Day
Day of Remembrance for the Dead Motorcyclists unites all bikers. It is held traditionally. Bikers line up in columns and pass slowly through the city with mourning ribbons. They visit the temple. And at 20-00 a memorial cross of candles is lit. People line up in a circle and after the roar of engines in the headlights, they spend a minute in silence, remembering all those who died on the roads.
The Day of Remembrance of the dead motorcyclists in Russia is celebrated in different cities. It is organized in Chelyabinsk, Novorossiysk, Moscow. The motto of the commemorative event: "Smooth heavenly roads!" Each of the bikers, unfortunately, has a friend or acquaintance whom he remembers on this day.
Of course, motorcyclists have another goal with Memorial Day. They direct their strength and energy on this day to ensure that motorists pay more attention to them. The action reminds all road users that motorcyclists have the right to travel on the roads like everyone else. However, they are absolutely unprotected, despite the ammunition.
Book of Memory
Bikers managed to organize not only the Day of Remembrance of the dead motorcyclists. In Moscow, Minsk, Kyiv, Simferopol, activists have created Books of Memory, which are posted on the Internet. They contain photos of the dead bikers, a small description of the road accident that led to death. And a few kind words in memory of the departed.
I wish this book would never be replenished with new names and stop at those pages that have already been written.
