Why A Motorcycle?!

           The rain had just stopped. But a few minutes ago it was pouring down rain. It's night time and the roads are slippery. My husband and I were on our way home. And on the road I saw this family riding a motorcycle. The husband was driving, his wife sitting behind him. In between them was their little girl. Probably 5 or 6 years old. And seated on the wife's left leg, was their little boy, maybe 3 or 4 years old. All of them wearing NO HELMETS. Again, on a SLIPPERY ROAD!

           I always see cases like this. And I can't help but shake my head in disbelief. Sometimes I even see babies in the arms of their mother riding the back of a motorcycle. One time I even saw a mom and a baby riding the back of a tricycle. Shouldn't they prioritize the mother with her baby to sit inside the side car? This bothers me so much. One little stone on the road is all it takes for a motorcycle to crash.

         I can never imagine to risk my child's life like that. If I didn't have a car, I would prefer to commute when I'm traveling with my kids. Wouldn't it be 100% safer to ride a cab, a jeep, a bus, a train, or even a tricycle than riding a tiny motorcycle? There's nothing in a motorcycle that can protect your child from an accident.  A child will just fly off the motor in the event of a collision.

        It's one thing to be on a fixed budget but it's a whole different ball game to risk your child's life for the sake of saving money. I would much rather pay a few extra hundred pesos for a cab than later pay for thousands of pesos on hospital fees and and more importantly pay with my child's life on the line.

         Isn't there a law for overloading motorcycles with children? Or a law for children riding motorcycles period.  Maybe there is... I hope there is. I just pray that the family I saw earlier is already home and safe.

Apparently, it's a normal thing in other countries.

Photos from World Super Travel

Does the baby in the bucket look photoshopped? Either way it's still disturbing :(