There’s a term amongst motorcyclists that describes a rider who is either extremely wet behind the ears, rides beyond his/her skill level, wears little to no gear, or is extremely reckless by nature. We call these riders “squids” and the origin is actually somewhat of a controversial subject. Some say it originated on a SoCal racetrack, where the less-skilled and less-experienced riders were called “squirrelly kids”. It later was shortened to just “squids”. Other say it’s an acronym for many different things, one of which being Stupid Quick Underdressed and Imminently Dead. The attitude the motorcycle community has about “squids” is evident when visiting UrbanDictionary.com and reading the definitions. If you are labeled as a squid, it could be for many different reasons – but the most common reason is for doing things that more experienced riders would call STUPID.
The next time you see a motorcyclist riding down the road without a helmet, or in shorts and flip-flops – remember my story. Before you write the rider off as an idiot and someone who is destined to be the victim of their own actions, remember that person is someone’s son or daughter, someone’s brother or sister, someone’s mom or dad, someone’s husband or wife, someone’s aunt or uncle, someone’s cousin, someone’s coworker, someone’s true love, someone’s high school crush, someone’s best friend, someone’s neighbor, someone’s only hope for happiness…
I was one of those “stupid people” who didn’t wear all of my gear. I was worse than a squid, I was the squidly pillion of a squid, but I was also someone’s daughter, sister, wife, cousin, best friend, coworker, high school crush, and neighbor. Don’t be so quick to think that I didn’t wear my gear because I knew what could happen. On the contrary, only a few very unlucky people know the true consequences, the reality of the situation, and the weight that this decision actually carries. I didn’t wear all of my gear because no one had ever shaken me by the shoulders and told me this:
“If you don’t wear your gear, you will rip off all of your skin. It will hurt like hell for a long time… pain you cannot even imagine. You will rack up over half a million dollars worth of medical bills. You will put your family through the worst experience of their entire lives. Your amazing father, your daddy, will have to leave the hospital room on several occasions because of your screams in pain. Your husband will never come to visit you in the hospital, nor will he call or write to see how you are doing. You will know what it is like to be truly alone for the first time in your life. Your parents will be forced to miss work, lose sleep, drive to the hospital, and fear for your life every day for nearly 2 months. The financial burden on yourself and your family for the next several years will be large. You will lose your job. You will lose your ability to join the military and serve your country. You will lose the ability to walk and move on your own. You will never have beautiful skin again. You will lose all of your beautiful hair. You will spend your mother’s birthday in a hospital gown and a wheelchair. The emotional stress from this accident will affect you until the day you die. You will lose full motion in your knees for the rest of your life and they will be in constant pain. People will stare at you in the gym, in restaurants… hell, people will stare at you everywhere. You will never be fully free of the consequences of this decision. And all of this is what you are choosing when you choose not to wear gear.”
So, no, I had no idea what I was getting myself into… and neither do many of the riders out there today. This is not common sense, many people never even hear this message. This is where we have failed in the past – we have ALL failed. We shake our heads and move along instead of taking the time to educate the public on the truth. It is so easy to call someone stupid and look the other way, but what would you want someone to do for that rider if they were your son, your daughter, your best friend, your husband or wife, your sister or brother? The list of people you would hope hear this message goes on and on, and yet you choose not to help educate a perfect stranger. Where is the sense in that? When did we become so knowledgeable and special that we didn’t have the responsibility to pass along the all-important message? I sense a great lack of willingness to not only improve ourselves as riders, but to help others improve as well. Get this through your head – our need for learning is never finished.
I am hell-bent on changing the way riders receive TRUE education about the consequences of riding without proper gear, proper training and proper attitude. By all means, I understand that it’s not just about the gear. However, the subject of gear is where I have a God-given ability to pull back the curtain and show people what the rest of the world is too scared, lazy, or “important” to show riders. Sadly enough, there are more out there who have also been through what I have. I hope you are fortunate enough to have never experienced a crash like mine. Help me keep it that way for yourself, your families, and the riders who you otherwise would shake your head at. If you want things to change, it MUST start with us. I can tell you now that it makes a huge difference, even when you feel as if you’re the only one doing it. Spread the message, lead by example, and change someone’s life.
I think of the consequences whenever I ride without a jacket. At least something to cover my upper body. I do not have abrasion resistant pants just yet. Helmets required in New York and I do wear gloves and over the ankle shoes/boots/sneakers.
The feeling of air rushing over exposed skin at speed is refreshing. I should think more of the pain of ripped and torn skin.
I subscribe to ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time) myself and I take a lot of rider training so I can be the best and safest rider I can be. and over the years I have tried to explain to these people when I meet them what can happen, most either don’t believe it will ever happen to them, or know it’s a risk and just want that adrenaline rush so are ok with the risk. But I keep preaching, I figure if I can reach even ONE rider who avoids getting hurt it’s worth it
Marc,
I have to agree with you 100%! It is hard to get those “other riders” to understand the real risks they are taking, and they all have that, “it wont happen to me”, attitude. What a pain they are…
Erin
A phrase you will hear is I’d rather sweat than bleed. I’m pretty sure the feeling of standing naked on a speeding freight train would also feel refreshing, but most would think that fool hardy. The best, most sober and experienced riders can eat it and many do. (been there) There are vented jackets and pants that will still give you armor in the critical areas and increased abrasion resistance (over skin or denim) Invest in yourself, wear the gear and hope you never need to test it.
I just wrote a little piece on this on my blog. Funny that when I signed onto Twitter and found your friend request that I discovered you wrote something more indepth but on the same topic. Very cool! I would love to interview you for my blog. Let me know what you think.
It really seems to be 2 subcultures of riders that feel the gear is unnecassary, Sport bike riders and Cruiser Riders. Sport touring/DualSport etc seem to want to be better equipped.
For the sport bike riders (the ones “I” term Squids “Stupid Quickly Dead”) they are after the adreneline rush and I find no amount of talking and explaining will reach them (Lord knows I’ve tried and will continue to try.
For the Cruiser scene, some I can reach (and I have) others just don’t want to listen, I’ve even had a HEATED argument where a Harley rider insisted that Helmets were dangerous and that he would never wear one, his rationale was that if he dumped, they could break his neck when they take the helmet off. We had to agree to disagree.. (He was literally yelling at riders where we were to ditch the helmets)
I went down last year and thanks to my safety gear I walked away without a scratch….others are not so lucy
You are right on the money. We all need to take responsibility for our fellow riders in changing attitudes and educating our friends, family and the stranger standing next to us in the parking lot …
Keep on fighting the good fight darlin.
REALLY? “Nobody told me”??? If you need to be told, you shouldn’t be on the machine. On a sportbike, going how fast, and you think shorts and flip flops MIGHT be ok?
If a kid on a skateboard needs all that safety gear, it’s kind of obvious that riders do. I’m sorry, I can’t buy the “nobody told me” argument. Yes, they’re still people, but people must be responsible for their OWN actions.. and if they ride sportbikes in shorts and sandals, there are consequences. Maybe the salespersons should be telling the squids what they’re getting into, advising the gear they should own, but that won’t make them wear it.
I’m very sorry that people end up suffering.. but I refuse to say it’s anyone’s fault other than their own.
I believe you might have put your own preconceived notions into what I wrote. Nowhere in my post does it say it was not my fault that I suffered all of those things. Secondly, nowhere in my post does it say that riders shouldn’t take responsibility for their own actions. What I did say is that we, as more experienced riders, should be more willing to help along the less traveled of our fellow bikers. No one is ever willing to stand up on a national scale to warn people of what they are REALLY risking. It’s more than just injuries and pain – I think I made that perfectly clear. How else shall we learn but from the experience of others – grow, change, and then learn some more? If we did not share our knowledge in order for the sport to progress, we would still be riding 22cc mopeds around in t-shirts and beanie helmets.
How easy is it for you to say “maybe the salespeople…” without looking at your own actions as a senior rider? WE ALL need to take a stand for a change to happen, not just a few salespeople. It starts with US.
The key here is education, if a squid wants to ride in a Tee Shirt and Flip Flops it’s his/her decision because after all it’s his/her life but many make the decision without ever thinking of the consequences, and many have the “it can’t happen to me” attitude.
Oddly enough, of all the people i have spoken with about ATGATT, you’d be surprised to hear how many never thought about the consequences…
Marc, I agree with you – it’s all about education. That’s what this post was about! When I say we have failed, I mean we as seasoned riders, we as sales people and dealership owners, we as safety educators, we as Hollywood and mass media, etc…
Go a step further when it comes to the consequences. The human condition dictates that we do not naturally think about the consequences because we cannot fathom that which has not yet happened to us unless someone else tells us about it. It’s not just about “knowing” that if you fall, it will hurt – there are consequences far beyond the injuries and pain. People cannot imagine what they are TRULY risking without the knowledge of someone who has been there and done that… and is willing to pass it on.
“it can’t happen to me” is also part of the human condition. It’s not a bad attitude, it’s the only one we are inherently born with! That’s where education comes in.
You hit the nail right on the head, most don’t even consider that it could happen to them. Heck when I was younger I rode in a Tee shirt and jeans and never even thought that I could get VERY hurt…. Now that I have had time to think about it (and reflect on other life events) I won’t even throw a leg over the bike without my gear. And it saved my bacon last year when I lowsided my FJR in Vermont, I slid about 50 feed across the pavement and walked away without a scratch thanks to the gear…
Brittnay,
I also want to take a moment and say thank you for working to increase awareness on this topic, Too often people have a negative view of the Motorcycling community as a whole, and efforts like this will not only save lives, but will help people see the responsbile side of motorcycling!
Thanks so much for your support, Marc!
Hey Britt
I always thought the term squid originated from the island. I heard it from my BIL and sister who told me it meant a rider who didn’t wear the proper gear. I asked them why that meant they were a squid, they told me cause that is what they look like when they hit the pavement. Cleared things up for me in a second. We are all ATGATT riders in this family, I mean have you seen a squid…..Ewwwwwwww.