Presently, I live in a third world country, a so-called developing country. The people here are mostly in one of two classes, the rich and the poor. There are not so many middle-class people, and that is a shame since the middle-class is the backbone of a healthy society.

Anyhow, since so many of the people are poor here, one of the favorite forms of getting around is on motorcycles. I refer to such machines as suicycles. I realize that there is not such an English word as suicycle. Still, it seems to describe a popular means of transportation in this and many other third world countries.

I have lived in and visited many third world countries and noticed that motorcycles, mopeds, “hogs”, motorbikes (whatever you choose to call them) are used much more than in my USA homeland. It is probably because they are cheap to buy in comparison to automobiles and because they do not use as much fuel as cars use.

I am afraid of those machines. I actually did ride on one but only one time, as a passenger sitting behind the driver. That was in Bangkok, Thailand. Also, that was enough for me. I have seldom felt so vulnerable. I sensed no way that I could have any control over any accident that may be heading my way.

While living in Bangkok, I was walking down the street toward a business I needed to visit. I saw a crowd of people on the sidewalk as I walked. Upon looking more carefully, I also saw a dead man on the street with his motorcycle lying near his body. I felt sorry about his situation but walked to go on to the business establishment I had planned to go to. An hour or so later, I walked back to my home. It was raining by then. When I got to the earlier accident, I noticed that the dead man was still lying there, waiting for the police to finish their investigation.

Now, I live in another third world country where mopeds are used quite a lot. When I go into the big city, it is quite common to see traffic going around an accident in the street. It often involves a motor bike, many times with a serious bodily injury or death as a result.

That is why I personally consider those motorized cycles to be suicycles. Some of my neighbors have them. When I see them ride one, I suspect that there will be an accident, maybe accompanied by death, sometime in the future. I even see children learning to ride suicycles here, children under the age of twelve. What do their parents think, allowing their kid to flirt with death with that dangerous weapon?