Absolutely. My mother was an emergency room nurse for most of my life, before she retired. She's got stories to tell, of what she had to try and fix, that would curdle milk.
She was so adamant about seat belts, that I don't even think about it. I get in a car, the belt goes on. No thought necessary.
My dad still refuses to wear a seat belt. On my way to work today, in my full gear, I passed the road he lives on. Who would be sitting at the stop sign, on his cruiser? In a pair of shorts, tennis shoes and a t-shirt.
I will never convince him of the logic of ATGATT. He honestly and simply does not care. I've tried. I failed. So we just don't talk about it.
My eleven year old son has nearly full gear. He's missing the pants, because I can't find any ventilated road pants made for kids. MY child is growing up ATGATT. He puts on a seatbelt. He flushes the toilet when he's done, and brushes his teeth twice a day. With toothpaste.
All of that (and the myriad other things that will one day help him be a responsible adult) have taken a ridiculous amount of time and effort.
He'll never question ATGATT anymore than he questions brushing his teeth or flushing the toilet. It's just what we do. You are absolutely right in educating our children. I do so. In order to educate someone else's children however, I have to educate the parent. I'm working on that.
As for my preaching not being proactive, or it not being effective on adults? Heck, I'm a convert! I'd never heard the term ATGATT before I came to this site.
After destroying my bike and nearly killing my wife and I, except for loads of luck, I decided that full gear was probably a good decision. That was years ago, and it's taken me years to accumulate my gear.
The philosophy I hold so dear though, took root right here on this forum. In all the posts I read about riders down and the benefits of ATGATT. I'm an adult. I'm still capable of learning.
Six pages of I'm right and your wrong? Yep. Many more to come. There simply is no reason for not being ATGATT other than personal inconvenience. I'm going to say it again, and again and again. I learned. I'm not so callus as to say other adults are incapable of it. Though I will admit some are simply unwilling.
So be it. Like my dad, I can't reach them. It's everyone else I hope to influence, and through them, their children. I'd honestly never looked it like that! What a wonderful thought and incentive that is!
this gives BOTH sides of the equation with equal riders. Pure and simple.
*insert circle jerk*
