Beyond Disturbing Photo of A Motorcyclist Texting While Riding

Given the fact that you’re currently reading this on the Interweb, it’s a pretty safe bet you’ll also come across some other pictures and stories today sure to make you shake your head in wide wonder at the outright stupidity and lunatic behavior that various members of our species are capable of acting out.

But I give you my personal guarantee that you won’t see anything today to rival the pure dim-witted madness of this video.

It’s a gem taken of a rider texting at 50 mph on a highway in Sydney, Australia.

Yes, texting. If you’ve read stories on this site before, you may well have seen our nearly-apoplectic rants against the dangers of a texting while driving, but I admit to being nearly struck dumb by this piece of self-destructive and dangerous decision-making.

A shoo-in for the 2012 Darwin Award

Lots of studies are out there to demonstrate the reality that texting while driving is roughly akin – at least in terms of how it slows reaction times – to being stone drunk behind the wheel. Australian television program Today Tonight found this video of a rider with not one, but both of his hands off the controls and staring at his phone. The video was captured by a bus passenger on the M2.

Reports say the 21-year-old rider, allegedly still riding with an Australian motorcycle learners permit at the time, did have the good sense to turn himself into Sydney police once the photo went viral.

Fortunately for him, local authorities pulled his permit and he won’t, legally at least, be able to operate a motorcycle on the highway for some time to come.

The photo does beg the question; what message could he possibly have thought was important enough to take this kind of idiotic chance at reading or sending?