The Say Anything Thread - take 4

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

ok

[pedroh 21]

need to go home now

going crazy here*

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Here are some clips of the infamous motoboys of Sao Paulo. I also included an article about them. Enjoy.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn41...26/ai_n12586085[/url]

Brazil's cycle of death

Sunday Herald, The, Oct 26, 2003 by Clare Davidson

E-mail Print Link Gridlocked streets in Latin America's largest city swarm with a fleet of desperate and unregulated delivery boys. Every day two of them will die. Clare Davidson in Sao Paulo finds out why Stuck in gridlock in Sao Paulo, an 18-million-person metropolis in which traffic jams have been known to stretch for up to 242 kilometres, and where, at times, it is quicker to go by foot than by bus or car, it is easy to envy delivery boys on motorbikes as they nip between stationary vehicles, and whizz on to their destinations, with no need to wait patiently.

But such envy would be sorely misplaced.

Related Results

Motorcycle' production to reach 1mil.

Every day, an average of two motoboys, the Brazilian term for such professionals, die in Latin America's largest city, according to a documentary, Motoboys: Vida Loca, directed by Caito Ortiz and released this week as part of Sao Paulo's 27th International Film Festival.

And a vida loca - which translates as "a crazy life" - it certainly is.

This raises the question: why do 220,000 people or more in Sao Paulo - thought to be the largest workforce of its kind in the world - do it?

One answer is simple: economic necessity. As Adriando Nideval, a 26-year-old who has been a motoboy for three years in central Sao Paulo said: "I'm a motoboy because of the [economic] situation of the country. It's 100% risky," he said, "but I have bills to pay."

Giulano Cedroni, the researcher and screenwriter for Motoboys, which profiles four motoboys and one motogirl, said the documentary aims to encourage a public debate on this new type of professional and the insane conditions in which they work.

The vast majority of motoboys - be they delivering legal documents or plane tickets - are effectively freelance; they only make money per delivery. Arguably, this lack of a fixed salary causes them to hurtle through Sao Paulo's streets at around 70 to 80 kilometres per hour, risking life and limb - literally - to get a job done ready for the next delivery. Whoever arrives in the office first, gets the first job and a queuing system works for job allocation, regardless of where the delivery is going to.

While there is no minimum salary guaranteed, neither do most of the city's 3000-odd companies provide benefits or basic workers' rights. Medical insurance or payment in case they can't work should they have an accident generally does not exist, let alone long-term provisions like a pension.

But despite the erratic nature of the work, motoboys say earning the same amount elsewhere for similar [unskilled work] would be impossible. According to Transito Livre, the city's free industry newspaper, monthly salaries vary between R$600 to R$800 ((pounds) 124 to (pounds) 165). Elson Lucio, a supervisor of 22-bike delivery company Lanex, a fairly average-sized company, explained that of the R$18 ((pounds) 3.7) Lanex is paid for a two-hour job - the minimum time available - the biker will get R$11((pounds) 2.3).

In addition, the requirements are minimal - you just need a driving licence, motorbike and cell phone. Cedroni said even that is not always the case. "Many of them ride around town with no licence at all."

And training often doesn't exist. Buying a brand new motorbike has become easier since Banco do Bresil launched a scheme offering credit cards to those wanting to buy a motorbike for professional purposes, said 26-year-old motoboy Leonardo Xavier.

Motoboys are not required legally to undergo any training and most companies don't offer any. RRJ Express, one of Sao Paulo's largest outfits, with 50 motoboys serving the city, and 1000 personnel in total, is one of the few companies to register all its workers and insist on training, explained supervisor Eduardo do Santos. But of course this still doesn't eradicate the danger factor. Santos said since joining the company four years ago, he had known of three deaths.

This unregulated workforce, made up 95% by men, and aged on average between 22 and 30, is growing. One only need flip through the phonebook to see pages of firms such as Quickly Express, and Titan Express to Transonic and Fast Boys.

Of the 422,000 motorcyclists circulating daily in the city, just over half are motoboys, estimates the Company of Traffic Engineering (CTE). Over the past 10 years the total number of motorbikes produced in Brazil has grown from 53,000 to a projected 910,000 for 2003 according to a report released this week in local newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo.

Ten times more people die in motorcycle accidents than in car accidents. A study by The Secretary of the Municipal of Transport showed that 64% of motoboys have had an accident. Adriado of Lanex said he had already fallen off his bike several times but never had an accident, "thank God".

According to CTE, the number of recorded deaths and injuries today is double that of five years ago. Since official figures record those who die at the scene of an accident or on the way to hospital, not those who die while in hospital, the actual figures could be worse.

123Next »

Edited May 29, 2008 by ={Rogue}=

[chri'stina 190]

I haven't been to VJ chat in so long, never even saw any voice thing for it.

[Bootylicious!! 2]

I'm ready to go home!!!!!! This day is taking forever to end.

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Do the clips above play? They played in the preview post but for me they go to a dead page. #######?

[Bootylicious!! 2]

I don't know. I can't watch them at work.

[pedroh 21]

ya me quiero ir a mi casa!! arghhh

[Marilyn. 340]

nope, they don't seem to work

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

nope, they don't seem to work

Thanks Guys, I will you tubem

[Amby 490]

I'm going to bro dean's house next weekend. He's going to fix me some burro soup

no way, bosco was fixing you some cream of burro...but sister amber, a warning it is not soup

I'm going to meet Troll this weekend and I'm soooooooooo excited! What do you all think I should do to him? Locker wedgie?

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Charles, heres the crazy ####### motoboys I was telling you about. I am a decent rider but these guys are nuts. Drivers in cars must give them the right of way at all times due to the fact its the law.

If you should crash one of them their fellow motoboys will gather round and beat he!! outta you. Like the article above says two motoboys die per day in SP due to crashes. Carol and I were cruisin along and one of these guys came up on my side and the break lever on his bike bent the shite outta the mirror. He just kept right on goin too.

[Amby 490]

I can't find my ipod! I can't fly without it!!!!!!!!!

[Marilyn. 340]

I have a MP3 player you can borrow...

my hubby bought it a few months ago saying that he desperately needed one.. now I bet you he doesn't even know where it is.. I know where it is though... I am not hiding it from him or anything he just doesn't use it anymore... he used it for a few weeks and then stopped.. that man drives me crazy ..

Edited May 29, 2008 by MarilynP

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

I'm going to bro dean's house next weekend. He's going to fix me some burro soup

no way, bosco was fixing you some cream of burro...but sister amber, a warning it is not soup

I'm going to meet Troll this weekend and I'm soooooooooo excited! What do you all think I should do to him? Locker wedgie?

Throw a knee

By the way how much you chargin him?