Miscellaneous ramblings.....

Motorcycle riders are pretty much self correcting.
When they make a mistake like run off the road or run through a red light there's a high likelihood of death.

When they cause an accident the little bike usually doesn't do that much damage, other than to themselves.

One minor drawback is that when they're on the short end of a wreck, like it's not their fault, death usually results. And if they're unlucky, quad or bi paralysis.

OOOohhhhhhhh man, don't GET ME STARTED.

Biker terry, this subject just p-s me off to no end. Like every other biker I know, I have always thought helmet laws suck.

And yes, I am so sick and tired of hearing stories like, "the crotch rocket rider was doing 160mph and hit a concrete wall head on. He was not wearing a helmet" WHO CARES?

And yes you are right, helmet probably cause more injuries than they prevent. but here come the "not on my insurance" arguments.

Well how about we get the obese off our insurance? They're costing much more than bikers. And scuba divers, sky divers, race car drivers, private plane pilots... the list goes on.

When was the last time any insurance company asked you if you ride a motorcycle w/o a helmet? NEVER have I been asked that. I HAVE been asked if I scuba dive, sky dive, am obese, am an alcoholic, and I smoke. But NEVER anything about a helmet. why is this?

Because THEY DON'T CARE. it's insignificant cost-wise.

Great topic------------- Lots more people will be riding with the gas prices this year you can bet that. Wonderful ending Biker Terry and JP. I love it when a plan comes together. How do you like Traffic subject being closer to the top and not lost on the bottom?

Thanks for the comments. See motorcycle deaths on the rise (part 2) for more info on this trend. Obviously, fox4 actually reads what we post. Thanks Fox4.

Biker-Terry,

When was the last time the news media reported all the facts on anything? And you expect them to give the age and driving experience of those involved in a crash whether it is on a motorcycle or in a car? Most of the time they don’t know the name, age or sex of the person. How about their race, marital status, political affiliation, and income level? (Being a little sarcastic here.)

We really don’t know how many lives helmets save because there has never been a truly comprehensive and unbiased study done. The government’s involvement (DOT and National Transportation Administration) has concentrated their efforts on “safer crashes” instead of driver education designed to prevent crashes. That‘s true whether it be a motorcycle rider or the driver of a 4-wheel vehicle. I’d venture to say that 80% of the people on the road today that have been operating a motorized vehicle for more than 10-years couldn’t pass a driving test. I had a friend killed on his motorcycle last year who had been riding motorcycles for decades, was a former police officer, who operated his own accident investigation and reconstruction business and was one of the best motorcycle riders I’ve known and was wearing a helmet. The bottom line is that helmets, seatbelts, airbags and any other piece of safety equipment you can think of only work (sometimes) during a crash, they don’t prevent them. We need to be focusing far more effort on preventing them. Unfortunately, along with education comes traffic enforcement, which is arguably also part of the educational process. The more aware people

Thanks for repeating what I've already said Jordan.

It appears that you too have some experience with the death of a close friend dieing in a motorcycle crash. What caused the accident?

Actualy, if you think about it, every time the news reports that a Juvinile is involved in an accident, they report it as such, and if they were driving on a learners permit, they also report it.

You are very correct in that education is the answere to alot of the problems out on the road today, for instance I wish I had a dime for every IDIOT I've seen who did not use their turn signals CORRECTLY. Or all those other idiots who don't turn on their lights when its raining. Or......... You get my drift.

Peace.

Sorry to hear about your friend Jordan.

Perhaps if the elderly man wasn't allowed to drive in the first place because of mental health issues, your friend would still be alive.

Peace.