Miscellaneous ramblings.....

For those who ride............

HB 1393 - Dusenberg - Exempts persons 21 years of age or older from wearing protective headgear except when operating or riding motorcycles or motortricycles
5/12/2008 - S Inf Calendar H Bills for Third Reading--HCS for HB 1393 (Ridgeway)

Was anyone aware that May is Motorcycle Safety Month in Missouri?

It is a campaign led by the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, whose members include the Missouri Motorcycle Safety Program (MMSP) and MoDot .

That must be why I keep seeing different M/C messages on the scout signs.

I found out from a Biker magazine thats printed in Colorado.

Have I been asleep or what? I haven't heard anything about it on the local media.

I was just wondering.

Peace.

Aww, another pet peeve of mine has finally come back to the headlines..........

DRUNK DRIVERS.

I'm a MADD Driver (motorist against drunk drivers).

I think we should treat drunk drivers like rapists and child molesterers.

That's right, I said it.

We should treat drunk drivers like rapists and child molesterers. They are a threat to every member of our society, every single one. The young as well as the old, regardless of race, creed, sex or color. You don't even have to be a driver to be a victim of a drunk driver. You could be walking your dog, or sitting at a bus stop. You could be walking home from school or church and become a victim.

That being said, I think we should create a web site where every person who has been convicted or plead guilty to DWI or DUI within the last ten years, should have their place of employment and their home address listed so we the drunk fearing public can be on the look out for them.

I personally am more worried that I, or a family member will be hurt or killed by a drunk driver than a rapist. And the statistics will bear out that conclusion. Look at the facts, how many persons regardless of age were killed or injured by intoxicated drivers last year? How many where raped?

How many drunks drivers were convicted last year? How many rapists?

How many convicted drunk drivers have more than one conviction for the same crime? How many rapists have more than one conviction for the same crime?

While we are at it, lets give drunk drivers specially colored license plates too, then we could really spot them easily. And to make sure we know were they live and work, lets make them re-new their drivers licenses or ID cards every year.

I challenge FOX4 to find the answeres to those questions and report them accordingly.

Comments, as always are welcomed and will be responded to accordingly.

DRIVE SAFE PEOPLE.

Please check out my photos for info on a MC Run for charity, I'll see you there.

I would like to thank Fox4’s Kathy Quinn, The Springfield News-Leader and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for proving me correct.

Kathy Quinn did some more research (she read the Springfield News-Leader) and again skirted the real stat of the most importance. Fox 4 reported “Even though Missouri has a helmet law, the study shows that nearly 20 percent of people who died in motorcycle crashes were not wearing helmets” lets tell the truth here Kathy, that means 80 PERCENT OF THOSE INVOLVED IN A MOTORCYCLE RELATED DEATH WERE WEARING ONE. Proof that a helmet will not necessarily save your life if involved in an accident. On that I rest my case.

Kathy Quinn also reported…… “The study showed that white males around 38 years old made up 92-percent of the deaths. There are a number of factors that have contributed to the trend. More people are taking advantage of motorcycle's better gas mileage, and baby boomers are now getting back into the hobby of motorcycling.” I’ll bet 99 percent had not ridden in many years and/or had not been riding for more than 3 years prior to their death. I’ll also bet money that a high percentage are young kids on crotch rockets.

Now at least some one is actually looking at the real cause of the high number of motorcycle rider deaths. It’s the RUBS (rich urban bikers) who have more money than sense, and the wanna-bees who want to wear leather and look cool who are causing this high death rate, all of whom have little or no extended riding experience.

Kathy, I’d also like to know how many of those deaths were single vehicle accidents, how many were caused by another vehicle and how much experience those who died had.

How about the numbers on a National level.

Lets change the Helmet Laws to put them on the heads of those who need them the most and strengthen the laws regarding rider safety training and licensing.

Let those that ride decide.

Peace.

   Every time I see a news report about the rising number of motorcycle deaths, and then hear a newscaster point out that the rider wasn’t wearing a helmet, or that the rider may have been saved if he/she was wearing one I want to SCREAM.

   It is sometimes reported what actually caused the accident in the first place, but most times not.

   It is never reported how long that person had been riding a motorcycle or how much experience the rider had.

  The media quotes motorcycle death rates have risen from, “X” number in 1996 to “X” number in 2006.

  But they never tell us that in 1996 there where “X” number of motorcycles registered and in 2006 there where “X” number registered.

  The media doesn’t tell us that in 1996 there where “X” number  of licensed motorcycle riders and in 2006 there where “X” number of licensed motorcycle riders.

 Where is the responsibility of the media to report the whole story. Tell us ALL the facts, not just the ones on the surface that are easy to find.

 It seems to me (and many experienced riders like me) that the media wants to control our lives by inciting the politicians and non-riders to mandate what we wear when we ride.

 Did you know that more people die from head injuries while NOT riding a motorcycle than those who do? Why not make it a law to have everybody wear a helmet at all times, sounds like a good idea doesn’t it?.

Being a safe motorcycle rider is more than just wearing a helmet or knowing how to get one going down the road, it’s all about experience. With gas prices rising and more people wanting to be “bikers” there are considerably more motorcycles on the road today, and I suspect there will be even more as time goes by.

I have an idea, how about when a person goes to get a motorcycle license for the first time (regardless of age) besides just having to have passed a motorcycle safety course, they are given a “learners license” that requires them to wear a helmet for the first three years, then when they renew their license at the end of that time period they will have the experience needed to help keep them safer on the road and then let them make a choice as to wear one or not.

If a rider with a "learners lisence" is caught with out a helmet, fine that person a huge sum and suspend thier privaledges.