Shooting Ourselves in the Foot
The local newspaper, The Indianapolis Star, ran a story about a young man that lost his life in a motorcycle accident this weekend. The reporter actually only told part of the story, which is a little surprising. Normally the first thing reported is that the motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet. It is not even mentioned in this story. But, don’t stop there. Check out the comments left on the story and you will start to see other information. I did not know this person personally but I am friends with people that were close to him.
I was told that there was a history of extremely fast riding. I heard from one of my sources, even before I read the comments for the story, that the estimated speed was 130 mph. There was a hill in the area of the accident and at the estimated speed, or a much lower speed, it would be impossible to stop the motorcycle prior to impact after cresting the hill. i also received information that the skid marks were in excess of 40 feet long. What reason is there to run that type of speed on any road meant for general transportation? Some people want to ban motorcycles for actions such as this. Others want to ban sportbikes only. You could almost compare it to the handgun issue that we have here in the United States. Guns do not kill people,the person pulling the trigger does. Motorcycles do not run 130 mph without someone there to roll on that throttle. It is all about responsibility. I know hundreds of people that ride sportbikes that have never seen speeds over 75 mph which would pass on almost any highway here. Responsibility.
We are shooting ourselves in the foot. We are bringing unnecessary negative attention to our nation and we need to stop. Look at the comments to the story. Funkyzero writes that their children will never ride a motorcycle. MissLinda basically said that most people have problems with the riders. The problem is that when people see someone running at light speed, performing a stoppie, or riding a wheelie down the highway, they don’t differentiate between a responsible rider and an irresponsible one. They see a motorcycle. So, all motorcyclists are irresponsible in their eyes.
This situation is a very unfortunate one but definitely one that could have easily been avoided. Irresponsibility is a stereotype that we can not afford to have tagged on us. Let’s police our nation and save lives at the same time. Our thoughts go out to both families and anyone who is affected by the senseless death.
Ride Safe
Steve and the MC Nation
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:07 pm
It’s terrible about that guy. I wish only the best for his family and friends.
You raise a good point. Motorcyclists need to take responsibility and stop the nonsense. When a biker pulls the stunts you mentioned, he puts far too many innocent people at risk. Not to mention himself.
What I want to know is, how can we reverse the public’s faulty perception? What are the things bikers can do to earn the respect of car drivers and be seen as leaders in safety, not liabilities?
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Jason,
I am not sure what we can do to reverse the perception. Unfortunately, there are far too many motorcyclists out there who fall into the “irresponsible” category. Committing unsafe acts is a game to many younger riders. Although some of these riders do impress me with their skills there is a place for this type of riding and it is not on a public roadway. These stunts should be done in a closed course environment. Every time that they do a stunt on the road, Joe Citizen sees them and that is where the perception comes from. Without changing those rider attitudes, we will never change the public’s perception. If anyone has the magic answer, please let us know.
Thanks for the comment Jason.
Steve and the MC Nation