[wplug] OT: Risk management (helmet laws)

[Shane Liesegang]

Or you could post to baddrivers.com. :-)

	- SJML

O'Connor, Michael P. wrote:
> I will say, there should be a yearly drivers test for EVERY ONE, if you
> can not pass it then you lose your license, yes I know about 90% of the
> people on the road would lose their licenses, but they should.  I can
> not tell you how many times I have been "buzzed" by people in their
> cars.  On Sunday on my bike ride up to Squire hill, I got "buzzed" by
> some stupid teens in a car, as I pulled up behind them at a light, they
> started to scream out of the car, get the F*** away from my car.  I
> decided at that point to take a picture of their license plate, I will
> be soon posting that to my web site with other plates of bad drivers
> that came close to killing me on my bicycle. 
> 
> Michael P. O'Connor
> US&S 
> Office: 412-688-2491 
> Cell: 412-498-0667
> mpoconnor at switch.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: wplug-bounces+mpoconnor=switch.com at wplug.org
> [mailto:wplug-bounces+mpoconnor=switch.com at wplug.org] On Behalf Of Doug
> Green
> Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2006 11:15 AM
> To: General user list
> Subject: Re: [wplug] OT: Risk management (helmet laws)
> 
> Almost ALL motorcyclists would agree that lane splitting is a dangerous
> practice. Heck, it's even part of the written exam! Still, people do it,
> and
> frequently with reckless abandon. :( Splitting lanes isn't illegal
> because
> it sometimes makes sense (very low speed, obstacle avoidance, etc).
> Again,
> it's hard to legislate common sense. No helmet will save you from bad
> decisions. 
> 
> I totally agree that the motorcycle community needs to work more on
> cleaning
> up the image of being "stunters". In most parts of Europe, motorcycles
> and
> mopeds are THE main mode of transportation. They're fun, economical,
> easy to
> park, and easy to get around on. Then again, there don't seem to be so
> many
> "soccer moms" driving armored vehicles over there...
> 
> I had 2 "exciting" interactions while riding yesterday, and that's a
> pretty
> average number. One was a girl, maybe 19 (if you ride a bike you're
> already
> rolling your eyes) who was merging from her Yield sign with her face
> down
> changing the radio station. The other was a middle aged guy eating his
> Panera who pulled out on me on McKnight Road (I was in the slow lane
> doing
> the speed limit). Both cases were avoided only because I saw the problem
> way
> ahead of time. In neither case did the driver even acknowledge their
> error!!! That's a very frustrating thing for an already cautious biker
> (imagine "oops, sorry I almost killed you back there...").
> 
> I'm all for tightening the driving regulations, and pulling the card
> from
> about 60% of the drivers out there. If you can't drive responsibly (on
> whatever vehicle you operate) you have no business on a public road!
> 
> ALSO- I wish more physicians stepped up to the plate and pulled the
> license
> from people with a history of strokes, TIAs, heart attacks, and chronic
> pain
> syndromes requiring narcotics (include methadone users here). We do it
> for
> people with epilepsy all the time, why should other medical conditions
> be
> different?!
> 
> I feel the warmth of impending flames here, but I'm confident that we
> can
> all disagree politely. :)
> 
> -D
> 
> 
> On 6/13/06 10:26 AM, "Shane Liesegang" <shane at shaneliesegang.com> wrote:
> 
>> Out here in California, it's legal for motorcyclists to drive between
>> lanes on the freeways. It's a good way to scoot through traffic when
>> it's stopped, I suppose, but it seems like a terribly unnecessary risk
>> -- there have been plenty of times where I've been about to change
>> lanes, but had a motorcycle zoom by me at the last second out of
>> nowhere. If I was a little less cautious in checking my mirrors, it
>> could have been disastrous.
>>
> 
> 
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