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FReeper Motorcycle Hooligan  |
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Posted on 02/04/2005 8:21:40 PM PST by FoxInSocks
RICHMOND, Va. - It's been a tough day for highway safety advocates at the Virginia General Assembly.
The House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee endorsed legislation allowing motorcyclists 21 and older to ride without a helmet. The vote was 12-to-7.
The panel also rejected a series of bills to continue the use of photo monitoring systems at dangerous intersections in six northern Virginia localities and Virginia Beach. Those pilot programs allow police to use cameras to catch drivers who run red lights.
The programs are scheduled to expire July 1.
Another bill rejected by the committee would have expanded photo-red statewide.
The motorcycle helmet bill will be up for a vote on the House floor early next week. Similar bills have failed on close votes on the House floor three years in a row.
The problem with this reasoning is that riders who have an accident and are brain-damaged become lifelong indigent medical patients.
How do you like paying taxes for their medical bills?
The second that someone's risky behavior includes a reasonably forseeable claim on the public treasury that behavior becomes my business.
And so they should.
Most experienced riders can 'can get on down the highway' all their lives and never lay down their ride.
It's the weekend wannabe's that make life miserable for everyone else.
As everyone knows, though, even the most experienced bike rider can have his head handed to him by any auto driver on any day. All it takes is a moment of inattention by the auto driver (or vice versa)
Your "us and them" mindset is not productive for this fabulous sport-the Harley guys snub the metric cruiser guys who think lowly of the rice rocket crazies who believe the Gold Wing guys need to get a life who then agree with all the previouly mentioned motorcyclist that BMW riders are pricks. However, I do agree with you about financial responsiblilty. Why can't an insurance policy state a head injury occuring during an accident while not wearing a helmet is not covered? And then we tax payers should tell the morons with disabling head injuries acquired while crashing without a helmet that they're on their own.
I think smokers do pay higher insurance rates. It's all about the statistics and the tables -- insurance companies have been doing it a long time and have crunched a lot of numbers.
If it's more risky to ride without a helmet, they'll make the appropriate adjustments.
I worn a helmet since before it was a law, even here in Kalifornia, but that doesn't mean I liked it.
Hmmm, I see that there are more head injuries cause in car crashes. Hmmm, I think all car drivers should wear helmets while driving. That would lower the risks.
Let me remind you, more people die on the roads of the US in one day, than die in Iraq in a month.
Sounds to me like driving is risky business. Sounds like living is risky business.
That's true! I had a GF that wrecked $20K of nice Harley hardware in 3 weeks. After I helped keep company with her through a left broken arm and right broken leg, I deftly stepped aside and back. She almost went down a canyon. I suppose she's still the same sort of firecracker:) Not with me, though. I just don't need that sort of load.
Hmmm, I see many, many more cars than motorcycles on the road.
Sounds like living is risky business.
It is. But the government can't protect everyone from everything all the time, despite their sorry efforts to do so.
I'm not minimizing the risk.
I saw the aftermath of a couple of bad bike accidents one where a couple of guys leaving a bar decided to run a light as at the same time an 18 wheeler drove into the intersection.
They hit the dolly crank on the trailer doing 90 and the whole side of the trailer was one big spray pattern.
Weird thing is I felt sorry for the truck driver who was trying to do CPR on a couple of dead kids at three in the morning when he was working on a two hour milk run.
He had to carry that aroung for the rest of his life.
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FReeper Motorcycle Hooligan |
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No, I'm with you on that. I didn't think at all that you were minimizing the risk by any means. What a terrible thing.
Not really.
It is NOT the government's place to force a citizen to do ANYTHING that is in their own best interest. The Constitution does not give the government the power to be our nanny.
Freedom means you are free to do stupid things to yourself.
I ride. Anybody that rides without a complete set of protective gear (not just a full face helmet) is a total idiot, IMHO.
It's House Bill 1979 on the Virginia General Assembly web site, I believe.
I can't believe they are going to turn their backs on red light cameras....bless their conservative hearts.
And IMO helmet laws are un American.
And when we go down that slippery slope where do we stop? Cigarettes,liquor and fast cars are unsafe for you.Lets outlaw them for your safety of course. Fast food is bad for you, so lets shut down those. Guns? Are you nuts? Guns kill, lets outlaw those. The list of potential things bad for you go on and on. Illegal immigrants,indigents and underinsured people present a threat to your taxdollars as far as a burden to hospitals. Where do we stop?
Fear not, Red light runners who do not obey the laws of the road are bound to obey the laws of physics. Motorcycle drivers more than others.
Get the gun anyways. : )
Oh. I thought it might be, but I wasn't sure. :-)
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