Posted on 07/03/2011 8:33:56 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
LAFAYETTE, NY (WSYR-TV) – New York State Troopers say one man is dead after a motorcycle crash near McClary Road and Route 11 in LaFayette on Saturday.
New York State Police say 55-year-old Philip Contos of Parish was part of a protest against motorcycle helmets.
Police say several motorists from the group ABATE (American Bikers Aimed for Education) of Onondaga County had come together to make a point that they didn't need their helmets.
The group was driving south on Route 11 in Lafayette around 1:30 p.m., headed toward Lake Como, just south of the Finger Lakes.
Police say Contos suddenly hit the brakes and lost control of the motorcycle.
According to troopers, Contos was thrown over his handlebars and hit the pavement as his 1993 Harley Davidson motorcycle skidded toward the guardrail.
Contos was still alive when crews arrived at the scene and was transported to Upstate University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to police, Contos was not wearing his helmet, as required by law. Witnesses say this decision was part of the protest.
Police say that based on evidence at the scene and from doctors, Contos would have survived if he had been wearing a DOT-Approved helmet.
(Excerpt) Read more at 9wsyr.com ...
I agree with you.......If I were to be found at fault for hitting a motorcyclist with my car who would normally have lived had he been wearing a helmet, I don't want "vehicular homicide" (or whatever the charge is if the guy dies) tacked on to my charge because he wasn't wearing one.....
If the legal system can figure out a way to absolve me or any other driver from any head injuries on non-helmet wearing motorcyclists involved in accidents then I say let them do what they want.......
And why? Well, they don't like toll roads.
Might sound farfetched but tollroads usually PROHIBIT motorcycles during specific hours of operation.
You can't do that on an interstate all that easily.
Noting that some tollroads are private property, I think that's behind the negatory response when it comes to the idea of building your own private road.
It's another instance of folks wanting a government subsidy yet not wishing to pay for it themselves. And you can't take that and spin it into a cry for liberty guys ~ does not compute. You want the free highways you gotta' pay the price through rules.
It happens, but’s the only real sort of accident that should happen. But that is not how many, especially those crotch rockets, tend to ride.
It’s amazing that more don’t die the way some ride.
The driver of the car checked both ways, started to proceed, after which immediately I could hear the sound of the cycle. He hit the front driver's side front panel and sailed over the hood and went under an incoming car moving in the opposite direction he was going.
Apparently he had an argument with his girlfriend and left in anger. I seem to remember that he was traveling at 70-80 MPH. The driver of the car was absolved of all blame. Terrible all the same.
Calm down, calm down.
You sound as if your the type that would be ok with Lic/Reg/Insur. checkpoints to made dawg-on sure those who operate motor vehicles are legal.
?
Idiots who pull out of blind alleys or even parking lots without looking are a menace to bikers. I’ve tried to make myself as visible as possible in potential trouble spots with fog lights and modulating headlamp, which usually warns off inattentive drivers. But I once almost T-boned a van who popped his nose out of a parking lot to get into the opposite lane, fortunately the driver heard my tires screeching and hit the accelerator just in time to give me room. They say if you lock your rear wheel in braking, don’t let it go until you’ve stopped because you might high side, but I let it go anyhow once the van had gotten out of the way. The bike fortunately just kept going straight as though nothing had happened, but brrr.
Given a choice, I’d much rather land on a pile of cement than concrete.
Most modern cars, if you’re wearing a seatbelt are designed to absorb impacts up to highway speed. A helmet will not protect your brain from bouncing around within your skull, but is not generally needed if you’re wearing your seatbelt.
I always wonder why Nanny Staters don't insist that everyone wear helmets while driving a car - Its safer dontchaknow.
And flame suits - look at all the folks who die in car fires.
I wear a helmet every time i get on my motorcycle - but its my choice and preference.
And insurance? We don't have to carry around those little blue cards in Virginia. There's no need. You fail to tell the truth to the other party in an accident he will probably get off at a jury trial ~ people understand that.
Registration can be different. It should be in the vehicle of course. Asking for it after you've committed some infraction makes sense.
Around here they occassionally have drunk stops ~ weave once or drive up on the sidewalk they will stop you.
I all cases these are still public roads. Your use is being subsidized by your friends and neighbors. They have a right to inquire ~ through the instrumentality of the state. If you don't like that build your own roads.
Plus, we have those handy headrest thingies.
I believe it. My neighbor got into a motorcycle accident on the freeway and needed 9 damn months of rehab, including a broken leg. It pisses him off that he needed crutches for 6 months going up and down an apartment building WITHOUT an elevator.
That’s not why he’s alive. He had his helmet on. Period. he told me, he rebelled against a helmet but he did wear it when the accident occurred.
That's exactly why I wear a helmet. On a motorcycle. On a bicycle. On inline skates In a kayak... But I don't think the state should make that call.
“It’s another instance of folks wanting a government subsidy yet not wishing to pay for it themselves. And you can’t take that and spin it into a cry for liberty guys ~ does not compute. You want the free highways you gotta’ pay the price through rules. “
I’m pretty sure you’ve lost the bubble somewhere. Weren’t you the guy crying for the liberty of postal delivery folk to defecate in peoples yards?
The point is not wanting a government subsidy, because government institutions inevitably institute rules that infringe on liberties.
Now, you want to equate riding a motor cycle on a public road to the right to poop, go ahead!
Make my day buddy!
“Now, you want to equate riding a motor cycle on a public road to the right to poop, go ahead!”
I am equating your previous incoherent argument with your present incoherent argument.
Buddy of mine used to say it was better than sex ~ he went on to be an assistant dean at a major university.
You can find any number of gay guys who'll try to argue that sex is just like poop.
Take your tale to a more appropriate venue. I prefer to be intolerant of college deans, and I don't hang around with gays ~ mostly because they can't shut up about what they want to do with their nether regions.
The sole topic here is appropriate behavior on public roads and the right of the owner to set standard rules for their use.
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