i'm in favor of helmet laws and tiered licensing. enough motorcyclists are proving their inability to protect themselves and others through good decision making, and so i find some regulated measures to be necessary to prevent them from injuring others or becoming a strain on society. extra training, basic compulsory safety gear. we have learners' permits (extra training) and seat belt laws (basic safety gear) for cars...
Helmet Laws and Tiered Licensing?
first
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It's a matter of accepting responsibility for what happens to you, whether you are the main cause or just a compounding factor - which any motorcycle rider is in the very least. The Irish, 1925 Nobel Prize winner for literature George Bernard Shaw wrote, "Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it."
We are a compounding factor in that we knowingly drive machines that have much more performance than is necessary to navigate public streets, and much less protection than is reasonable should something go amiss - and then we point the finger at someone else when we get hurt. We have chosen to be on a vehicle with low visibility and stability, and no safety mechanisms. What would have been a fender bender with two cars is a maiming accident when one of those automobiles becomes a motorycle. We chose to ride the motocycle; we are aware of the inherent risks involved; we should take it as our personal responsibility to do what we can to minimize those risks to ourselves and others. Enough motorcyclists choose not to act responsibly, and therefore to me need regulation in some form.
We are a compounding factor in that we knowingly drive machines that have much more performance than is necessary to navigate public streets, and much less protection than is reasonable should something go amiss - and then we point the finger at someone else when we get hurt. We have chosen to be on a vehicle with low visibility and stability, and no safety mechanisms. What would have been a fender bender with two cars is a maiming accident when one of those automobiles becomes a motorycle. We chose to ride the motocycle; we are aware of the inherent risks involved; we should take it as our personal responsibility to do what we can to minimize those risks to ourselves and others. Enough motorcyclists choose not to act responsibly, and therefore to me need regulation in some form.
so you're suggesting that the risk of being maimed and becoming a burdon on society is part of the juice of motorcycling? i do dig on t.s. eliot, though 
this is from an MO article about 250cc machines, that can be found on this website :
"You've got to start somewhere. And just as new pilots aren't strapping themselves into multi-engine jets, beginning riders are ill-advised to start their career with their legs wrapped around a GSX-R750 or a Gold Wing."
...but riders are being encouraged by online forums and manufacturers to do so.
"You've got to start somewhere. And just as new pilots aren't strapping themselves into multi-engine jets, beginning riders are ill-advised to start their career with their legs wrapped around a GSX-R750 or a Gold Wing."
...but riders are being encouraged by online forums and manufacturers to do so.
1 - 4 of 125 Posts
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