For those who haven't read it (i.e., non-dweebs), I've listed below the recommendations in the Plan and added a few comments, too. It was based on the National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety, a produced jointly by MSF and NHTSA outlining a national strategy for improving riding safety. This Plan takes the Agenda to the next step by proposing specific programs.
IMPROVEMENTS IN RIDER AND MOTORIST BEHAVIORS
Areas addressed are training techniques (what to teach and how to teach it), impaired riding, helmet use, attitude and its effect on riding, and cager awareness of motorcycles. A number of programs are proposed, including:
Define "best practices" for training and licensing.
Identify techniques for deterring impaired riding.
Help cops catch drunk riders.
Distribute helmet propaganda. Im all for helmet use, but I dont like dishonest arguments in their favor. For example, quite a few riders have been convinced by current propaganda that helmets are a "silver bullet" lifesaver when NHTSA itself claims only about 30% effectiveness in saving lives.
Find out why some riders are idiots.
Ask cagers to please not run over motorcyclists. "Awareness" programs like this are notoriously ineffective. Witness cell phone use and red-light running, for example. I say, if youre the one aiming a lethal weapon, be it a TEC-9 or a Ford Excursion, youre responsible for what ensues.
VEHICULAR OPERATIONAL SAFETY
Basically a study of the effectiveness of anti-lock and linked brakes.
CRASH AND INJURY DATA AND ANALYSIS
The Agenda recommended a new Hurt Study. This Plan recommends merely mining existing crash databases, omitting the crucial exposure data collection that enabled Hurt to draw important conclusions. To understand why exposure data is important, consider the question of fatalities among older riders that has been in the news recently. Knowing how many more riders from, say, 40 to 50 were killed in 1999 than in 1997 is utterly meaningless unless we know how many 40-to-50-year-old riders there were in each year.
ROADWAY INFRASTRUCTURE SAFETY
Proposes to study how roadways might contribute to motorcycle crashes and how they can be improved.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM
Instruct potential on-scene caregivers how best to scrape up the pieces.
IMPROVEMENTS IN RIDER AND MOTORIST BEHAVIORS
Areas addressed are training techniques (what to teach and how to teach it), impaired riding, helmet use, attitude and its effect on riding, and cager awareness of motorcycles. A number of programs are proposed, including:
Define "best practices" for training and licensing.
Identify techniques for deterring impaired riding.
Help cops catch drunk riders.
Distribute helmet propaganda. Im all for helmet use, but I dont like dishonest arguments in their favor. For example, quite a few riders have been convinced by current propaganda that helmets are a "silver bullet" lifesaver when NHTSA itself claims only about 30% effectiveness in saving lives.
Find out why some riders are idiots.
Ask cagers to please not run over motorcyclists. "Awareness" programs like this are notoriously ineffective. Witness cell phone use and red-light running, for example. I say, if youre the one aiming a lethal weapon, be it a TEC-9 or a Ford Excursion, youre responsible for what ensues.
VEHICULAR OPERATIONAL SAFETY
Basically a study of the effectiveness of anti-lock and linked brakes.
CRASH AND INJURY DATA AND ANALYSIS
The Agenda recommended a new Hurt Study. This Plan recommends merely mining existing crash databases, omitting the crucial exposure data collection that enabled Hurt to draw important conclusions. To understand why exposure data is important, consider the question of fatalities among older riders that has been in the news recently. Knowing how many more riders from, say, 40 to 50 were killed in 1999 than in 1997 is utterly meaningless unless we know how many 40-to-50-year-old riders there were in each year.
ROADWAY INFRASTRUCTURE SAFETY
Proposes to study how roadways might contribute to motorcycle crashes and how they can be improved.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM
Instruct potential on-scene caregivers how best to scrape up the pieces.
