[seruzawa]

"We credit much of this success to increased law enforcement and passage of key anti-drunk driving laws across the country," said Lynne Goughler, vice president of advocacy group, Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

In a press release today Drunks Against Mad Mothers (DAMM), a group that opposes MADD, says that MADD's claims are unscientific, unproven by any facts and just plain silly. "We intend to publish our own studies which prove the ineffectiveness of the .08 legal limit as soon as happy hour is over and we can find the car keys that were last seen in Joe's hands when he was stuffing dollar bills in Tiffany's bra." announced DAMM's Hollywood Chapter President, Nick Nolte.

 

[4940]

Leave it to government spin artists to make an insignificant statistical variation look like a trend that supports the need for even more bureaucratic meddling, and futher legislative actions. VWW

 

[seruzawa]

I'll drink to that!

 

[seruzawa]

Seriously

Higher gas prices leading to less driving over the past few months might have more to do with it than some mystical penumbra cast by magic spells... er, I mean legislation?

Ya think?

 

[bigjames]

In another life I was a statistical programmer for GEICO. The only number that really tells you anything is incidents (accidents, deaths, whatever) per X miles driven. All the other numbers are just fluff. However, you also have to tie the numbers to the cause of the accidents. The alleged 12% increase in motorcycle fatalities and (I assume) the increase in motorcycle injuries also include things like the death caused by the jerk from South Dakota (where many of you MOrons went anyway this month), the idiot who caused my crash in January and left the scene and the many folks who keep getting away with killing us. Would like to see how the motorcycle fatalities/injuries were broken down by cause. Unfortunatly many cops will put down speed as a reason for a crash, no matter what on many cases so the numbers are automatically squewed against us. (Car idiot left turns bike, but bike appeared to be going too fast for conditions on a bright dry day, you know the drill). Raw numbers are just about the worst thing you can use for these stats, but that is what is published as they are so damned dramatic to the media and safety whiners...Never forget, the other name for statistics is lies.

 

[4940]

Re: Seriously

According to the government numbers (we know they must be correct) miles traveled were up. The cost of gas however may have caused drivers to be lighter on the throttle, which resulted in fewer deaths, either that or maybe it was sunspots. VWW

 

[39220]

Couldn't agree more. Statistics are just something to manipulate to "prove" one side of an argument.



We don't need Gun Control we need Statistics Control.

 

[33129]

If you rode among the a$$holes I put up with on my local roads you would conclude that there aren't enough deaths on the highways. Darwin can be too slow in removing the excess stupidity from the earth.

 

[seruzawa]

Impossible.

Miles can't be up. Higher fuel prices automatically translate into lower miles travelled. It is gospel truth as divinely received by algore and the Sierra Club.

How does the govt figure miles driven anyhow? Do they have secret transponders installed in all cars and monitored by black helicopters?

I shouldn't joke. Oregon is actually considering a law that would require all cars to be fitted with such a monitoring device so that all owners can be taxed each year for miles driven in addition to all the current taxes.

 

[1747]

excellent use of the word "squewed" i will try to use it someplace...

 

[sarnali]

Re: Seriously

The higher gas prices made more people park their Suburbans and F350's and start driving the Corolla or Accord again.

Having more drivers in vehicales that stop and handle like cars instead of logging trucks allowed them to avoid accidents instead of bulldozing their way into what-ever was in front of them.

When gas hit $2.75 a gallon here I was laughing my ass off at the sad sacks and their $100.00 weekly fill-ups. They're the same people looking down their noses at me filling up my bike on rainy winter days.

I seem to have alot of unresolved anger........better drink some more beer.

 

[sarnali]

Well a little chlorine in the gene-pool wouldn't hurt

 

[Haird]

I'd like to see some serious research into why this figure is goig up as well. I suspect it has somethign to do with the growing number of bikes, but an article in last month's Motorcycle Consumer News suggested that the increase in the number of SUVs v. cars is leading to increased fatality rates in pedestrian, bike and motorcycle collisions depsite overall declines in the number of crashes. I also suspect that a lot of inexperienced riders are getting killed on bikes that are way too powerful for them to handle. A high-school age friend of one of my nephews died a few weeks ago on a new GSX-R600. First bike. First week of ownership. No training to speak of. High-sided into a tree. Perhaps mandatory training and stepped licenses aren't such a bad idea afterall.

 

[4940]

Squewed. Definition: an S shaped line of people trying to reach the next available teller at the bank. VWW

 

[Yamahanian]

Re: You Meant Divinely Transmitted!

Al Gore and Sierra Club members are clearly not divine.

 

[4940]

Not that I support the government mandating anything, but putting an untrained teenager on a bike like that ought to be cause for having the parent's horse whipped. I ofted wonder why people feel that a little 600 is a good beginer's bike, when it's faster than formula race bikes were when I was a teenager myself. VWW

 

[seruzawa]

Old Fart

You're an old fogey now. 10-15 HP may have been enough for a beginner in 1965 but today they call 70 HP bikes like the SV650 "beginner's bikes".

A recently talked a 35 year old friend of mine, who hadn't ridden in 15 years, into picking up a used GS500E to refamiliarize himself... and doing a safety training course also. At first he sat on my GSX1100G and said "I can handle this". Right. A beginner on a 600 lb 100 HP bike. Sure. Anyhow I convinced him to pick up a nice yellow GS500. Nice bike. I'd like to own one myself.

 

[23063]

We had an unusual number of bike fatalities here in Sacto in July - 4 deaths. All were related to high speed and stunts. But, all were also related to young or identifiably new riders (a 46 Yr old HD rider - 2 months on his first bike). From my window at night I occasionally hear bikes ripping down the street at redline.



If we don't start taking this seriously the government will take care of it for us.

 

[longride]

Unfortunately, you are correct. The Gov is determined to save us from ourselves, and the worst part is most people really want them to.

 

[longride]

Easy use Johnny. Bar B Squewed!