Road Rage
Well, if you don’t have a STRONG opinion...pfft!
(Actually, I like this a lot. As a motorcyclist, these people are DEATH, and no mistake!)
Posted by heldmyw
06/20/2010 at 08:04 PM
Held, I still have my 2 wheel license and my Arai is out in the garage. I will NOT ride in NJ. Period.
Drew I feel your pain. I have held a motorcycle license for thirty plus years but I have little desire to risk my neck given the pathetic standard of driving here in Canada. I can identify with everything you have highlighted. It is truly scary how many morons are out there on the roads. Here in BC we are unable to exchange our UK driving license for a BC one and had to take a test. My wife was failed because she slowed down to a sensible speed on the freeway when it was pissing down with rain. The sort of rain where full wiper speed is not enough. Apparently according to the examiner she should have driven just as fast as all the other idiots risking their necks.....pathetic. There seems to be little if any enforcement of traffic violations here either.
Perhaps it should be a requirement that if you ride a motorcycle you carry an unconcealed weapon.
A visible large-caliber handgun, or a nice shotgun in a saddle holster could go a long way towards encouraging consideration and politeness on the streets.
Just a thought.
Posted by heldmyw
06/21/2010 at 11:44 AM
Held, many riders used to carry rocks or large ball bearings just for that reason.
A motorcycle has brake lights much smaller than those on cars and they are often located in places a non-biker may not notice. The brake lights on today’s superbikes are tiny and tucked under the back fairing. This is really stupid IMHO. And a motorcycle can usually stop in much less time than a car can. So it makes my blood boil to see bikes being tailgated. Especially by old farts in big cars and by tractor trailer trucks. In my mind this qualifies as assault with a deadly weapon, or at least the attempt of it. But the cops do nothing.
Maybe motorcycle helmets and jackets should both come with brake lights and turn signals mounted. Jack in when you mount up. Sure that seems to us like it would look idiotic, but it might save your life. And in 5 years when everyone was doing it, it would be normal.
Yeah, and all those “maintain safe following distance”, “keep right except for passing”, and “maintain speed” signs on the roads are all warnings that reflect offenses that can get you a ticket. But I’ve never seen a car get pulled over for tailgating, not even once. I would love to see the ticket stats, because I’m certain that it is a rare event.
06/20/2010 at 09:11 PM
