+1 (except with the correct spelling of ridiculous [sm=icon_stickpoke.gif])

Right idea, wrong approach. Sure I want people to be more cautious on the road but that doesn't seem like a well thought out solution. Increasing age restrictions for driving like N.Y., making drivers lic. tests more difficult, and even having the tiered system for riders (like Europe) would go further to decrease injuries/fatalities imo ... besides, proving an accident was caused by "carelessness" is very difficult.

 

Kinda reminds me of the 'sanctity of marriage' legislation, at least in its probable effect on behavior. As hard as the AMA (and others) work to protect our rights, there's just too many hoodlums that ruin any positive public perception of motorcyclists (yeah, you, stunta...).

Everyone always says 'I didn't see him...' [] when they tell the cops why they moved their Excursion into the path of Joe Rocket. Stiffer penalties would just be something else waived by American rights to ignorance.

My personal favorite is one of California's DUI laws. If you're involved in a crash for your second DUI and someone dies, you will be charged with first degree murder--since you had prior knowledge of how dangerous drunk driving is from the explicit state instruction classes received after your first offense. Now that's deterrence.

 

This type of thing always raises an emotive response, The fact of the matter is that road rules are road rules, everything gets measured by the same stick. If your involved in accident be it on your bike or driving a car, then the same rules apply.
Government bodies, State, Federal, would just as easily say that riding bikes is to dangerous & should be banned outright, I know this, cos its been touted here in Oz before, this from State governments who think that the answer to the road toll is speed cameras & speed limits cut down to a walking pace (try 50 klms or 31 mph in built up areas). Yep, I see dick heads everyday on the road to, fools who ride wearing sandles,T-shirt & pair of shorts, others that think its ok to go triple the speed limit in suburbia.
Car drivers young and old, that don't look before they change lanes (either "Texting" or Myopic anyway) & many other things to numerous to list.
Its not my bike thats dangerous, (using the roads is though, woefull road surfaces, oil spills, inattentative & impatient people, drugs & booze, lack of training, god, people get taken out just walking a cross them) I'm more vulnerable to serious & lethal harm, I accept that, its the price I pay to be able to ride, & I pay it gladly.

 

This thread FTL. Bad idea, and that petition website is stupid and accomplishes absolutely nothing

 

That's all I was trying to say. We people make it dangerous for eachother. I ride my bike every single day, doesn't matter if it rains, snows, cold, hot or warm. There is a proper way of doing things and thats what the pettition for. The basic Idea to me is to make people pay attention what they are doing. I used to live in NY and now I live in Charlotte. Here people are more respectful to eachother in the traffic and I didn't have any problems. If people respect eachother enough, you can decrease the amount of accidents happening. Its of course true that you can't prevent accidents totally. But you can at least make people pay more attention. Lets discuss it and see if we are capable of producing any new ideas that can improve our community. I don't think that pettition will go through but an idea can be improved by questioning. I think its better than ignoring. Everybody knows what a bike is and what is happening to the riders. I think questioning educates people. This alone is enough for me to discuss this.

 

How about this petition.


If male: Steal a bike get your weiner chopped off.

If female: Get your tant sewed up.........O wait that probably wouldnt affect them too much. How about no credit cards!!!!!!!!!!!

 

LMAO, thats just funny

 

That's different, you're now getting into "legislating morality" territory, which most people are not a big fan of even if they support your intended objective so that alone would turn many off to the idea. And as someone already mentioned, to have one set of laws for hitting a rider and another for hitting a car using the same roads with the same set of laws is far fetched imo.