NHTSA 2005 Traffic Safety Facts - Final Edition is out and can be found as a pdf file on the link below. It is only 222 pages long and will take some dissecting. The primary thing to remember with NHTSA however is that their data is usually notoriously skewed and flawed. One reason (however not the only one) is their insistence on relying on Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) which by their own admission is under reported. I believe I read or heard somewhere that if one part of a theory can be proven wrong then the theory can not be construed as fact. That does not mean however that we should not familiarize our selves with the info as to be forewarned is to be fore armed. Happy reading. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSFAnn/TSF2005.pdf There are two threads currently running on Bruce and Rays website that are heating up. Montana is attempting to pass a helmet law. So an e-mail campaign is ongoing to flood them with our contention that it should be rider choice. That although helmets can be beneficial in some instances. The lack of a helmet is not what kills the motorcyclist. Most often it is the cager that violates the biker row and nails us. It would seem common sense would dictate that keeping Soccer mom in the SUV on the cell phone from running over our butts is going to save lives as, and it should go without saying, the helmet cannot protect you from the numerous other types of fatal body trauma that can and most often will occur when your body kisses a heap of metal. Mom always said an "ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure ' (tryin to think though if she said that before or after she asked, "is there any beer left"). Maybe if some of these "negligent homicide perpetrators " (cause thats what it really is, negligence. Ain't no accident. Yeah officer I was accidentally trying to dial a number and find a song on the CD when I accidentally didn't see that motorcycle that I just accidentally ran over). It's negligence, or ignorance. Hey if the shoe fits.
Then of course we got this little gig going on where the state wants to play mama and tell growed adults they don't know whats good for them so the state needs to tell you how to live. Now I know Montana is a long ways away and some folk may be thinkin why should I worry about Montana. Well I think the last I checked, Montana was not a foreign country, yet (OK, so they got snow). They still be a part of AMERICA, you know, land of the free and home of the brave. And if we here in Florida was to get attacked by Grenada (now that Reagan is gone) we just might like some of them Montana boy's to come down and help us. So we need to help em out when we can. Just like we should help California (Hmmm let me think on that. Actually they don't need us they got " Quig"). So if you got like a whole minute. Head over to Bruce and Rays get the address and fire off an e-mail.
Then while your there. Check out the postings on the American Motorcycle Association. There new director seems to be a stand up dude. Which prob means he ain't gonna last long considering it would appear (notice I said appear) that insurance companies have a pretty firm lock on the organization (I'm thinking that has been suspicioned for awhile anyway.) Then take some time to check out how our other national motorcyle rights watch dogs be "keepin" an eye on things. Meanwhile while all these bureaucracies (our and theirs ) be studying each other, your and mine brothers and sisters are getting killed and the body bag folk are getting rich. Oh yeah did I mention NCOM, nah, I didn't.
And then, and thennnnn (where are you when we need you Arlo) read up on Madd Rays little missive re: "Quig". Ya see folk, this ain't about helmets. It's about life and death. Yours, mine, our kids, our friends. And ya know what? If we don't get off our ass we are going to lose..........
(Daddy, what were you doing when the government made all these laws that killed America?) rc
