To: sliner@tallahassee.com. Cc: Bcc: Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 3:55 pm Also sent as letter to the editor(This paragraph edited out by the Democrat)
"We can debate freedom forever, and I'll be for you or against you on any given day based on how I perceive the cost of that freedom." Apparently our forefathers and many after them thought freedom was worth dying for.
(Democrat picks up letter here) To be fair any story about motorcycle helmets should also mention that approx. 70% (depending on which of the numerous studies you refer to) of motorcyclists fatalities are cause by the "other vehicle operator". Primarily by violation of right of way and/or driver distraction. Studies also show that persons who use cell phones while driving (hands free included) are 4x's more likely to be engaged in an accident. In fact it is comparable to Driving While Under the Influence:
http://www.motorcyclists-against-dumb-drivers.com/cell-phones-and-dui-drunk-driving.html
Call a few cell phone companies and ask how they feel about banning cell phones while driving.
I've been riding for many years and wear a helmet. That is little comfort knowing that I can be taken out at any moment by a driver in an SUV on a cell phone. As most MC fatalities are the result of blunt force trauma or "bleeding out" my helmet is only protecting me in certain circumstances. Until we stop focusing on band aid approaches that address the result of a crash and start focusing on the cause (I know you have heard "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure") of the crash we will make little headway in reducing the carnage that is occurring on our highways. You could get immediate results by banning all cell phone use while operating a motor vehicle and enforcing (better yet increasing) the penalties on the books for accidents resulting in a fatality (are you aware it is cheaper to kill a motorcyclist in Florida by using your vehicle than it is to hire a hit man).
But then I suppose the cell phone users would yell about their Freedoms being violated. However there is no constitutional provision that confers a license to kill along with the granting of a drivers license. I do have the constitutional right to use the public highways without becoming a target. (Democrat edits out) So I ask you, what price Freedom?
rc
