The 9/11 pics you didn't see in the (online)Tallahassee Democrat

Where were all the dignitary's that caught the limelight when we rode last year???

NUFF SAID..........................Add to Technorati Favorites

A couple Thoughts on the two preceeding posts

1. As posted on B&R's Forum: Three major safety organizations come out on the same day with "Helmet" recommendations. Newspapers are already picking it up and publishing it.

All of whom no doubt have received numerous letters from those on this forum and MR activists around the country.

We have inundated these people with the "scientific facts and figures". We have offered them the facts as to what would really work to reduce motorcycle fatalities.

We have typed our fingers to the bone. We have "talked" our lips numb to legislators. We have showed up on capital steps.

They are not listening as relates to helmets.
They are not listening as relates to Cell Phones.
They are not listening as relates to meaningful stiffer penalties.

In short, they are not listening. We are as mosquito's buzzing in their ear and they own the patent to the mosquito repellant.

When will we learn?

Jack Cafferty joked the other night on CNN maybe what we need is another American Revolution referencing the "Broken" government.

Somewhere it was told to me that the definition of insanity is to "keep doing what you have always done expecting different results"

Because the reality is: "If you keep doing what you have always done you will keep getting what you have always got" rc

2. IT IS TIME THAT SPORT BIKERS and whatever the hell else ya wanna call the other bike "BIKERS" to UNITE. We do have a common cause. See Rustys post here on the possibility of governments intention to "ban all motorcycles". This is not a new thought, Tucker Carlson mentioned it once on his show on MSNBC. I have written him asking him to come out of the closet and elaborate, alas to date I have not heard back. Maybe if everybody wrote, heres his address Tucker@msnbc.comAdd to Technorati Favorites

Sport Bikers beware, YOU are next-------

Consider the following and I hope everyone can recognize that sportbikers and other bike riders have to UNITE in the common cause of keeping the government of our backs:

'Supersport' motorcyclists have highest death rate Updated Tue. Sep. 11 2007 12:10 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff
Drivers who use high-performance racing motorcycles are being killed at a rate nearly four times higher than those who navigate all other types of bikes, finds a U.S. study.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which conducted the research, also found that the popular "supersport" motorcycles had the worst overall insurance losses.

"Supersport motorcycles are indeed nimble and quick, but they also can be deadly," Anne McCartt, senior vice-president for research at IIHS, said in a press release. "These bikes made up less than 10 per cent of registered motorcycles in 2005 but accounted for over 25 per cent of rider deaths. Their insurance losses were elevated, too."

The bikes are built on racing platforms and then modified for the highway before being sold to consumers. They boast a light weight, powerful engine and are meant to be all about speed. IIHS says the bike is especially popular among riders younger than 30. In the U.S., motorcyclist fatalities have more than doubled in the last decade, reaching 4,810 in 2006. The figure accounts for 11 per cent of total highway fatalities.

Here's a breakdown of deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles in 2005:

Supersport drivers: 22.5 per 10,000 Sport and unclad sport bikes: 10.7 per 10,000 Cruisers and standard motorcycles: 5.7 per 10,000 Touring motorcycles: 6.5 per 10,000 Other/unknown: 4.3 per 10,000 Total: 7.5 per 10,000

Between 2000 and 2005, overall motorcycle driver deaths rose 59 per cent in the U.S. Meanwhile, the overall death rate climbed to 7.5 driver deaths per 10,000 from 7.1.

Only 51 per cent of drivers wear helmets certified by the U.S. Department of Transportation, compared to 71 per cent in 2000.

Motorcycle popularity: As motorcyclist deaths rise, so does the popularity of the vehicles. Between 2000 and 2005, total registrations in the U.S. climbed by 51 per cent. In the supersport category, registrations were up 83 per cent during the same time period.

Still, cruisers and standard motorcycles made up the bulk of registrations.

The IIHS found speeding and driver error to be the biggest factors in fatal crashes of supersport and sport and unclad sport bikes. Speed was cited in 57 per cent of supersport fatal crashes in 2005. It was cited in 46 per cent of fatal sport and unclad sport motorcycle crashes.

"Supersport motorcycles have such elevated crash death rates and insurance losses because many people ride them as if they were on a racetrack," said McCartt. "Motorcyclists presumably buy supersports and sport bikes because they want to go fast, and manufacturers are happy to oblige." McCartt suggests capping the speed of the street-legal racing machines at the factory as a way to reduce their risk.

The supersport bikes also have the highest overall collision coverage losses among 2002 to 2006 model bikes. The figure is almost four times higher than touring motorcycles and six times higher than cruisers.

The bikes are also popular targets among thieves, stolen at a rate seven times higher than the average for all 2002 to 2006 motorcycles.

"These bikes own the field when it comes to elevated death rates and collision losses. They also hold the distinction of being the most frequently stolen motorcycle," says Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president at the Highway Loss Data Institute. "We found a strong correlation between motorcycle class and insurance losses, with supersports showing up time and again as having far higher losses than other types of motorcycles."Add to Technorati Favorites

NTSB speaks and we will suffer

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) came out with their recommendations yesterday for reducing MC fatalities. You got it. Helmets.

Now listen up Florida riders (and elsewhere) the NTSB is the governments "Big Gun", they have been called in to do what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been unable to do. In short, restrict our rights. If you are a recreational "BIKER" (I use the term loosely) you will not care. Following is what is hitting the blogs, mailing lists, forums and papers.

From Biker Republic:
NTSB PRESS RELEASE
************************************************************

National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 11, 2007

SB-07-44


************************************************************

NTSB RECOMMENDS LEGLISLATION TO MANDATE ALL MOTORCYCLISTS
USE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FMVSS 218-COMPLIANT HELMETS

************************************************************

Full copies of the recommendation letters will be available
in a few days on the NTSB website, www.ntsb.gov.
NTSB Media Contact: Terry N. Williams
(202) 314-6100
williat@ntsb.gov
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From B&R's Forum
Panel Urges Mandatory Motorcycle Helmets
By KEN THOMAS The Associated Press Tuesday, September 11, 2007; 2:25 PM

WASHINGTON -- States should require motorcycle riders to wear proper helmets, government investigators urged Tuesday as part of several recommendations that seek to stem a steady rise in motorcycle deaths.

Members of the National Transportation Safety Board unanimously approved the motorcycle safety recommendations, wading into a contentious issue that has pitted motorcycle rights' groups against safety organizations in many states.

"The simple act of donning that helmet can begin the process of preventing that type of fatality and serious injury," said NTSB chairman Mark V. Rosenker.
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Bruces Letter to the NTSB

madd rays letter to the NTSB
motorcyclist against Dumb Drivers (Madd Rays Site)

Girl Geek Reports Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety come out in favor of NTSB
recommendations. Girl Geeks site

Bruce reports Insurance Institute for Highway Safety supports NTSB recommendations

Now ask yourself a question??? What are the odds that the NTSB, Advocates fo Highway and Auto Safety and The Insurance Institute for Highway safety would come out with the same recommendation on the same day. How fortuitous that they chose 9-11 to do it on. rc...ride free
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