NC Troopers to crack down on speeding motorcycles
March 30th, 2007
No, I am not out on some vendetta against Steve! 
It just seems like the two of us sometimes see things in a different light, and I will provide a different viewpoint of the same news. Steve’s blog entry caught my attention, since I live in North Carolina, and the headlines of his blog and his commentary sounded like it could be discrimination against bikers. The actual news story can be read here.
What the article refers to is statements from N.C. Highway Patrol 1st Sgt. Keith Stone, after three bikers were killed in two days and another biker was involved in a high speed chase, with speeds up to 140 mph. Steve says:
Here we go again with another case of government claiming to be so concerned for our safety, that they have to give chase to us and apprehend us. If state and local governments could put so much effort into pursuing violent crimes as they do in pusuing traffic violations, we’d have an even safer country.
If someone wants to kill themselves on a bike, let them. If someone wants to molest a little girl, go get them!
Now let’s look at the story behind this. Three bikers lost their lives. Two of these motorcycle riders did not have the required motorcycle endorsement on their drivers license. Motorcycle endorsements are the states way to try to assure that at least a minimum amount of skill and knowledge is possessed by those who choose to ride. This skill and knowledge could well have prevented the senseless loss of life in these two bikers’ situation! And to top it off, the statistics compiled on biker accidents and deaths do not care if the rider was totally new to motorcycles or even if they had the minimum skills. So, for laws to be passed based on these statistics means that people who break the law about having proper endorsements will eventually put unnecessary burden on the majority of us bikers who do have the skill and credentials to ride.
The other part of the story tells of a high speed chase at 140 mph. Do I need to say that at 140 mph, even a lighter motorcycle is a deadly bullet if the rider hits someone? So it is not a matter of “If someone wants to kill themselves on a bike, let them”. Someone riding like that is threatening everyone on the road!
I have seen my share of discrimination against the biker, and more than my share of police harassment just because I choose to ride motorcycle. But this story does not give rise to either thought.
Entry Filed under: Motorcycle Safety
3 Comments Add your own
1. Steve Johnson | April 6th, 2007 at 1:07 am
Motorcycle endorsements are already required by law. The fact that these two bikers did not have endorsements goes to show that this requirement has no effect. I’ll bet you’ll find that about 50% of people riding a motorcycle doesn’t possess an endorsement. And about 99% of the time, these people don’t have accidents.
The guy riding 140mph crashed his bike because he was being chased. Had he not been chased, he might have not crashed. Had he been left alone originally, he’d probably gotten to his destination safely.
We already have laws against speeding, and we already have cops ticketing people for speeding. Yet, we still have speeders. I think that proves that speed limits don’t work.
Cops ought to spend their time going after bigger fish.
2. Rodney | April 6th, 2007 at 10:05 am
I do not dispute that there are far more serious crimes out there demanding our police to take action. However, I do not agree that just because people still break traffic laws means that the laws do not work.
I have never found any kind of data on how many people are riding motorcycle in states that require a specific endorsement without having that endorsement, but personal experience (I work at a pretty large plant with over 50 motorcycle riders among the employees) tends to point at a much smaller number of bikers without required endorsements. And, I continue to hold that that endorsement is one way to ensure people who ride have at least the rudimentary knowledge and skills to ride. Thus, they would be at least less likely to be involved in a fatal motorcycle accident than one without those skills.
Perhaps, as I read somewhere, we should be holding the motorcycle dealers more responsible for people riding without required endorsements. A car dealer will not let someone buy or test drive a vehicle without a valid drivers license. So why do motorcycle dealers sell their bikes without validating that the potential buyer has the required endorsement?
The guy going 140 mph was already breaking the law when the first attempt was made to stop him. He chose to run and endanger other peoples lives, not the police that were involved. Saying speed laws do not work does not justify excusing that choice.
3. Steve Johnson | April 6th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Just to keep in context with the original article I cited, NC cops planned to increase their patrols of motorcycles because of a “perceived” problem with motorcycle riders.
I don’t agree there is a problem. Certainly they are witnessing motorcycle riders travelling at excessive speeds, but in context with the greater traffic picture, there are far more cars speeding.
But furthermore, a person caught speeding at 100mph doesn’t mean that this person is ALWAYS riding at 100mph. He just happened to be going that speed while the cops were watching him. I believe that rider slows it way down in most of his riding time. I mean, I’ve been known to ride 100+mph too, and I’ve yet to crash. I’m sure you have taken your bike to excessive speeds also, and you’ve always made it through. But should the day come when you lose control of that bike, all the newspapers are going to paint you as another “idiot biker” without giving you any credit for the 99% of the time you rode safely.
Also, EVERY RIDER crashes a motorcycle at some point. When it happens to you, I won’t point my finger at you because I know you’re human and you’re prone to errors. I believe that is the case, most of the time. I don’t think our nation has a growing problem of “out of control” motorcycle riders. You may perceive that there is one, but that’s only because the mainstream media is hyping up each and every motorcycle incident.
As for deputizing our nation’s motorcycle dealers to become our new law enforcement, I disagree. It’s perfectly lawful to purchase a bike without a license, because you don’t need a license to OWN a motorcycle.
I’ll maintain again, that endorsement requirements don’t save any lives. Certainly the MSF course will help you become a better rider. But don’t equate mandatory endorsements with safe riding. Safety is something you practice at all times. Even if you have an endorsement, you can still be an unsafe rider.
Oh by the way, I blogrolled you.
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