Call me biased, but I’m not a fan of motorcycles. I feel this way because:
1. Helmet laws either don’t exist or aren’t enforced. As a car owner, I’m legally obligated to where a safety belt. If I don’t, I’m breaking the law and I can expect a ticket. Yet in Colorado (and many other states), motorcycle helmet laws either aren’t enforced or don’t exist. That strikes me as unfair and idiotic.
I’d also point out out that not wearing a helmet is a sure-fire way to get seriously hurt on a bike.
2. Motorcylces are easier to drive recklessly. I’m not saying that all bikers are reckless, I’m saying that it’s far too easy for a motorcycle rider to drive like a maniac. It’s hard to drive a car as fast or as dangerously as a motorcycle.
3. Motorcycle riders are more likely to get hurt. As the infographic below shows, it’s not even comparable. If you ride a motorcycle, you’re putting your life and well-being at risk. This hurts all of us because:
- Like it or not, all Americans are now on the hook for all of our healthcare costs. Allowing people to risk injury increases our costs collectively.
- It seems to me that younger people are more likely to ride a motorcycle, which in turn means that if/when these people are hurt or killed, we lose a productive member of society who has yet to hit his or her prime. This has a pretty severe economic impact in aggregate.
Infographic authored by Sutliff & Stout. To view the original post, click here.
Am I a stick in the mud? A hater? Too conservative? Perhaps. But, as my father often says, “if motorcycles were invented today, the wouldn’t be street legal.”
If it wasn’t for the fact that motorcycles weren’t “grandfathered in,” they wouldn’t be allowed. I think that’s good enough to kick them off the road. How about you?
