It is extremely unfortunate for the approximately 77,000 registered motorcyclists in Mississippi that fully 67 percent of motorcycle-related deaths incurred in the United States are caused by motor vehicle drivers who violate the right-of-way of the motorcyclist.
Thus, saying, “If safety is the objective, outlaw motorcycles” is the equivalent of saying, “Lower the murder rate, outlaw victims.”
This kind of mindset is one of the major causes of motorcyclist accidents — the attitude that we somehow deserve to be run over because we’re out there doing something we shouldn’t be.
Rather than putting a Band-Aid on the symptom, how about curing the problem? The Mississippi Legislature wouldn’t pass a motorcycle education and safety bill out of committee last session — a bill that, if passed, would have qualified Mississippi for a piece of $25 million in federal funds earmarked to promote motorcycle safety and awareness through the recently passed Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users.
So to you, Mr. Mathena, and to The Meridian Star, if the objective truly is safety, I strongly suggest you call your elected officials and encourage them to pass the bills that — where passed in other states — have significantly reduced the percentage of motorcycle-related accidents, so that our mothers, fathers, children and friends can make it home safely on their next ride.
Syndi Knibbe
Horn Lake
Editor’s note: Ms. Knibbe is the state safety and education officer for ABATE, American Bikers Aimed Toward Education.
Letters
April 7, 2006
Logic doesn’t pan out
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