http://www.sun-sentinel.com/citylink/upfront/sfl-auto-erotica-its-still-time-to-ban-the-motorcycle-20110627,0,2043379.storyNote # 5 on the list... I guess I made him say that because I sent him a nasty email and in it I discussed obesity and how it kills people. And I said "Now Hugh, I've seen a photo of you, and lets face it, you're a fatty pants."
Hahahaha, well, he is right about expressing his opinions, but they are very narrow-minded.
Here's the original article in case you missed it.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/citylink/sfl-auto-erotica-its-time-to-ban-the-motorcycle-20110613,0,4414821.storyAnd my first email (in case you missed it):
If you're SOOO interested in keeping people out of hospitals/keeping them from dying, why don't you do an article about why pools should be banned, or lakes, or ponds. More people per 10,000 (10k because you used that in your article...) die from drowning than riding motorcycles per year.
Why don't we ban Jeeps without doors? If a guy isn't wearing his seat belt, he'll just fly on out and die. Knives? Sharks? Spiders? Guns? Old age? All of those things kill people.
Why don't we ban oversized portable radio/ac units? That would solve most of the deaths on motorcycles. (By the way, Water vapor is a bigger polluter than NO4... And motorcycles produce less than 1/2 of the CO and CO2 of a sedan. Oh my, you're dumber than Al Gore.)
Why don't we ban obesity? (Now Hugh, I've seen a photo of you, and lets face it, you're a fatty pants.)
If you were really trying to write an article about a large killer in a country, you should have done obesity. OH WAIT, then you'd be a hypocrite.
Your next article should be about old age. That's what the majority of people die from.
Sincerely,
Someone who can actually reason.
He replied: My follow-up column:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/citylink/upfront/sfl-auto-erotica-its-still-time-to-ban-the-motorcycle-20110627,0,2043379.storyMy reply:
You do realize that your new article is weaker than your first, right?
This is sad, I'm 17 and a Sophomore in college and I can write an article better than you can, and it's simply because I'm open minded and I can drill holes through your arguments. I hope you realize that NO ONE is going to take your side on this simply because your "defense" for everything is "No," yet you have absolutely no backing evidence for saying "no."
I like how you say your original article was "flawless," if it was, then motorcyclists wouldn't be able to argue your false truths.
I also like how you only went to Sturgis. Go to the next Concours Owners Group (COG) rally. I can guarantee that your view would change on motorcyclists. Don't look at Cruiser types for statistics and go to Sturgis, that's one of the biggest and worst rally on the face of the earth if you meet the wrong people and a horrible place for statistics.
60% of crashes caused by cars/trucks. Sure, the percentage went down by 25%, but cars and trucks are STILL CAUSING OVER HALF OF MOTORCYCLE FATALITIES. Not to mention how many distracted drivers are killing each other. (I did a speech for a class last month over cars vs. motorcycles by the way. Only 1 closed minded person in the room disagreed with me, and they were much like you.) And HOW MANY cars do you think caused a crash but were not directly involved with hitting the motorcycle? Example: The cager just cut him (motorcycle rider) off and he had to weave and crashed.
Here's a couple of FACTS I used in said speech (I have cites, don't worry little "big boned" chubby buddy.)
I: Statistics
a. a. 60% of all fatal motorcycle crashes happened because of a car.
b. b.1/10 fatal crashes in the US occurred on a motorcycle.
c. c. In 2005, 4,553 riders lost their lives. 2550 of those were because of another person and was not their own fault.
d. d. Nearly 50% of crashes in which the rider died happened at intersections, 40% people died at intersections alone because of a car turning left in front of incoming traffic.
II: People affected:
a. a.Everyone who knows the rider is affected
b. b. I personally knew a couple of guys that were hit (by a suburban left of center, distracted) and one of them was killed, the other shaken up and had broken legs.
III: How to try and stop running us over (Understanding why we do some of the things we do.)
a.Why we don’t ride in the center of OUR lane: oil spots, pot holes, maintaining our lane.
b. “I never saw him coming” because people driving cars are LOOKING for cars/truck, not motorcycles.
c. Why we move within OUR lane: pot holes, debris, oil slicks, water, etc. We have 2 tires, you have 4.
d. Because a motorcycle is smaller than a car, it appears to move faster than cars do. Don’t assume that ever motorcycle you see is a speed demon, because 90% of the time, you probably don’t see us anyway.
e. Most riders slow down by initially rolling off the throttle and/or downshifting. This doesn’t make the brake light turn on. Cars need to realize that.
f. Motorcycle signals are not self-canceling, so chill out if our sifnal is still going, I see cars doing it all the time and those signal CANCEL themselves.
g. Stopping distance is shorter under IDEAL conditions, but in rain stopping distance is much longer than a car..
h. Predict a motorcycle is closer than it looks.
i. Car drivers are looking for things their size. Not the size of a person.
j. Think of a motorcycle as a person. Not an object.
IV: closing
Final points: If car and truck drivers learn to look for motorcyclists, they will help save over 2,500 lives a year. Over half of the crashes involving a motorcyclist who dies occur with a car.
Closing statement:
I have friends who have died because of careless drivers, I’ve been pulled out in front of a number of time by careless drivers, I had a guy try and share my lane at 70 miles an hour on a two lane highway because I moved to miss a dead squirrel, I have had semi-trucks in my lane around a corner on a two lane road, I’ve been run off the road by people on their phones, I’ve had countless numbers of people cut me off pulling out of driveways, restaurants, intersecting roads, even in parking lots. I’ve even not been able to go out with someone just because I ride motorcycles and their parents automatically assume I’m some speed demon out steal their daughter. I’m sick of it; we are regular people with the same rights as anyone else.
Cites:
Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) Handbook
AMA Motorcycle Safety Resource Guide
Cycle World Magazine and Cycleworld.com
And my own experience.
You said we need to do something with the air. In my last email I specifically stated that motorcycles get great gas mileage and are way easier on the environment than a car (sedan). They cost less, are cheaper to run, use less gas, give off less emissions, take up less room on the road and riders are not distracted and much less likely to be drunk while riding.
The ONLY thing a can agree with you on is the gear part, it should be required, but that would be intruding on person's personal choices. Oh wait, that means I don't agree.
Motorcycles are not dangerous, crashing is. And cars are THE LEADING cause of motorcycle crashes (You even said that, not directly, but you gave the statistic saying so).
Sincerely,
Someone who isn't a tool.
P.S. All you have proven with your 2 write ups are these 2 things:
1: You cannot make any points and successfully back them up, you see yourself as a higher being.
2: You are very closed-minded.
