Motorcycle safety isn't just the car's obligation

The Baltimore Sun

Motorcycles have a way of grabbing one's attention and leaving vivid images behind. I've had a couple knocking around in my head recently. Image No. 1: Amid a swarm of police cars, lights flashing, the twisted remains of a Harley-Davidson are deeply embedded in the side of a Hyundai Elantra on U.S. 1 in Elkridge.

A classic case of a car pulling out in front of a motorcycle. My first thought: There's no way that anyone on the motorcycle could have survived.

This one's fresh because it happened on the first Sunday of this month. It turned out there were two people on the bike - a husband and wife - and thanks to the skills of the folks at Shock Trauma, they lived. The driver of the Elantra, apparently stolen, ran away from the scene. She was charged in a warrant with multiple offenses, including failure to yield.

Image No. 2: This one's from last year, but it hangs in there. I'm cruising down a busy state highway in Florida in a Ford Explorer when out of a side street darts a helmet-less motorcyclist directly into my path. I hit the brakes hard and veer into a turn lane. Because I'm doing the speed limit, I'm able to stop just in time. Not even acknowledging the near-miss, the biker zooms away.

These images came back as I read a recent news release from ABATE of Maryland. It concerned a public service announcement produced by the nonprofit social club urging drivers to "look for motorcycles."

It's a good ad, with tight scripting and a powerful message. The campaign was launched in memory of Marty Schultz, ABATE's executive director, who was killed in a collision with a Jeep last August.

In the ad, a voice is heard saying "I just didn't see him" - an excuse heard all too often from drivers whose inattention lets them stray across the right of way of a motorcyclist.

The announcer goes on to say: "The fact is, we all share the road, and we all have a responsibility to look out for the other guy, because that 'other guy' is someone's father, mother, brother or sister."

The ad is right on target. Those of us in bigger vehicles have an obligation to look out for the more vulnerable occupants of the road - be they motorcyclists, bicyclists or pedestrians.

Motorcycle fatalities have been on the rise for more than a decade, and the federal government projects a national total of 4,798 for last year. While ABATE's message is great, there are some problems with the messenger.

ABATE, in Maryland at least, stands for A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments. The national group's main goal over the years has been the repeal of mandatory helmet laws in states such as Maryland and keeping them off the books in states such as Florida - which has posted an 81 percent increase in motorcycle fatalities since its law was eliminated in 2000.

To me, this rather weakens ABATE's credibility as a safety advocate.

ABATE's arguments against helmet laws are largely based on the dubious premise that they violate individual rights or invade privacy. Gimme a break. Maryland has invested billions or dollars to build a public road system. So if the state decides to require users of that network to take steps to avoid spilling the contents of their skulls on public pavement, it is well within its rights. Don't like helmets? Ride on private property.

A federal court in Massachusetts said the same thing a little more elegantly in turning down a challenge to a state helmet law:

"From the moment of injury, society picks the person up off the highway; delivers him to a municipal hospital and municipal doctors; provides him with unemployment compensation if, after recovery, he cannot replace his lost job; and, if the injury causes permanent disability, may assume responsibility for his and his family's subsistence. We do not understand a state of mind that permits plaintiff to think that only he himself is concerned."

Add to that the cumulative toll of repeatedly treating the victims of grisly accidents have on the first-responders and medical personnel. Anything we can do to mitigate the stresses on them serves a public purpose.

So, if ABATE wants those of us who drive larger vehicles to look out for motorcyclists, we have a right to ask bikers to look out for themselves.

That includes putting a little distance between motorcycle groups and the tavern industry.

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation is leading the way, urging riders to avoid riding with even a drop of booze on board. The group notes that riding a motorcycle is more complex task than driving a car, citing studies showing that even a legal blood-alcohol level of 0.05 percent increases a rider's chances of a crash by about 40 times. About one-third of motorcycle fatalities involve alcohol use by the operator.

Meanwhile, most of ABATE's Maryland chapters hold their chapter meetings in taverns, according to its Web site.

In Howard County, for instance, the chapter meetings are held at Daniels Bar & Restaurant, just up the road from the grisly accident site in Image No. 1. It's a place well-known for its open-air roadside bar, where bikers can routinely be seen fueling up well before noon.

ABATE meets there the first Wednesday night of each month. That's when drivers of larger vehicles in the area should "look for motorcycles" especially hard.

gettingthere@baltsun.com

online

To listen to ABATE's public service ad, go to www.baltimoresun.com/dresser To see a list of ABATE's chapter meeting places, go to www.abate-of-maryland.org /ChapterInformation.html

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