More ignorant grandstanding on Motorcycles
Bikers need training and respect on road, not fearmongering, writes David Booth.
I don’t know Liz Braun. Despite the fact she works for Postmedia, as do I, our paths have never crossed. She is a film critic. That’s her official title. Unofficially, I take it she’s also the company’s general curmudgeon. That is all I know about Liz Braun.
Oh, and maybe one last thing: She really doesn’t know a lot about motorcycles and the people who ride them. She suggests we all put our motorcycles in the garage and never take them out again, in what was essentially a lecture on the dangers of motorcycling that denigrates both motorcyclists and motorcycling
One assumes (hopes?) that her quoting motorcycle fatality statistics might be a public service message to warn off unsuspecting souls unaware that riding a motorcycle is dangerous.
But, here’s a tip for Braun — or anyone looking to warn bikers about the dangers of motorcycling: Our mothers beat you to it. Quite some time ago, in fact. Nothing you wrote — or could write — could match the “talk” we had when our dear mothers discovered we were hiding Cycle World under our beds or sneaking rides on cousin Bob’s Honda Z50.
We know motorcycling is dangerous, Liz. Just like boxing, no sentient being can don protective headgear and climb into the ring — or onto the saddle — without some understanding that the activity they are about to engage in might have dire consequences. We understand the risks, accept the dangers, and most importantly, welcome the responsibility. Motorcyclists relish the fact that balancing on two wheels requires more skill than driving a “cager.” It’s part of the reason we ride.
More interesting, however, is that Braun introduces her entire rant by acknowledging that motorcyclists are not at fault in many of their interactions with automobiles: “In the off-chance you hadn’t noticed, people don’t stop at red lights anymore, rarely signal lane changes ... fail to check their blind spot, tailgate, speed, drive under the influence and use their phones while operating their vehicle.”
Now — and this, as the kids say, is where it gets real — I’m pretty sure that “victim blaming” is a bad thing. In fact, from what I read in the papers, it might be a really bad thing. I am neither, as many will note, a sensitive man, nor, as even more will attest, the brightest bulb in the socket. But even I know that were you to blame victims of assault for the clothes they wore, the professions they chose or, yes, even how much alcohol they had consumed, you’d be ridden out of town on a rail. Actually, more like a razor blade. Seriously, Liz, you want us to stop our behaviour because drivers can’t behave properly? That’s really your solution?
Braun goes on to provide a few “tips” — from soon-to-be-retired Toronto Police Services’ Alex Crews — on how to ride safe. Unfortunately, they fall into the “been there, done that” category of admonishments — wear bright clothing, drive defensively, etc. — that pretty much every motorcyclist already knows.
If Braun had done just a little more homework she might have had a few more effective tips to even out her diatribe. For instance, according to the Canada Safety Council, mandatory motorcycle training can reduce rider fatalities by as much as 46 per cent. And motorcycles with anti-lock braking systems are 37 per cent less likely to be in a fatal collision than those without.
And how about a quick word on the fact alcohol has an even greater effect on motorcyclists than car drivers, and so reduces a rider’s “care and control” at comparatively minuscule blood/alcohol levels. In Ontario, for instance, 25 per cent of all motorcycle deaths — roughly twice the level compared with car drivers — had alcohol as a contributing factor. And that speed was a contributing factor in only 12 per cent of deaths.
Finally, Liz, maybe broaden your metaphor horizon a little. While the skydiving comparison you made does reinforce your thesis, why not include something even more genteel, such as horse jumping? But that won’t work because a report out of Australia by Dr. Bruce Paix concluded that horse jumping is more dangerous than motorcycle racing.
So, we’ll all be looking for your expose on the world of equestrian eventing soon.