The news feeds are filled with nothing but death and tragedy for the motorcycle community today. Accident after accident - most of them fatal.
On the Education for the Driving Masses web site/blog you can read other sad stories about families who have been devastated by the happenings of an Easter weekend barely under way.
It is so very sad.
Our sweet Diva Lise has passed away and many of the gals from the Chrome Divas have heavy hearts right now. Tom, our love and prayers go out to you.
The only "Happy" story in the news is about Charlene "Sassy Biker" Casey as she makes headlines with her gorgeous helmets.
If you are in need of a Hotel room anywhere in Canada - don't forget to use the Go Travel Canada Service that is linked on all of the Travel Pages on www.beltdrivebetty.com
Every time you book your room through our web site not only will you get a 15% discount but you will also be responsible for contributing $5 towards helping injured riders.
Remember that One Call does it All! Don't see a hotel in the list that will serve your needs? Intergy has partnerships with all of the major hotels - they will get you the best rate -
Use the links on www.beltdrivebetty.com - save yourself some money and support injured riders by booking your hotel room through us!
PLEASE people, if you are riding today - ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you and are in fact out to get you. Stay safe and have a Happy Easter.
In France, 40,000 riders came together on the road ways of Paris to protest their government's ideas on changing a law.
This is what happened: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTi5PyWeraA
The protest event took place in Paris France on March 13th/2010 and was a reaction to the French Transport Ministry's proposed law preventing lane splitting. The riders used the protest as an opportunity to show the consequence of each rider taking up as much room as a car and not lane splitting.
Transport Secretary Jean-Marc Belotti told the protesters that if they can't follow the rules of the road and respect the "No lane splitting" law then "they can take the metro (subway) like everyone else."
Well hundreds of leather and helmet clad riders converged on the subway system (on foot), and clogged it up it as well.
This protest - this vast showing of numbers might just have worked too as Belotti has since met the FFMC and is said to now be re-considering the lane splitting decision.
The power of a united voice - maybe we Canadians could learn a lesson here?
In other news:
An Oshawa man is fighting for his life after yet another accident on that city's streets.
Student's in York are building a completely solar motorcycle...
You can win with Fytness Fanatik
Classy Chassis has some deals for you
Steve Drane's Demos are coming...
Have a fabulous day folks...
A Motorcycle Accident Study Suggests Safety Courses Don’t Reduce Crashes (US)
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has apparently found that requiring young riders to take safety courses before getting their motorcycle licenses doesn’t reduce their likelihood of crashing. In actual fact, they found just the reverse to be true. Collision claims for riders younger than 21 are 10% higher in states that require them to take training courses, compared with states that do not require such courses is what the study found.
Now isn't that something else. Teaching people does nothing or little to reduce accidents - I wonder why?
Does the training give young riders a feeling of superiority or cockiness?
The study also found that bikes with antilock brakes are 37% less likely to be involved in fatal crashes than those without them. Motorcycle models with antilocks also have 22% fewer damage claims per insured vehicle year (a “vehicle year” refers to one vehicle insured for one year).
What we are supposed to do with this knowledge is frightening to contemplate...
In the UK they found something out that is also rather scary and mind blowing...
Tyresafe cited figures from the Department for Transport from 2008 that claimed that there was a 28% increase in the number of motorcycle accidents where illegal, defective or under-inflated tyres were a contributory factor.
I don't know about you folks, but those two articles have me scratching my head...
In other news:
Alberta's annual speeders crackdown is coming to a town near you.
In Oshawa, the Hell's Angel's Club House has been torn down,
A motorcyclist in Oshawa is dead...
MRFD is gearing up to teach men about prostate cancer.
And the winners in the Blog Book Tour hosted by Adelle Laudan are:
1st for Iron Horse Rider Series in PRINT ---- Lobo!
Congratulations!!
2nd for Iron Horse Rider Series in
EBook ---- Michelle Shields
Congratulations!
If you are fortunate enough to be riding today - please ride with care and respect....
Riding season is almost upon us. I say almost because I live in Northern Alberta and here it can be time to ride one day and snowing the next...
If you are looking to make some plans our events calendars have somewhere in the neighborhood of 450 events listed not to mention the ride nights, coffee rides, breakfast rides and group meetings.
We work hard to keep the events calendars up to date and the information as clean and clear as possible. It's a lot of work and I want to thank Sally for helping us out. I am looking forward to Denise joining us as well - lord knows we need as many people as we can spreading the word that our calendars are here for them to use!
Tom Mann from Biker TV talks to Ian Gillespie about his motorcycle accident last August.
The MAC rally for Hope is on again!
The 1st CAV is hosting an inaugural run for fallen trooper Mark Wilson.
If you are fortunate enough to be riding today - PLEASE, ride like everyone around you is blind - can not see you and is out to get you and use some respect with that right hand...PLEASE.
Every morning I go through the news feeds - some days there is a vast quantity of information and others it is very skimpy pickings.
Sometimes, skimpy is good though because every now and then you come up with a piece of information you would have otherwise missed.
In today's case - that piece of information comes in the form of a newsletter that appeared on the Fuzzy Galore Blog:
If you read this newsletter's bullet points you will see that the Port Jefferson Business Improvement District thinks we bikers are unsightly and we and are motorcycles are not welcome to park on their main street. There is a growing movement in this type of banning behaviour in the US.
The gal who runs the Fuzzy Galore Blog makes some really - really good recommendations for all riders to follow:
Motorcyclists – Don’t Be Your Own Worst Enemy
- Ride proud, not loud.
- Pick up your trash, your cigarette butts, your coffee cups.
- Keep thoroughfares clear for walking.
- To be respected you have to be respectable.
Visit her Blog and tell her how you feel about this New York State Communities actions, I know she'd love to hear from you!
In other news:
A rider has died in Oshawa after a motorcycle accident. (Prayers and love to the family and friends - my heart hurts every time one of these stories appears.)
BC's Vintage Swap celebrates 25 years this year.
A survivor of the Phoenix crash of a couple of days ago speaks about his recollections and his sense of loss and survivor guilt.
There are many other worthy stories in the new today over at www.beltdrivebetty.com
If you are fortunate and you are riding today - PLEASE, ride like everyone around you is blind and can not see you and they are all out to get you! Use respect with that right hand and have a FABULOUS Monday!
