Here in Victoria we've had an almost 50% increase in motorcycle rider deaths this year. Interestingly enough, the main contributors to our road toll haven't been the expected 18-25 year old age group, but rather, the 50+ year old "born again biker" set.
A leading trauma surgeon has suggested that not just helmets (we've been forced to wear helmets since the late 1960's) but protective clothing (jackets, boots, gloves etc) should be made mandatory by law.
This has (in some cases) raised the hackles of some riders, and has also been rejected by our senior police officials. This morning as I was doing my weekly 200 mile drive to work and listening to AM radio, they asked for motorcyclists to call in to express their opinion.
They interviewed 5 riders including myself, and interestingly enough, we were all in the same age group, i.e., 50 and up. All but one of us agreed that protective clothing should be mandatory, my only stipulation was that riders should have a choice of what type they want to wear, for instance I wear a triumph mesh jacket in summer, it's got all the CE armour to protect me, but it's a hell of a lot more comfortable to wear in 100 deg F (+) temps that we get every summer here in Oz.
The riders were pretty representative of our age group, there were 2 Harley riders, 1 Ducati rider, 1 Kawasaki ZRX1200 rider, and myself. (interestingly enough, all big bikes) The only "dissident" in the group, one of the Harley riders, opposed the suggestion of mandatory protective clothing, argueing that if he wanted to, he should be allowed to ride nude. His point was that he paid his taxes (including mandatory personal injury insurance) so if he came to grief and was badly injured, he'd suffer the consequences alone, and no-one should be able to tell him what he can, or can't wear.
While I don't like that fact that once again, motorcyclist fatalities are the focus of the media and state government, (we already pay a special tax because we're more at risk than car drivers, for instance) I've seen the pics of people who've been horribly injured in crashes, who may well have been able to walk away with only minor injuries, if they were wearing good quality protective clothing.
I can sympathise with the Harley rider in that I don't want Victoria to become an even bigger "Nanny state" than it already is, where the government punishes the majority because of the reckless actions of a small minority, and I can't help but think that any further legislation will unfairly protect stupid people from Darwin's theory of evolution, but my underlying concern is that if the numbers of fatalities doesn't decrease, then in years to come, most of us will be legislated right out of our favorite past time. What do you guys think? Cheers, Terry.
