So I'm two days away from kicking off my month of commuting on a motorcycle, and the front page headline in the local paper is "Man dies after losing control of motorcycle." The article doesn't go into much detail about the accident. But it did mention two key mistakes. One, he wasn't wearing a helmet. It's never a safe move to go riding without one, even in states where the law allows you to ride with a helmet. And Georgia had one of the first helmet laws in the nation. While I have seen valid objections to laws requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets, there are far fewer valid reasons out there to go riding without a helmet. While I can't say with so few details whether he'd be living if he wore a helmet, that would have greatly improved his chances of survival. Particularly since the article implied this was a fairly low speed crash.
Second, the article states "Investigators do believe alchohol may have been a contributing factor." Alchohol and motorcycles aren't a good combination. I've driven my car after having a beer or two. But I wouldn't ride a motorcycle in the same condition. One reason is that alchohol affects my balance, and I don't have to keep a car upright. Riding a motorcycle also takes more concentration. So my rule is that I don't ride when there's alchohol in my system - period. There's a very interesting article on the effects of alchohol on motorcycle riding going around the Internet.
(For more about where I got that poster, check out the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's campaign against drinking and riding. They've got a whole series with various themes. Some of them are quite funny, but I though it would be too tasteless to post one of the humorous ones in response to a real death.)
Second, the article states "Investigators do believe alchohol may have been a contributing factor." Alchohol and motorcycles aren't a good combination. I've driven my car after having a beer or two. But I wouldn't ride a motorcycle in the same condition. One reason is that alchohol affects my balance, and I don't have to keep a car upright. Riding a motorcycle also takes more concentration. So my rule is that I don't ride when there's alchohol in my system - period. There's a very interesting article on the effects of alchohol on motorcycle riding going around the Internet.
(For more about where I got that poster, check out the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's campaign against drinking and riding. They've got a whole series with various themes. Some of them are quite funny, but I though it would be too tasteless to post one of the humorous ones in response to a real death.)
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