Motorcycle Safety Politics

Two People Dead in Nanaimo Motorcycle Crash

BY SARAH PETRESCU, TIMESCOLONIST.COM     OCTOBER 3, 2010

A Nanaimo couple is dead after their motorcycle veered off the road in a confrontation with another driver yesterday. Nanaimo RCMP were called to the crash on Nanaimo Parkway between Jinglepot Road and College Drive exits, around 3:30pm, Saturday. According to Const. Kate Mooney, the fatal incident occured as follows:

A 17-year-old Victoria boy was driving the stretch of highway in a truck going southbound. He went to switch from the right to left lane. When he saw a motorcycle in his blind spot he refrained from switching lanes and corrected his course. The 51-year-old driver of the black 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle pulled up beside the young man and was looking at him. The motorcyclist, with a 40-year-old female passenger on the back, had accelerated and was not paying attention to the road - according to Mooney. As the road curved to the right, the motorcycle continued straight and crashed to the left of the road. Both passengers on the motorcycle were taken to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital with life-threatening injuries. The man died at the hospital and the woman later died at Victoria General Hospital. Both were parents to children from previous relationships.

Mooney pointed out the deceased pair were wearing beanie motorcycle helmets at the time of the crash. She reminded the public to wear full-coverage motorcycle helmets for safety, but could not confirm whether the beanie helmets in this incident were DOT-approved or not. DOT is a safety standard by the American Department of Transport. Canada does not have a helmet safety standard certification. "It's illegal to not wear a helmet in Canada," she said. "The beanie helmets are not illegal but they clearly only cover part of the head with minimal padding and no face guard."

© The Victoria Times Colonist

Motorcycle Safety Still Taking Back Seat in BC

BY CRAIG MCINNES, THE VANCOUVER SUN     OCTOBER 4, 2010

Another motorcycle crash this weekend, another two deaths where beanie style helmets may have been a factor and still no action from the province. While BC has plowed ahead with stiffer penalties for drivers who drink or speed, as far as I can see there has been no movement to enact regulations promised last spring to finally enact an enforcible standard for motorcycle helmets. Amendments to the BC Motor Vehicle Act were passed at the same time as the well publicized changes to the penalties for drinking and speeding. But they depended on regulations which still have not been enacted.

The story on the fatal accident this weekend from the Victoria TImes Colonist refers to DOT regulations, which are just one of several standards that could be enacted. BC's regulations haven't been updated for more than 20 years and are not enforcible, which is why we are one of the only jurisdictions that I know of that require helmets but that do not specify what standard they must meet.

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Comments on these articles are as follows:

"I find it interesting that a helmet (approved or not) would make any difference to saving a motorcyclist at highway speed, or even less, for that matter. But with the great damage that would occur to the body, a helmet of any type would make no difference. People in cars still perish at highway speeds. A helmet isn't going to help. Drive smart."

 "Why do so many people think it's their job to tell another adult what they should or shouldn't do? This is a tragedy that cost two people their lives. A full-face helmet may not have saved either of them. Let people make their own decisions for themselves."

"Your helmet tirade seems to be more directed at the implied social status of the biker. You don't like his lifestyle choice so you want to regulate him out of it. If you hit a tree with your chest the helmet makes no difference. Punctured lungs and ruptured internal organs are the cause of death. This story is fishy, and I wouldn't be surprised if the kid driving didn't [cause the accident]. We will never know."

"I have an idea! Let's just put us all in a bubble, that way nobody moves, enjoys life or gets hurt. It will be perfect! All we need is a few hundred more laws to get us from the cradle to the grave safely, yet in a strangely obese fashion. After all, exercising is moving and therefore dangerous..."

Someone else mentioned that the Officer giving the report must have been trying to perpetuate anti-beanie news because she didn't know if the helmets were DOT approved. Guaranteed that if they were approved, the riders removed their DOT approval stickers (which is illegal to do). Sorry, but all of these people are more occupied with how they look than protecting their own lives, or looking out for the lives of others-- so much so that they are willing to blame a fatal accident on a bystanding motorist who got stared down by some motorcyclist who didn't realize that physics mean a bike will never win a game of chicken against a truck.

I have no respect for motorcyclists who defy motorcycle safety or safety laws in the name of looking cool. I live in a part of town where chopper riders with straight pipes ride through residential areas doing 50 over the limit. I've seen two high-speed police chases involving noise complaints and riders in my area in the last month. I saw at least one rider this summer riding the dotted line on the highway and weaving in and out of traffic, and SHARING A LANE, and driving down the shoulder for a few clicks to get past traffic jams (which are all illegal in BC).

I realize that a lot of drivers aren't looking for motorcyclists, but it is more so that a lot of riders have given the rest of us a bad reputation for driving like asshats than people not approving of our lifestyle choices. It's one thing to ride a bike in a carpool lane- but completely another to ignore all safety regulations and standards put forth to protect everyone on the road. A 51 year old geriatric on a Harley is about as scary as an old lady on rollerskates. A beanie helmet and a leather vest aren't going to dress it up any.

Wear a proper helmet- there are open-face helmets that offer adequate protection to the neck, face and head. There are even superbadass ones, like this one:

Image used courtesy of Santiago Chopper

Santiago Chopper Skull Helmet, $149.99

K (N)

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