Pulling the Gloves Off

Pulling the Gloves Off

Written by Dave Sutton

While I am an official of ABATE of Virginia and it's political action committee BikePAC of Virginia, I must begin this article by saying that the views expressed here are my personal views and may not reflect the positions of those two fine organizations.

I began with that disclaimer because I'm ticked off. I'm ticked off that some politicians will not even try to listen to reason when discussing Virginia's mandatory Helmet Law. I'm ticked that the medical lobby is using public misconceptions and innuendos as fact and playing on the emotions of an uneducated (about helmet use) electorate. I'm especially ticked at motorcyclists that want to whine about helmet laws and other issues, but have not made a move to help remedy the problems that we face.

I'm going to start with the doctors, primarily because two of them who are members of the House of Delegates lobbied so hard against letting "those who ride, decide".

It is generally accepted that doctors are well-educated people whose mission in life is to save and medically improve lives. For this they are to be respected. HOWEVER, it DOES NOT automatically give them any extra insight into other issues, including the "rights of man". How dare they use their positions of influence to force their views on others?

Doctors tell horror stories about the many injuries and deaths they've seen caused by motorcyclists not wearing helmets. Hold the phone, Doc. Virginia has had a mandatory helmet law for over 35 years. According to our state government, there is 100% compliance with the law, so how could you have possibly seen all of this "horror and death" that you use to scare people with?

According to NHTSA, in the year 2000, Virginia's motorcyclists death rate was higher than twenty-one states that DO NOT require helmets for riders 21 years of age and older. How do you explain that, Doc.

Maryland passed a mandatory helmet law in 1992. Their death rate went UP. How could this be? I'm listening, Doc.

This next one is for the doctors, politicians and insurance people who say, "Un-helmeted motorcycle riders end up as paraplegics, quadriplegics and human vegetables that are a burden to the tax-payers.

In fifteen years of motorcycle activism, I've not seen one single person come forward with any proof of that statement. "SHOW ME THE MONEY". How many such cases are there? Exactly how much is it costing the taxpayers?

You want to talk about "public-burden? How much money is it costing to take care of those people with blown out kidneys and livers from alcoholism? Or those who are in bad shape from excessive tobacco use. There a lot more of them than there are motorcyclists, with or without helmets.

You really want to talk about "tax-payer burden"? Let's discuss third generation welfare families. Let's talk about subsidized housing, food stamps and ADC given to unwed mothers and their children. We'd be talking about some real money then.

How about a "helmet law" for the potential fathers? Yeah, we could have the "Condom Cops" follow people around and hand out citations for "failure to wear protective headgear".

What? That would infringe on people's personal life? I guess you're starting to get the point.

The public burden theory concerning motorcyclists is Bull…., so just drop it.

Now for the politicians specifically. This past May, I sat in a district mass meeting of the Republican Party and listened as from a United States Senator on down extol the virtues of government staying out of the personal lives of it's citizens. I heard quite clearly as they stated that individuals are capable of making their own decisions and dealing with the consequences of those decisions.

To the Republican Delegates and Senators who opted to vote against Helmet Law Reform I say, how can you claim to be a Republican and still vote that way on this issue?

To the Democrats it's just as simple. You claim that it is a woman's right to choose whether to carry her baby to term or to abort the pregnancy because it's "her body, her choice". To you who voted against repeal of the helmet law I say "our bodies, our choices". Voting against that is hypocritical.

So you see, it is really a bi-partisan issue.

Now for the motorcyclists themselves. I am always hearing things like "How are YA'LL doing with the Helmet Law?" and "you can't change a law in Virginia" and other such crap.

As the first statement implies, too many motorcyclists are leaving things up to ABATE and VCOM to do the work on. If you want change, get involved and help get it done. If you don't want to join, at least find out where to send a letter or make a phone call to backup the work that we are doing on your behalf.

I almost hate to even answer the second statement because it is such Bull…. In the past several years, we have changed or introduced and gotten passed, over a dozen laws benefiting the motorcyclists of Virginia. With more involvement, we could have been even more successful.

In the past year, BikePAC spent $19,000 on political expenses. There are 93,000 registered motorcycles in Virginia, which works out to around 20 cents per motorcycle. That is pitiful! It is even more pitiful when you consider that there are 268,000 people in the Commonwealth with a motorcycle endorsement on their license.

While our numbers and the votes that they represent are our biggest strength, it takes MONEY to get things done! I don't know about you, but my rights are worth a lot more than 20 cents.

I personally organize at least one charity run a year and help with or participate in several more. They are great and I would not dream of putting them down, but ask yourself how much do you spend on them per year? Now, how much do you contribute to protect your own interests? Remember; No one gives a crap about us but us.

Nobody is going to throw a benefit to protect motorcyclists' rights except motorcyclist.

So quit whining, get involved, write a letter, send a check. It's your choice and you will have to deal with what happens if you don't.

To find out more about ABATE, BikePAC and what you can do, go to abateofva.org or call (434) 821-7109.

RIDE FREE.

Thanks for visiting VirginiaWind.