I seem to remember reading about a country that has a progressive license. You start out being allowed to ride a bike only up to so many CC's, then as you have another year or two you get to up the engine size by so many CC's, like: 400 and under -> 600 -> 1000 -> Unlimited.
I also blame some of the cars and SUV's they make. Huge blind spots and quieter cabins don't make it easier for us to be seen and heard.
The texting phenomenon isn't helping. They made using a cell illegal, but then you could at least say they had their heads up and eyes on the road. Now they're looking down and trying to type "cya l8r, bff" while they pilot a ton-and-a-half or more of machinery down the road,
There seems to be some "boys in packs = stupid" mentality that develops with some of the squids on the rockets. I almost never see a single sport bike rider doing something extremely stupid, any more than I've seen non-sport bike riders doing stupid stuff. But put them in a pack and their riding IQ seems to lower as speed increases.
I really try not to lump them all together, or get biased against them, because there are lots of great sport bike riders out there; but you can only see so much before you start seeing more hash marks on the idiot list you keep in your head on the sport bike squids side.
It's been estimated that 25% of bikers don't have their motorcycle endorsements! But the rules for getting a license are so non-standard, even more so from state to state than cars. Some require a course, but coughing up $300+ for a course isn't always easy for someone that just laid out a few hundred for a used bike to save on $4@gal. gas.
Other states require you can get a learners permit, but can only ride if you have someone else there riding next to you that has a license. In this busy world who has time to find someone that isn't busy so you can get a few dozen hours of riding in. Some states recommend a minimum of 10 hours before taking the bike test. 10 hours?!
Some states let you ride alone on a permit between dawn and dusk, and other states figure if you can drive a car you must be able to drive a bike.
I don't know what the answer is, but there's got to be some happy mediums.
- Work the cost of the course into a bike purchase, even make it a non-interest part of the loan.
- Make the discount for taking a course, new rider or not, more than 10%, at least for the first 2 or 3 years, especially in states where the rates aren't reasonable. I pay $108@yr for great insurance, but a friend of mine in Mass. pays $1200+@yr for the not quite the same level of insurance I have.
- Make state riders' tests standard. In my state they're more worried about low speed control, so we get to drive around the block, then the focus on us doing a bunch of circles and figure-8's without putting our feet down. But in another state they seem to have tests that are something like: "First, you have to put your forehead on the butt end of this baseball bat, put the other end of the bat on the ground. Now, run yourself in circles around it until I say, 'Stop!' Then, I want you to ride your bike as fast as you can toward this here wall. When you get to the second orange cone you can put on the brakes. If you don't hit the wall, or lay the bike down, you pass."
Ugh
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Last edited by Majicbringer; 08-26-2008 at 01:32 AM.
Reason: Forgot to wear foil hat and aliens made me misspell in code
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