Thursday, July 14, 2011

Motor cycle safety


Do you think that everyone who rides a motorcycle should have to go through a safety course and be limited to the size of motorcycle they ride until they are able to test into the size of motorcycle and classification they want to ride? Do you think the helmet law should be passed in Illinois?

Kevin Hall

13 comments:

English student said...

Let me start by saying that in order to drive a motorcycle you have to have a license. With that being said a motorcycle driver already has a set of safety measures they have to follow. Limiting the size of the bike is like limiting the size of a vehicle. What I mean is that a person who has a vehicle license is allowed to drive a compact car up to a full size truck without having to test into a size up. The same should be said for a motorcycle license. Often times motorcycle accidents are not caused by the rider but the person in the vehicle who was not aware. I think that if we make motorcycle awareness part of getting a drivers license we will see a major decrease in accidents involving motorcycles. The helmet law should absolutely be passed, for every bicycle, motorcycle and skateboard rider in Illinois. A helmet protects the most valuable part of the body, the brain. The law will ensure less casualties in Illinois.
Amber Johnson-Garcia

English student said...

I do feel that everyone should be required to take the motorcycle safety course. Not only does it help you master some of the riding skills it also brings up many situations that you may not consider when riding a motorcycle.By practicing many of these scenarios you also become more familiar with your bike and how it handles. There already is a law that limits the size of motorcycle you can drive without a license and I believe it's 250cc or less. I think this is still a great idea because riding a 1000cc motorcycle as I do is a lot more difficult to ride than any 250cc bike ever thought of being.

NO there should be no helmet in the STATE OF ILLINOIS!!@!!! I feel it should be up to the rider if he or she wants to wear the helmet or not. We as motorcycle riders take a risk just by getting on the road because we are smaller than most vehicles, but by taking this risk we made our own decision to take on the responsibility of dealing with the consequences.With that being said many people would use this argument as for a reason to wear helmet I feel our tax dollars could be put to better use than writing laws that should not be laws and will gladly discuss this topic with anyone who would like to debate this with me

Buddy Carpenter

English student said...

I definitely think that every motorcycle rider needs to go through a safety course, just like you have to before driving a car, especially because of how different it is to drive/ride on a motorcycle. I also think they should have to test into the class/weight of motorcycle that they plan on driving, even to make sure they can lift the bike if it ever falls on them in an accident. If I were a rider, however, I would not appreciate having to go in and retest each time I got a new bike that weighed a different amount.

I do think that the helmet law should be passed in Illinois. Being an observer at more than one accident (and being in one myself), I have seen and felt the protection that a helmet can provide the rider's head with. I understand that most riders want to be able to choose whether or not to wear one, but I think having the law would only reduce the number of deaths by motorcycle accidents. I cannot see how adding that as a law would do any harm to riders.

English student said...

Last post was from Hannah Miller!!

English student said...

I believe that everyone who rides a motorcycle should have to go through a safety course. I have never driven a motorcycle in my life but from what I've heard from different people, it is not the easiest thing to drive. Just the size of the motorcycle alone will cause many problems for the driver of the vehicle and the driver of other vehicles who can't see you when switching lanes, for example.

When it comes to the size of the motorcycle and the classification of their vehicle, I think that it is a great idea. Someone who is inexperienced and just got a license to drive a bike should not start off on a very expensive, powerful bike. They will not have the experience to drive the vehicle and will also be a danger to the opposing cars and themselves.

The helmet law should definitely be passed, no questions asked. This is very similar to the seat belt law, which was passed. A helmet is basically the only safety precaution, and if they aren't wearing that and crash there is a very high chance that the rider will be hurt. There is no reason why every person that rides a bike should not wear a helmet.

Jake Bock

English student said...

Laws are set to protect people, such as the seatbelt law. So I can see why lawmakers want motorcyclists to be safe as well and wear a helmet. Yes they’re hot and not always comfortable, but it is better than not wearing one and wrecking your bike.
I am unfamiliar with bike sizes so I don’t have an opinion on the testing. As for the safety course, yes I think it should mandatory.
Heather Denam

English student said...

I believe that everyone who rides a motorcycle SHOULD have to go through a safety course until they test into their desired motorcycle class. This is because it would make our roads a safer place. It would be exponentially dangerous if someone who barely rides a motor scooter attempts to ride a full blown Harley Davidson let alone a Kawasaki. Our roads are dangerous enough as it is with all the inexperienced, and out right careless (Car) drivers. This would be a good policy to enforce because it would cut down on a lot of unnecessary deaths and critical injuries. Did you know that if you’re driving at 20mph in your car without a seat belt, that THAT’s enough force to kill you. So just imagine someone on their motor scooter doing the 20mph speed limit through a typical school zone (NOT SPEEDING) and they hit a car or something. That’s just an instantaneous fatality, an automatic funeral, and another halo and set of wings God has to place an order for. I know that helmets can sometimes be uncomfortable and “out of fashion“ but, one day that HELMET will be the only thing separating your cranium from the asphalt. A helmet can be the difference between a funereal and a vegetable. So, I think it WOULD be wise to enforce a helmet policy in the Land of Lincoln.

Pikachu

English student said...

Of course, a motorcycle is just like a car, but more dangerous because there’s no protection keeping a person safe while riding. A safety course should be mandatory no matter what. You can’t give a child car keys and expect them to know how to drive a car. Even adults who know how to drive a car doesn’t necessarily mean that they know how to drive a motorcycle. Motorcycles are very heavy and hard to control, especially if a person doesn’t turn around the curb right. I just saw in the news in Florida that a 19 year old crashed into a barely moving mower in a 45 mph zone. Police said he was traveling at a greater speed than that. His full-faced helmet which he was wearing flew off because he was going too fast.
I think that all people should be tested to properly suit them for the size of the motorcycle that they are capable of handling. The bigger, the faster motorcycles the ones more prone to have accidents.
I think it should be obligatory to wear a helmet by all means. Studies have shown that the more protection the helmet has the better for decreasing trauma to the head and may decrease fatalities.
Here are some websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_helmet
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110726/NEWS01/107260310/Motorcyclist-dies-after-colliding-mowing-tractor-Melbourne
http://www.motorcycle-accidents.com/pages/stats.html


Lori

English student said...

Alex

I think everyone needs a safety course before they ride. My girlfriend’s dad rode 30 years before he took one and he learned a lot that he didn’t know about. He knows swears by them. As far as the size of the bike I think it should go according to the size of the person. Someone my size shouldn’t be riding a big bike because of the weight ratio and how easy it’d be to lose control. I’d conflict that last statement though with if you can prove you can ride a bigger bike by testing to that level then you could. As far as the helmet law I think it should be up to you. Even if there was a law doesn’t’ mean that they’d still wear one. It’s just like the seat belt law. In my opinion it’s just another law to give a cop a reason to pull you over and right a ticket. I agree with needing eye protection though.

English student said...

I do think that everyone who rides a motorcycle should be required to take the safety course. Cycle riding presents certain risk that are just not an issue with automobiles. Many people who ride motorcycles are not really prepared for these risk and the safety course would help them recognize many of these issues.

My ex-wife and I were just talking about the fact that cycle riders in Illinois don't have to wear helmets. I can't understand how anyone would want to take that risk. I do believe that the helmet law needs to be passed in Illinois.

No I don't think there should be cycle size limitations. If everyone is required to take the safety course then they should have the right to ride the bike of their choice.

Khattab

English student said...

First of all, driving a motorcycle is nothing like driving a car. This is why I think that people should have to go through a safety course before they start riding their motorcycles. Driving a motorcycle is almost completely different than driving a car; therefore, even if you already know how to drive a car, you should still have to take a class on learning to drive a motorcycle; it being something nearly completely new. Second of all, I most definitely think that the helmet law should be passed in Illinois. Actually, come to think of it, this law should be passed in every other state that didn’t already pass it. I am a strong believer in safety, especially when driving, no matter what kind of vehicle, including bicycles. There would be many more deaths if people got in accidents without their helmet on. So, in conclusion, people should take courses to drive a motorcycle and a law should be passed in Illinois saying that people must wear their helmets while driving them.
Ayah

English student said...

I for one think that motorcycles are dangerous and I don't care to have one. I think that they should demolished them all and make them safer. Why would they make them to go so fast in the first place? If they were all made to go 50mph then maybe there would be less accidents. I think that it should be a law passed that if the motorist doesn't wear protected gear they should be fined. I think they should also have to take classes and be limited to the size of back the ride.
Makeisha Riley

English student said...

I think motorcycles should be treated like cars. They move fast and can cause major damage to other cars, bikes, and people in the event of a collision. They are dangerous not only to those driving them but also to others that they can come into contact with. Drivers should have to go through extensive training in order to obtain the license to drive a motorcycle. The size of a bike should be treated like the size of other vehicles; just as different truck licenses are earned by the size and one's control over the vehicle, so should one's skill driving bikes of different sizes be monitored/tested before they can ride different bikes/motorcycles.

As for the helmet law, I think it would be a great idea for Illinois to pass the law because it would prevent a lot of motorcycle deaths due to collisions and single bike accidents. People like to look cool and think wearing a helmet (like a seat belt in a car) will make them look less appealing when it is a safety precaution and safety measure. Seat belts can save lives by helping to reduce head trauma in the event of an accident. By passing the law the government is taking people's safety into their own hands and making sure things get done the right way to save lives.

Robert McClinton