EWS BYTES
that partial or total bans on phone use while driving has
had any effect on fatalities, due largely to the high level
of crash safety built into modern cars. Such is not the
case when it comes to motorcycles, however. To the
researchers’ surprise, data from the study reflects that
states that have either a partial or total ban on cell phone
use while driving have a lower number of motorcycle
fatalities compared to states with no ban at all.
The researchers of this study argue that policymakers
should consider strengthening texting and handheld cell
phone bans, as well as enforcement, to improve safety
and save motorcyclist lives. According to the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety, using a hand-held cell
phone while driving is illegal in just sixteen states plus
Washington, D.C.
“In the case of motorcycles, these laws seem to be
effective,” said study co-author Gulcin Gumus, Ph.D.,
an associate professor in health administration in the
Department of Management Programs at FAU’s College
of Business. “While it’s not clear that these laws have
had an impact on reducing the overall number of traffic
fatalities, when we focus specifically on motorcycles,
we find that these laws are having a major impact in
reducing deaths among motorcycle riders.”
RECORD NUMBERS OF WOMEN ARE RIDING
MOTORCYCLES
More and more women are moving from the back
seat of a motorcycle to behind the handlebars, with the
number of female riders doubling over the past decade
from one in ten in 2009 to one in five today.
A study by the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC)
found that women now make up 19% of motorcycle
owners, with even greater ownership among younger
generations. The survey found that among Millennials
(Generation Y, born from 1985-2004), 26% of motorcycle
owners were women. Among Gen X (those born 1965-
1984), 22% were women.
“As the number of Boomers and mature motorcyclists
shrink and are replaced by newer riders, we could soon
be looking at a solid 25% of motorcycle owners being
female,” said Andria Yu, MIC director of communications.
The MIC polled 2,472 adults nationwide for the 2018
Motorcycle/ATV Owner Survey. For decades, the MIC says
its surveys have served as the census of motorcycling,
and have tracked a steady growth in the percentage of
women who own bikes.
The MIC says the 2018 owner survey also found that
women motorcycle owners spend, on average, $574 a
year on tires, routine repairs, maintenance, replacement
parts, and accessories and modifying equipment,
compared with $497 by men.
Motorcycling has grown in popularity and acceptance
in American culture in recent decades, which the MIC
says is reflected in their survey. It found that 66% of
women motorcycle owners say their family and friends
would have a positive attitude toward motorcycles and
scooters.
However, total ridership is struggling according to
USA Today, and overall new motorcycle sales have been
stagnant in the U.S. since the Great Recession, with
annual sales peaking in 2006.
reducing pollution, congestion and overcrowding but we
continue to be ignored.”
The charge will apply 24/7 and in October 2021 will
be extended to the area inside the North and South
Circular roads – multiplying the charge zone by 28 times.
MAN CLAIMS DISCRIMINATION IN CANADA’S
HELMET EXEMPTION LAW
Earlier this year, the province of Alberta in Canada
became the third province to pass a law exempting
the Sikh community from wearing motorcycle helmets
-- north of the U.S. border, helmets are mandatory on
a motorcycle. One Albertan, however, strongly believes
the exemption is discriminatory and that if Sikhs don’t
have to wear a helmet, neither should he.
Troy Fandrick from Medicine Hat, Alberta, believes that
the exemption granted earlier this year is discriminatory.
As a non Sikh, he his forced by law to wear a helmet and
his claim is that if a small percentage of the population is
allowed to ride without a helmet, everyone else should
be allowed as well.
Fandrick explains that his issue doesn’t lie in the fact
that Sikhs have been granted the exemption: his main
complaint is “why them and not me”? He points a finger
at Transport Canada for imposing a rule that doesn’t
LONDON MOTORCYCLISTS FACE SURCHARGES
apply to everyone and that in this case, he is being
In a bid to improve air quality, the ULEZ (Ultra Low denied equal rights.
Emission Zone) will launch April 8, 2019, and drivers or
“The sole distinction in the law is racial and ethnic in
riders of older vehicles in London’s central congestion nature. There’s no additional qualification,” Fandrick told
zone will thereon face a round-the-clock charge of Medicine Hat News, claiming that he has already been
£12.50 per day ($15.80 USD).
pulled over -- and fined -- three times because he wasn’t
ULEZ has been described as the world’s most radical wearing a helmet.
crackdown on vehicle emissions, and will apply to
“I just want equal rights,” says Fandrick, who is
motorcycles that fail to meet “Euro 4” standards (those currently gathering funding via a GoFundMe page to
registered before 2007).
enlist the services of a lawyer interested in taking on his
The rider group We Ride London is campaigning cause.
against this unfair and counter-intuitive tax, stating QUOTABLE QUOTE:
that “Motorcycles and scooters are part of the solution to “Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do.”
~ Voltaire
(1694-1778),
French
historian
and Coast
philosopher
31
www.thunderroadslams.com | January 2019 | Thunder
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