As many of you know, I love motorcycles.  After a 10 year hiatus, I got back on a bike this year and I cannot tell you how much enjoyment I get out of riding.  Since I first started riding some 20+ years ago I learned one thing very quick.  You are invisible.  Now back in the 1980’s, things like helmet laws were just coming into being.  And despite my early objection, I have come to find them an absolute necessity.  And with the added driver distractions of cell phones and heavier traffic situations they are more important now than ever.  And those distractions are becoming far too dangerous to ignore and the fact that motorcycles are out there under increasing threat.

Today, just about two hours ago I had to go to the bank.  After I pulled out of the parking lot I came to a 4-way stop.  I stopped, looked and saw what I knew was going to be a blow-by.  You know, that person talking on the phone not paying attention and blowing right through a stop sign.  I saw it coming and didn’t enter the intersection and sure enough… right through they went.  I took my left and pulled up to the next light and gave them the “hang up sign” and let them know they just ran a stop sign when I had the right of way.  This happens almost every day folks.  It is time to end.  It is time to end drivers inattention to the road and it is also time to end the seemingly unaccountability to the two wheeled folks they share the road with.

It is becoming increasingly clear that motorcyclist are second class citizens when it comes to law enforcement.  When car-bike collisions happen and the driver is at fault (more often than not), law enforcement doesn’t take it seriously or is lax on investigations.  With motorcyclist being so vulnerable, one would think that raising awareness through enforcement (as they seem to do with everything from seat belts to drunken driving) would be a priority.  In Washington State, it is not.

Another problem is the lack of driver training and awareness education.  It isn’t enough.  Riders seem to be going down in traffic situations every day and in most every case it is driver inattention or negligence that is the cause. 

Justice for Washington Riders is a new web site that is promoting a rally from the north side of Seattle to Capital campus in Olympia. 

The rally will be held at The Washington State Capital Campus (opposite the legislative building) at 416 14th Avenue, SW, Olympia, Washington on FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 2006.  We want all citizens there to help change things for the better. Here’s what we’ll be fighting for:

  • To demand equal protection under the law for all Washington citizens that rides a motorcycle.
  • To demand that people who kill a Washington citizen that are riding a motorcycle or driving a car are held criminally liable with new and stronger legislation.
  • To voice our message for this new legislation to our state legislators.
  • To let Washington legislators know that the civil rights of citizens who ride motorcycles have had their rights taken away.
  • To raise awareness that motorcycles are on the roads, so we all need to be aware of them when driving.

Much of what I have read has pointed to lax investigation in motorcyclist deaths.  My guess here is that the assumption is we are riding with a certain amount of risk involved no matter what.  So if we get in an accident it is generally our fault.  Earlier this year I had the opportunity to get a piece on the local news here in the Tri-Cities on motorcycle awareness.  In general, it was a good piece but the more I learned about law enforcement response and the effort behind Justice for Washington Riders, the more disturbed I was watching the news clip and the local police Captain’s response.  [Watch Video Here] Not that he isn’t right.  It is good that we take the initiative.  But it does set a disturbing stage using the mindset that “it is part of operating a machine of that nature”.  To me that suggests that if we hadn’t been out there on two wheels in the first place, we might not have suffered the consequences. 

As gas prices continue to soar, we will all see more and more motorcycles on the road.  I have never been a big fan of legislating our way out of public safety problems.  But in this case I think Washington State could take some proactive steps.  First, lets get the cell phones off the road.  In my daily observations, they don’t belong there.  Second, increase driver training to include more information on motorcycle awareness and include a safety module in the road test.  Lastly, like the anti-profiling legislation, the legislature direct law enforcement to actively pursue investigations of wrong doing by motorists who injure or kill motorcyclists without bias. 

Let’s face it.  Accidents are going to happen.  But Washington State is not doing enough and right now, we have the best group of legislators to get something done.