Opinion page

'Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.'

Motorcycle training

Who needs it?

With Gas prices spinning out of control faster than Hillary's campaign debt and the political correctness doctrine spewed by some radical environmentalists that we must be green and save the planet I foresee a number of issues. we will have a influx of new economy minded individuals on our roads sporting two wheels and a cage attitude about driving their new found, planet friendly scooters. I give you my personal guarantee that this will set ABATE back many years in our fight for our freedoms. The only way I can see to preserve what little rights we have left, is to insist on more training to get a M-1 license. I can hear the complaints already. If we have to do it the cagers should also, or we are being singled out because we ride. Let me explain my insanity.

The biggest argument we come across is and always will be safety. This relates to the helmet issue as well as handlebar height, headlights always on and loud pipes to mention just a few. In my never to humble opinion we can not win the safety argument. I base this on two facts that can't be disputed. First is that you are safer in a cage than you are on a bike. The second is that motorcycle riding is inherently more dangerous than many other forms of transportation. If we police ourselves we might be able to keep our legislators from doing it for us (as they seem to keep doing). We all know we have those knuckleheads that we can't get through to. Let the cops deal with that minority and leave the rest of us out of it.

Here is my proposal. All new applicants for an M1 license would be required to take two classes to obtain a license. You would be required to take an 8 hour course to get a permit. With a permit you would only be allowed to ride during daylight hours. No freeway riding irregardless of the size of your bike. There would be no passengers allowed on your bike with a permit. You would be required to have a permit for a minimum of six months with no moving violations before you can take the second course for your M1. The second course would be what is now considered the advanced (experienced) rider course. I would bet that a full 50 percent of licensed riders today would have a hard time passing this. This course would be 16 hours long to re visit the drivers handbook and real riding situations, Counter steering, lane invasion and right of way violations. I have seen a number of these scooter warriors out there already and it will get worse when the weather cools down. The last thing we need is some study claiming that motorcycle fatalities have gone up 500 percent due to a few 150 mpg scooter riders killing themselves trying to save a hundred dollars a month. 

What do you think? 

Tyke