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imported post
Good turnout showing there is lots of interest in improving skills. Enjoyed meeting many new riders. Glad to hear the injuries were not worse. (bad enough).
John, here is the news article you mentioned.
Mike
Rash of fatal motorcycle crashes worries police
Calls made for mandatory instruction as number of licensed riders skyrockets
Rob Shaw, Times Colonist
Published: Friday, July 20, 2007
Police forces on Vancouver Island say they are troubled by a recent spike in the number of fatal motorcycle crashes.
There have been at least 10 such crashes since January, compared to four all of last year.
Six involved high speeds, including an 18-year-old man who gunned his Kawasaki sport bike up to 200 km/h on the Gold River Highway near Campbell River July 1 before hitting a rock wall.
"We're well on track to set a new record" for motorcycle fatalities, said Staff Sgt. Ted Smith, who heads the RCMP's Island traffic squad. "And we'll raise the bar to a point where it's just very, very troubling."
The RCMP compiled statistics on nine fatal accidents. A tenth, in which a 40-year-old man died after driving off a road in Saanich on April 3 while speeding, was not included.
Alcohol was a factor in two crashes in Bowser and Sooke.
Two others occurred when vehicles made left turns in front of oncoming bikes in North Saanich and Nanaimo, prompting police to again warn drivers to be aware of motorcycles.
Eight of the 10 crashes were deemed to be the riders' fault.
While young bikers driving too aggressively are part of the problem, there are also a large number of baby boomers dusting off the licences they acquired years ago without brushing up on their skills, said Const. Dave Hay, a motorcycle rider, instructor and a member of the RCMP South Island Traffic Services.
"The newer riders are actually skilled," said Hay.
"The older riders getting back into it are not aware of the skills. In the old days you just sent your money in and got your licence."
It's not just the young people riding "crotch rockets" in shorts and sandals that's the problem, said Tom Skirrow, president of the Vancouver Island chapter of the Association for Injured Motorcyclists, a non-profit group that helps injured bikers after a crash.
"What's happening is there's an awful lot of inexperienced riders getting overpowered motorcycles and the government is just handing out these crackerjack licences.
"Part of the problem is 80 per cent of people out there on a motorcycle have never had instruction of any kind. There's more and more people taking safety courses for cars, but it's still a small number for motorcycles. It's really necessary. It should be compulsory."
There are more than 65,000 licensed motorcycle riders in B.C., up 16,000 from 2001, said ICBC spokeswoman Tamara McLean. While new drivers must go through a graduated licensing program, including classroom and road testing, there is no requirement for those with old licences to undergo refresher courses, she said.
And ICBC has no immediate plans to restrict riders to specific motorcycles, McLean said.
Police and bikers both acknowledge it can be a tough sell to convince some people to slow down. They admit it's often the freedom and the adrenaline rush that attracts people to motorcycles in the first place.
And some in the motorcycle community react angrily to news stories they perceive as painting all motorcycle riders as reckless, untrained yahoos on two wheels.
But Hay said those who see the fallout from the fatalities can't stay silent.
"I've gone to the houses and done the next-of-kins in some of these people," said Hay.
"And I tell you, it just rips your heart out.
"The rider was a really nice person and they are gone and the family is left [with] this incredible hole for the rest of their lives. ... Sure, it wasn't a conscious decision to crash, but the bike doesn't accidentally hit up to 200 kilometres an hour."
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