The years have gone by and they don’t make cars and trucks quite as indestructible as they used to and they don’t slip out of gear and roll as easily as they once did, but, they are still a couple thousand pounds of metal. They have added all kinds of safety measures, many of these came about through NASCAR and those folks know about vehicle bang ups. One such addition is the seat belt. Now, a look at the motorcycle, I rode mine all year around, sunny days, rainy days, snow and ice I rode that motorcycle. I wore my dungarees, ridin boots, motorcycle jacket, gloves, and my helmet.
Now they are telling us that we must, when driving a car, truck, van wear a seat belt, “Click it or ticket.” Meanwhile they give a choice to those “chrome pony riders” they say “Let those who ride decide.”
So here we are on a motorized eight hundred, thousand pound bicycles that can go every bit as fast as your automobile. If a car turns, illegally, in front of me on my motorcycle (this happened to me) and bike and I go down, rolling and sliding down the road, ouch. I did not have my gloves on, it was a hot night, so I ended up with a cut on my pinky finger, the car kept going, we never crashed into each other, but I often think about that brush with potential injury. If I had hit that car broadside and been thrown over the handlebars into the side of that vehicle would I have been so unscathed? I’m sure the occupants of the car would have been looking at me getting into the ambulance. But! I had the choice of “Let those who ride decide” As long as that bit of bumper sticker logic holds I truly believe a $125.00 fine for no seat belt is out of line. How about “Let those who click it pick it!”