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FATALITY FIGURES UNDERSCORE NEED FOR NEW ACCIDENT STUDY–The AMA has once again called for a comprehensive nationwide study of the causes of motorcycle crashes after the federal government released final motorcycling-related fatality statistics for 2001.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released final figures Aug. 7, 2002, that show 3,181 motorcyclists were killed on the nation’s roads last year, up from 2,862 the previous year. The final figure represents an 11.1 percent increase over 2000.
The fatality figures for 2001 also indicate that the highest percentage increases came among riders under the age of 40, which marks the reversal of a four-year trend. The NHTSA had issued a report last summer that noted deaths among motorcyclists over the age of 40 were on the rise beginning in the late ’90s.
The recent upward trend of motorcyclist fatalities followed 17 consecutive years of declines. From 1990 through 1999 alone, motorcycling-related fatalities dropped by 48 percent.
The AMA noted that one significant reason for the increase in motorcycling-related fatalities is that motorcycling has seen an enormous increase in popularity, with sales of new street bikes up more than 100 percent over the past five years, from about 243,000 in 1997 to more than 500,000 in 2001.
The AMA expressed concern over the increase in motorcycling fatalities, but noted the raw numbers offer no clear explanation for the increase.”The death of any motorcyclist is a tragedy,” said Edward Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. “But because there’s no recent research, we don’t know the reasons behind the increases in fatalities. There’s a desperate need for detailed, comprehensive research.”
For the past several years, the AMA has asked the NHTSA to conduct a nationwide study of motorcycling accidents that would help identify elements that can improve rider safety. In 2000, the NHTSA and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation released a National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety to serve as a blueprint for improving motorcycling safety in the future. Representatives of the AMA and other industry groups were part of a team that helped shape the plan, which calls for more research into the causes of motorcycle accidents and potential ways to reduce them.
–from Roque and the American Motorcycle News Network. Check the full story on their site.
BANDIT’S CANTINA ROCKS!–
Yes, it’s that time again to announce who the winner of the CantinaGiveaway is. The lucky bastard is none other than Lynn Livingston fromTalent, OR. AKA – Motor. He was chosen for the subtle way he posted hisrequest—
Wanted: I want a fucking bikernet T-shirt damit all to hell.
Not only does Lynn get a Bikernet T-shirt, as a member of the Cantina healso get to read all of Bandit’s book in their entirety. Prize Possessionand Outlaw Justice are currently sold out but you can read them in theCantina.
You can also check out the Babe Of The Day, play games and ifyou’re into drama you can follow the antics of the horny characters ofBandit’s Cantina – the saga.
Well, whatta ya watin’ for? JOIN NOW!
THE WALKING DRUNK– An obviously drunken man walks into a biker bar, sits down at the bar andorders a drink. Looking around, he sees 3 men sitting at a corner table.
He gets up, staggers to the table, leans over, looks the biggest, meanestlooking one in the face and says, “I went by your grandma’s house today andIsaw her in the hallway butt naked. Man, she is a fine looking woman!”
The biker looks at him and doesn’t say a word. His buddies are confused,because he is a bad ass, and would fight at the drop of a hat.
The drunk leans on the table again and says, “I got it on with yourgrandmaand she is good, the best I ever had!”
The biker’s buddies are starting to get really pissed, but the biker stillsays nothing. The drunk leans on the table one more time and says,”I’ll tellyou something else, Boy, your grandma liked it!”
At this point the biker stands up, takes the drunk by the shoulders andsays, “Damn it, grandpa, you’re drunk……. Go home!”
–from Rogue
MANN OF HIS TIME–Whitehorse Press releases Mann of His Time,the remarkable and inspiring story of racer Dick Mann
America has never produced a more accomplished andversatile professional motorcycle racer than Dick Mann. He held a positionin the prestigious top ten in the American Motorcyclist Association GrandNational Championship for 16 years, was the first man in history to winevery category of AMA Grand National competition, was America’s team captainat the Trans-Atlantic Match Races in Great Britain in 1971, was twice AMAGrand National Champion, won the Daytona 200 twice, won his class at thefirst AMA professional motocross held in America, and earned a bronze medalby completing the International Six Days Trial. Competing against Bobby Hilland Bill Tuman at the beginning of his professional racing career, andagainst Kenny Roberts, Torsten Hallman, and Brad Lackey toward the end, hestill competes and wins today on the popular vintage circuit.
Author Ed Youngblood draws upon his 30 years of experience in the motorcycleindustry, an exhaustive review of the existing motorcycle literature, andhundreds of interviews with Mann’s friends, colleagues, and competitors totell the story of one of the greatest motorcycle racers in history in thisnew book from Whitehorse Press. While Mann’s performance on the racetrackalone is enough to fill a life or a book, his accomplishments do not endthere. Youngblood describes how he pioneered racetrack safety and influencedmajor political changes within the American Motorcyclist Association. Racingduring a period of major transition in the sport, and influencing many ofits changes, he is an inventor, a fabricator, an accomplished motorcycleframe designer, and in recent years has become one of the foremost leadersin the vintage motorcycle racing movement.
The Mann Book is available through WhiteHorse Press or in the Bikernet Gulch through Amazon.com.
IIHS BULLSHITS THE WORLD ONCE MORE– The AMA, responding to a July 30 press release issued by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), has pointed out significant errors in the IIHS’s arguments concerning crashes involving older motorcyclists.
In its release, the IIHS claimed that the annual Black Hills Rally & Races in Sturgis, South Dakota, serves as a case-in-point illustration of the increase in motorcycle-related fatalities in recent years, notably among riders over age 40. Specifically, the IIHS said that 36 of the 69 motorcycle-related fatalities in South Dakota between 1995 and 2000 occurred in the month of August, when the Sturgis event is held.
However, the IIHS neglected to take into account the enormous increase in the motorcycling population of South Dakota as a result of the rally, leading the group to erroneous conclusions, the AMA noted
According to figures from the IIHS release, there were six motorcyclists killed in South Dakota during the month of April over the six-year period, four in May, seven in June, eight in July, four in September and four in October. No motorcycle-related fatalities were recorded from November through March. The IIHS then said that the 36 motorcyclist fatalities in the month of August during the six-year period made it clear that older motorcyclists at the rally were raising overall fatality numbers in the state.
An AMA analysis of the data, however, shows that the IIHS’s conclusion is unsupported by the facts. The AMA pointed out that figures from the Motorcycle Industry Council for 1998, the middle of the time period cited by the IIHS, show there were 19,600 motorcycles licensed for street use in South Dakota. But during August, when the Black Hills Rally and Races attract riders from across the country, the motorcycling population of the state surges to more than 400,000.”That’s a 2,000 percent increase.”
–from Rogue and the American Motorcycle News Network. Read the full story on their site.
Thought you all might appreciate the subtlety of this ad, doneby a Brazilian ad agency, for a lubricating gel (K-Y equivalent) targetingtheFrench market. They were trying to come up with an ad that is not offensiveor tasteless.
–from Ray R.
DAYTONA BEACH COMMISSIONERS DELAY VOTE ON NUDITY BAN–By JOHN BOZZO, (john.bozzo@news-jrnl.com)Staff Writer, Daytona New Journal.
You can still legally go shopping wearing a thong here, but the skimpy swimwear could be outlawed by the time Biketoberfest rolls around.
The City Commission unanimously postponed action Wednesday on a nudity ordinance that would require clothing to cover at least one third of the buttocks and one quarter of a woman’s breast. More than half of about 100 people attending the meeting walked out after commissioners also decided to delay public comment.
“You guys are afraid of the people,” a man who said he was from Miami said loudly from the front row. Robin Farley, a Daytona Beach resident, was among the crowd in the lobby upset about being unable to speak Wednesday evening.
“It’s a party town,” Farley said. “Why waste the effort to pass the ordinance? What’s next? A bikini patrol with a measuring tape?”
City Attorney Robert Brown asked commissioners to delay action until their Oct. 2 meeting in hopes of settling a federal lawsuit challenging the city’s adult entertainment law.
“I do not want to confuse the possibility of a settlement of the lawsuit with this issue,” he said. A mediation is scheduled Aug. 16 in the federal lawsuit by Molly Brown’s and the Pink Pony challenging the city’s adult entertainment law. The clubs that feature nude dancing won a victory when a federal judge ruled last week the city fails to offer enough sites for such businesses.
After the crowd left commission chambers, commissioners voted 6-1 to appeal the federal judge’s ruling. Charles Cherry cast the dissenting vote.Suzanne Coe, an attorney representing the Pink Pony, called the proposed ordinance ridiculous.
“The city gets slammed by a federal court and now they’re going to slam something even more ridiculous on the residents,” she said.
Ron Krenn, owner of Molly Brown’s, said an “easy solution” to the lawsuit would be to allow Molly Brown’s and the Pink Pony to continue staging nude entertainment. That would give the city enough sites for adult entertainment to prevent any other club from opening up in the core tourist area. The only other area open for such businesses would be an undeveloped industrial area on the far west side of the city, he said.
SUPPLIES! —An Italian, a Scotsman and a Chinese fellow are hired at a construction site. The foreman points out a huge pile of sand and says to the Italian guy. “You’re in charge of sweeping. To the Scotsman he says, “You’re in charge of shoveling.” And to the Chinese guy, “You’re in charge of supplies.” He then says, “Now, I have to leave for a little while. I expect you guys to make a big dent in that there pile.”
So the foreman goes away for a couple hours and when he returns, the pile of sand is untouched.
He asks the Italian, “Why didn’t you sweep any of it?” The Italian replies, “I no hava no broom. You saida to the Chinese a fella that he awasa ina charge ofa supplies, but he hasa disappeared and I no coulda finda him nowhere.”
Then the foreman turns to the Scotsman and says, “And you; I thought I told you to shovel this pile.”
The Scotsman replies, “Aye, ye did lad; boot ah couldna get meself a shoovel! Ye left th’ Chinese gadgie in chairge of supplies, boot ah couldna fin’ him either.”
The foreman is real angry now, and storms off toward the pile of sand to look for the Chinese guy. Just then, the Chinese guy leaps out from behind the pile of sand and yells “SUPPLIES!
–from Nuttboy
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