To all the idiots on 2 wheels
Sometimes strong words, the lack of political correctness and inviting controversy is the only way to get a point across.
I am writing this because of an incident I encountered with a young motorcyclist last Saturday evening. This impatient fellow on his super-fast crotch rocket came up quickly behind my car. Because I did not accelerate fast enough, he decided to just tailgate closely behind.
What the hell were you thinking? Did you think you could push me out of the way or maybe you planned to drive over me? You attempted to pass on the right but decided not to because of the shoulder on this single lane highway, but you still continued to follow so closely that I could barely see your headlight at times. I doubt if you were more than several feet off my bumper. Oh by the way, thanks for your one-finger salute as you drove past when I turned off. I’ll accept that as your IQ! One quick stab of my brakes, buddy, and you would have been history!
Now you, young idiot, should know that I have been riding large motorcycles on streets and highways since 1969 and have probably logged over 200,000 miles. I’ve traveled through a dozen or more states in that time. I’ll bet you were not even a passing thought in your future parents’ minds when I started riding motorcycles.
You are always going to be at uneven odds with vehicles ranging from a ton and considerably more in weight. To follow closely behind any vehicle is just plain suicidal. Maybe you thought your full face helmet would make you immune from accidents or injury. Well, let me tell you something, you have to have a BRAIN to protect within that helmet in order for it to do its job, and obviously you don’t.
A simple word of advice to you and other novice motorcyclists. First of all, you are NOT INVINCIBLE and DEATH IS REAL! When you ride your motorcycles in the real world, all that protective gear you may be wearing is not a “free pass” from accidents or injuries. Add to that the fact that more and more drivers are engaged in their cellphones and are not aware of motorcycles on the roadways or anything else, it seems for that matter, the risk is increased exponentially.
I have been involved in protecting motorcyclists’ rights for over 25 years and have helped co-form several nonprofit motorcyclists’ rights organizations (MROs) over the years and successfully lobbied our legislators to protect our individual rights to ride and freedom from mandatory helmet laws for mature and responsible adult riders.
As state vice president of my organization in 2006, I helped introduce and get passed into law Senate Bill 1367, which allowed motorcyclists to proceed with caution through red lights after one complete cycle when the mechanisms fail to recognize a motorcycle and lights continue to stay red.
Idaho was the fourth state in the nation to pass legislation of this type and this bill was fully endorsed by the American Motorcyclists Association (AMA). Many states have since followed suit after Idaho incorporated this into law in July of 2006 and Washington finally followed in 2014.
I will continue to fight to protect motorcyclists’ rights in this state along with many other riders, but what makes that job so much harder are the idiots who ride recklessly and give the rest of us mature and experienced adult riders a bad name in the public eye.
No amount of protective gear, laws or legislation will ever prevent accidents or injuries to a motorcyclist. So just try to exercise a little bit of common sense and “RIDE SAFE AND LIVE TO RIDE ANOTHER DAY.”
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Tim Herzog is a Post Falls resident.