Extreme problems demand creative solutions

As you, my valued "Tip of the Week" subscribers have discovered, the theme of my weekly tips do not directly address a particular brand or type of motorcycle.

At first glance, many people think that my tips don't seem to have any connection with riding a motorcycle, but further investigation soon reveals that these tips are indeed relevant. Rather than approaching the subject of motorcycles from the perspective of a particular make, model or style of riding, I have chosen to focus my tips on the rider, their thoughts, behaviors and other lifestyle issues.

And that's the difference between we here at BoomerBikerOnline, and all the rest of the tens of thousands of motorcycle websites out there on the Internet.

But every once in a while, something happens in the motorcycling community, that is so outrageous that it cannot be ignored. And that "something" happened on January 8, 2008 in Clearwater, Florida.

When I pulled the wrapper off my morning paper, I was greeted by a lead photo on the front page that showed a Chevrolet Suburban overturned and fully engulfed in flames, lying in the middle of busy US Highway 19N.

Take my word for it that after a career of 40 years as a photojournalist, I definitely have seen my share of flaming wrecks. But, what makes this one stand out from all the rest is the fact that this 4,000 lb Suburban was knocked on its side after being struck by a speeding 2005 Kawasaki Motorcycle.

The lead paragraph of the news report started like this:

Two men died in a fireball Monday when a motorcycle slammed into a sports utility vehicle, flipping them both.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: http://www.sptimes.com/2008/01/08/Northpinellas/Two_die_in_fiery_cras.shtml

Making this tragedy even more outrageous is the revelation that this crash occurred on a heavily traveled 4-lane road at 10.55 A.M. on a week day.

Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Larry Coggins Jr. called the impact "very intense," noting the 900-pound motorcycle was able to flip a 4,000-pound SUV. Witnesses said the motorcyclist was driving faster than 100 miles per hour.

While most motorcyclists know it is extremely foolish and irresponsible to ride like this on public streets, many do and this rider paid the ultimate price for his behavior with his life. But, unfortunately, in this instance, another innocent human being lost his life also as a direct result of this crash.

Although neither of the bodies has been officially identified, authorities have contacted the next of kin for a down-on-his-luck crabber who was off work and recovering from a recent heart attack - the driver of the Suburban and the 22-year-old aspiring actor and habitual speeder who was piloting the motorcycle.

Speed limits obviously don't deter speeders, so, it seems to me that the real challenge here is to figure out a solution that does work in order to reduce the instances of tragedies like this from happening in the future.

First of all, I'd like to publicly admit that, as a teenager, I too drove outrageously. Fortunately, I was one of the lucky ones who didn't cause injury to others or myself. But that was in the 60's when motorcycles were far less powerful and there was less traffic on our roadways.

And to further compound this problem, today, anyone with good credit or a spare $10,000 or so in their pocket can walk onto a dealership and buy a new motorcycle right off the showroom floor that's capable of reaching speeds in excess of 150 MPH.

With all that extreme horsepower strapped between their legs, its pretty much a no-brainer to assume that sooner or later even the most conscientious motorcyclist will be tempted to unleash all those ponies.

Therefore, if you accept my line of reasoning, then from my point of view, the problem becomes its own solution.

What I'm suggesting is we should work tirelessly to create a safe, controlled and regulated environment where throttle jockeys and speed freaks can push their motorcycles to the limit, competing against the clock or other riders. And at the same time, I would also advocate harsher penalties (loss of license, vehicle and possibly even incarceration) for anyone caught riding their motorcycles at triple digit speeds and endangering others on our public roads.

Speeding and street racing are unfortunately a passage of youth. And the dangers of those behaviors are only eaasorbated by advances in vehicle technology and population density. One is just an excuse for the other and a workable solution to these dangerous problems is desperately needed here in the Tampa Bay area of Central Florida.

According to a study done by RaceLegal.com, a program formed in 1998 by Dr. Stephen J. Bender, Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology/Biostatistics in San Diego State University's Graduate School of Public Health, we are an automobile based "social culture" of thrill seekers more than willing to risk life and limb in the pursuit of an illegal competition that results in personal satisfaction and peer admiration. It seems that there is total disregard for the downside consequences of a crash that has deadly potential for them, as well as innocent bystanders.

Via a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, Dr. Bender, was able to initiate a comprehensive grass root community based coalition entitled "Closing the Loop." This coalition involved city/county government, local law enforcement, Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), Superior Court, City Attorney, District Attorney, county probation as well as the safer and sanctioned RaceLegal.com -- http://www.racelegal.com/web/videos.asp - a track alternative to illegal street racing.

While most communities view illegal street racing activity solely from a law enforcement perspective. In San Diego, they choose to view this high-risk behavior as a broader public health and safety issue. And as a result of this comprehensive approach, their community has experienced a 98% improvement in our illegal street racing associated mortality/morbidity since the 2002 baseline year.

RaceLegal.com, the safer and sanctioned track alternative to illegal street racing, was developed with one goal in mind -- "Saving the needless loss of young lives to an illegal street race gone bad." That'ss RaceLegal.com's mantra. The concept was one of providing a youth oriented environment in a neutral and centrally located location where we could replicate a street environment, but with safer and sanctioned conditions that insured the safety of our racers and their fans. The under pinning is one of skillfully redirecting illegal street racing behavior to the safer and sanctioned sport of drag racing in a youth oriented setting. As sated above, the results are impressive.

In San Diego, racers are directed to the parking lot of the Chargers Qualcomm Stadium on Friday nights where they can legally smoke their vehicle tires and burn up the asphalt.

And we should make it a priority to provide here in Tampa Bay to provide similar facilities and the same opportunity to sanction and control such behavior.

How about making use of the the Devil Rays parking lot or the runway of Albert Whitted Airport after hours on a Friday night to host legal and controlled street racing competitions. Or for that matter, why can't we make use of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport runways from time to time?

Instead of compiling a list of reasons why something like this can't be done here, I would suggest that we spend our time and energies resolving the problems and clearing the way to make it possible to offer these types vehicular recreational outlets for our area youth, both auto and motorcycle enthusiasts alike.

And the sooner we resolve the encumbrances that stand in the way of instituting our own version of RaceLegal.com in the Tampa Bay, the safer the streets of our community and the lives of our citizens will become.

So, this week's tip is -- "Get up off you're a - - and get involved in your community -- and when you do, guaranteed, you'll feel better and Tampa Bay will become a better place to live."