The Huffington Post is a widely read online blog. Millions of people read news post on this site every day. So when we read a post titled "Motorcycle Riders: Stop Looking Cool, Focus on Keeping Safety" we got a little pissed. First at the grammar, then at the content.
Written by Jonha Revesencio, (a person we seriously doubt rides motorcycles) the article places the responsibility and blame for motorcycle accidents on YOU, the rider and operator.
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Revesencio uses questionable stats and obvious bias to frame her argument that it's solely OUR responsibility to practice safety on the highway.
Nowhere in her "article" does she ever mention to auto drivers, (arguably most of the audience who will / has read this article) they should look twice and watch for motorcycles.
After giving us 5 "tips" for staying safe, such as "motorcycles are less visible," "it's harder to see us at night" and pointing out facts I'm sure have escaped the dim witted motorcycle community such as "be aware of our surroundings and don't try to look cool."
Her final words of wisdom, "Practicing good safety is the only way you can prevent this fun way of travel from becoming a sad tragedy" is especially infuriating to the thousands of innocent accident victims every years who are struck by car drivers who fail to pay attention when turning left or ram us from behind, or put on make up, and check their phones while driving.
This is the type of "Mainstream" faux news reporting that people point to when someone hits and kills a motorcyclist.
"See, it's the biker's fault. They're hard to see at night, or they were wearing black leather and I couldn't see them."
On that, Ms, Revesencio, I call bullshit. Sure, there are a small percentage of motorcycle riders who pull stunts and weave in and out of traffic. But, the majority, close to 99% of riders are wives, husbands, mothers and fathers. Responsible members of society who do everything they can to enjoy this lifestyle and still get home safe.
We don't need you telling us to "don't try to look cool." We need you to tell car drivers to Put Down the Coffee, Hang Up the Cell Phone and WATCH FOR MOTORCYCLES. That is the best way to prevent more motorcycle trips from ending, as you call it, in a "sad tragedy."
Oh, and if you'd like to send Ms. Revesencio a note, her twitter handle is https://twitter.com/jonharules And, if you're interested in telling the Huffington Post what you think of Ms. Revesencio, their Facebook page is HERE
25 comments
My husband was leaving our house coming up to a cross street with no stop sign for him, but there was one for cross traffic. A car stopped at the stop sign, looked at him and as my husband went through, the car pulled out and hit him. Then took off. Purposeful hit and run. Another car stopped and two guys came over to pull the bike off my husband. Thank goodness for insurance and he wasn’t going fast. But, there are people out there that don’t like bikers of any kind. Mine? He works at a hospital.
Huff Post is just a curated publication,. They get their nonsense from others. They do not have a real crew of reporters. Copy and paste is their game for ad money. Boycott their sponsors and tell them why if you feel strongly enough about this. There are plugins you can get for a browser that will show where their ads are served from.
Get home ‘safely’
After reading both this piece and the Huffington piece, I don’t share your reaction. It is VERY important that we as riders remember that we are at a dangerous disadvantage on the road. Obviously, it’s a minute percentage of riders performing dangerous stunts in highway traffic. But, it behooves us to be aware of blind spots, wear protective gear, and use common sense to avoid needless danger. While the Huffington piece was written to bikers, she makes a point at the end to remind car drivers to share the responsibility of sad driving.