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
I tweeted her with this — @jonharules I’m too old and fat to ever look cool on a motorcycle. The image is polite & safe, yet straightforward. https://scontent-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/1890543_634031763331458_396233075_o.jpg
So I’m sure it was all my fault, when on August 8, 2014, when the guy in a truck crossed 2 lains if traffic hit me tore my bike to pieces and put me in the hospital with a C2 fracture and a T2 compression and all kinds of road rash to go with it! 3 months in a neck brace, 24, 7, and off work. And by the all he got was a falier to yield ticket, thats all on . Oh sorry my bad.
This is written by someone who doesn’t have the slightest clue about what they’re talking about.
I am a current rider and class “A” driver.
It starts with the false sense of security on how safe cars are. Cars are like a loaded gun, if you don’t pay attention to what you are doing, you or someone else is going to get hurt or killed.
People, in general, are in there own little world when driving. I see it time and time again, talking on cellphone, reading a book or paper, texting, eating, working on their laptop even playing with themselves, both men and women.
A lot of times I see people doing more than one task. I see 55%-60% of cars that pass me doing one of the thing mentioned above.
I weigh 76,000-80,000 pounds 80%-90% of the time. My steer axle is 11,500lbs-12,000lbs, the average car is right around 4,000lbs that the same as me driving 3 cars on 2 wheels. Think about that!
I’m not going to try and explain why we ride. Everyone rides for different reasons.
Next time you want to push the fault on someone else, before you do, make sure you know what your talking about and make sure you yourself are safe as well…
I have been riding motorcycles for fifty years. I have been active in motorcycle Rights, Awareness and Safety for thirty+ years. Rarely, if ever, have I seen such blatant, unknowing, uncaring, non-researched, biased, ignorant reporting on motorcyclists. I am sure you are buried in messages condemning the article by Ms. Revesencio, Should you care to rescind her article and print accurate information, I am available to offer you dozens of reliable, credible resources, starting with the American Motorcyclists Association. Huffington Post has always been a favorite “casual reference for chatty news”. NOT NOW, and I’ll share that opinion with others, unless you retract the stupid article about motorcyclists being the main cause of their own crashes. for the time being (everyone makes mistakes) With Respect, Carol Simpson , Nashville, TN.
Dear Ms. Revesencio,
I feel that you don`t have a clue as to what you`re talking about. I will ask you the same question that a law maker would ask. What documentation, statistics or facts do you have to support your claim. I would guess that you have none.