Faulty Logic of Argument for Banning Motorcycles

Here is an interesting piece of opinion about motorcycles. In short, there are more fatalities among motorcyclists than among car drivers, therefore, we need to ban motorcycles altogether.

On June 13th, Hugh Curran published a post in a column of Sun Sentinel where he stated his opinion that motorcycles should be banned. The main reasoning is that motorcycling causes deaths which places significant costs on the society. The statistics Mr. Curran employs is number of fatalities per number of drivers, which is significantly higher for motorcycles than for regular cars. Additionally, Mr. Curran cites that motorcycles present environmental problem polluting the environment.

Aside from the fact that Mr. Curran’s close friends and relatives had motorcycle accidents, which I am sure had affected his opinion (and I am very sorry to hear about the accidents and wholeheartedly wish they recover), I cannot help but wonder why Mr. Curran’s proposed solution is to ban motorcycles altogether.

  1. Motorcycles do have higher fatality rates, as statistics shows, but laying the blame on motorcycles and/or motorcyclists is like blaming ALL of the car vs tractor trailer accidents on cars and their drivers. Car has lesser weight, sits lower, placing driver and occupants at higher risk. Following the same logic, we should, well, ban the cars, and leave highways to trucks only.
  2. Next, Mr Curran wonders how is it that car models that cause similar rates of fatalities would be pulled off the market while motorcycles are allowed on the roads. A car model that causes similar rates of accidents has a mechanical/design issue that causes the accidents. There is nothing wrong with motorcycles themselves – these machines are generally in fine mechanical form, aside from an occasional “squid”, who cuts wholes in his frame to lighten his crotch rocket, an action that causes hair to stand up on the backs of the rest of motorcycle community.
  3. Then, Mr. Curran cites costs to the society, assuming, but what is interesting, is there are no comparative costs for accidents caused by cars or any other mode of transportation. How about other causes of fatalities, for example, smoking? Or obesity?
  4. Additionally, Mr. Curran cites that driving is a privilege and not a right, a statement I absolutely agree with, but the author here derives a conclusion that it’s time to revoke that right from the motorcyclists. In doing so, Mr. Curran makes a blank, across-the-board underlying assumption that motorcyclists are irresponsible bunch, and therefore should be revoked the right of driving on the roads. Now, I understand that there are no statistics about “squids” vs responsible motorcyclists (maybe we could keep track of how many people riding in flip-flops and tank tops get into accidents vs. fully equipped motorcyclists that invested in gear and followed ATTGAT principle), but there are also a few “squids” that wear full racing gear, just to make themselves look cool.

In the follow-up post dated June 27th, Mr. Curran goes on to “address some of the more-colorful(sic) e-mails before sealing up my argument”, and at this point diverts onto his living situation, his body type, restates the “privilege vs right” phrase again without any meaningful conclusion being drawn from that and (finally) goes on to addressing the “well, then let’s ban the cars” reaction. In the author’s opinion, motorcycling is a hobby, a form of entertainment, and is not suited for roads, which were meant to be for “transportation, commerce, and national defense”. Here, Mr. Curran ignores people who commute to work on motorcycles (I’m not going to get into discussion that in some countries motorcycles are THE primary mean of transportation), or for business. I am riding my motorcycle for part of my daily commute. I am also a part-time real estate agent, and when I do not have to drive around clients, I find it easier (conditions permitting), to ride a motorcycle, which saves me money on gas, maintenance, and, sometimes parking, affecting my bottom line (clear example of commerce), improving my margins and thereby affecting the amount of taxes I pay which goes toward maintenance of those very roads.

And then, there is “so off to the track they go”. Here the author assumes that all motorcycles are made for racing and sport riding. The fallacy of this assumption is self-evident – just few words to google: “Goldwing” and “R-1200GS”

The post (i keep on typing “article”, and i keep correcting, as this post, in my opinion does not stand up to higher expectations of quality) then goes on to warn us, motorcyclists of groups of “widows or grieving mothers a la Mothers Against Drunk Drivers(sic)” who will “challenge your hobby”, and recommends us that we get fatality rates down and become champions of safety. Mr. Curran also suggests that we form a powerful lobby group similar to NRA. I don’t know where to start here. Firstly, Mr. Curran is clearly unaware of Motorcycle Safety Foundation which provides safety courses that I wish not only every motorcyclist, but also car driver took. I do not remember learning in driving course to pay attention of the wheels of the car in the left lane of the oncoming side as I approach intersection. Nor do I remember learning about the wind buffeting around 18-wheelers which affects cars as well as motorcyclists. I do know that i learned about it when i took MSF course. As far as association, once again, Mr. Curran shows that he has not done any research – all he needed to do is google “motorcycle association” which would lead him to AMA’s site.

The follow up post (darn it, typed “article” again!) ends with “don’t thank me for this epiphany, it’s what I do”. I hope he was joking.

Now, back from the self-aggrandizing conclusion of “schmuck with a column” post into the reality:

  1. Motorcyclist community is a large group of people of all walks of life and such group is bound to have its outliers – people who within the community are called “squids” – riders who do not understand the risks involved or take it seriously. Judging the entire community and take steps based on that judgment would be equivalent to saying that all car drivers are under-insured drivers who drive their cars that are about to fall apart in ways that put others at risk
  2. Motorcycle community always advocates safety, and I can speak from my personal experience that I became a better CAR driver since I learned how to ride a motorcycle – one of the things in particular – I am much more aware of my surroundings, as on the motorcycle the cost of not doing so is greater
  3. If one wants to improve the situation with motorcycle accidents, the approach should include (and perhaps, most importantly so) CAR driver education – there are way too many fallen riders whose only fault was bad luck of riding near a car operated by a driver who was not paying attention. Would requirement of taking a safety course prior to getting a license be helpful? Yes, granted that the courses would be taught properly and quality of education maintained. Would requiring helmets help? Here you get into the gray area – I myself not sure what I think about it. I know I’ve made a decision to always wear a helmet when riding, but I also believe risk assessment and decision is up to individuals. Requiring government to ban something or requiring  something will only increase spending and take away freedoms from citizens. One thing to remember is – you can’t safe a fool from himself.

There are many things around us that present danger (I am fairly certain a human being can do a lot of damage with a pen, both figuratively, and literally), and banning all of them is simply illogical. The best thing to do is educate people about them. Otherwise, and I’d like to underline that this is a humorous statement, lest some eager mis-directed soul tries to advocate it, we should just ban… life – it always ends the same and overall, seems to be a terminal disease that is transmitted sexually. 😉

DIY Project Pipeline – Kitchen

Finally, after a few months of working in the evenings and some weekends, and taking a long break to study for an exam, the kitchen is done.

Before:

After:

Modifications:
Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations Kit on kitchen cabinets
Granite Tile on the counter
Ceramic Tile on back-splash

Now, finally my first floor looks inhabitable and is not cluttered with tools

Attention: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Tires Potential Problems


Here is a link to FZ6 forum thread with a story of one of the members who bought Michelin’s PR3 tires and after some mileage had rear tire start to fall apart and soon thereafter had his front tire blow up on him causing an accident. This is still an ongoing story, so there are no clear conclusions – was it a faulty batch, bad luck, or problem with a design. One thing Michelin has shown so far – they are not very good at communication and dealing with complaints, which makes me scratch my head and wonder whether I really want to buy THE most important part of the motorcycle from a company like that. Given how popular their predecessors (Michelin Pilot Road 2) are, people were eager to see what happens.

Once again, there are no conclusions as of yet, but this is definitely something to keep your eyes on – tires, afterall, is the only thing that keeps you on the road, and, unlike car, you have only 2 of them, each providing contact area size of a playing card.

Stay tuned…

Book Recommendation: The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley

“What? The end? Already?” – that was my reaction when I ran into page 232 of .“The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why” by Amanda Ripley I started reading it only two days ago, and could not stop – on the subway, on the train, and during breakfast.

Ms Ripley created a great book that explores human reaction to disasters and high-stress situations. She has done extensive research in the topic and provided a number of examples ranging from Halifax Explosion to 9/11 and Katrina to Holy Ground Stampede illustrating how we, as humans, behave and what we can do psychologically to stand a better chance if we find ourselves in a high-stress situation. She mentions that this is not a book on how to pack an emergency kit, but how to prepare yourself mentally. The book is very well written, read easily and provides vivid examples.

Some of the topics covered: Fear, Heroism, Stages one goes through in disaster. Post-9/11 security theater also got a few well-deserved jabs. One of important secondary points is how we (mis)evaluate risk and assign higher probabilities to events that in reality are not very likely to occur and what happens as a result. Another book on this topic that I highly recommend is “Beyond Fear” by Bruce Schneier

From Ms. Ripley’s blog, I found out that she is currently working on a book on another topic that interests me greatly – American educational system as compared to other countries. Ms. Ripley certainly has one buyer signed up now. 😉

Overall The Unthinkable is most definitely a highly recommended book!

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WSJ and The Economist on Licensing

There is a good article in WSJ and another one in The Economist on how the number of professions that require the practitioner to be licensed is on the rise. Another example of bureaucracy. No, I believe that there are many fields where the government should deploy the framework of licensing to ensure minimal level of competence among the practitioners (I myself am a licensed Real Estate Professional) , however, I am opposed to this device becoming a tool for monopolistic behavior by interest groups and “professional organizations”.

CT DMV – proof of residency

Had to deal with CT DMV recently and getting a new license (for new residents) caused a major pain in the rear axle.

Location: Bridgeport DMV
Time: May 2011
Mission: To obtain a new drivers license for a driver with existing drivers license.

Just like any busy intelligent person would, you decide to find out the requirements for obtaining a CT drivers license before going to DMV. Given that you live in a 21st century, and do not not have enough time to be entertained by waiting line music for 20 minutes, you looked up information online. According to CT DMV’s website there are multiple requirements for obtaining the license, one of which is proof of residency.

According to the list provided, one of the allowed forms of proof is a utility bill or bank statement with CT address. The site specifically emphasizes(quite literally, in bold letters) that these forms of proof need not be postmarked. The one form of proof that does require a postmarked envelope is an ordinary letter or postcard. So far, makes sense, doesn’t it? Clearly, if you are required to obtain a license within 30 days of moving into the state (and you are), it makes sense that waiting for a postmarked bill may aide you to run out of time. On the other hand, a postcard (i hope you still remember what that is) that you can mail to your new address would be a good proof that you do indeed live at the new address.

This, however, is not the logic that is applied by the staff of Bridgeport DMV, who require bills be postmarked. And should you yield and surrender your turn at the altar of sacrifice, you may try to call the DMV customer service and fully enjoy their waiting line music for at least 20 minutes, at which point the operator will confirm that the bills are indeed accepted without postmarks. At this point, of course, you again need to stand in line in for an honor of reaching the demi-god in the window. At this point the demi-god in the window will repeat the earlier statement about applicability of postmark. To your attempt to argue, the reaction will be appropriate to… well, questioning the orders of a demi-god. After the manager is called, he too will continue to argue the point and when told about your inquiry via customer service will proceed to ask who you talked to.

Eventually, the gods may be convinced though, that the rules the pantheon had produced and published do apply, and you will be allowed to make the necessary financial and documentary sacrifice to obtain the desired piece of plastic with your (generally not very happy) likeness on it.

Thoughts Of The Day: CT DMV needs to address the education of their staff and efficiency of their operation. In my experience, CT DMV is always crowded with long lines of people who sometimes have to take a day off just to go to the DMV (only one “extended hours” (until 6:30) day – Thursday is on schedule, no Sunday and no Monday). If DMV were not a monopoly, it would go out of business in months! I am glad i have a AAA membership – I can go to their center and renew my license when the time comes. Unfortunately, I cannot do the same with various registrations etc and every time I get to deal with them, it’s like good old times in Russia, where it appears that the sole purpose of the government agencies is to make the life of citizens difficult.

On Asset Managers and Dog-Walkers

An asset manager calls me, “we are in the process of generating Q1 invoice. Could you send us our trade data for the period so we can check the data”
Hm, let’s see if we can find an analogy in an everyday world in order to understand the behavior of this fascinating creature.
Let’s say, you found yourself with a very busy schedule with no time to walk your dog. So you hired a dog-walker, and the agreement was that the dog-walker will walk your dog at least once a day and would charge you X amount of money per walk payable at the end of the month.

Now, it’s the end of the month, and the dog-walker asks you to send him information on how many times he walked the dog, so that he can send you an invoice…

Mind you, the dog-walker is not some discount dog-walker, walking the dog for next to nothing, no no, he charges you the market price. In the meantime the neighbors are complaining about dog walker showing up at some ungodly hours, and you have noticed that “walking” generally involves letting your dog run free on the street, where your precious little canine can be easily hit by a car or stolen.