Did you know tha in crashes involving motorcycles and cars it's usually the motorcycle that gets the tickets? There was a new law passed this year thank goodness called " Jaggers" law.

In this instance a company truck hit this biker and killed the biker. This driver got merely a slap on the wrist. It's a sad day when all vehicles are not welcome on the roadways.

Watch for bikers... If your family is a biker that has gone down check out these awesome people.


Downed Bikers Association

OSCN Found Document:[SB 1929] - An Act relating to motor vehicles; creating the David Jaggers Law; specifying certain fee associated with conviction or guilty plea for failure to yield right-of-way; directing deposit of certain fee, etc.

I looked up the law. It requires a $1000 fine be paid into a trust fund to promote awareness. It only affects killing or maiming motorcycle riders/drivers when a driver is convicted or pleads guilty to failure to yield right-of-way.

This "safety" oriented organization also opposes mandatory helmet laws. They are an extremely confused sounding group.

When you get on one of those motorcycle contraptions, you are assuming the risk of death or great bodily harm -- not only from your own negligence, but from that of everyone else on the road. One mistake, and you are in for a bad day.

People who do not comprehend this risk are idiots. I'm sure most motorcycle riders understand it, but to get on one of those things without a helmet is for lack of a better word, stupid.

If in the above case, the driver while exercising reasonable care and they hit a motorcycle, c'est la vie. If we're talking about a semi, I don't really feel too bad for the biker. Semi trucks are huge. There's no way a careful biker could miss the presence of such a thing on the road.

On the other hand, a biker should know that a semi has a lot of blind spots and can have a hard time seeing them. If the biker doesn't have the sense to stay out of the way, I say we have a case of the surival of the fittest on our hands.

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I understand the risk, I've been riding these "contraptions" for over thirty years. I choose to not wear a helmet except for the winter months, when it helps keep me warm. Helmets aren't the key to safety, it's TRAINING, PRACTICE, and PARANOIA! I expect people to change their minds about exits, change lanes without looking, ignore Yield signs, etc.
My favorites are those that wear a helmet with shorts and/or sandals. "Road rash" is a minor injury but a major aggravation.

Oasis, I respect your right not to wear a helmet. Where I start to have problems is that some bikers seem to want to impute their voluntary assumption of the risk of brain injuries (done by not wearing a helmet) to drivers who may hit them.

I would personally like to see legislation which protects car and truck drivers from wrongful death or personal injury suits brought by bikers who could have demonstrably avoided injury by wearing a helmet.

This is in our law already in a way, we have comparative fault, last clear chance, and other tort doctrines which may be asserted as a defense. I'd just like to see it better spelled out.

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midtowner, That makes no since. WTH??? SO the bikers are more at fault than the cars that injure them just because they don't have on a helmet???? Do you realize that alot of bikers are injured everday not from wearing helmets it's from the cars that speed, change lanes without looking, running red lights or wait JUST NOT STOPPING at a light... Oh and by the way do you realize how many bikers are robbed from motorist that stop to "help" the ones they just hit??? Yeah think about it. You hit someone on a bike and then turn around and rob them.. That has nothing to do with helmets.. All I am asking is that everyone be careful, there are freedoms of riding a bike that most will never experience why should they be blamed because someone is late for work and is not watching for BIKERS...

WATCH FOR BIKERS!!! I MIGHT JUST BE THE ONE YOU KILL

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Regardless of the negligence of the car/truck driver, the biker is breaching a duty of reasonable care to herself if she chooses not to wear a helmet. It's just like a person in a car who doesn't wear a seatbelt and is killed.

Riding a motorcycle has risks. When you get on one, you should be legally held to assume those risks.

I'm not saying that drivers should have the right to be negligent and run you over. They shouldn't, however, be punished for your personal decision to expose yourself to a much greater risk by not wearing head gear. That's your choice and your fault.

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That's why I'm a fan of loud pipes.. Loud Pipes Save Lives.. You are almost invisible on a bike.. but those pipes alert other drivers that you are near..
I miss our bike.

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Those loud "pipes" are like loud "music." They are SO loud they can cause deafness. And with me, when I hear that crap ("pipes" and "music") it hurts my ears. All of that should be illegal. That is why mufflers were invented. (no. Not just MY ears)

Think of it this way.. when you go deaf, you won't be so bothered by loud music or loud pipes.. it's a win/win.

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Wouldn't loud pipes technically be a noise ordinance violation in most municipalities?

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Loud pipes are in fact a noise ordinance violation, seldom enforced due to the lack of decible meters in patrol cars. As a rider, my complaint about loud pipes is that they offer nothing to performance. Straight pipes are only effective at top end speeds, not around town, and certainly not at stoplights "blipping" the throttle. If you are spending money to be noticed (and being noticed IS an issue) buy a modulator for your headlight and brake lights.

If it is my bike and I carry insurance keep my bike up to date on its tags and everything, I should be able to choose not to wear a helmet if some person hits me and hurts me, they are very responsible for my injuries. There is no question we should all be more careful, but your car is bigger than my bike like a semi is bigger than your car. Do you want to make a law that all semi's can only drive at certain times and days to avoid hitting your car filled with your family? OR about this you can only drive at certain times cause semi's bring our food and other things we demand in the stores. Give me a break we are all created equal as americans I should be able to choose what I drive. Just dont hit me and you wont worry about paying for my injuries ....

Watch out for BIKERS !!!

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Well said. I have never heard the semi argument before, I may use it!
Those in the "Quadra-Glides" should give us credit for being a more agile vehicle, too. PRO-CHOICE !!!!

Fine with me if you think your hair is protection enough for concrete

What should be illegal is larger women in leather on the back of the bikes

As a driver, I think I would rather have the inconvenience of hearing loud pipes once in awhile and noticing the biker compared to the alternative, not hearing or seeing the biker and smearing them into the ground with my SUV.

As a previous Harley owner, I loved the pipes.. they weren't outrageously loud, you could just tell that there was a Harley near even when you couldn't see it in your blind spot. It is scary on a bike.. I have pulled out in front of a bike because I honestly didn't see it! It was very scary.. thankfully, we both avoided a collision.

My dad had his face cut in half when I was five years old.. long long time ago before helmet laws ( we have them in California) , but we didn't then .. my dad was driving down the road and a lady backed out of her driveway into him, he had so many injuries, pelvic crushed.. jaw hanging off his face, ended up on permanent disability and scarred for life.. it took me a long time not to be scared to death on a bike.

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I am with Karrie...nothing sounds as good as a Harley with loud pipes....nothing sounds as good as a Harley period...

I know.. I should just stop wearing my seatbelt, disable my airbags, make sure I get a winshield that will shatter, and maybe try to find one of those cars with saddlebag exploding gas tanks.

The problem that arises is not only with the individual that hits you. In many cases, their insurance is not going to be able to pay for your medical bills, life support, etc. while you're in a coma for 15 years. Those millions in bills are going to be eaten by hospitals and passed on to the rest of us.

Just as not wearing a seatbelt ought to result in a failure to mitigate damages (it doesn't), so should not wearing a helmet (I researched it, and this isn't the case either). I think the rules on these are basically unjust and that a defendant in an injury case should only have to pay for the damages he caused, not the damages caused by the failure of some idiot to wear a simple safety device that could have saved their life.

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i agree with you, but isn't there this concept called 'eggshell skull?' -M

m:

That's true. The "eggshell skull" rule says you take your plaintiff as you find them.

However, there's also a "duty to mitigate" that arises in some cases. I think with vehicular negligence that the plaintiff's own negligence ought to decrease the value of any award.

This would take effect is a motorcycle rider failed to wear a helmet, a driver failing to wear a seatbelt, not using a child seat for a young child, etc.

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like i say i agree with you here. if a person doesn't operate their vehicle in a safe manner, e.g. buckling up, wearing a helmet, etc then they should assume the risk. one should have the freedom to ride a bike without a helmet, but that freedom should carry responsibility if extra injuries occur as a result.

the challenge would be to determine how much damage was caused by the risky behavior and how much would have resulted no matter what. -M

Ok let's talk about high cost of medical.. Most bikers have insurance that covers them. We have illegal aliens that come over and use our hospitals to cover their children their having is way more than any medical anyone has paid out do to Bikers not wearing a helmet. Oh wait, how about DUI's that kill, injure people. OHHHHH let's talk about uninsuranced motorist that hit your family and your liablity only does not cover most of your bills. So I am supposed to pick up the tab cause you cant afford full coverage on your 75 burned up vehicle.????? Or your kid gets hurt at school and you sue the school becuase you can't afford health care?? Who covers all this?? It's your choice what insurance you carry on your family and car. My suggestion is carry more and WATCH OUT FOR BIKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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That's why we pay the big bucks for expert witnesses such as doctors and accident reconstructionists.

You'd be surprised how much information can be obtained from a broken helmet (or skull).

The difference in liability between a few broken bones and a dead person is pretty vast. With freedom, we should also have responsibility. The two should go hand in hand.

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That's basically not responsive to anything I said, but you did try.

I never mentioned anything about illegal immigrants or uninsured motorists, or any of that. If you want to talk about that, we can do it in another thread.

As mmm said, with the freedom to put yourself in harm's way, you ought to assume the responsibility of the consequences of your action.

Every time you ride, you know that you risk serious injury in the event of a fall or a collision. Most of the risk is from head injuries. You know you could avoid these sorts of injuries by wearing a helmet. But you don't wear a helmet. Why shouldn't you be resopnsible for the conseuqences of your own bad choices?

You respond (in all caps) "watch out for bikers"

How does that address anything at all?

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All I said is watch for bikers. Be aware of your surroundings. Have you ever ridden or paid for the insurance bikers pay for. I can assure you it's enough to cover our butts if we make a mistake.

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