Rough roads dangerous to motorcycle riders
The Staff of Clutch and Chrome
June 19th 2008
With
safety
studies and government officials looking closely at
motorcycle fatalities and threatening to tighten helmet laws
and mandate safety training, an accident in Massachusetts
adds another wrinkle to the subject.
A fatal
motorcycle accident Tuesday night in Chicopee, a city in
Southern Massachusetts has the biking community speaking out
to highlight the poor conditions of the state's roads. Bikers are
pointing to potholes and major cracks in the local roads
that are a threat to riding safely as they try to
navigate the highways without steering into other
road-users.
This isn't
just an activist group making excuses either. A recent
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA)
study concluded one method of reducing motorcycle fatalities
is to fix the nations highways. The
study, released late in
2007 which outlined generally directions and focus for a
2008 safety campaign even encourages regular meetings with
the
Motorcyclist Advisory Council
to emphasize the importance of
recognizing the needs of motorcyclists during all phases of
highway construction.
However,
roads are under state jurisdiction for repairs and
maintenance. Many state budgets are being squeezed as
falling home values reduces the taxes authorities can
collect. Also, materials used for re-surfacing roads are
oil-based and as oil prices continue to sky-rocket, the cost
of repairing potholes and cracks are also becoming costly.
All of these factors can leave the everyday biker riding
over rougher roads. |
