Anyone see the bike report on NBC Nightly News?

[Joecubana]

Did anyone see this report Tuesday night? (here's a link to the report on MSNBC:www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7806233/)

THe report was trying to equate the new generation of crouch rockets with the increase in MC fatalities over the past few years.

The report was really disjointed, provided facts without mentioning how they are related (except through inference), and basically paints a pretty reckless picture of all of us.

I worked as a traffic and safety engineer for the DOT here in PA and reviewed accidents and accident statistics. There are standard measures to see if the number or types of accidents are within statistical norms or if there is a broader problem. If the report tonight would have said the number of fatilites by new riders over forty has increased by x% I could have bought ot. But giving raw numbers without stating if registrations have increased, or tying it to the number of miles travelled (accidents per millioin miles travelled, etc) misleads the public into the viewpoint of the media.

But then, the media hasn't reported the news in a long time, just taken every chance to editorialize on every topic.

Too bad it has to cast such a dispariaging view on the pastime we all enjoy.

[Kbrick]

Did anyone see this report Tuesday night? (here's a link to the report on MSNBC:www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7806233/)



Too bad it has to cast such a dispariaging view on the pastime we all enjoy.
I was dismayed at the presentation too, but it was par for the course. One of the teaser lines leading up to the report was equating the ageing rider population with crotchrockets, hence more fatalties. Then showing what looked like stunt riders on GSXR's wheeling through traffic.
Most of the mature riders I know go for comfort over speed. . . but all of you on this forum already know this as we are us!
Mostly anyway..

[Joecubana]

THe report was trying to equate the new generation of crouch rockets .

This shows the true problem with older riders....WE can't spell! :doh

[BradfordBenn]

This shows the true problem with older riders....WE can't spell! :doh

We you trying to spell Crotch Rocket or Couch Rocket?

[Joecubana]

We you trying to spell Crotch Rocket or Couch Rocket?

Gee, Mrs JC asks the same thing! :)

[PeoriaMac]

Now to the American road.. specifically, the vehicles we see on TWO wheels.
There have been TWO trends of late in the MOTORCYCLE business: faster bikes.. and OLDER RIDERS. Tonight what happens when TRENDS collide.. in what can be a DANGEROUS way to get around. Here is NBC's Kevin Tibbles.

(-- PKG --)

nat sots......bike burning rubber/smoke

FOR THRILL SEEKERS ....

nats

MOTORCYCLES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AN ADRENILINE RUSH

it's like being on a rollercoaster


BUT TODAY'S FASTEST GROWING CRAZE....
ULTRA POWERFUL... SUPERFAST 'SPORT BIKES' ...

nats

HAVE MADE MOTORCYCLING ...MORE THRILLING AND MORE DANGEROUS.

the speed's are unbelievable basically

...PUSHING TWO HUNDRED MILES AN HOUR....

**oh, look at this, a wheelie, right thru traffic!**

DEAN CAMPA TURNED LOS ANGLES' STREETS INTO A SPEEDWAY... ON HIS SPORTBIKE...

whoa!!!!*** biker weaves in and out of traffic 1:06

CAMPA WAS CAUGHT.... AND JAILED FOR TWO YEARS.

((Camps)) it's an addiction, that you gotta learn to turn on and turn off.

(siren..)

OTHERS AREN'T SO LUCKY... FATALITIES HAVE ACCELERATED 85 PERCENT ....
FROM JUST UNDER 23 HUNDRED IN 1998...
TO NEARLY 4 THOUSAND LAST YEAR.


but it's not just the young and fearless who are dying... more and more older
riders are buying these heavy powerful cruising machines.... and hitting the
highway... even though many are inexeperienced riders.


IN JUST TEN YEARS THE AGE OF THE AVERAGE MOTORCYCLIST'S HAS RISEN FROM 27... TO 41

AND OF THE INCREASING NUMBER OF FATALITIES... 60 PERCENT ARE OVER THE AGE OF 40...

MARGIT SHOWALTER'S SON MICHAEL, WAS 41, WHEN HE WAS KILLED ON HIS BIKE...

((Margit)) I feel if there's a 41 year old driver that just because he can have a Harley and don't get the proper safety instructions, he needs to realize that he's endangering himself and his family.

be safe out there!!!

CHICAGO'S 'NUMBER ONE STUNNA'S' CLUB IS OVER TWO HUNDRED STRONG...AND HAS NOT LOST A SINGLE MEMBER ...HERE SAFETY COMES FIRST.

(( Reese Golladay 'NUMBER ONE STUNNAS' club president)) it's real easy to get caught up in the speed thing and trying to get a name for yourself out here in the street and wanting to test your limits...but you can
easily end up in what they call a 'panic mode'

nat sots: hi speed on freeway

BUT FOR MANY ON TWO WHEELS... THAT COCKTAIL OF SPEED, POWER AND
YOUTH......STILL PROVES TOO ATTRACTIVE ...DESPITE THE RISK.

nats

Kevin Tibbles NBC CHICAGO

[RTRandy]

Here's what I came away with: If you're over 50 with no experience, you tend to smoke the tires and only ride on the rear wheel at night running in and out of traffic.


Truth is the street sport bike scene is creating a lot of bad will towards two wheel vehicles in general. The irony is these bikes are a wonderful tool to hone skills on a track, but have no business mixing with testosterone and traffic.

[Gnome]

Remember this;

The news media never lets the truth stand in the way of a good story.



And the,(news media) wouldn't know the truth if it bit them in the arse.

[riderR1150GSAdv]

Remember this;

The news media never lets the truth stand in the way of a good story.



And the,(news media) wouldn't know the truth if it bit them in the arse.

Quite right!

I am over those so called 'in depth' BS stories filled with half truth's and sensationalism.
News is not reported in the USA, it is made.

[gsjay]

The AMA has a link on it's home page asking members to ask there Congressmen to fund a new nation wide crash study.

http://www.ama-cycle.com/news/2005/Crash%20study.asp

Do you think a new study would find baby boomers buying harley's and hanging out with their buddies at the bar?

gsjay

[username]

it's just that darn liberal news bias again...

when will the insanity stop?

[Montana]

I thought I recently read that the National Health Institutes released the average death ages for motorcyclists was about mid-20s in the 1980s and about the mid-40s now. That simply means the same generation is still doing stupid things, some just got away with it longer.

The news story last night didn't tell me anything about staying safe behind the wheel! That's what they promised in the teaser. I want my money back.

Why has no one commented on the statement that the bikes go nearly 200 mph? I guess it depends on what you determine to be a margin, is a top speed of 150mph the same as saying 200mph? Apparently so, if you're in media.

[username]

Why has no one commented on the statement that the bikes go nearly 200 mph? I guess it depends on what you determine to be a margin, is a top speed of 150mph the same as saying 200mph? Apparently so, if you're in media.

if truth sold advertising, there wouldnt be so many channels and newspapers. with only one version of a story, and an unsensationalized one at that, the media market would crater. we need sensationalism, deceit, and "opinion" news to keep the economy humming. suggesting that the media be truthful is therefore unpatriotic.

:D ;)

[jmerlino]

Why has no one commented on the statement that the bikes go nearly 200 mph? I guess it depends on what you determine to be a margin, is a top speed of 150mph the same as saying 200mph? Apparently so, if you're in media.

You're not parsing it correctly. 150 isn't "the same as" 200. It's "pushing" 200. See how that works?

[PeoriaMac]

Remember this;

The news media never lets the truth stand in the way of a good story.
And the,(news media) wouldn't know the truth if it bit them in the arse.

As a forty-year rider of motorcycles...and a forty year veteran reporter, I like to point out that you have just used the same tarred brush on the media which you say they use on the truth.

I will put my record and my stations on tv stories against anyones. I've covered poker runs, charity rides, a series of reports, "Two Lane Blacktop", on out-of-the-way places which featured myself and my wife riding our bikes.
We've covered everything from the birth of Midwest Choppers to regular reports on flat track racing at Springfield and Peoria.
This week we featured members of the local Gold Wing club who are holding safety seminars this week. We've covered the Chicago Motorcycle Show and a fellow who loves his antique bikes -- as well as a local guy who's been on the Iron Butt ride three times.
I've been on the Pony Express Ride twice, and we've done several stories with Sue Slate and Gin Shear about their efforts to raise money to fight breast cancer.
We're currently working on a documentary on flat track racing as a family sport....from Chris Carr down to the newest rookies.
And, this Friday we're doing a story on women and motorcycling. I'll see if I can't get it on the web.

Tom McIntyre, Peoria Illinois

[James.A]

As a forty-year rider of motorcycles...and a forty year veteran reporter, I like to point out that you have just used the same tarred brush on the media which you say they use on the truth.


And, this Friday we're doing a story on women and motorcycling. I'll see if I can't get it on the web.

Tom McIntyre, Peoria Illinois

Hey Mac,.....
Wer'e you able to resist the temptaion of showing the local cow-girls pulling up their "property of..." shirts to display their womanhood? Sensationalism sells, you know. You could pixilate the naughty bits.

....but seriously, Tom and his crew are the best friends that motorcycling has in the media.

[Montana]

Mac is probably further proof that there is always an exception to the rule. Unfortunately, most media folks don't want to feature the "preaching to the choir" stuff about the "good" bikers, toy runs, etc. Just like most media never cover the true woman rider, wait, make that, the rider who happens to be female. Most everyone I've asked if they saw the Discovery Channel's feature on the women who ride across country (Goth Girl?), and they say they saw it, the women mention the male mechanic taggging along in the RV, but the men are caught by surprise, "What? I'll have to watch that again, I don't remember noticing him or the RV."

Uh huh.

[Gnome]

Mac,you are one of the good ones,no doubt. But how many times has NBC,CBS,ABC,WOLF,(I mean FOX) had you on to tell the truth?

Just like my friend from Texas said,but not in these exact words,"crap sells".

[DLilah]

And, this Friday we're doing a story on women and motorcycling. I'll see if I can't get it on the web.

Tom McIntyre, Peoria Illinois

Tom, what time Friday is the story supposed to air? I don't want to miss it. :clap

[BANDMAN1]

A large number of us over 40 started riding motorcycles years ago when most bikes were between 125 - 350 cc. Times were simple then. So the slogan went," You meet the nicest people on a Honda. We didn't think about gravel, oil, sand and other wild things on the road. We grew uplearning how to ride on smaller bikes. We grew into the larger, greater cc bikes. We learned by our mistakes most of the time. All of a sudden, we live in a society where we have more time off and salaries have risen a great deal. Now, the thing to do is to buy into a motorcycle cult. Without having any previous experience riding a bike, affluent America buys a Big Bike with lots of horsepower and can add an adrenaline rush while overpowering twisties. New baby boomers hit the roads on two wheels. Trying to handle a big bike without experience can lead to problems.
No one likes to hear about any kind of highway accident, especially with motorcycles, but they do happen. I don't liked to be labeled and put in a group where motorcyclist strive for One Wheel Superiority. Maybe new riders need to take a real look at their own riding skills. Practice does make Better. On another forum, there is a list telling "How to survive on a Motorcycle." More riders should read it and practice these 100 points that could save your life. (Just my own opinion) 40 years riding :)

[username]

On another forum, there is a list telling "How to survive on a Motorcycle." More riders should read it and practice these 100 points that could save your life. (Just my own opinion) 40 years riding :)

give us a link to that site?

thanks.

[BANDMAN1]

This is a really good thing to read.
Hope this helps. Maybe we should share this with the others on the forum. This is a good test to see how we stack up.

http://piratesk12site.net/SAFETY~1.htm

[Gnome]

:thumb :thumb

Everyone that rides should read that.

--
I have to agree that there are some riders out there who have the money and all of a sudden want to be cool and go out and get a big cruiser. They go to the Harley Shop,ex. and before you know it they have a big bike they cannot even control,no experience,no riding skill, and maybe just maybe they wont even get a motorcycle endorsement. I have known guys who have done that, and it makes me mad as hell!

I started off riding dirt bikes,probally the best way to learn to ride a motorcycle. I'm no pro but I make it a point to keep my skills up. These few who are getting killed because of inexperience are going to screw it up for the rest of us.

[James.A]

: These few who are getting killed because of inexperience are going to screw it up for the rest of us.

In a truely free society this wouldn't even be a concern.

[Gnome]

In a truely free society this wouldn't even be a concern.


Amen!