Quote:
|
Originally Posted by S107
I Disagree, Im A Squid. And Proud To Be Labled As Such. Why Do You Care So Much About What The Other Guy Is Doing??? And Why Do You Feel The Need To Represent All Bikers? Heres An Idea, Just Go Out And Ride. Who Cares If Someone Is Out In Sandals & No Gear. It Is That Guys Choice And His Right To Do So. Like You, I Hear This Conv. A lot. Let Squids Be Squids. Most Grow Out Of It. Some Dont.  |
I agree with a lot of what you said, but disagree with some.
On one hand, what someone else does isn't my business and for the most part, I don't care. Personally, I don't buy the whole high insurance and no gear correlation.
But riding habits of others DO affect me whether I want it to or not. Where I live (NYC) lanesplitting is illegal but mostly ignored by the law. It's safer for the motorcyclist and reduces congestion. But with the recent rise in squidly lanesplitting practices (high speeds, and yes, even wheelies between cars) law enforcement has been cracking down.
In the past, responsible motorcyclists could lanesplit, now all lanesplitters get stereotyped as hooligans terrorizing others in traffic. I've gotten stopped once this year because the cop saw "a blue sportbike" lanesplitting at high speeds.
Not only that, but there's this rider that routinely wheelies down my residential street. I had the cops stop by my apartment 2 weeks ago because a neighbor a few houses down thought it was me.
There's also this side road on a deserted area I often take breaks at because it's on the way home when I ride a certain route on the weekend joy-ride. It's straight and pretty empty, on the side of the road is a pull off because of the scenery. Last year when I pulled in there were 2 police cars parked, thought nothing of it. After I took off my helmet and lit up my cigarette they came over and checked all my papers. They told me that the road is often used for "wheelies and other stunts" by local kids and most of them didn't have legal papers.
While nothing is that big of a deal, it's irritating and annoying. To apply some logic to the case, would I have had those stops/inquiries if squids did not exist? No. I think it's safe to conclude that squids DO affect some of us in a negative way. Yeah, it's all minor stuff...I've probably only had about 1 hour of my life wasted because I was stopped...but still, it's not cool. Plus the added aggravation of targeted unnecessarily by law enforcement. AND I might have to stop splitting lanes which would probably add 30 minutes each way on my commutes.
As for gear, whatever. Wear what you want, it's your skin. I think it's stupid to not protect yourself, but that's your choice.
I only get annoyed when someone else's choice directly affects my life in a negative way, and squids do, so they get no support or sympathy from me.