This was in todays paper here in Jackson. Figured it would be a good read.
source:
http://clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.d...406300337/1023
Safety tips
To avoid accidents, Mike Mount, spokesman for The Motorcycle Safety Foundation, recommends these safety tips:
Learn motorcycle safety procedures. Contact The Motorcycle Safety Foundation at 1-800-446-9227 for information on courses available in Mississippi.
Get licensed. In Mississippi, individuals must complete a written test to attain a permit, then take a road test during the following year to become licensed. Helmet use and an automobile driver's license are required.
Wear proper protective gear a helmet manufactured to meet Department of Transportation standards, over-the-ankle boots, full-fingered motorcycle gloves, eye protection, a long sleeved-shirt or a motorcycle jacket and long pants.
Ride sober. Separate the activities of drinking and driving.
Ride within your skill limits.
Obey the law.
Article:
Joseph Lackey talked about curves the way he described running a cross-country race wide-eyed and mischievous, like he'd uncovered the secret to happiness.
On May 24, the Pearl High graduate sat outside Wendy's on High Street, telling his best friends how much he loved rounding them on his new motorcycle, leaning the machine so far over that his leg would nearly skim the asphalt.
It was the last conversation he ever had.
During the drive north toward home, Lackey, 21, took the I-55 Waterworks curve at an estimated 120 mph, lost control and crashed into a nearby guard rail. His helmet was left spinning in the middle of the road.
Chris Hudson, 26, and the other riders crested the hill as a cloud of smoke and dust enveloped the underpass.
Hudson held Lackey while Members of Team 601 the sport motorcycle group that Lackey belonged to soon gathered.
"There were about 40 of us," Hudson said. "We just sat on top of the bridge and cried."
At speeds pushing 170 mph, these young men live life in the fast lane.
The high, the "rush," they get is not enhanced by drugs a point they stress again and again but from the sheer thrill of speed.
And the fast lane?
It doesn't matter what the speed limits say. It could be any city street, any piece of interstate, any section of back road that comes in handy.
But living life in the so-called fast lane turning public roads into private playgrounds comes with a heavy price.
Within a week of Lackey's death, another young man, 23-year-old Kelvin "Phat Luv" Haymer of Canton, was killed while riding his sport bike about a mile north of County Line Road on I-55 South. While not a member of Team 601, he was an acquaintance.
The case remains under investigation, according to Sgt. Ken Craft of the Ridgeland Police Department.
With passion and peril so closely tied together, will anything slow these riders down?
Police say they can do very little, given limits on high-speed pursuits.
Motorists can do little the tags are small, difficult to read and the riders disappear too quickly.
And family members often say they are powerless to do anything but plead and warn.
Perhaps, it will be up to the riders themselves.
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Last year, Hudson, a biker since childhood and a mechanic at Allen Enterprises in Jackson, assembled a group of riders. They called themselves Team 601, after the local area code.
"We just don't let anyone in," said Hudson. "You have to be an all-around good person ... no drugs, nothing like that. We're not going to let no bad people in to start trouble."
The fraternity-style brotherhood of 20-something single bikers includes both black and white members, most of whom work blue-collar jobs to help fund their hobby (sport bikes can cost $8,000 to $13,000).
On their Yamahas, Kawasakis, Hondas and Suzukis, the men find a common bond within the pack and learn how to ride by watching one another.
Lackey, who had run cross country at Pearl High, had owned a bike for about a year before his death.
"If we weren't riding together, we were hanging out together," said 20-year-old Ryan Jungers, who used to practice taking Waterworks Curve with Lackey.
Lackey, he said, was a cautious rider who typically kept to the rear of the pack.
"It came out of nowhere," Jungers said of Lackey's accident.
In biking circles, it's often said when it comes to wrecking, the question is not if but when.
A Team 601 member wrecks every two weeks or so, Hudson said, but the incidents typically leave the rider with little more than a few bumps and bruises.
It's when a rider becomes too confident and pushes his luck that the situation can turn fatal.
"Everybody is fine by themselves, but when guys ride with a pack they can get caught up over their heads," said Leland Speed, owner of North Jackson Honda-Yamaha. "Men love competition ... but it all comes back to responsibility. Cars are forgiving. Bikes are not."
And when a rider fails to respect the power beneath his seat (the bikes are commonly known as "crotch rockets"), the situation can turn ugly.
"There's always a fear of the bike," Jungers said. "You never want to lose that fear."
But it's not easy.
"Once you ride a bike for awhile, you get used to it," Hudson said. "You get bored with it, so you start doing stunts. You walk that fine line between being able to handle your bike, and not.
"When you realize that you're going a little too fast, your heart skips a beat and you know you've almost wrecked," he said.
"That's the rush."
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Robin Lackey, Joseph's mother, said she holds no ill will toward Team 601 and is glad of the bond that her son shared with his "riding buddies."
But coming to terms with his death is still difficult.
"We cautioned (Joseph) every time we talked to him," said Robin Lackey. "We hoped he would be careful. We prayed for it every day ... He was 21 years old. He knew better."
She said she would like to sit down with Team 601 and openly discuss her son and the circumstances surrounding the accident.
"I do get so aggravated that they go so fast on those bikes," she said. "Why can't they see how dangerous they are when you mix the power and speed? Evidently it hasn't sunk into their heads."
Law enforcement officials understand such frustrations. In fact, they have their own.
"It appears, from what we've seen lately, that they put themselves in jeopardy," said Commander Lee Vance of the Jackson Police Department. "At the same time I don't want to stereotype all riders ... There are some who go too fast and pay a high price for it."
The main motorcycle-related problem in the Jackson area is speeding, said JPD spokesman Robert Graham. Graham also cited reckless driving, such as weaving in and out of heavy traffic.
Sgt. Revell Dixon of the Ridgeland Police Department said stopping speeding bikers is difficult.
Police pursuit policies put limits on what actions law enforcement can take, taking into account the violation at hand versus the welfare of the general public.
"We're not going to pursue them if it's a hazard to the rest of the public," Dixon said.
And bikers know that.
"If the cop was on my bumper, more than likely I'd pull over," Hudson said. "If the cop has to turn or cross a median, I know he won't be able to catch me. But now, we pretty much quit that stuff."
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Just a few months ago, these riders were weaving in and out of traffic, accelerating up to 170 mph.
They were teaching each other tricks, like how to stand up on the moving bike, "ski" beside it and perform walking wheelies.
The race to out-do each other took on a life of its own.
But, against the backdrop of these two recent deaths, attitudes have shifted slightly.
Hudson said that the feeling of "invincibility" is gone, but the passion for riding is not.
"If I didn't have my bike, I don't know what I would do," Hudson said. "I know (Joseph) isn't coming back ... I feel that if he had something to say to us, he'd say 'Be careful.' Not 'Don't ride,' just 'Be careful.' "
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By the numbers
Motorcycles registered in 2001in Mississippi 20,509
Motorcycles registered in 2002 22,920
Motorcycles registered in 2003 25,599
Current motorcycles registered in Mississippi 31,283
Current motorcycles registered in Hinds County 1,635
Current motorcycles registered in Madison County 898
Current motorcycles resgistered in Rankin County 1,766
Source: Patsy Holeman, director of the Mississippi Department of Motor Vehicles
Fallen rider in paper. good article
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