Fast Cars Gear

Archive for November 30th, 2009

Drinking Thinking Biking And Boomers

I love beer; specifically microbrew. I love how it looks I love how it tastes I love how it smells and I love how it makes me feel.

I grew up in Milwaukee Wisconsin at a time when it was the beer capital of the US Yes I am old. My grandfather worked as a guard at one of the breweries and we would get free samples of prototype beer. Mmmmmm! My mouth waters at the thought of it. Everyone drank; no one thought much of it. Many people would go to church on Sunday and then go to the local bar. Getting drunk was fun and funny. It was something to brag about. Did I mention that I went to a lot of funerals when I was in high school?

I love riding a motorcycle. I love how my motorcycle looks BMW K1200LT I love how my motorcycle feels and I love the smell of the outdoors when I am riding it well most of the time. I love speed. I love curves and the rush of acceleration with the bike just consuming the road.

I love life. I realize that what I do affects the people that I love who love and depend on me; therefore I never drink and ride.

I need no extra encouragement to go fast nor any false sense of control or power.It has always been by contention that to stay safe on a bike you have to compensate for all the distracted daydreaming or just generally mindless cagers around you. This is difficult enough when you are alert and sober. Anything that detracts from your ability to concentrate and/or reduces your motor skills and reaction time significantly increases your chances of becoming a statistic.

Alcohol and Fatal Motorcycle Crashes

• Alcohol is a major contributor to fatal motorcycle crashes.National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA studies of fatal motorcycle crashes have shown that:
• Between 40 and 45 of all fatal motorcycle crashes involve the use of alcohol.
• In about onethird of the fatalities the motorcyclist was legally intoxicated.
• About 2500 motorcyclists that are killed and about 50000 that are seriously injured in crashes per year involved drinking and riding.*
• Motorcyclists are involved in fatal crashes at a rate of 35.0 per 100 million miles of travel compared with a rate of 1.7 per 100 million miles of travel in cars. **

Motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes in 1995 had a higher intoxication rate than any other type of motor vehicle driver: motorcycle operators 29.1 percent; light truck operators 22.9 percent; and passenger car operators 19.2 percent.

The Center for Disease Control CDC has a new report after analyzing the NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System 40;FARS41;. This report covers research of accidents during 1983 2003. It shows that the peak rate of death among alcoholimpaired motorcycle drivers shifted from those aged 20 24 years to those aged 40 44 years. In addition to this shift during the same time frame as the percentage of alcoholimpaired fatal motorcycle crashes declined for other age groups the 55 59 year rider age group increased from 16.7 in 1983 to 21.1 in 2003.**

So what’s up with us old people? Is it a case of
You can’t teach an old dog? Why can’t you teach an old dog?

Because we are STUBBORN KNOWITALLS!

Most of us have computers and realize that we have to do those irritating Critical Updates for protection of our computer’s security. Who wants a crashed machine? We change the oil in our bikes and cars to get rid of that nasty old oil that is filled with dirt. Well maybe it’s time to do a critical update on ourselves. Get rid of that dirty nasty old oil in our aging brains.

Middleaged brain patch: insert Drink Riding = Trouble

Alarmingly as we get older the effects of alcohol hit us faster. We can’t keep drinking the same way we did when we were in our twenties just like all those other fun things that you used to be able to do so much better when you were 20! The younger you started drinking the more that this is true because the brain damage accumulates. Your brain actually shrinks there is another comment in there but I’ll skip it.***

Now quit putting your fingers in your ears and shouting la la la la la!”

Here is a game you can play http://www.b4udrink.org/ from the University of Illinois. It helps you find out how quickly you will become legally drunk given your weight gender etc.

As of July 2004 all 50 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation establishing a driver with a BAC of .08 to be legally intoxicated.

When you get a driver’s license you automatically give your “implied consent” to take a breath test or other test to measure your blood alcohol.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have “zero tolerance” laws for drivers under 21.

* Fatal Accident Reporting System

** Center for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/priew/mmwrhtml/mm5347a2.htm

*** National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism http://www.niaaa.nih.gov

****National Highway Traffic Safety Administration http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Chuck has been riding motorcycles for 30 years starting with dirt bikes. He currently owns a BMW K1200LT which he takes on adventures through the country on twisty windy mountain roads.

Chuck and Trish own a motorcycle accessory store http://www.2WheelTouring.netTwo Wheel Touring is located on Bull Run Mountain in Virginia about 50 miles west of Washington D.C. We are an online business only.