In this file photo, one person was taken to hospital with critical injuries after a motorcycle collided with a van on Portage Avenue in Winnipeg on Saturday, June 2, 2018.Chris Procaylo / Winnipeg Sun I dont know Liz Braun. Despite the fact she works for Postmedia, as do I, our paths have never crossed. According to her company bio, though, she is the Suns film critic. Thats her official title. Unofficially, I take it shes also their general curmudgeon. That is all I know about Liz Braun.Oh, and maybe one last thing: She really has her head up her you-know-what when it comes to motorcycles and the people who ride them. That, it seems, did not stop her from writing the most salacious of screeds: Put your motorcycle in the garage and never take it out again, essentially a lecture on the dangers of motorcycling that denigrates both motorcyclists and motorcyclingIts always difficult to know where to start in debunking myths surrounding motorcycling, but the first thing that stands out about this article is trying to determine what exactly Ms. Brauns motivations were other than venting of spleen in writing Just leave the bike at home. Everyone who loves you will be grateful. One assumes (hopes?) that her quoting motorcycle fatality statistics might be some public service message to warn off unsuspecting souls unaware that riding a motorcycle is dangerous. But, heres a tip for Ms. Braun or, in fact, anyone looking to warn us bikers to the dangers of motorcycling: Our mothers beat you to it. Quite some time ago, in fact. Nothing you wrote or could write could match the talk we had when our dear mothers discovered we were hiding Cycle World under our beds or sneaking rides on cousin Bobs Honda Z50. We know motorcycling is dangerous, Liz. Just like boxing, no sentient being can don protective headgear and climb into the ring or onto the saddle without some understanding that the activity they are about to engage might have dire consequences. We understand the risks, accept the dangers, and most importantly, welcome the responsibility. Motorcyclists relish the fact that balancing on two wheels requires more skill than driving a cager. Its part of the reason we ride.More interesting, however, is that Ms. Braun introduces her entire rant by acknowledging that motorcyclists are not at fault in many of their, lets call them interactions with automobiles: In the off-chance you hadnt noticed, people dont stop at red lights any more, rarely signal lane changes fail to check their blind spot, tailgate, speed, drive under the influence and use their phones while operating their vehicle. In other words, the worse people drive, the bigger your risk.Now and this, as the kids say, Liz, is where the st just got real Im pretty sure that victim blaming is a bad thing. In fact, from what I read in the papers, it might be a really bad thing. I am neither, as many will note, a sensitive man, nor, as even more will attest, the brightest bulb in the socket, but even I know that were you to blame victims of assault for the clothes they wore, the professions they chose or, yes, even how much alcohol they had consumed, youd be ridden out of town on a rail. Actually, more like a razor blade. Seriously, Liz, you want us to stop our behaviour because males oops, that just slipped out drivers cant behave properly? Thats really your solution?I’m pretty sure that victim blaming is a bad thingMs. Braun does go on to provide a few tips from soon-to-be-retired Toronto Police Services Alex Crews on how to ride safe. Unfortunately, they fall into the been there, done that category of admonishments wear bright clothing, drive defensively, etc. that pretty much every motorcyclist already knows. (Note: the one good bit of advice Ms. Braun does quote is to pay attention at intersections; motorists are forever turning left in front of motorcyclists they didnt see.)If Ms. Braun had done just a little more homework by the way, Liz, motorcyclists are 13.5 times more likely to die than an occupant of a car, still egregious but not the 27 times you cite she might have had a few more effective tips to even out her diatribe. According to the Canada Safety Council, for instance, mandatory motorcycle training can reduce rider fatalities by as much as 46 per cent. Motorcycles with ABS are 37 per cent less likely to be in a fatal collision than those without. Indeed, I wrote my engineering thesis on the potential benefits (at the time, no bikes were so-equipped) of anti-lock brakes for motorcycles and came to the conclusion that ABS would be the single most effective safety technology for motorcycles. I guess not much has changed in 37 years.And what about a quick word, Liz, on the fact alcohol has an even greater effect on motorcyclists than car drivers that whole walk in a straight line balance thing and so reduces a riders care and control at comparatively minuscule blood/alcohol levels. In Ontario, for instance, 25 per cent of
Origin: Motor Mouth: More ignorant grandstanding about motorcycling