Interestingly enough, in the US, and in very specific contexts, Federal Law can override State Law. It’s the case for people serving in the Armed Forces. DoD made Personal Protection Equipment (Helmet, Gloves, etc.) mandatory for all military bikers everywhere, including CONUS. That and mandatory basic safety riding courses, advanced rider courses, etc. Non compliance means you’re not allowed to ride. If you still ride and get caught, you’re fired. Why is that? The Instructors explained that in 2007, the USMC lost more Marines in bike crashes in the US than in combat in Afghanistan. So not just a matter of personal choice or responsibility. Your employer may feel concerned as well. Uncle Sam certainly does…
Might be a whole lot of BS too? In Afghanistan,the US lost 1,922 U.S. service members killed in action some of which were Marines, and a further 20,000 U.S. military casualties. Seems really obvious to me what they could do to reduce those numbers. Between 1999 and 2012 4,423 US troops died in combined motor vehicle deaths including motorcycles. Of those 1,134 died in motorcycle crashes. Seems to me that cars killed far more! Over a 13 year period that is an average of 87 riders. The suggestion that bikes were the massive killer seems nonsensical.
Well, I do not know where you got your figures here, @Jez900ie , but I am only quoting what I was told upon arrival in the US in 2012 and was forced to take two days of motorcycle safety training to be allowed to use my 848 by the US DoD as a foreign exchange officer in the USAF. After 20 years of riding in Europe, and knowing what you have to get through to get your motorcycle licence in France (way harder than in UK back then and not even talking about the US), I did feel it was a load of bollocks all right. But then, after a year riding in FL, I was shocked by the average (poor) level of riding/driving over there. The annual overall road deaths in the US is absolutely massive with almost 41.000 killed in 2023, for example, with 330M people in the country. As a comparison, in France, 3200 people where killed on the road in 2023, for a population of 69M. That’s 3 times less per capita… The US Air Force is certainly taking thing very seriously. https://www.safety.af.mil/Divisions/Occupational-Safety-Division/Air-Force-Rider/ That, boring to death straight roads (FL) and not being allowed to split lanes (even to get in front of a queue at a traffic light or in a traffic jam) had me stop riding entirely after my first year there.
H&S is really there to protect companies from compensation claims rather protect the individual, many of whom see a workplace accident as a way of making some cash and bunking off work for a while.
The numbers I previously quoted were all from US State government on the Afghan war & the FL RTA statistics. Its certainly true that relative to most western nations the US RTA are very high at 14.2 per 100,000 inhabitants; UK is 2.2 & France 4.9 though its worse in Zimbabwe at 41.2! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate It is worth noting the longer distances mean the Americans drive much further than most nationalities currently 14000 p.a. compared UK 7000 or France 5,500. The distances probably mean their average driving speeds are higher, and the time taken to get them to hospital much longer too.
Distances are greater indeed, but traffic is definitely generally slower and calmer than in Europe, which is really nice. The flip side of this is that people pay less attention on the road, with cruise control and all. My record there, going East to West across Texas, was 4 hrs without touching the pedals…
Interestingly enough, when I took my advanced rider course there, one of the instructors was a Law Enforcement Officer (FL Highway Patrol). He explained that Law Enforcement professionals believed splitting lanes (like they do in California) was safer than forbidding it. Can’t remember the rational behind it though.
Yeah I've never understood how a bike sitting sandwiched in between cars stuck in traffic where the car drivers are probably fiddling with their phones, coffees, stereos, screens, balls (delete as applicable) is conducive to a safer state of mind and physicality for the biker. It would frustrate the absolute bejesus out of me and I'd probably end up filtering anyway risking the fine... Why penalise one of the prime benefits of a bike over a car... it's madness.
My old riding buddy used to sit in traffic when we were out and about on our motorcycles. Not once did he filter in all the time we rode together.
Guess you guys got split up a lot then hahaha I'd not be hanging around for him - though could wait at the pub for him to catch up though
Nah, he was the navigator as he had an encyclopedic knowledge of Welsh roads as his main hobby was driving/riding. I just accepted that was what he was most comfortable doing and had no desire to pull him up for it.
