Squids making us all look bad

[tp_cracker]

‘Stunting’ a new motorcycling craze that can kill
By STEVE ROCK
The Kansas City Star
The online video is scary, almost chilling.

While an unsuspecting driver motors along a two-lane Kansas City road, a man on a motorcycle comes from the opposite direction. The biker is cruising at a high rate of speed when, suddenly, he climbs onto the seat. He straightens his legs, spreads his arms wide and stands triumphantly.

All without slowing down.

It’s called “stunting,” and it’s the latest craze in the motorcycling world.

Although you might not see much of it during wintry weather, law enforcement officials on both sides of the state line say more and more motorcyclists are performing treacherous tricks that endanger themselves and the drivers around them.

“Aggressive motorcycle driving is an issue throughout the metro area,” said Capt. Dek Kruger of the Kansas Highway Patrol. “We’re seeing ’em popping wheelies on the interstates and performing stunts on the streets.

“It’s getting worse. It’s getting to the point where a lot of agencies are getting together and asking, ‘How can we combat this?’ ”

And while it’s not clear how many deaths and injuries can be attributed to stunting, it’s obvious that the activity is dangerous.

According to police reports, a Kansas City motorcyclist was injured in October 2005 while speeding and “driving carelessly” on Independence Avenue. He had been popping a wheelie — driving with the front tire in the air — after dark, so oncoming traffic couldn’t see his headlight, which was pointing upward.

When a car pulled out in front of him, the motorcycle plowed into the vehicle.

“This is not rare,” said Officer Dan Watts, community interaction officer for the Kansas City Police Department’s North Patrol Division. “This is happening.”

And not only in Kansas City.

•In October, a Nebraska man died after he lost control while doing a wheelie, hit two curbs and was thrown.

•In Texas, a motorcyclist and his passenger were killed in October when the driver lost control while doing a wheelie. The bike hit a curb, and both victims were sent airborne into an iron fence.

•In September, a 3-year-old boy died in Florida after a motorcyclist, trying to do a wheelie, inadvertently landed on the child and dragged him about 15 yards.

The bottom line, law enforcement officials said, is that the stunting craze is contributing to the climbing national figures for motorcycle deaths.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of motorcycle fatalities climbed to 4,810 in 2006 — a 123 percent increase from just 10 years earlier.

In Missouri, 93 motorcyclists died in 2006. In Kansas, there were 64 fatalities. Both were record highs.

So concerned are local law enforcement officials about the increase in motorcycle deaths that they held a summit in June, inviting county prosecutors, bikers and others to discuss enforcement and safety issues. While they addressed concerns about speeding and other related problems — a Kansas Highway Patrol arrest report from September showed a motorcycle was doing 102 mph in a 35 mph zone, for example — they spent a lot of time talking about stunting.

One question they discussed: Why is it so popular? Watts attributes part of the phenomenon to the increasing popularity of sport bikes, or motorcycles dubbed “crotch rockets” that are very powerful and have tremendous acceleration.

“Is that the only reason?” Watts asked. “No. I’m sure there are other social factors involved, too.”

The Internet is awash with footage of motorcyclists stunting, some of it with shots of the Kansas City and St. Louis skylines in the background.

The bikers are popping wheelies at 90 mph or driving on their front tires. They’re sitting on their handlebars. They’re doing wheelies while passengers behind them hug the bike with their legs and bend backward parallel to the street, just inches off the ground.

Sometimes, they’re stunting in isolated parking lots and in areas where there is little or no traffic. Other times, they’re doing it on busy streets and highways.

Just read this excerpt, written last month on an online message board dedicated to Kansas City motorcyclists: “Shoulda seen the look on that lady in the passenger seat of the Volvo as I passed on the Benton curve.”

Law enforcement officers said the bikers were stunting throughout the area. They’ve been seen on Interstates 29, 35 and 435, on Missouri 152, and virtually anywhere else they can find long stretches of highway.

“During good weather, we will get daily complaints about erratic motorcycle operations,” Kruger said.

Greg Harrison, senior vice president of communications for the American Motorcyclist Association in Ohio, said his organization “does not condone whatsoever” stunting on public streets and highways.

“People who do those activities may call it stunting,” Harrison said. “We call it reckless operation.”

Harrison said that, while only a small minority of bikers engages in stunting activities, they do “colossal damage” to the rest of the motorcycling community.

“The people that observe them won’t remember the number of motorcycles they quietly passed that day,” he said. “But they’ll certainly remember the ones who came wheelying past or standing on their seat.”

In Florida, which had a nation-high 562 biker deaths in 2006, a state legislator is trying to stem the tide by proposing legislation that would force a motorcyclist to serve a mandatory jail term and forfeit his or her motorcycle license for 10 years for simply popping a wheelie.

No comparable laws are on the books in Missouri or Kansas.

Instead, law enforcement officials are looking at citing perpetrators — if they can catch them — for careless and imprudent driving or reckless driving.

“Stunting is pretty much the in thing now. It’s getting so big,” said Brian Smith, founder of the Kansas City-based group Midwest Stunters, which has about 30 members. Many of them get together regularly to ride and perform tricks.

He said stunters were “extremely skilled,” and saw no problem with riding in large, open, vacant areas.

But even he said there were limits.

“I absolutely won’t do it on the highway,” Smith said. “That’s too dangerous.”



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@ Go to KansasCity.com to see video of riders stunting.

[kchusky]

I have had a few rockets and love riding them, and I look forward to buying another in a few more years. This stuff has been driving insurance prices up well before I moved here from California in 95. I went to get insurance on my GSXR1100 and was told the cost was about 4x's the price it was in Cali., do to kids riding them wrecklessly. Funny then didn't talk about the tv show "Super Bikes".

[Motoracer13]

Im also suprised they didnt mentionthat show- I HATE IT!!Last night they showed a new guy that had joined the group and said they were glad they caught him befor he started picking up on bad habits, Five min later they're showing a group ride on the streats with people being stupid. That show is bad for the motorcycle community. Im not saying that I ride perfect all the time but there is a time and a place.
I think the way they have shown motorcycle deaths a little misleading also. Every bike mag I read shows the biggest segmant of motorcycle fatalities is the babyboomers right now. I kknow of a website thats VERY graffic that shows the bad of motorcycling. I wont even post it. There's just as many cruiser wrecks as there are sportbikes.
and last thing am I the only one that thinks the harleydavidson commercial with the santa that looks like a sci-fi horror flick is just wrong?

[Hayden]

Yea I didnt see a mention of Gas prices in there either. I know of several new riders this year at work just because of gas prices. New guys that had never ridden before in there lives buying bikes and trying to ease the pain of rising fuel. They were all looking at buying bikes anyway in the future but decided to up the date of purchase because of fuel. I saw a lot of older guys too pulling out the old bike sitting in back of the garage, cleaning it up and riding it this year. My dad for one!! I believe that the higher the fuel goes the more you will see people switching to bikes for commuting etc. That inturn puts more bikes on the road and more chances for rises in the death rate nation wide.


Hayden

[Motoracer13]

Thats a good point I didnt even think about!

[safiri]

Yea I didnt see a mention of Gas prices in there either. I know of several new riders this year at work just because of gas prices. New guys that had never ridden before in there lives buying bikes and trying to ease the pain of rising fuel. Hayden

I hear the same thing. It makes me laugh. Even at 55-65 mpg with my FI F650, the cost of ownership (bike, insurance, tires, chain/sprockets) more than wipes away the savings from fuel. Face it: those of us that own bikes also own a car. We aren't saving insurance money. I ride my bike to work b/c I have a bike and I like to ride. I don't own the bike to save money on commuting.

Add to the cost that most don't know how (and don't want to know how) to change a tire, so they are paying the dealership quite a price from new tires every 5-7k of riding. Figure $200 for tires. Car tires are 2 or 4 times as much (for 4), but last 8 times as long.

As to the stunters: Most idiots on motorcycles will kill themselves, and not anybody else. Compare that to the idiots on their cell phones that pull out / in front of me on my motorcycle or bicycle. Research shows that talking on a cell phone (headset or not) is equivalent to a blood alcohol content of 0.08%, which is considered intoxicated in both MO and KS.

BTW, teenage girl insurance rates are almost equal to those of teenage boys now ... yep, due to cell phone usage leading to accidents.

In closing: How 'bout the lawmakers in KS and MO focus on activities that endanger others. Namely cell phone usage and driving. Let the hooligans on sport bikes remove themselves from the gene pool.

[kchusky]

In other news, a very good friend and riding buddy has been working on helping out a local racer that was severely hurt out a Merwin in Oct. He messed up on a jump and was air lifted out. In the past week and a half his recover has been miraculous and he will be home from the hospital for Christmas. We will be delivering donated gifts for the family tomorrow at noon. Fox 4 should be there to cover it. Hopefully people will see some good as per the motorcycle community. Santa will be on a KTM530 pulling a wagon with some of the gifts in it.

[Stu]

The article reminds me of the press after "Easy Riders" and after "The Wild Ones." All motorcyclists were painted with the same brush. This article is no different. It does promote bad legislation (the Florida example is unusually draconian) since that is at no cost politically to legislators but "does something" about a perceived evil -- out-of-control bikers. Most bikers don't vote and our numbers are small so there isn't political fallout from these legislative restrictions.

I see young guys doing stupid stuff every day. I was run off the road while on my 525 EXC by a cell phone yakking, F-150 driving KU student the other day. However, it is hard to wheelie an F-150 so their antics are not as noticeable. There was an article recently about rock climbing using your hands and feet without ropes. That was decried as well. You don't keep reader interest unless you stir them up and fuel their recreational outrages. The "What's the world coming to?" responses indicate the depth of the illogic in the readership.

Letters to the editor pointing out fallacies do help.

Stu