Bikes blamed for Bourdon death?

News stories after Bourdon’s death blame sport bikes

The British Columbia Coalition of Motorcyclists is asking riders to express their opinions to the Vancouver Sun and Province newspapers — both of which have published articles recently that appear to blame sport bikes for the death of Canucks hockey player Luc Bourdon.

Vancouver Sun writer Craig McInnes complained on June 5 that B.C.’s public insurance body does not differentiate between cruisers and sport bikes. Sport bikes like the GSX-R that Bourdon was riding when he slammed into a truck last week "ratchet up the risk" for riders, McInnes says. "You don’t buy one for transportation or the comfortable ride; you buy one because you want to go ridiculously, illegally and dangerously fast."

Ed Willes wrote in the Province on June 2 that preventing hockey players from riding motorcycles would save lives. "Maybe another young man will be saved if NHL teams prohibit their players from riding motorbikes. Maybe we’ll be spared this terrible emptiness again if they could be stopped from getting on a bike in the first place."

Tim Horton in his prime

Bourdon is not the only hockey player to die on a public road. In the fall of 2003, the Atlanta Thrashers lost a promising young forward, Dan Snyder of Elmira, Ont., after a Ferrari driven by his team-mate, Dany Heatley, left the road and smashed into a fence.

Snyder was ejected from the passenger seat and sustained serious head injuries. Heatley’s injuries were less severe, but he later pleaded guilty to second degree vehicular homicide. And many hockey fans remember the tragic end of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Tim Horton, who crashed a high performance sports car near Toronto while being pursued by police.

It would seem that driving beyond your skill limit can get you whether you’re on a motorcycle, or in a car …. 

The BC-COM suggests that "feedback" be sent to the editors of the B.C. newspapers regarding the recent stories. Send a short letter to the editor at sunletters@png.canwest.com for the Vancouver Sun, or provletters@png.canwest.com for the Province.