The B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists
will hold a public meeting on Wednesday to discuss proposed
regulations for British Columbia motorcyclists.
"From the thorny topic of helmets to
the horsepower to weight ratio and all the rest," says the group’s
poster. "Other topics will include parking in Vancouver and the MLA
ride
(politicians taken for a ride by Coalition members)."
Among recommended laws are a requirement for "mandatory industry certification for all motorcycle helmets," and a graduated licence program for new riders.
The Coalition says some new rules make sense but training and awareness programs would be more helpful. "The bigger picture here is more about proper training for riders and raising public awareness than it is about legislating helmets," says B.C. COM executive director Adele Tompkins in a news story written by Ted Laturnus for the Georgia Straight. "It’s my opinion that the coroner’s office just listened to ICBC (the provincial insurer) and law-enforcement people, and did not talk to the people who are directly affected — the motorcyclists."
According to Laturnus, the recommendations, which were originally put forward by the B.C. Coroners Service after a review of motorcyclist deaths and will now be forwarded to the superintendent of motor vehicles by the province’s solicitor general, include these measures:
-
Require
mandatory industry certification for all motorcycle helmets -
Establish
a graduated-licence program for new riders -
Implement
a zero-tolerance blood-alcohol policy for new riders -
Issue
a different-coloured licence plate to motorcyclists who hold a
learner’s licence -
Re-evaluate
existing standards for training schools and instructor
certification -
Expand
the scope of coroner’s investigations involving motorcycle deaths
to include more data and compile it in a specific section for better
analysis in the future
The meeting will start at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the theatre of the Justice Institute at the corner of 8th Avenue and McBride Boulevard in New Westminster, B.C. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Peter is right.
In addition, BCCOM is a bunch of clowns who originally posted that “Everything is fine, we just need more training for car drivers”.
Unfortunately, in the absence of those other clowns the CMA, BCCOM is what gets the attention of the media.
I know a selection of motorcyclist here in BC that have been working to encourage the creation of a graduated licensing system. I can assure you the need for such a system isn’t coming from the likes of ICBC or the Government, neither have a particular interest in the additional overhead involved in graduated licensing. The push arises from a legitimate need to protect new riders as they enter the sport, unfortunately the idea of a power to weight ratio basis for the system is over complex and invalidates most “starter” bikes in the Canadian Market.
BCCOM is reflecting the wishes of the substantial majority of their membership…the beanie wearing no baffles crowd. Don’t let their attempted obfuscation fool you…from their perspective, this is all about retaining BC’s antiquated and ludicrous helmet “regulations” rather than joining the 20th C (never mind the 21st).