Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

.. F. The refore , all purchas e rs 01 a new or used motorcycle s hould be advis ed that th e use of a s a fe ty helm et is in th eir inter est by: I. A printed s ticker ove r tb e s peedometer carryin g a warn in g si milar to that car ried . on a cigarette pa ckage , a nd/o r 2. r;. Si gned state ment , when re gis tered, stating that th e purc haser knows of the value of s afe ty he Ime ts. RE NTALS G. Witbout comp romismg the rigbt 01 a motor cy cle renter to protect bi ms ell H. It s hou ld be mandatory tha t tb~ renting agency furnish a salety helmet wi tb each cycle re nt ed. NEGLIGENCE I. A mot orcycle operator 's choice 01 th e use of a he lme t should no t pe nalize a ny ot ber us er s 01 the pu blic highw ay s . J. Tber efore, if the c hoice to no t use a sa.fety be lmet has cont ri buted to i njuries , this fa ct s houl d be reco gni z ed a nd co nside.red by tbe courts i n d et ermin i n g tbe lI a bilIty of any othe rs involved in a collision or upset. .. • "Thi s r ecommendation contains the ... 1f)tt~ S titee'te ;'Ip/PteuaUtJ-1t (), ~ tJ-et-It tJtJ-fJd 7 ettfJev-d-~tp ;'Iltd tJfJfJd ev-ttt 1f)e & ~teltd S ead-fJltdtJlteettlt9d- _/lltd ~ed-t 1f)td-~ed- YAMAHA C. B,M. Continued from page 3 or great expe ns e (th is is the M.E.S.C.A. machine we ha ve spoken of in re cen t weeks). " D. Mandatory Foot wear for Motorcycle Operators A. The brake co nt rol surfaces of some motorcycles a re rough, sharp and cannot be positively applied with a bare foot . B. Oth er us ers of the Publi c hi ghways ; pedes t rian s , bicyclists, and motor i s ts hav e the right to expect a mot orcy cle operator to be able to lirmly app ly the brak es of his vehicle without fiinchin g from the control surface . B. Therefore, a stiff sale worn in such a way as to be interposed be tween the sale of the foot a nd tbe co ntrol surface should be manda tory for all vebicle operators. C . T he safe ty of the operator 's foot is not the cons ide ratio n of thi s recommendation. If any person d es ir es to ri s k injury '-by sticki ng bi s foot agai nst a hot stove (or hot pa vement), s tanding on sharp debris (in hi s home or on the road ), or by crushing it betwee n hard objects (a cycle a nd pa vemen t ), it is his foot an d his respo ns i bility. Only the safety of others is t he consideration of this recommendation. "The C BI\ will find that a s imil a r I law alreadY exists in the Cal ifornia Vehicle Code , but better enlorcement is needed," 01. Mandatory Side View Mirrors A. The standard automotive rear view mirror leaves two blind spots to operato r's rear sides. 7tJ-'t 7~e 1teev. best statemen t 01 motorcyclist policy regarding the he lme t law s that we hav e lound. Th e motorcycl e Trade Association would be we ll ad vi s ed to brin g l ett er F. , I and 2 to the a Uen t ion 0 1 i ts memb ers for ro nsideration. ... -~ ..... - .a , .- -- - IV. Two Mirrors Mandatory Motorcycles OD A. A single mirror on a motorcycle leaves a partial blind spot on the side opposite tbe mirror. A. The pre s ent Financial Re spon s i biliL aw allows any dri ve r to opera te a vehicl e on the public highways wi thout s howing any capability to make goo d any damage caused by his de liberate Or negligent acts with that vehicle . B. Only after damage has been created , IS an operator required to show his fina ncial responsi bility. C. T he present penalties lor the lack of financial re s pons i bility a re all too lenient and in many instance flouted. D . T he refore ; the Financial Responsibility Law should be revised to prohibit the operation of any vehicle whose owner cannot show financial responsibility before tbat vehicle is operated on the P u bli c bighways. "The C B, I is w ay olf base slipping this recommendation into their otherwise worth...hi Ie motorcycle legis lation. Kno wi ng that many 01 their lriends have been injured by uninsu red moto rists, we sympathize "ith their evangelism for compulsory insurance. But gi \lng insurance companies the po wer 01 banning anyone lrom the road that they' didn' t like, or pricing tbeir poli ci es out 01 reason, as they ha ve in s tates whi eh compel road us e rs to buy insuranc e before th ey are allo wed to drive, is democratic s uici de. Cali lorni a ' s legislators are aware 0 1 th e weapon that this plac es in th e hands of insura nce companies and ha ve wisely d ecided to leave the choice to th e i ndivi dual. Co mpul so ry insuranc e is not th e answer, but many compa ni e s "ill sell Unins ure d M tori s t Cov era ge if the C BM o member s wish to p rot ect themselves ty ~eM, B. It is i n the public interest that there is no blind s pots . C. The refore a side view mirror should be mandatory on each handlebar of all motorcycles operated On the public highways. "Recommendation #111 co uld have been more specifically worded to make it clear that it is cars the recommendation rel... s to. Trucks and trailers are already required to have side vi ew mirrors. Cars only have to have a "rearvie" mirro r". They need side view mirrors to eliminate blind spots that could an d do, hi de a motorcycle. Re commenda ti o n #I V is unnecessary to th e sale ty 01 th e motorcycle operator or oth er road us e rs , since moto rcycles lb not have hlind s pots. We sugges t tha t it be deleted. .. V. Indivi dual Safety Helmets '-' - . lJ VI. Financ ial Responsibilit y INTERNATIONAL CORP. B. The right rear blind spot can be easily dealt with by a quick glance ove r the right shoulder. C. The left rea r blind spot cannot be dealt with in such a man ner without getting a crick in the neck. D. It is in the interest of all vebicle operators using the public bighways that no one ope rator be blind in any spot . E . An outside side view mirror on the dri ve r' s side totally eliminates the blind sPOt that is so difficult to tu rn and see . F . T her efor e a side view mirror s ho ul d be manda to ry on tbe driver's si de of all vehicles ope rate d on th e pu bli c highway s. • A. Unfortunately a safety helmet does not co nt rib ute in any way to th e control of a~y . motorcycle nor to the general or specific safety of th e public. B. A salety hel me t is of value only to a specific individual at the moment his head impacts with th e pavement, gene rally after control of the cy cle is lost. ~. Therefore , it is not in th e pu blic interest to require by statute that any indi vidual wear a s a fe ty helmet. WA RtiING ' D. As the safety helm et affects the safety and well-being of a specific individual only, it's us e s houl d be left to tbe cho ice 01 that indi vi dua l. E. In order to be aware of the cons equences risked by tb e choice tb e individual should be i nfo rmed Of ' th e value of a safety helmet. • • '- • from other s," VII. Rider Educati on A. Motorcycle operation and riding tech niques ar e s i gni fi ca nt ly diffe rent from those of an Automobile. B. Tberefore;motorcycle oriented su bjects sbould be in clud ed i n the cu rriculum of tb e high s c hoo l driver education classes. • Presenl ed by \he Commlltee For Belter Motorcycllne. Co-Ordlnalor: R.O. Fee Clown: Mickey Greene. • - 4421 SEPULVEDA PHONE 391-6211 • • .- •

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