From: eggers@csd630a.erim.org (Patrick Eggers)
Subject: Re: lane splitting
In-reply-to: laurie@halfdome.sf.ca.us's message of 26 Aug 92 23:34:49 PDT
Organization: Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
	<1992Aug26.233449.381@halfdome.sf.ca.us>
Date: 27 Aug 92 11:17:55


In article <1992Aug26.233449.381@halfdome.sf.ca.us> laurie@halfdome.sf.ca.us (Laurie Abbott) writes:

<stuff deleted...>

about lane splitting...

   1) making it illegal does not make it safer, laura.

This would have to be studied.  If a law making it illegal caused most
bikers to avoid lane-splitting, it would have to be known how many
accidents were caused by lane-splitting versus how many could have
been avoided by lane-splitting.

   2) the fact that insurance is high does not have anything to do with
      safety either.  it has to do with profits and greedy executives.

No, it has to do with people trying to milk the living bejeezus out of
anyone they can when an "accident" happens to them.  "I stepped on a nail
so I'll sue the nail manufacturer..."  I agree that the insurance 
companies make money (why else would they be in business?) but that
in itself doesn't raise the costs beyond belief.  Insurance of all forms
is going to keep skyrocketing until people realize that you can't award 
everyone $100,000+ when something happens to them.  Here in Michigan there
was talk of "capping" insurance premiums in order to make it affordable.  
This is another case of "let's attack the symptom without going after the 
cause" which is primarily litigation costs and healthcare costs (skyrocketing
partially due to litigation costs...).  The result of this would likely
be insurance companies leaving the state for more profitable states.  They 
cannot conduct business and make a profit if someone (the govt.) says they 
can only charge so much while someone else (courts, jury) is not limited in 
the amount of awards made.  Much as we all hate insurance companies making 
a profit, that's what capitalism is all about and unless they can make a 
profit, they aren't going to exist and then we're all on our own covering the
outrageous litigation costs.  Of course, maybe then we'll do something
about the costs themselves...

   3) the fact that people get tickets does not have anything to do with
      safety either.  it has to do with profits and greedy politicians.

I don't buy this, either.  If you get a ticket around Michigan, in
general you did something wrong.  There are rules/laws that we go
by, most of which make sense, some of which don't, but that's the
way it is.  You might get a cop that has a bad attitude who writes
you up for as much as he can, but on the other hand, many cops let
you get off lightly, or even completely.  Rules of the road, whether we
like them or not, are in place to promote safety.  They don't always
work, but most of the time they do.  Thus, when you break one of
the rules, most of the time you would __potentially__ be unsafe.

   4) the fact that people have accidents usually has to do with one
      person trying to outasshole another person.  outassholing seems
      to occur quite independently of lane splitting.

Yeah, I'd like to buy this but more often than not, it's because
someone didn't see someone else or understand what that person was
doing.  Then there's always the "not paying attention" factor.  I don't
include this in being an asshole - just being stupid.  People being 
assholes can really get to your emotions, but the facts are that most 
accidents occur due to the reasons I've just mentioned.

   5) if we want to make the streets safer, we should make being an
      asshole illegal.

Yeah, I wish we could Laurie...  I'm afraid we're stuck with the
people we've got since driving has darn near become a right.  sigh.

   -- laurie
   ____________________________________________________________________
   "Never underestimate the ability of a man to underestimate the abil-
   ity of a woman."                                   --V.I. Warshawski

   laurie@halfdome.sf.ca.us                                   DoD #0023
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