I am a Garmin addict - at least in my truck.  I am thinking about going to Sturgis this summer and I think I will have to buy a Garmin Zumo for my motorcycle - but which one is the question.

A recent review of the Garmin Zumo 660 with a price tag of $799 appeared on About.com where the author took it on a 570 mile ride in Italy.  His final appraisal was positive giving the gizmo a 3.5 stars out of 5.  The Garmin home page for the 660 will give you the full details.

To be honest the $799 price tag kind of staggered me so I looked at another model - the Zumo 220 - but it is still listed at $599.  One of the best reviews I found on this model is at GPS News.org.

Bottom line - I think I will just use my truck Garmin and wire it into my bike.

Utah Bike Law represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.

This is a reprint of an article from Facts About All - Interesting Facts Page.  I thought it was interesting!

1. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that in 2000, 631 motorcyclists were saved by wearing their helmet.
2. The German inventor Gottlieb Daimler is generally credited with building the first practical motorcycle in 1885.
3. Up to eight motorbikes can fit in the same parking space occupied by one car.
4. Motorcycles and scooters are, on average, about twice as fuel efficient as cars.
5. The first rider to ever go over 300mph was Don Vesco in 1975, on a 1496cc Yamaha-engined streamliner.
6. Kawasaki also makes spaceships.
7. The fastest motorcycle s the Dodge Tomahawk, a prototype with an unusual design, featuring the 500 hp (373 kW) 8.3 L V10 engine from the Dodge Viper.
8. MV Agusta is currently producing the F4 1078 RR 312. 312kph being the recorded top speed at the Salt Flats in Utah in 2007.The RR312 reached a recorded top speed of 195, but since speeds are averaged, it’s recorded top speed is 194mph, or metric, 312kph.
9. When Valentino Rossi was five, his dad Graziano built him a go-cart to discourage him from getting into bikes
10. Harley-Davidson built push-bikes between 1917 and 1923. The first Harley Davidson motorcycle built in 1903 used a tomato can for a carburetor.

Utah Bike Law represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.

Target fixation occurs when you go where you look.  It is a phenomenon that especially occurs when riding a two-wheeled vehicle but also happens when driving a vehicle.  Sounds simple, and it is, but the implications can be enormous. It plays an important role when faced with an immediate threat or danger.  Imagine you are riding your motorcycle along a road approaching an intersection.  A car comes to a stop at the stop sign and you have no stop sign and continue through the intersection.  All of a sudden the stopped car accelerates and enters the intersection directly into your path.  Quick - what do you do?

If you are honest with yourself and break-down the sequence in which you reacted the first thing you must have done was look at the car.  If it were otherwise you would not have seen the car start to enter the intersection.  Keep in mind that this is a sudden and unexpected event.  Next thing you do is probably slam on your brakes while looking at the car.  The target fixation phenomenon kicks in and the motorcycle tends to move toward the car.  Even the driver of the vehicle may look up and see you too late and the target fixation phenomenon also forces the driver of the car to turn in your direction - why - because he is looking at you - target fixation.

There are a lot of videos on YouTube that demonstrate the phenomenon but I think this is one of the best. A wobble on the rear end, maybe a little water on the road, and he appears to panic.  I think target fixation occurs as he is looking at the fast-approaching brick wall.  There is essentially nothing he can do at this point.  Sure, he might have been disciplined enough to accelerate and bear left but it was probably too little too late.  Now imagine if that brick wall were a car suddenly entering your "right of way" intersection.

Ronda Menlove, R-Garland, whose 1st District includes the rest of Tooele County along with parts of Box Elder County will be sponsoring legislation to provide a $10 discount for motorcycle and ATV riders who are wearing helmets when they receive a ticket for a moving violation.

This is a simple, fun and positive way to encourage helmet use.  It is a reminder to all riders that their safety will be increased if they wear a helmet.  However, it is not a law that will unilaterally force riders to wear helmets.  I think this is a good idea Representative Menlove - good for you - and us!

Utah Bike Law represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.

I wrote last week about a recent study in Texas showing that since their mandatory helmet law was repealed that motorcycle deaths had dramatically increased calling for a return of mandatory helmets.  I have also written extensively on this topic and invite you to explore all of my other posts on motorcycle helmets on this blog - search "helmets."  Wyoming, like Utah, currently requires motorcycle riders less than 18 years of age to wear helmets.  The Wyoming Trib.com makes a case for return of mandatory helmet law in Wyoming.

The article is written by the Star-Tribune Editorial Board.  The article is well-written and references statistics that appear to support a claim that if all motorcycle riders wore helmets that motorcycle deaths would dramatically decrease.  Although making passing remarks that vehicle education emphasizing that drivers need to be made more aware of motorcycles the author terminates the article by stating "... the single biggest action our legislators could take to improve motorcycle safety is to reinstate Wyoming's universal helmet law, beginning next year." The article also diminishes the concerns of motorcycle riders by stating "We'd rather see the vast majority of motorcyclists safer, even if they have to sacrifice some comfort."

The motorcycle riders that I talk to, and I talk to a lot, say they prefer not to wear helmets simply becasue they do not want to.  I think a lot of motorcycle riders prefer not to wear helmets simply becasue it is not who they are.  What I mean by this is the psychological and socialogical implications that attach to motorcycle riders in America - especially in Western America.

The west was won with a raw can-do attitude based on freedom, control of your own destiny, and doing what one wants without governmental interference.  Motorcycles have a long history of being associated with freedom and toughness.  If you have any doubt of this watch Easy Rider.  The simple extension of this logic of course is that one can not be free and tough if wearing a helmet.

The knee-jerk reaction might be that not wearing a helmet is just dumb.  Dumb because you can be seriously injures or killed.  Furthermore, there are arguments about who pays the cost of caring for injured motorcycle riders.  Extended rehabilitation for brain injury is expensive and if the rider does not have enough insurance the cost often falls to the public.  All valid arguments and all dealt with before in other articles on this blog.

What concerns me about articles like this one in the Star-Tribune is that it cultivates an attitude in the minds of readers that biases them against motorcycle riders.  Until the law is changed anyone over 18 years of age and injured in a motorcycle crash not wearing a helmet is following the law.  Plain and simple!  Do we as a society want to blame the motorcycle rider for his injuries because he or she was following the law?  This is not a rhetorical question.  I see bias all the time when I represent motorcycle riders who are injured as a result of other people's negligence.  We go to trial and those biases raise their ugly heads.  Those biases include:

• If riding a motorcycle you assume the risk.
• If riding a motorcycle you must have been speeding.
• If you did wear a helmet that is your own tough luck.
• If riding a motorcycle you were probably drinking or doing drugs.
• If you are riding a motorcycle you must be a low-life.

You might think these biases do not exist but let me tell you they do - I see them all the time.  News publications need to be careful in how they go about trying to influence public opinion to encourage the electorate to pressure their legislators to change the law.

Utah Bike Law represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.

On July 28, 2007 Angelica Lopez was charged with negligent homicide after she lost control of her 1998 Ford Explorer and killed motorcycle rider Ben Layne.  Ms. Lopez knew the brakes of her truck were not working and she continued to drive regardless.  She chose to drive and she killed a man.  According to the Salt Lake Tribune citing court documents, Lopez exited her car exclaiming, "My brakes wouldn't work. My brakes wouldn't work."

Lopez, 26, pleaded no contest last month and Third District Judge Michele Christiansen sentenced to 80 days in jail, followed by deportation. "She didn't go out that day expecting to kill someone," Salt Lake City Prosecutor Sim Gill said Monday. "But there was criminal negligence here."

I do not think this is a stiff enough penalty!  There is a ground swell across this nation that calls for people to be held fully accountable for their misdeeds.  In New York it is now routine for prosecutors to seek stiff penalties ranging from 10 to 20 years in prison for negligent homicide that occurs when driving drunk.  What is the difference here? Assuming Mr. Layne was still working and was married with children his family will be deprived of his income and companionship forever.  Eighty days just does not seem just or right.  Of course that raises the question about what is just and right.

I do not have the answer to that question and the answer should be determined through like penalties given in like cases across the nation.  In New York if Lopez would have received 15 years in prison and in California she would have got 30 days maybe somewhere int eh middle might be more fair.  Maybe we need to change the laws.

We represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.

Oprah is talking about distracted driving today on her show.  As a matter of fact a local man from Utah will share his grief for causing a crash while driving distracted.

The United States is a society of multi-taskers and obsessed with electronic gagets of all types - especially our smart phones.  We talk on them, text on them, look at maps on them and even play games on them - all while driving.  Distracted driving is becoming an epidemic. Distracted driving is like driving drunk.  This is an issue especially dangerous to motorcycle riders because distracted drivers can turn in front of you claiming they just did not see you.  Of course they did not see you because they just plain old were not paying attention.  When you are propelling a two ton vehicle down the road it is a dangerous piece of equipment - just like a loaded pistol.

The tragedy is on both sides.  Of course the person injured endures pain - sometimes years of pain and rehabilitation - and those are the lucky ones.  Of course sometimes people are killed and the surviving family is left to deal with the loss.  But what about the person who was texting or taling on the smart phone?  They are not bad people and probably did not purposefully intend to hurt or kill the person they hit.  But nonetheless they caused the crash.  They have to live the rest of their lives with the knowing that they have caused great hardship to others.

One of the worst offending segments of society that drive distracted are teenagers.  Here is a video that tries to make teens aware of the dangers of texting and driving.  If you have lost a loved one or been injured as a result of distracted driving you might think that this video is offensive because it takes a light-hearted approach.  But consider teh audience - we need to do everything we can to make sure that people, people of all ages, do not drive distracted.

Here are a few links to great sites that talk about distracted driving and we invite you to become more involved but there is one very simple thing we can all do - and that of course is to pledge that you will not be a distracted driver and not use your phone at all while you drive.

National Safety Council

Focus Driven Advocates for Cell-free Driving

We represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.

Up until 1997 the federal government required state governments to implement helmet laws as a precondition to receiving federal money to help with maintenance of roads.  No helmet law = no federal dollars.  In 1997 the law requiring helmets to get federal dollars went teh way of slaveryand since then states have been able to determine for themselves whether or not to implement helmet laws. Texas repealed their helmet law in 1997 and since then there has been a 25% increase in motorcycle fatalities per motorcycle mile driven.

I do not argue that motorcycle deaths are not increasing but I do think motorcycle deaths are increasing for additional reasons than just repealing the helmet law.  First of all there are a lot more motorcycles on the road given the recent high gas prices.  Most of these people entering the motorcycle population are relatively new riders and are inexperienced. As a result of the increased numbers and inexperience more motorcycle riders are going to die.

In the article linked to above a professor states “this study show that it's bad public policy to repeal mandatory motorcycle helmet laws."  If public policy were simply to preserve the lives of every human within their borders I might be inclined to agree with the professor.   However, public policy is a reflection of what the people want.  If the people do not want to wear helmets and want to ride thier motorcycles free with the wind in their hair that is their choice.  That choice should not be infringed.

We represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.

The number of registered motorcycles in Utah is growing and since year 2000 have almost quadrupled to 80,000.  The last time there were this any where as many bikes on Utah roads is back in 1984 when there was about 68,000.  I do not know about you but I sure see a lot more bikes out on the road.

So why are there so many motorcycles?  I think there are various reasons.  First of all gas is expensive.  The last surge in motorcycle registrations was when gas prices spiked sharply back in the 1980's.  People that commute are opting to use motorcycles and scooters to save on gas.  Second is that people are much more concerned about the environment.  Motorcycles use less gas and therefore emit less noxious chemicals into the air we breath.  The third reason there are more bikes is babyboomers.  They are discovering that motorcycling is a great way to recapture their youth, have some fun and meet great people.  The Utah Department of Public Safety states that motorcycle riders now account for one out of every nine U.S. road fatalities each year, with motorcyclist deaths from traffic crashes rising each of the last nine years. Utah has shown an upward trend in the motorcycle serious injury and fatality rate, mirroring the national numbers.

One would think that with the sharp rise in motorcycle registrations that deaths from motorcycle crashes would also be growing at a like rate.  That is simply not the case.  Yes, motorcycle deaths are increasing with the number of registered motorcycles on the road but they are increasing at a slower rate.

As a matter of fact the number of motorcycle deaths per number of registered motorcycles is actually dropping.  Why is that - what are we doing that is successful in reducing the number of motorcycle deaths?  One of the primary ways that we are successful at decreasing motorcycle deaths in Utah is becasue of the outstanding job done by the Utah Highway Safety Office.  They are speaking to the people that ride bikes in innovative ways and taking advantage of technology to spread the message of safety.  For example you can follow the Utah Highway Safety Office on line at facebook.

People that ride motorcycles are also becoming educated by taking motorcycle rider training offered throughout the state and even seasoned riders are going back to rider school.

We can make a difference is we all just slow down and watch out for each other.  That goes for motorcycle riders and drivers of vehicles as well.  Become educated, take a motorcycle safety class and ride aware.  Most of all be safe and have fun out there - after all isn't that what riding is all about?

Utah Bike Law is a law firm dedicated to representing injured motorcycle riders and their families. If you or a loved one were involved in a motorcycle crash in Utah we invite you to call for a free confidential consultation. There is no obligation and you are not charged any fees whatsoever unless we recover money for you.

The number of registered motorcycles in Utah is growing and since year 2000 have almost quardrupled to 80,000.  The last time there were this any where as many bikes on Utah roads is back in 1984 when there was about 68,000.  I do not know about you but I sure see a lot more bikes out on the road.

So why are there so many motorcycles?  I think there are various reasons.  First of all gas is expensive.  The last surge in motorcycle registrations was when gas prices spiked sharply back in the 1980's.  People that commute are opting to use motorcycles and scooters to save on gas.  Second is that people are much more concerned about the environment.  Motorcycles use less gas and therefore emit less noxious chemicals into the air we breath.  The third reason there are more bikes is babyboomers.  They are discovering that motorcycling is a great way to recapture their youth, have some fun and meet great people.  The Utah Department of Public Safety states that motorcycle riders now account for one out of every nine U.S. road fatalities each year, with motorcyclist deaths from traffic crashes rising each of the last nine years. Utah has shown an upward trend in the motorcycle serious injury and fatality rate, mirroring the national numbers.

One would think that with the sharp rise in motorcycle registrations that deaths from motorcycle crashes would also be growing at a like rate.  That is simply not the case.  Yes, motorcycle deaths are increasing with the number of registered motorcycles on the road but they are increasing at a slower rate.

As a matter of fact the number of motorcycle deaths per number of registered motorcycles is actually dropping.  Why is that - what are we doing that is successful in reducing the number of motorcycle deaths?  One of the primary ways that we are successful at decreasing motorcycle deaths in Utah is becasue of the outstanding job done by the Utah Highway Safety Office.  They are speaking to the people that ride bikes in innovative ways and taking advantage of technology to spread the message of safety.  For example you can follow the Utah Highway Safety Office on line at facebook.

People that ride motorcycles are also becoming educated by taking motorcycle rider training offered throughout the state and even seasoned riders are going back to rider school.

We can make a difference is we all just slow down and watch out for each other.  That goes for motorcycle riders and drivers of vehicles as well.  Become educated, take a motorcycle safety class and ride aware.  Most of all be safe and have fun out there - after all isn't that what riding is all about?

Utah Bike Law is a law firm dedicated to representing injured motorcycle riders and their families. If you or a loved one were involved in a motorcycle crash in Utah we invite you to call for a free confidential consultation. There is no obligation and you are not charged any fees whatsoever unless we recover money for you.

We represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.