Now just to put mufflers on them.

Maybe those people wearing skull caps have less grey matter to protect;-)

Victoria – the Province has announced new safety regulations aimed at
improving road safety

Key words here “road safety” I had my bike out for the first time yesterday and for the first time ever I was more worried about the condition of the road I was on other than the drivers around me.

Anyone wanna buy a bike?

Perhaps Victoria and I.C.B.C.
could come up with some safety regulations to get this city to bring our streets and roads up to a safe standard.

Excellent point Billy. I noticed I spend more time looking about 100 ft ahead of me for potholes, than 300 feet ahead for cars doing stupid things, which means I miss the pothole and hit the car? I know, slow down, but I tried that and then the car behind me started tailgating.

What a bunch of Hogwash. Someone in government needs to keep his/her job. No freedom here.Gotta love the good old USA. Yes and i would move there if they would let me in.

Yeh all is annoying riders who feel if you can’t see us at least they might hear us. My bike has ” loud pipes” but it does not compare to any noise levels these large over sized diesel trucks put out belching black smoke and screaming turbos . Don’t hear anyone complaining about them .bottom line , is if we get into a wreck it does not matter if you did not see us or hear us we are probably dead. A bike will always lose to a car. And while not all riders are responsible most are . These so called erratic moves we keep being blamed for are usually a defensive manouver to avid being run down by some distracted driver. Remember motorcyclist also drive cars too. If you don’t ride , don’t criticize , for you speak of what you do not know anything about.

It would help if motorcylists would wear the big yellow “X” strapped to their backs, whenever they take a spin anywhere.

Since they like to wear black clothing,it’s almost impossible to distiinguish them in traffic.

If they take a few seconds to strap this on their backs, I think it would improve their safety exponencially!

You would think but no. I know lots of riders who wear hi viz gear and still the same results . What would help lots is a few things all of us can do . First share the roads , we all have a right to use them. Second pay attention , 2 wheels or more does not matter , everyone should be aware of what is going on . Third is put down the cell phones . People do not get it . Texting and driving is not safe for anyone. If everyone just considered they will have to live the rest of their lives knowing they hurt or killed someone , maybe they would pay more attention .

Does anyone actually beleive that these new regulations will make a difference.

This is just one more nail in the freedom coffin. Eventually you will not be able to go the toilet without being watched. OOOOH right. They already have survelliance camera watching you go in and out.

HarleyGuy, can you show us some stats somewhere that show that loud pipes makes any bit of difference on the road? As for the oversized diesels, well those only make noise when the redneck driving it pins it to show off for his girlfriend, or boyfriend. Whereas a bike with no muffler makes noise constantly. Perhaps bike riders with no mufflers should be forced to listen to their own noise and not wear ear plugs.

Want freedom…those that want to wear the little beanies should carry private insurance to look after them if them if they are injured in an accident and left drooling down their chin as a result.

No reason that the public system should support them just because they are too cool to wear a proper helmet. It can cost millions to look after someone with a severe brain injury.

I concur with the issue of hitting a pot hole being at greater risk than being hurt by a car.
Maybe the changes are the result of mayor gang green’s visit south last week where she explained to the liberal gov’t that PG has no money to fix the roads so the motorcycle operator helmet rules should be changed to give the riders more protection after hitting a world famous PG pot hole.

Does anyone know what they actually changed regarding helmets? I thought DOT approval was mandatory already – what is the “new regulation” that must be met?

frank1 wrote “No freedom here. Gotta love the good old USA.”

Indeed… just across the border in WA, you can also enjoy the health insurance premium of $365 per month, a $1750 deductible plus $30 for every Doctor’s Office visit you make. They have cheaper policies but the deductibles are upwards to $10,000.

…but you have your (supposed) freedom!

Ask Gary Busey if he wishes he had been wearing a helmet when he crashed if you like the good ol’ U.S. of A.

how many accidents in the past five years,in BC, resulted in an injury or death as aresult of not wearing an american numbered regulation DOT not MOT helmet. anyone know. and the next time your are riding in a convertible car with the top down ,up by the side of a semi truck check out health insurance policy and make sure that if a piece of rubber form the wheel flying at you,that you are covered.should have had a helmet on. and if you want to know the degree of protection that an helmet protects one from ,it is approx.5 feet high. not head on into a car.

I have been to several accidents involving motorcycles and skid lids while providing some protection are very prone to breaking apart on first impact and offer little or no protection on subsequent impacts.

Full helmets offer better overall protection and are more resistant to impacts and are better at protecting your brains but as per usual many will not like the new rules because full helmets are not as stylish as skid lids. And aparantly style is more important than protection with a lot of bikers so they can deal with the consequences of brain injury.

I used to ride street bike alot around town and I don’t see the 3 new rules doing much good at making anything safer. For one, if you don’t have a full helmet, you really should consider getting one just for the wind protection they give at high speeds. Full face helmet is just a no brainer to wear. (I.E. you should already be wearing a full face helmet)

The passenger not putting the feet on the peg? Never heard of that one where else would you put your feet? If your taking a child for a ride who is too small to touch the pegs then, really it makes sense not to bring the kid unless your going around the block at your house. Kinda a no brainer as well

And the third item with the larger letters on the plates must be addressing me, so the po po can see who I am better, which will totally make me and you so much safer lol.

I used to ride one of those plastic ‘ninja’ bikes around town but the potholes and general condition of the road is so bad I sold it. My front rim was slightly bent from hitting a smaller pot hole. How safe is it now to ride when you could pop a tire/bend a rim if you hit one. Never mind the car who may cut you off that you might not see looking for pot holes.

I also think that they should bring graduated licensing in bc/canada where you have to start on a smaller cc bike like maybe a 400cc and then upgrade to the larger 600cc and 1000cc bikes.

Man I sound like a old man, as I was one of those guys with a 1000cc plastic bike

Be that as it may,I don`t know why anyone would strap their kid on the back seat skull cap or not,In a town the is not Bike rider,cyclist or pedestrian friendly.

Unlike must of the fatty’s in this town I like to cycle to and from work spring and summer but even with a helmet still do not feel safe…

What they havent mentioned here, is the amount of the fines that will be assessed if you do not comply with the new legislation.

You can rest assured that there will be fines, and if a passenger lifts a foot off the pedal, the cops will nail them.

And remember if your 15 year old is smoking in the car, that is ok, however if you are smoking in the car also, then that is an infraction and you are subject to a fine.

Have a nice day.

Palupo – another site has the fine as $138. Having said that I suspect this will be enforced about as heavily as our texting / cell phone laws…

unbelievable…what happened to my choice here is my take as a rider for many years, if I were to wear one of the large heavy helmets and was in an accident, most likly i would end up with a broken neck. If I have a light hemet on I’m dead. no drooling no burden on society. as far as high vis vests instead of black clothing, give your head a shake it doesn’t matter what you wear as a biker even professional drivers don’t see motorcycles. We spend more time trying to avoid being hit that enjoying the ride.
oh and washington state has the same laws as our government is implementing and has for 10 years, the law hasn’t changed the amount of accidents or deaths.

unbelievable…what happened to my choice here is my take as a rider for many years, if I were to wear one of the large heavy helmets and was in an accident, most likly i would end up with a broken neck. If I have a light hemet on I’m dead. no drooling no burden on society. as far as high vis vests instead of black clothing, give your head a shake it doesn’t matter what you wear as a biker even professional drivers don’t see motorcycles. We spend more time trying to avoid being hit that enjoying the ride.
oh and washington state has the same laws as our government is implementing and has for 10 years, the law hasn’t changed the amount of accidents or deaths.

I wished they would of added bright yellow or bright orange vests to the rules too. It would look sooo nice over top their leathers!

“Remember motorcyclist also drive cars too. If you don’t ride , don’t criticize , for you speak of what you do not know anything about”

I’ve been riding a motorcycle since I was 8 years old that would make it 50 years for me. I still ride and have had my class 6 for 42 years. I’ve ridden everything from dirtbikes to highway bikes, Hondas, Triumphs, BSA, Yamaha, Kawasawki, crotch rockets and yes even Harley’s. I haven’t had to run a straight pipes on any of them to make other drivers aware of my presence. You can’t hear a bike with straight pipes coming at you or from behind until they going roaring past you. Tell me I’m wrong. I think it’s just attitude.

I will tell you that you are wrong acrider , and I mean it with no disrespect. If you cannot hear a bike coming from a distance there is a reason. I never claimed that straight pipes were the answer, they are actually useless and rob power and performance from your engine.And yes some and I mean a small population of riders do have an ego with a loud bike. But I will never remove my mufflers I have now. They are only overly loud if I want them to be. Someone else asked if I can provide stats that loud pipes save lives. Who can ? I am sure ICBC has a whole warehouse full of files from people filing for almost accidents. Get a grip. If you really want proof , sit down and actually talk to riders and ask them to share their stories. Anyone with an ounce of common sense can tell if someone is blowing hot air or for real. I will be happy to sit and share many of my stories with you over a coffee anytime. I bet if you look long enough you will find a lot of non riders who say they did not see him but heard him and avoided an accident.In fact there is a very recent letter to a newspaper floating around where a younger driver claims that exact point. He tried to pull a u-turn and did not see the rider and at the last second heard him and was able to stop. That is one rider who made it home safe because of his loud pipes.

Broscience is not science. The doppler effect is science.

And for the record I wear a DOT helmet as do most of my riding buddies. I do not however wear a full face . It has nothing to do with macho or ego. It is personal preference . I do not personally feel safe in a full helmet . I do own one and have worn it on several occasions. I find them bulky and they impair my peripheral vision and my hearing as well. I do not use ear plugs because they impair my hearing as well. I do usually wear a bandana folded and wrapped around my ears to cut the wind and I have almost full hearing ability . And if I can find it I would be more than happy to share the test results conducted by an uninterested third party on DOT approved helmets. It may change your views on the helmet you are wearing right now.