lawmaker dies in motorcycle crash

[atavar]

A Michigan state lawmaker who voted to repeal universal helmet laws has died in a motorcycle crash [while wearing a helmet], according to Michigan State Police.

Rep. Peter Pettalia was riding southbound on M-33 in northern Michigan late Monday afternoon when a pickup truck turned left into his lane.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/13/health/lawmaker-dies-in-motorcycle-crash-trnd/index.html

[lti_57]

That sucks, Prayers for his family.
But he had freedom of choice to do it.
Hope he set his family up.
fact is you can be all geared up and still die.

[atavar]

yep, especially in that situation.  T-bone at speed into a left turning pickup truck and a helmet might not do that much good. 

[bigbikerrick]

This sucks. It seems Pete was an advocate for motorcyclists rights, and that includes the  legal freedom of choice to what protective gear to wear ,helmet included. He was wearing a helmet , but unfortunately still died.Its scary out there!
RIP , and condolences to his friends and family,
Rick.

[rocker59]

"News" articles like this make me shake my head.  Journalism is dead.

The fact that he advocated to repeal the helmet law has nothing to do with his death, considering "Pettalia was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, police said",  was noted in the article.

The guy died with his helmet on.  The fact that he worked to repeal the helmet law should've been a footnote at the end of the article, not part of the main story...

 

[atavar]

Actually even more to his credit that he would work for peoples rights even though he personally believed in helmets.  Too many times the agenda gets confused and the right to choose is forgotten in the light of "what I think is good for you".

[Devildog]

I saw a CanAm today with 6 Denali type LED lights, over the top but probably the best defense against this type of crash.

[ITSec]

I've read a couple stories on this. They all agree that the truck turned in front of him, and that he was wearing a helmet. They don't mention his speed, the type of helmet (DOT or decorative), or whether he was wearing any other protective gear. They also didn't mention the brand or type of motorcycle he was riding.

They also all used the description that he was an advocate for "riders' rights". This is a dog whistle phrase, and a lot or people will read into it what they want to see. No one can provide a list of these rights that are in any way a consensus; there is no agreement on which things are rights, which are privileges, and which are choices. I can see mentioning his work to revoke helmet laws, as irony is always newsworthy and helps sell the reporting, but mentioning 'rights' without even summarizing his advocacy is just useless.

Just speaking as a former journalist, and someone who thinks that with rights come responsibilities.

[jvb]

ve read a couple stories on this. They all agree that the truck turned in front of him, and that he was wearing a helmet. They don't mention his speed, the type of helmet (DOT or decorative), or whether he was wearing any other protective gear. They also didn't mention the brand or type of motorcycle he was riding.

It's a (sanitized) 'news story' not a 500 page coroner's brief with all the (gruesome) details.  A rider can do all the right things, ride the best maintained motorcycle, wear the correct clothing and have the best fitted helmet and still die.

[azguzzirep]

As a former long time A.B.A.T.E member, the 'rights' we fought mostly for were freedom of the road issues.

Sometimes local or State governments would seek to impose unconstitutional infringements on the use of motorcycles. We are basically a 'watch dog' group.

In Arizona motorcycles were taxed an extra dollar each time the mc was registered, the money supposedly going into a 'motorcycle safety '  program. Problem was NO such program exsististed. The money was just going into the General fund.

ABATE fought and won the right to access the funds and in co-operation with the State created and manage a Motorcycle Awareness program.

[Tom H]

To start with, I'm saddened for his loss.

Then...I wanted to start a long message about ABATE, MMA and the like in comifornia and the Bee with an itch that made a law.

Been a few Topics that TAUNTED me to reply about this. Please don't get me started! 

I will keep my keyboard and mouth shut.

I like WG and want to be a good member.

Again, saddened for his loss though I did not know of him!
Tom

[blackcat]

"News" articles like this make me shake my head.  Journalism is dead.

There is no national news story without this link to the helmet law, in other words, this man's death would be a local story and we wouldn't even be reading about it.

[atavar]

I wanted to start a long message about ABATE, MMA and the like in comifornia and the Bee with an itch that made a law.

Been a few Topics that TAUNTED me to reply about this. Please don't get me started!

I will keep my keyboard and mouth shut.

I like WG and want to be a good member.

Tom

Tom, I for one would be interested in hearing your viewpoint in a NEW and separate thread.  I might not agree with you but I am interested in your thoughts.  It could be a lively discussion and if anyone is deeply disturbed they know where the NEXT button is.

[webmost]

Actually even more to his credit that he would work for peoples rights even though he personally believed in helmets.  Too many times the agenda gets confused and the right to choose is forgotten in the light of "what I think is good for you".

Eggs Ackley

[rocker59]

There is no national news story without this link to the helmet law, in other words, this man's death would be a local story and we wouldn't even be reading about it.

Which would seem right. Especially since helmet laws are a States issue, anyway.

[rodekyll]

Tom, I for one would be interested in hearing your viewpoint in a NEW and separate thread.  I might not agree with you but I am interested in your thoughts.  It could be a lively discussion and if anyone is deeply disturbed they know where the NEXT button is.

Yes, if you want to discuss something like that, don't be shy about starting a topic about it.  People will discuss or not. The problem happens when folks ,hijack, a topic instead of beginning a new one.  Goodonya!