I know, I know.\u00a0 This is one of those perennial threads that I keep foisting on In Box readers.\u00a0 I keep dragging it out because the news reports — scattered across the region over weeks and months — don’t convey the full, deadly weight of this story.<\/p>\n
All summer long, every summer, people die or are gravely injured on motorcycles in the North Country, a steady drumbeat of life-changing tragedy.\u00a0 Here’s a quick survey from just the last few weeks:<\/p>\n
A June crash in Washington County left two Vermonters dead<\/a>.\u00a0 In July, a Central New York man died<\/a> in a motorcycle crash while riding helmetless, as part of an anti-helmet law protest.<\/p>\n In mid-July, a Pennsylvania man was critically injured in a motorcycle crash<\/a> in the Adirondack town of Wilmington.\u00a0 About the same time, a Glens Falls man was seriously injured<\/a> after being thrown from his Harley.<\/p>\n Another Glens Falls man was hospitalized a few days<\/a> later after losing control and running his motorcycle off the road.<\/p>\n A Chazy woman was killed in late July<\/a> after she and her husband were broadsided on their Harly by a pick-up truck.<\/p>\n Sometimes these accidents take on a flavor of the absurd.\u00a0 Last month, a Canadian couple crashed their three-wheeled motorcycle into a black bear while riding near Tupper Lake.\u00a0 This from the Adirondack Daily Enterprise<\/a>.<\/p>\n State troopers tell the Post-Star of Glens Falls that 69-year-old Robert MacIntyre of Orangeville, Ontario, was traveling on state Route 30 in the town of Tupper Lake near the line between Hamilton and Franklin counties when he struck the bear Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n MacIntyre was able to slow down before striking the bear on its side. He and his passenger, 63-year-old Mary DeVries, were both thrown from the vehicle.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n But really, there’s nothing funny about this.\u00a0 Climbing on big road cycles is one of those things we Americans do because we’ve been told it’s romantic, or carefree, or family-friendly.<\/p>\n It’s especially popular among aging baby boomers, who are often physically incapable of managing these big machines<\/a>.<\/p>\n Too often, people take up the hobby without assessing the risks, all too often the consequences are disastrous.<\/p>\n Over the weekend, two Fort Drum soldiers were killed in New Hampshire<\/a> on their motorcycles, while allegedly playing cat and mouse with police.\u00a0 (Motorcycle fatalities have emerged as a serious concern for the US military<\/a>.)<\/p>\n I wonder if it’s not time to consider additional steps to make this hobby safer.\u00a0 How about mandatory rider training courses — similar to hunter safety programs — that emphasize the incredible risks that cyclists take every time they climb on a machine?<\/p>\n