As far as I know, there's nothing illegal going on here. The little boy sandwiched between Mom and Dad (spotted in Racine Sunday) is wearing a helmet, as required by Wisconsin law for all motorcycle operators and passengers under age 18.Still, Mom in her flipflops, shorts, sleveless top and no helmet; and Dad also in shorts and t-shirt, no gloves, no helmet are, at the very least, setting a poor example and endangering themselves.
And, of course, are those Honda Shadows even designed for three people? We thought whole families only rode that way in the Third World.
You motorcyclists out there ... what do you think?
Update, 6/27: Can't imagine why I didn't think to ask a cop about this long ago! Here's the response I got from Sgt. Bernie Kupper of the Racine Police Dept.:
This is an easy one. Under two parts of the same statute, this would be wrong.
346.595(3) “No passenger may ride a Type 1 motorcycle who, when properly seated, cannot rest the feet on assigned foot rests or pegs.”
346.595(3m) “No more than 2 persons may ride on a motorcycle having 2 wheels in tandem during operation unless a sidecar has been attached to the motorcycle as provided in s.340.01(32)(a)1 and the additional passengers are provided with adequate seating in the sidecar.”
In the City of Racine, the fine would be $109 and no points for each of the two violations, but probably would write one or the other. The statute provides for a fine of up to $186 depending on whether the citation is written by city, village, county, or state.
Safe, yeah probably not, but my guess is that dad was hopefully driving slow and careful. If we want to talk about dangerous, how about the obscene number of Racine parents who 1. Don't have their kids in car seats 2. Let them ride in the front seat to boot. It makes me bonkers.
ReplyDeleteNope, not legal either. They won't be concerned until they get hurt, and we're paying the bills......
ReplyDeleteThe kid is wearing a helmet because - its head is more prone to an injury than an adult's head? You would think the adults would wear the helmets so if there was a crash they would save their brains. They can then continue to care for the vegetable child.
ReplyDeleteMy father was a machinist and auto enthusiast. He taught me respect for machinery and I am very thankful for that. It has saved me from injury more than once. You can bet your bottom dollar that fools like these will be the first to fault someone else when their ations and inactions cause injury to themselves and others.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was a maintenance man and always taught me to clean up after myself.
ReplyDelete