There goes our demographics.....

[Titan]

To echo an already made point; danger is relative. I know some very cautious, conservative riders. You know what? Some of them are every bit as dangerous as that guy. Many people take to the road on two wheels (and four for that matter) without having the appropriate skillset. The guy doing those stunts may very well be in more control of the situation as some inexperienced rider putting along at the speed limit.

I also think that there's probably a healthy dose of hypocrisy here. I'm willing to bet that there are NONE among us (even those critical of the behavior) who constantly obey posted speed limits and absolutely NEVER roll through Stop signs or flashing reds or speed up a lil' bit when they see the green go yellow.

As much as it pains me to type this... +1 What Anvil said...

Ha! Me too Serk!

[Willow]

What I gather here is, driving a car while texting or on the phone is abhorrent behavior and should not be tolerated!    But...being irresponsible on a motorcycle is just fine and we should let people ride the way they want to ride   

What I gather is that to my knowledge there is no pathway to developing skills to effectively text in traffic.  I'm able to see a difference.  I'm also seeing some unreasonable people ranting about this rider's endangering others with his behavior.  I watched the entire video and the only evidence I saw of any other traffic was the person videoing.  I'm guessing that person was with him.

I'm going to remove myself at this point from the discussion for two reasons.  One is based upon Abraham Lincoln's advice.  The other is that when I get frustrated with someone's refusal to apply logic I start to degenerate into name calling and insults.  I do detest that practice in others so I want to avoid it myself. 

 

[Paxton]

Do we want the truth? Which one… How much of it?

I still muse over the idea that madness is actually a sane reaction to an insane world.

[RoadKill]

I will watch just a little longer befor I respond...just to give everyone time to add me to the blocked user list.           

[musclehead]

gosh, a bullet is faster, less painfull and cheaper

I used to do 90mph standup wheelies quite regularly. Got a few friends who did too. In fact, some of them are professional stunters. I've only lost on friend to motorcycles over the years and ironically it was in an accident going less than 20 mph. Hit a left turning cage pulling away from a stoplight. No helmet, no life.

I'm not saying it's "safe" or smart, but it's not a death sentence either.

we all seem to be caught in a conundrum between risk aversion and having fun.

depending on my mood, tonight I'm all for the fun

[musclehead]

What I gather here is, driving a car while texting or on the phone is abhorrent behavior and should not be tolerated!    But...being irresponsible on a motorcycle is just fine and we should let people ride the way they want to ride   

nah if you can text and drive straight down the road and don't weave from dotted line to fog line, where's the beef with that? most people can't.

largely people are going to ride the way they want to anyway, so I guess let'em. flip/flops shorts tank top no gear no helmet, their funeral. not my call to make.

[Rocketman]

Methinks the asshattery is spread a bit wider than was initially imagined.      

Asshattery.  Good word.  May I use it?

Are cars safe? More people die in car crashes than plane crashes in this country. The number of people killed by walking on the wings of planes is even smaller. Just saying. Statistically he's probably okay.

I'm going to have to object on this one.  Very few people die while shoving a railroad spike through the side of their heads, but it doesn't make it a statistically safe thing to do.  First rule of statistics has to be "normalize your data".  How you normalize it can be complicated, but first order approximation demands that you at least compare percentages rather than raw totals.

[Willow]

Methinks the asshattery is spread a bit wider than was initially imagined.      

Asshattery.  Good word.  May I use it?

Yes, but your spell checker won't like it.  Looks like we'll have to construct our own definition.    

[Paxton]

Rocketman;
86.71% of statistics are made up on the spot.

[fudgie]

Geez guys he is alright if he crashes......he has a helmet on....... 

I do remember a VRCC member doing a 'stunt' that I think was more dangerous then this. He was good at it to. Really neat to see.

[fudgie]

These bikes were made to ride. I won't tell someone else how to ride their ride, and I don't want anyone else to tell me what to do with mine.

 

[The Anvil]

What I gather here is, driving a car while texting or on the phone is abhorrent behavior and should not be tolerated!    But...being irresponsible on a motorcycle is just fine and we should let people ride the way they want to ride   

nah if you can text and drive straight down the road and don't weave from dotted line to fog line, where's the beef with that? most people can't.

largely people are going to ride the way they want to anyway, so I guess let'em. flip/flops shorts tank top no gear no helmet, their funeral. not my call to make.

The texter is far more dangerous that the person in that video because the person in the video is actually paying attention.

[musclehead]

What I gather here is, driving a car while texting or on the phone is abhorrent behavior and should not be tolerated!    But...being irresponsible on a motorcycle is just fine and we should let people ride the way they want to ride   

nah if you can text and drive straight down the road and don't weave from dotted line to fog line, where's the beef with that? most people can't.

largely people are going to ride the way they want to anyway, so I guess let'em. flip/flops shorts tank top no gear no helmet, their funeral. not my call to make.

The texter is far more dangerous that the person in that video because the person in the video is actually paying attention.

that's why most people can't, me included besides it's now illegal for commercial drivers to text while driving. I'm a freedom loving dude, just don't come cryin' to me when your ego writes checks your body can't cash  (gotta plagiarize every now and then)

[solo1]

I just now read this post and the replies.  Riders that know me are familiar with my ATGATT mentality.
I wear yellow so I don't fit in with most in appearance but that's ok by me. 

I ride conservatively most of the time, it depends on the area and the roads.  I feel that I have the experience to keep out of trouble as much as anyone but know my weaknesses and I try to avoid situations and behavior that would emphasize those weaknesses.  It's either ride with that attitude or not at all.

When I was a kid, there were times when I rode the Matchless 'flat out'  stretched out on the seat to check the top speed (84mph).  There was one time where I rode my Whizzer motorbike downhill at 45 mph in traffic.  I leave it to your imagination how long it would've taken me to stop in both cases.

I don't see anything particularly wrong with what the rider was doing, as opposed to what I did as a kid.  Probably it would be something similiar to what we all have done too, at one time or another.

Thinking about all these comments,  I remember not too far back when one of us did wheelies on a Valk on a crowded residential street with cars, other Valks, and riders lined up watching and cheering the rider on..  I won't comment on that further. 

I'll ride my ride conservatively now.  Call me a little wiser in my old age.

I'll leave it to others how they want to ride.

[Hoser]

Didn't see anything I didn't do on my cb750 back in the seventies, didn't require an audience, though.  Couldn't do it now if I wanted to.  Or could I?  Hmmm.....  Hoser 

[Rocketman]

Rocketman;
86.71% of statistics are made up on the spot.

Yes, you're right.  That's the first rule of statistics.  Mine is actually the second (although the second doesn't matter much if you're right, and 83.24% of statistics are made up on the spot.)

Actually, mine is the first rule of honest statistics.  Yours is the first rule of PR statistics (the kind most often used by political entities and news reporters).  The second rule of PR statistics is unjustified precision (such as the ".71" on your percentage quote) adds to the believability of the aforementioned made up statistics.

[Rocketman]

Methinks the asshattery is spread a bit wider than was initially imagined.      

Asshattery.  Good word.  May I use it?

Yes, but your spell checker won't like it.  Looks like we'll have to construct our own definition.    

I think you defined it quite well, just by usage.

[Quicksilver]

Looks pretty tame compared to some. I have that same problem keeping my feet on the pegs when I accelerate as well. It's all he can do just to hang onto the bike I'm sure, just look at the size of him, a good breeze would blow him away.

[The Anvil]

What I gather here is, driving a car while texting or on the phone is abhorrent behavior and should not be tolerated!    But...being irresponsible on a motorcycle is just fine and we should let people ride the way they want to ride   

nah if you can text and drive straight down the road and don't weave from dotted line to fog line, where's the beef with that? most people can't.

largely people are going to ride the way they want to anyway, so I guess let'em. flip/flops shorts tank top no gear no helmet, their funeral. not my call to make.

The texter is far more dangerous that the person in that video because the person in the video is actually paying attention.

that's why most people can't, me included besides it's now illegal for commercial drivers to text while driving. I'm a freedom loving dude, just don't come cryin' to me when your ego writes checks your body can't cash  (gotta plagiarize every now and then)

Actually I'm pretty sure it's illegal for anyone to do it while driving even in NH. I think MA has a similar law.