In Auburn, ME yesterday, John Ferland was sentenced to serve 3 months in jail for abandoning a woman who fell off of his motorcycle. He must also serve a year of probation, and 300 hours of service.

The strange story involves Ferland who was partying with a friend at a local bar. According to the report from the Associated Press...

For his part, Ferland said he and a friend were celebrating a birthday when they stopped at the Midnight Blues Club on Auburn’s Main Street. As he was leaving on his Harley-Davidson, he heard a woman fighting with a man.

"I didn't know who she was," he said Thursday. "I'd never met her. She surprised me by getting on the back of my motorcycle."

She said she needed to go to a friend's house in Minot and asked for a ride. He said she was teetering back and forth on his motorcycle and that he turned onto Fairview Court to find a level spot before she fell, he said.

Ferland said he stopped and checked Douglas' pulse as a neighbor called for help. He said he thought she was just intoxicated, so he left her. "On that night, I failed gravely," Ferland said. "I shirked my responsibility."

The prosecutor charged Ferland with leaving the scene of an accident that caused a serious injury. However, Ferland instead plead guilty to a lesser charge of just leaving the scene of an accident.

Opinion

It doesn't sound like he caused the injury, he checked her at least to see that she still had a pulse, and he did notice someone calling for help. It doesn't sound like there was anything he could do to save her life. I agree it wasn't right for him to just ride away, but this sentence sounds way too severe.

I imagine Ferland was also intoxicated at the time, and was probably thinking that if he stayed around he'd get busted for that. But I'm thinking that cops can only bust you for that if they witness you operating a vehicle. If he was just standing around as the cops came, I think he would've been alright.

Labels: Maine Motorcycle Deaths

The Associated Press reports that the number of motorcycle fatalities occuring in the State of Maine reached new heights in 2004. Twenty-two deaths occured in the Pine Tree State last year, with 14 of those 22 to persons 35 years of age or older.

Even though the number of motorcycle registrations has increased by 31% during 1999 through 2003, the issue is not just numbers. The article cites a growing trend of baby-boomers riding bigger motorcycles. Not so much that the bigger motorcycles are more dangerous, but that the riders are not experienced enough. Many older riders rode motorcycles in their youth, but gave it up. Then later on in life, they buy a motorcycle again, but opt for a big bike:

"People have had licenses and haven’t ridden in 10 or 20 years. All of a sudden, they buy a big Harley. They’ve got to learn how to drive it," Hallman said.

"I’ve seen a lot of people getting back into the sport. They say, ‘I used to ride 20 to 25 years ago. I’m having a mid-life (crisis). I want to get back into it,"’ said Ireland, who offered instruction to 200 riders in 2004.

The article goes on to suggest that returning riders ought to be forced to take riding courses all over again.

However, in the February 2005 issue of Motorcycle Cruiser magazine, Art Friedman wrote an article entitled, "You Took a Rider Training Course. So What?", where he writes:

There is one little problem no one has talked about, however. Research shows those basic rider training courses don't have much effect. The only measured difference between training course graduates and those who start riding without any formal training shows up during the first six months, when those who take the course suffer somewhat fewer lapses - events such as crashes and tickets - than unschooled riders.

So while more motorcycle fatalities are happening to older riders, I question whether the fatalities had anything to do with knowledge of safe riding, as opposed to people doing stupid things.

The Associated Press article also didn't explain who was at fault for those fatalities, or how those fatalities occurred. Instead it only suggested that more inexperienced people are riding motorcycles, hence, more people are dying.

Labels: Maine Motorcycle Deaths, Motorcycle Statistics