In Washington and Oregon, helmet standards are more strict. Fatal crashes are fewer.

The B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists will hold an information meeting on Wednesday about proposed changes to motorcycling rules.

The provincial government is considering a bill aimed at improving motorcyclist safety. Bill 14 will require that all motorcyclists wear approved helmets, will toughen licensing requirements for new riders, and will make new riders wear clothing that enhances visibility, among other changes.

The B.C. Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General asked interested groups to discuss the province's proposed safety improvements and in late November 2009 sent a document to the coalition that outlined these changes. The document also asked several questions, among them: What standards do you recommend the Province adopt with respect to approved motorcycle helmets? (Example: Snell, CSA, DOT, ECE, etc.)

What issues would arise in limiting power-to-weight ratios for riders in the learner stages?

What changes to the supervisor requirement would you like to see, and why?

If we create a class 6 probation period, what restriction would you support being applied?

The coalition has written back to protest these changes, claiming that improving rider training would be more effective.

The B.C. COM will host the information meeting at the Justice Institute in Westminster on Wednesday evening. Everyone is welcome to attend.

See www.bccom-bc.com for more.

You can ride in BC without a helmet???    /r Posted by Fazer 07-09-2010 13:22 » Report this comment to administrator The critical word in that sentence was "approved." The provincial government wants uniformity of helmet approval, so only DOT-approved helmets would be legal, for instance. Posted by stevethornton 07-09-2010 20:29 » Report this comment to administrator High visibility clothing? Does this mean mandatory orange reflective vests? Posted by Irv 08-09-2010 00:28 » Report this comment to administrator Instead of going for more thorough rider training, if the coalition wants to improve rider safety they should look at more thorough driver training.  Although, having said that, I've never ridden out there. Maybe drivers in BC are way better than the useless shit clumps here in Ontario. Posted by JoelZ 08-09-2010 20:05 » Report this comment to administrator The BCCoM lost my respect when they fought noise restrictions, and now they don't want a helmet standard either. Both things seem pretty sensible to me. They only bang the drum of required training, and no other restrictions. Posted by jack 08-09-2010 23:30 » Report this comment to administrator So motorcyclists are getting injured by drivers and the solution is to penalize the cyclists with more regulations.    Mandatory fines, suspended licences and probation for motorists who hit cyclists and motorcyclists should be the solution.    Treat them like drunk drivers. If you can't enough of your attention on the road to stop running into a motorcycle you should lose your licence. Posted by typical 09-09-2010 17:53 » Report this comment to administrator Typical answer by a car driver that hits a motorcyclist is " I didn't see him ". That to me is a statement of guilt period.You then proceed to jail. Posted by Art 10-09-2010 18:05 » Report this comment to administrator "Maybe drivers in BC are way better than the useless shit clumps here in Ontario." Yea, I wouldn't hold my breath on that one!! Posted by paranoidrider 16-09-2010 00:09 » Report this comment to administrator