American's continue to drive gas guzzling automobiles and then whine and complain when fuel prices sky rocket. We sold our least fuel efficient car ( a PT Cruiser, not a Hummer), kept our Scion (30MPG +/- around town) and switched the bulk of our driving to motorcycles. Yes, the prices still hurt, but even though our daily commute has dramatically risen, fuel prices are an inconvenience and not a crisis. Still, America does nothing to combat our dependance on oil. On a daily basis just over 1/10 of 1% of the population commutes on motorcycles or scooters (.11%). I propose that the US government make driving more motorcycle friendly to encourage more drivers to communte on two wheels whenever possible. Here are some incnentives I propose to encourage more riders:
- eliminate tolls for motorcycles: allow us to travel for free on toll roads
- allow lane splitting in all 50 states: California currently allows this and it works well, why sit in traffic when you can still move?
- provide a large number of motorcycle only parking spots closest to public buildings
- allow motorcycles to have a 10 mile per hour higher speed limit, nothing is worse in traffic for a motorcyclist than having tailgaters riding up on you
- enforce displacement restrictions on new riders
- eliminate fuel tax for motorcycle use until motorcycles ridership makes up 20% of the total daily commuting traffic
- stop passing legislation that hurts all riders to punish squid behavior: sometimes a wheelie is just as incidental as chirping your cars tires and is no more unsafe, let cops use their discretion.
I know that politicians will worry about the loss of revenue from fuel tax, however, think of the savings that will occur from fewer road repairs. Motorcycles would ease congestion saving time and fuel. Keeping traffic moving reduces the amount of polution being pumped into the atmosphere. Think about it, more motorcycles could go a long way in helping us combat the dependency on fuel. To make it even better, we can do it TODAY for very little cost (actually what I propose will actually save money). High speed rail? Come on!! It will cost BILLIONS, take years to implement, and no one will ride it. Think about it.
