Monday, April 28, 2008

As gas prices rise, so do 2-wheeler deaths.


As gas prices continue to rise, more and more people across the country are turning to motorcycles, scooters, and bikes as a form of transportation. Unfortunately, this trend has also led to a dramatic increase in 2-wheeler deaths. In my home state of North Carolina, motorcycle fatalities have tripled in a decade - it seems like every time I open up a newspaper there is a new story of someone being killed on a motorcycle or bike.

If motorcycles, scooters, and bikes had their own, exclusive lanes, most if not all of these deaths could have been avoided. In my opinion, the best way to curb this disturbing trend is by bulding a network of EMLs. No matter how careful of a rider you are, you can not prevent what would only be a minor fender bender accident between two vehicles from turning into a fatality if one of those vehicles is a motorcycle, scooter, or bike.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

USE OF MOTORCYCLE LANES IN MALAYSIA

A preliminary analysis of EMLs along the federal highway F02, Shah Alam, Malaysia from the Overseas Centre Transport Research Laboratory Crowthorne Berkshire United Kingdom shows that EMLs dramatically improve motorcycle safety.

It is my premise that if EML commuter routes were provided in the US, the number of motorcycle, scooter, and commuting bicyclists would significantly increase due to the increased safety of these modes. Vespanomics has also commissioned similar studies that show the positive impact that a mode shift to scooters would have on the environment and congestion.

With $4/gallon gas on the horizon, shouldn't we be considering EMLs?