Below is a letter I sent to Mark Rosenker, Chairman of the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB), a position he was appointed to by President Bush.
"CREEP" is in reference to Mr. Rosenker's involvement with Committee to RE-Elect the President (Nixon), and those who were involved with Watergate in 1972. The photo above is from that era. I find CREEP to be an acronym appropriate for Mr. Rosenker, given his actions and incompetency I have seen to date.
Mr. Rosenker has announced NTSB recommendations to all states to implement a mandatory motorcycle helmet law, siting inaccurate statistics as a basis for this mandate, and implying that motorcyclists are responsible for their own deaths by not wearing a helmet, even in the 80% of deaths caused solely by another motorist, and where head injuries were not involved.
What you see in the media is mostly slanted material (gee, are you surprised?). I have not heard one report of motorcycle fatality statistics quoted accurately to date. The media continues to blame rider deaths and injury on the presence/absence of a helmet, whether the rider died as a result of head injuries or not. And especially when the rider is not at fault.
I urge you to consider these points when you see or hear a report of a motorcycle death in the media:
Letter to Mr. Rosenker
To: Mark Rosenker (mark.rosenker@ntsb.gov)
Chairman
National Transportation Safety Board
429 L'Enfant Plaza
Washington, D.C. 20024
202-314-6000
CC: President Bush (President@WhiteHouse.gov)
Mr. Rosenker,
As a citizen of this country, I expect, no, I demand, that NTSB focus on the VIOLATORS instead of implementing laws intended to control the VIOLATED.
The majority of highway injuries and deaths are caused by the other drivers in some negligent form or another. Continuing on this path of "band-aiding" the individual "effects" merely chips away at the iceberg but never really makes a substantial difference. Until you take measures to address the root cause of collisions, fatalities will continue in spite of your ill conceived decisions. The NTSB MUST address the root cause in order to protect ALL Americans.
VIOLATION OF DRIVING LAWS is the ROOT CAUSE of HIGHWAY FATALITIES in this country, Mr. Rosenker. Please read this line over and over until you understand this concept. One does not need statistics to see this truth.
Driving violations are caused by many things; distractions, blatant disregard, lack of education, each with underlying sub-categories. The more driving violations there are, the more deaths there will be. There are states that have implemented laws controlling these aspects of driving and have lowered their fatality rate.
Drunk driving is indeed a distraction, but it is NOT THE ONLY distraction that drivers participate in. It is one of MANY. Addressing one without the others is criminal on your part.
Seat belts save lives by increasing the percentage of survival in a crash as an additive to other safety features of an automobile, not the least of which is a metal cage around the driver. Yet even seat belts only address the RESULT of crashes, not the CAUSE. Put a seat belt on a motorcyclist and it does nothing for them without a metal cage around them, in the event of a collision with an automobile.
Motorcycle helmet laws also only address the effect of the crash and not the cause, protecting the head to a small degree, but leaving the rest of the body still vulnerable to blunt force trauma. In most cases of motorcycle collision with an automobile, a helmet does not prevent death, and certainly not catastrophic injury to the body. Prevention of collision does.
The prevention of distracted driving should be the primary focus of NTSB, which provides safety for ALL; motorists, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians. Everyone benefits. The fact that you continue to ignore this, only serves to show your incompetency in spending my tax dollars to control the very few when this effort could save a great majority of lives, including the very few you seek to sensationalize.
Over the years, the creation of laws to make man invincible inside automobiles, has perpetuated distracted, complacent, and deadly drivers; running over bicycles, motorcycles, and pedestrians, all with a punishment for killing most often resulting in less than the fine for littering! Because our safety laws target the victim, not the perpetrator. Adequate penalties are needed to deter traffic violations. An automobile is, after all, a deadly weapon.
In addition, you conveniently ignore the onslaught of electronic devices inside vehicles that further distract drivers. This can be controlled, while shaving, reading, putting on makeup, cannot. However, overall distractions can be controlled by stiffer penalties for violating traffic laws that maim or kill a victim.
Is it that you are afraid of becoming unpopular in the process of saving lives, Mr. Rosenker? I'm sure you and your "esteemed" colleagues are not too keen on giving up your own selfish distractions while driving. And you are most certainly unpopular with the small minority you are now targeting. How do you sleep at night, knowing you can stop the majority of highway fatalities through competent recommendations, but instead choose only to target a small minority in order to further your ambitions?
Or is that you feel imposing your authoritarian laws on motorcyclists, through the support of the uninformed public, is the easy path? For most certainly, much to your advantage, the public has only seen one side of this story. I think it's called propaganda - "The NTSB is responsible for saving millions of lives through seatbelts, airbags, blah, blah, blah". The public has not seen the accurate fatality statistics that I know are available, even to you, but you have seen fit to ignore they even exist. The public is unaware of the political intonations of the NTSB actions. The public is unaware of all sides of this issue.
The public in general [auto drivers] has no worries, because they will survive the crash (thanks to seat belts and other safety enhancements), with only a minor traffic violation in most cases, while the victims of negligence are severely injured or dies. And the public is led to believe that the victims are responsible for their own deaths. How pompous is that?
I, as one of the general public, am outraged that you consider protective gear and equipment in cars and on motorcycles to be the cure-all for deaths due to traffic violations, and that if I am injured or killed by another negligent driver, it is MY fault.
Over and over I see reports of motorcycle deaths in the newspaper where the motorcyclist was in no way at fault, and run down by a negligent driver, yet the "tag" line is always: "He was/wasn't wearing a helmet". Where does the media get this type of attitude? From our government, from NTSB, from YOU, Mr. Rosenker.
What does wearing a helmet have to do with an unsuspecting motorcycle rider being run over and killed through an auto driver's negligence? I ask you, how does a helmet prevent that driver from violating a rider's right-of-way? It isn't about helmets at all. It is about sharing the road with responsible drivers who avoid distractions and drive within the law. No amount of protective gear will promote that, Mr. Rosenker.
In fact, drivers may feel it is OK to drive within MY space if I am NOT wearing a helmet! After all, if I'm not wearing one, it will be deemed MY fault if I am killed by them, though I rode safely and within the laws of the road. You are, through your incompetent decisions, promoting loss of safety for motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrains by not addressing the root causes of traffic fatalities.
Auto drivers everywhere will tell you with a straight face and adamant conviction that they can handle all the extra distractions they participate in while driving (and I'm sure you're among them), until they kill someone. Why must people die before a driver realizes what distractions can cause? Each year, a new distraction manifests itself (i.e. in-vehicle electronics), and accumulates along with all the other distractions available to drivers. Is it any wonder that traffic fatalities rise? And, when drivers are allowed to walk away without penalty for taking a life, how can you expect them to even bother paying attention while driving?
Our government has created a monster by allowing our children to drive at younger ages, unsupervised, while using cell phones, texting, and all manner of distractions. Yes, laws are now surfacing to curb these habits (instigated by states), but these laws will be looked upon by our youth as just another age limited law to overcome, such as drinking, smoking, and now, using a cell phone while driving after 18 or 21 years of age. And, media reports show that young people adamanatly object to these laws, proving they are not even aware of the reasons behind them. Society has been led to believe over and over that injury and fatality in traffic accidents are the responsibility of the victim, not the violator.
What about the millions of children that have already come of age, who have already learned these bad habits? Too little, too late, wouldn't you say? We already have 10 years of our youth who will continue these deadly habits, but who are too old to be regulated by these laws. Who will protect me from them, Mr. Rosenker? You demand better child restraint, but do not protect our youth from themselves before they are old enough to know better. And again, perpetuate more driver caused accidents that maim and kill through your ignorance.
What I find most significant about your integrity (or lack of), Mr. Rosenker, is that you were involved in Watergate back in 1972. I am not surprised that you have managed to end up where you are, given the state of our government today. How many other "interesting" political scams were you involved in since then, that are not known? Your resume shows your involvement in many election campaigns since then, in spite of your involvement in Watergate.
I am further dismayed to learn that President Bush, a President I supported, placed you in this position. Did he not learn from history?
I am not impressed thus far, in your move to impose yet another series of laws to limit MY individual rights, when I am not the one doing the violating, and while you do absolutely nothing to address the root cause of the majority of traffic fatalities. All I see is your misguided attempts to control specific groups, and suppressing individual rights that will have no effect on the root cause, and very little effect on the results.
I already CHOOSE to drive without distractions. I already CHOOSE to ride with a motorcycle helmet. I AM educated in motorcycle awareness and safety. Yet I am still confronted daily by a majority who is not, and who attempt to take my life in spite of those precautions. And not threatened just from young people, Mr. Rosenker, but from people of all ages, gender and race. Crashes are not specific to any "groups", they apply to all.
If your helmet law had any merit, you would require ALL drivers to wear them, including auto drivers, for surely that would save a few more lives, based on your reasons for it's recommendation. Pedestrians should also be required to wear them, as it may save them from a head injury also, should they be run down by a distracted driver. If you're going to rob me of my right to choose, at least be fair about it.
But it isn't about being fair, is it Mr. Rosenker? It's all about your "image" as Chairman of the all-knowing, all-seeing NTSB. For I find it hard to believe that you are not intelligent enough to see the truth of my words. And that makes YOU the violator of my safety.
The choices I make will not save my life, Mr. Rosenker, should an auto driver run me down out of driver "inattention". My choices will not stop a driver from gabbing on a cell phone and miss seeing me coming. They will not stop a driver from being a repeat offender after being let go with a $45 traffic violation fine. They will not pay my bills or care for my children in the event my helmet saves my head, but not my body. And if that happens, I will be coming after you, Mr. Rosenker, for you were made aware, and did nothing to protect me.
It doesn't take extensive reports to figure this one out, Mr. Rosenker. What it requires is for you to look at all the facts, not just the ones that lend credence to your personal egotistical agenda. It requires you to see the whole picture. It requires you to think. All of which you are sadly failing at. So far, all I see is "lip service" and bombastic announcements.
Please do not send me one of your "form" letters, as I have already seen the ones you've sent to others repeating the same dribble you've already announced to the public.
Instead, please reply and SPECIFICALLY tell me what you and NTSB are going to do to reduce multi-vehicle crashes so that I might live, whether I wear a helmet or not. Get rid of the liberalistic view you have of the world. It has no place in the realm of safety FOR ALL. Your position requires accurate facts and logical thinking, neither of which I have seen to date.
If you cannot base your recommendations on accurate data, then I will consider you to be acting upon your own agenda and ignoring my rights as an American who pays your salary, and will have no choice but to join the effort to remove you from this position.
If President Bush continues to support you, I will have no choice but to withdraw my support of him as well.
I am speaking out solely as a citizen of the United States of America, and as a tax payer who contributes to your livelihood. In short, you work for me, not the other way around. I expect to be treated as such. Please choose your words carefully, as I will be posting your reply for all to see, unedited.
[My name and address]
Mother of two, educated, gainfully employed, group member of one.
http://rider-sam.blogspot.com/
Advocate for the truth:
http://www.motorcyclists-against-dumb-drivers.com/
Believer in the Constitution of the United States of america.
"CREEP" is in reference to Mr. Rosenker's involvement with Committee to RE-Elect the President (Nixon), and those who were involved with Watergate in 1972. The photo above is from that era. I find CREEP to be an acronym appropriate for Mr. Rosenker, given his actions and incompetency I have seen to date.
Mr. Rosenker has announced NTSB recommendations to all states to implement a mandatory motorcycle helmet law, siting inaccurate statistics as a basis for this mandate, and implying that motorcyclists are responsible for their own deaths by not wearing a helmet, even in the 80% of deaths caused solely by another motorist, and where head injuries were not involved.
- I urge you to write to your representatives and voice your concern over spending millions of tax payer dollars on this farce to remove the right of legislation by the states.
- I urge you to write to President Bush and ask for Mr. Rosenker's removal from his post.
- I urge you to speak out on behalf of yourself and of all Americans who appreciate life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as our country's forefathers envisioned.
- I urge you to take opposition to yet another move by government officials to exert authoritarian control over American citizens who pay their salaries.
What you see in the media is mostly slanted material (gee, are you surprised?). I have not heard one report of motorcycle fatality statistics quoted accurately to date. The media continues to blame rider deaths and injury on the presence/absence of a helmet, whether the rider died as a result of head injuries or not. And especially when the rider is not at fault.
I urge you to consider these points when you see or hear a report of a motorcycle death in the media:
- Was the rider's right-of-way violated?
- Was the rider at fault?
- If the answer is NO to either, then all other comments are irrelevant.
- It is about our government mandating laws based on false information to further a political agenda.
- It is about protecting all of us with sound safety laws.
- It is about the trend of controlling the few, to falsely satisfy the needs of the many.
- It is about our tax dollars being spent on futile efforts and ignoring the true issues.
http://pub42.bravenet.com/forum/3562429698/fetch/860082/
http://pub42.bravenet.com/forum/3562429698/fetch/859099/
http://ntsb.gov/events/Boardmeeting.htm
http://www.checkyourfacts.org/latest-journalism-news-updates-54.php
http://pub42.bravenet.com/forum/3562429698/fetch/860126
http://ntsb.gov/Publictn/2007/AB07-Motorcycle_Safety_Rec-Ltr.htm
http://www.motorcyclists-against-dumb-drivers.com/
Letter to Mr. Rosenker
To: Mark Rosenker (mark.rosenker@ntsb.gov)
Chairman
National Transportation Safety Board
429 L'Enfant Plaza
Washington, D.C. 20024
202-314-6000
CC: President Bush (President@WhiteHouse.gov)
Mr. Rosenker,
As a citizen of this country, I expect, no, I demand, that NTSB focus on the VIOLATORS instead of implementing laws intended to control the VIOLATED.
The majority of highway injuries and deaths are caused by the other drivers in some negligent form or another. Continuing on this path of "band-aiding" the individual "effects" merely chips away at the iceberg but never really makes a substantial difference. Until you take measures to address the root cause of collisions, fatalities will continue in spite of your ill conceived decisions. The NTSB MUST address the root cause in order to protect ALL Americans.
VIOLATION OF DRIVING LAWS is the ROOT CAUSE of HIGHWAY FATALITIES in this country, Mr. Rosenker. Please read this line over and over until you understand this concept. One does not need statistics to see this truth.
Driving violations are caused by many things; distractions, blatant disregard, lack of education, each with underlying sub-categories. The more driving violations there are, the more deaths there will be. There are states that have implemented laws controlling these aspects of driving and have lowered their fatality rate.
Drunk driving is indeed a distraction, but it is NOT THE ONLY distraction that drivers participate in. It is one of MANY. Addressing one without the others is criminal on your part.
Seat belts save lives by increasing the percentage of survival in a crash as an additive to other safety features of an automobile, not the least of which is a metal cage around the driver. Yet even seat belts only address the RESULT of crashes, not the CAUSE. Put a seat belt on a motorcyclist and it does nothing for them without a metal cage around them, in the event of a collision with an automobile.
Motorcycle helmet laws also only address the effect of the crash and not the cause, protecting the head to a small degree, but leaving the rest of the body still vulnerable to blunt force trauma. In most cases of motorcycle collision with an automobile, a helmet does not prevent death, and certainly not catastrophic injury to the body. Prevention of collision does.
The prevention of distracted driving should be the primary focus of NTSB, which provides safety for ALL; motorists, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians. Everyone benefits. The fact that you continue to ignore this, only serves to show your incompetency in spending my tax dollars to control the very few when this effort could save a great majority of lives, including the very few you seek to sensationalize.
Over the years, the creation of laws to make man invincible inside automobiles, has perpetuated distracted, complacent, and deadly drivers; running over bicycles, motorcycles, and pedestrians, all with a punishment for killing most often resulting in less than the fine for littering! Because our safety laws target the victim, not the perpetrator. Adequate penalties are needed to deter traffic violations. An automobile is, after all, a deadly weapon.
In addition, you conveniently ignore the onslaught of electronic devices inside vehicles that further distract drivers. This can be controlled, while shaving, reading, putting on makeup, cannot. However, overall distractions can be controlled by stiffer penalties for violating traffic laws that maim or kill a victim.
Is it that you are afraid of becoming unpopular in the process of saving lives, Mr. Rosenker? I'm sure you and your "esteemed" colleagues are not too keen on giving up your own selfish distractions while driving. And you are most certainly unpopular with the small minority you are now targeting. How do you sleep at night, knowing you can stop the majority of highway fatalities through competent recommendations, but instead choose only to target a small minority in order to further your ambitions?
Or is that you feel imposing your authoritarian laws on motorcyclists, through the support of the uninformed public, is the easy path? For most certainly, much to your advantage, the public has only seen one side of this story. I think it's called propaganda - "The NTSB is responsible for saving millions of lives through seatbelts, airbags, blah, blah, blah". The public has not seen the accurate fatality statistics that I know are available, even to you, but you have seen fit to ignore they even exist. The public is unaware of the political intonations of the NTSB actions. The public is unaware of all sides of this issue.
The public in general [auto drivers] has no worries, because they will survive the crash (thanks to seat belts and other safety enhancements), with only a minor traffic violation in most cases, while the victims of negligence are severely injured or dies. And the public is led to believe that the victims are responsible for their own deaths. How pompous is that?
I, as one of the general public, am outraged that you consider protective gear and equipment in cars and on motorcycles to be the cure-all for deaths due to traffic violations, and that if I am injured or killed by another negligent driver, it is MY fault.
Over and over I see reports of motorcycle deaths in the newspaper where the motorcyclist was in no way at fault, and run down by a negligent driver, yet the "tag" line is always: "He was/wasn't wearing a helmet". Where does the media get this type of attitude? From our government, from NTSB, from YOU, Mr. Rosenker.
What does wearing a helmet have to do with an unsuspecting motorcycle rider being run over and killed through an auto driver's negligence? I ask you, how does a helmet prevent that driver from violating a rider's right-of-way? It isn't about helmets at all. It is about sharing the road with responsible drivers who avoid distractions and drive within the law. No amount of protective gear will promote that, Mr. Rosenker.
In fact, drivers may feel it is OK to drive within MY space if I am NOT wearing a helmet! After all, if I'm not wearing one, it will be deemed MY fault if I am killed by them, though I rode safely and within the laws of the road. You are, through your incompetent decisions, promoting loss of safety for motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrains by not addressing the root causes of traffic fatalities.
Auto drivers everywhere will tell you with a straight face and adamant conviction that they can handle all the extra distractions they participate in while driving (and I'm sure you're among them), until they kill someone. Why must people die before a driver realizes what distractions can cause? Each year, a new distraction manifests itself (i.e. in-vehicle electronics), and accumulates along with all the other distractions available to drivers. Is it any wonder that traffic fatalities rise? And, when drivers are allowed to walk away without penalty for taking a life, how can you expect them to even bother paying attention while driving?
Our government has created a monster by allowing our children to drive at younger ages, unsupervised, while using cell phones, texting, and all manner of distractions. Yes, laws are now surfacing to curb these habits (instigated by states), but these laws will be looked upon by our youth as just another age limited law to overcome, such as drinking, smoking, and now, using a cell phone while driving after 18 or 21 years of age. And, media reports show that young people adamanatly object to these laws, proving they are not even aware of the reasons behind them. Society has been led to believe over and over that injury and fatality in traffic accidents are the responsibility of the victim, not the violator.
What about the millions of children that have already come of age, who have already learned these bad habits? Too little, too late, wouldn't you say? We already have 10 years of our youth who will continue these deadly habits, but who are too old to be regulated by these laws. Who will protect me from them, Mr. Rosenker? You demand better child restraint, but do not protect our youth from themselves before they are old enough to know better. And again, perpetuate more driver caused accidents that maim and kill through your ignorance.
What I find most significant about your integrity (or lack of), Mr. Rosenker, is that you were involved in Watergate back in 1972. I am not surprised that you have managed to end up where you are, given the state of our government today. How many other "interesting" political scams were you involved in since then, that are not known? Your resume shows your involvement in many election campaigns since then, in spite of your involvement in Watergate.
I am further dismayed to learn that President Bush, a President I supported, placed you in this position. Did he not learn from history?
I am not impressed thus far, in your move to impose yet another series of laws to limit MY individual rights, when I am not the one doing the violating, and while you do absolutely nothing to address the root cause of the majority of traffic fatalities. All I see is your misguided attempts to control specific groups, and suppressing individual rights that will have no effect on the root cause, and very little effect on the results.
I already CHOOSE to drive without distractions. I already CHOOSE to ride with a motorcycle helmet. I AM educated in motorcycle awareness and safety. Yet I am still confronted daily by a majority who is not, and who attempt to take my life in spite of those precautions. And not threatened just from young people, Mr. Rosenker, but from people of all ages, gender and race. Crashes are not specific to any "groups", they apply to all.
If your helmet law had any merit, you would require ALL drivers to wear them, including auto drivers, for surely that would save a few more lives, based on your reasons for it's recommendation. Pedestrians should also be required to wear them, as it may save them from a head injury also, should they be run down by a distracted driver. If you're going to rob me of my right to choose, at least be fair about it.
But it isn't about being fair, is it Mr. Rosenker? It's all about your "image" as Chairman of the all-knowing, all-seeing NTSB. For I find it hard to believe that you are not intelligent enough to see the truth of my words. And that makes YOU the violator of my safety.
The choices I make will not save my life, Mr. Rosenker, should an auto driver run me down out of driver "inattention". My choices will not stop a driver from gabbing on a cell phone and miss seeing me coming. They will not stop a driver from being a repeat offender after being let go with a $45 traffic violation fine. They will not pay my bills or care for my children in the event my helmet saves my head, but not my body. And if that happens, I will be coming after you, Mr. Rosenker, for you were made aware, and did nothing to protect me.
It doesn't take extensive reports to figure this one out, Mr. Rosenker. What it requires is for you to look at all the facts, not just the ones that lend credence to your personal egotistical agenda. It requires you to see the whole picture. It requires you to think. All of which you are sadly failing at. So far, all I see is "lip service" and bombastic announcements.
Please do not send me one of your "form" letters, as I have already seen the ones you've sent to others repeating the same dribble you've already announced to the public.
Instead, please reply and SPECIFICALLY tell me what you and NTSB are going to do to reduce multi-vehicle crashes so that I might live, whether I wear a helmet or not. Get rid of the liberalistic view you have of the world. It has no place in the realm of safety FOR ALL. Your position requires accurate facts and logical thinking, neither of which I have seen to date.
If you cannot base your recommendations on accurate data, then I will consider you to be acting upon your own agenda and ignoring my rights as an American who pays your salary, and will have no choice but to join the effort to remove you from this position.
If President Bush continues to support you, I will have no choice but to withdraw my support of him as well.
I am speaking out solely as a citizen of the United States of America, and as a tax payer who contributes to your livelihood. In short, you work for me, not the other way around. I expect to be treated as such. Please choose your words carefully, as I will be posting your reply for all to see, unedited.
[My name and address]
Mother of two, educated, gainfully employed, group member of one.
http://rider-sam.blogspot.com/
Advocate for the truth:
http://www.motorcyclists-against-dumb-drivers.com/
Believer in the Constitution of the United States of america.
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