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Wild Hogs Motorcycle Safety
6 February 2007
Good afternoon. I’m happy to welcome some special guests to the Georgia State Capitol today – we have with us the stars of Wild Hogs, an upcoming comedy that tells the story of four men who decide to go on a motorcycle adventure.
Please welcome Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy.
We are all looking forward to the Wild Hogs movie coming out on March 2. But this promotional tour serves another purpose – educating people about safe driving practices, both in cars and on motorcycles.
Riding a motorcycle safely and responsibly takes training and sound judgment.
Automobile drivers need to take heed, too – motorcycles are much smaller than cars, and they can be tough to see. Drivers must give motorcycles plenty of room – don’t follow closely, and give them a full lane of travel.
A hundred motorcyclists a year are killed in Georgia. This is a fact that is hard to swallow, especially because there is such a simple solution– responsible driving.
We all need to exercise patience and caution – to be aware of our surroundings, to check our blind spots, put on our seatbelt or helmet . . . and, above all, don’t speed!
You all should know by now – I’m a data-driven decision maker. Well folks, I’ve seen the numbers – and they say we’ve got to do something about accidents on our roads.
The overall cost of all these crashes in Georgiais getting close to $8 billion a year. But it gets worse.
Last year more than 1700 Georgians were killed on our roadways – folks, that’s a life taken every 5 hours.
At least 20% of our accidents are caused by speeding, and Atlanta is one of the fastest metro areas in the country.
There is also a clear link between the people who speed and drive recklessly, causing deadly accidents on our roadways and rising strain on our trauma centers.
So we’re going after speeders in Georgia. We’ve got a two-pronged approach: First, we’ll increase fines for those who drive at excessive speeds – and those with dangerous driving histories. And second, those fines will go towards fundinga statewide trauma care network.
We’re going to make the people that repeatedly cause accidents pay for them, and I hope that these increased fines will give them another incentive to stop their behavior.
We’ll be introducing this “Super Speeder” bill on Thursday when the legislature comes back in session.
I thank the Georgia State Patrol motorcycle unit for being with us today. This elite new force started patrolling the metro area last month, and they are charged with responding quickly to accidents – and with enforcing the laws of our roadways.
The motorcycle unit will be a strong partner in combating speeding and reckless driving.
And I’d also like to recognize Athens Police Officer Von Anderson and his wife, April. Officer Anderson is here with us today thanks to good riding training and the right safety equipment. He was in a serious motorcycle accident while on-duty last month.
Before setting out that day, he took someprecautions,including wearing a helmet, boots, gloves and his police issue body armor vest . . . in addition to having extensive training and experience. These are the things that saved his life.
He’s recovering. But Officer Anderson is here with us today, in uniform and in wheelchair, to serve as a sobering reminder of the life-saving importance of motorcycle safety equipment and training.
Wearing a helmet saved his life. That’s the kind of story we want here in Georgia – we want to see people making simple, responsible decisions that will save lives.
And in that spirit, I am proud to proclaim today Wild Hogs Motorcycle Safety Day.
[present proclamation]
We also have a token of our appreciation for the stars of Wild Hogs –I am proud to present a gift on behalf of the people of Georgia and the Georgia State Patrol, Clayton County Harley Davidson and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
[present vests to stars, photo op]
And now, let’s hear from the stars of Wild Hogs.