oldguy
Always Broken
- Dec 26, 1999
- 9,411
- 0
Has anybody else had the same reaction as me or am I overrecting? In the August issue of AMA's official magazine in the section Road Signs they have an artical about a guy racing a train at a crossing. He is bragging about how stupid he was- not saying he was wrong but bragging about his decison.
The writer is describing his ride to the race at Hangtown and how everyting is going wrong from oversleeping to being detoured because of an accident. He is now flying down a back road approaching a railroad crossing when he sees an approaching train and makes the calculation that he can beat it. He accelerates with his attention focussed "on the ominously looming locomotive". then he sees the crossing lights activate so he accelerates more to beat the droparm. Finally he hits the crossing goes airborn and flys right past the car stopped the other direction.
Oh well it was worth it because "it was a good day after all".
My 14 year old reads this magazine and altho I give him credit for being smarter than the author (or editor for that matter) I don't need the seeds of thought planted. As a cop I have been to and seen the results of these 'races' when the train wins and they aren't pretty.
My letter to AMA:
I joined AMA along with my wife and son several years ago in order to protect our rights to continue riding motorcyles and today in the American Motorcyclist I read an artical that sets this goal back years. In your August 2002 issue under the guise ofRoad Signs I read an artical "Igno-Second" in which you allow a fool to brag about his stupidity. Don Jenson brags about riding like a fool and culminating his ride by racing a train across a signalled railroad crossing.
As a police officer I have cleaned up the remains of to many idiots on bikes and in cars who took this chance and lost. For the official magazine of the AMA to condone this behavior is criminal. My support for AMA is drastically injured and as far as I am concerned please remove my family members from your mailing list before my 14 year old son reads this type of artical and makes the same error as Jenson.
The writer is describing his ride to the race at Hangtown and how everyting is going wrong from oversleeping to being detoured because of an accident. He is now flying down a back road approaching a railroad crossing when he sees an approaching train and makes the calculation that he can beat it. He accelerates with his attention focussed "on the ominously looming locomotive". then he sees the crossing lights activate so he accelerates more to beat the droparm. Finally he hits the crossing goes airborn and flys right past the car stopped the other direction.
Oh well it was worth it because "it was a good day after all".
My 14 year old reads this magazine and altho I give him credit for being smarter than the author (or editor for that matter) I don't need the seeds of thought planted. As a cop I have been to and seen the results of these 'races' when the train wins and they aren't pretty.
My letter to AMA:
I joined AMA along with my wife and son several years ago in order to protect our rights to continue riding motorcyles and today in the American Motorcyclist I read an artical that sets this goal back years. In your August 2002 issue under the guise ofRoad Signs I read an artical "Igno-Second" in which you allow a fool to brag about his stupidity. Don Jenson brags about riding like a fool and culminating his ride by racing a train across a signalled railroad crossing.
As a police officer I have cleaned up the remains of to many idiots on bikes and in cars who took this chance and lost. For the official magazine of the AMA to condone this behavior is criminal. My support for AMA is drastically injured and as far as I am concerned please remove my family members from your mailing list before my 14 year old son reads this type of artical and makes the same error as Jenson.
