Quote:
Originally Posted by PeterPuck
Because people are aware of the risks inherent with riding a motorcycle. In fact for many, it's part of the "charm" of owning one -- "oooh, you're so fearless!" What do the police call bikers? Donors?
I, for one, would not want my wife and kids putt-putting around in a tiny kei-car, and it would be irresponsible for me to put them in that sort of danger.
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I know the moped drivers on the island of Oahu in Hawaii where I grew up were doing if for the macho image. All the way. Arnold on a Scooter with a biker jacket and shades.
And some are talking here like a Kei car has no safety standards whatsoever. In fact, I'd much rather be in a crash in a WagonR or Kei Truck than on a motorbike.
At least in Texas you can get by on feeder roads, with long distances between stoplights if you take an occasional trip or if you just don't want to pay the toll on your daily commute (Sam Houston Tollway 8). And in places where there is ONLY a freeway (say, like on a trip to San Antonio), there are usually a few twisty old country routes that were there before the highway was put in, sometimes right alongside it for a good portion of the way.
Also, consider that my parents and family managed to survive driving cars unsafe by todays standards. My father drove a Spitfire convertible. Surely it was no safer than a Kei car of today (no this is not my dad).
But as others stated above, this argument some make is a bit like the argument others make regulating against people choosing to buy and drive giant trucks and SUVs.
If I can go out and buy a Monroe Ironhide Edition GMC Topkick (some could argue that I'm "endangering people around me" or using too much fuel), I should have the same freedom to buy a Suzuki Carry minivan with a tiny engine that sips fuel (yes, by DAMD aftermarket conversions
) and isn't a "safety tank" approved by Ralph Nader.
