Once the session ended, Karen Coria, lobbyist for the ATV manufacturers and vocal proponent for the All Terrain Vehicles bill, circulated a Charleston Gazette article about West Virginia’s first ATV death of the year. I can only assume she was trying to shame the legislators after refusing to further restrict ATV operators. But she inadvertently undermined her point.
The March 3rd article notes that Homer Lee Williams “died a week after telling a television station his ATV was his only means of transportation.”
According to the police report, he flipped when he drove off a paved road and tried to return to it. He was obviously going too fast.
I actually find it surprising that West Virginia’s first ATV death of 2007 was the last day in February. Last year we had over 3 deaths in January alone and the death toll had only grown by March 1st. If trends continue — and there is not reason why they shouldn’t — we will have a much lower death rate.
Every death in West Virginia, no matter the means, is a tragedy. But thanks to Karen Coria, if we consider Williams’ case we find there is no legislation that would have saved him.
“Williams told WSAZ-TV in a Feb. 22 interview that he did not have a car and would have no transportation if the Legislature passed a bill banning ATVs from paved roads,” the Gazette reported.
“I got to go on the roadways. It’s the only way to go,” Williams told WSAZ. “I don’t know what I’ll do. I’m stuck.”
If the bill had passed, Williams would not have had any means to get the provisions he needed. He would have been faced with either finding another way to get around, breaking the law, or sitting in his home and starving. While it is totally conjecture, we can deduce that since there is obviously no travel alternatives and he is not going to wait to die, Williams would have broken the law and possibly died anyway.
The only way to protect Homer Lee Williams was for the state to buy him a car. While I am sure there is a liberal out there who supports such a preposterous notion, let’s hope the rest of the state does not.
The unfortunate fact is people are going to die at their own hand no matter what the legislature does. Society has somehow conjured the idea that it is the role of government to wake them up in the morning, care for them throughout the day, and tuck them in at night and the reason they suffer from Athlete’s Foot is because the government has not subsidized Tinactin.
When did we abdicate all personal responsibility? I have a novel thought: instead of an onerous law that gives a show of protecting all while inconveniencing most, let us each take responsibility and care for our own selves.
Like the man who was killed last year when he drove his ATV off a cliff, Williams died because he was careless, not because there was not a law.
Next time you are out, do us all a favor and look both ways before crossing the street or some lobbyist will be at the capitol next session pushing for a bill making you do it.
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Comments
Boy howdy! William, you hit it square on!
Republicans are supposed to be the party of personal responsibility, like you say. But we have lots of RINOs who register Republican and spout Democrat garbage.
Government can’t REALLY “protect” anyone from anything, not even crime. Should someone kill your friend, government then tries to RETALIATE, not PREVENT.
Let the Democrats have the “Nanny State.” I’m for freedom and all the self-responsibility that goes with it.
If I’m stupid enough to overeat, do drugs, drive crazily, stick my head in a ‘gator’s mouth, drink ’till my liver swells up, bake in the sun ’till I sprout melanomas, ignore safety belts, do unsafe sex, take a pleasure trip to Baghdad, or register Democrat, then I deserve what I get! Laissez Faire!
Many so-called Republicans don’t really get it! The Constitution was a document that set up the rules for a FREE society.
Government was set up by the people. It enumerated certain powers that government would exercise in order to keep peace between citizens. It actually HAS only those powers. All the rest of the powers that governments have acquired, they acquired by subtle force. Those powers are ILLEGITIMATE!
For instance: A lot of so-called Republicans are against gambling. I am against gambling — I’m against MY gambling — I am NOT against anyone else’s gambling so long as they use their own money to gamble.
What kind of freedom do we have if government can tell us we can’t gamble?
What kind of self-control does that generate in the populace when they have to look for government for permission to gamble?
It doesn’t generate self-control.
A lot of so-called Republicans think that gambling is a religious issue and they think that they should impose that religious issue upon the general populace through statutes (legislation.)
They are partially correct. It is a religious issue. Some religions teach that gambling is morally wrong. (Catholics don’t.)
They should NOT impose their religious beliefs upon the populace in general.
And under the religious freedom of the First Amendment, anyone, any religion is free to teach anything that they wish to teach — TO THEIR OWN FOLLOWERS — NOT impose it upon the rest of the populace.
I am saying that there should be no statutes (”laws”) preventing anyone from gambling. Let those, who are religious and who preach against it, sanction or shun their followers who do not abide by their teachings; but leave everyone else alone!
This same constitutional principle applies to everything else of similar nature, such as mandated seatbelt use.
If I don’t want to wear a seatbelt that is solely between me and my insurance company (who might opt to dishonor my injury claims if I don’t wear my seatbelt.)
Let’s try to make this country a REPUBLIC again.
As Benjamin Franklin once said: “Gentlemen, we (the Constitutional Conventioneers) have given you a Republic — if you can keep it.”
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I WAS ONLY TRYING TO FIND OUT THE BILL FOR ATV’S IN WV AND HOW MANY ATV ACCIDENTS THERE HAVE BEEN IN YEAR 2006. AND, IF INSURANCE AND LICENSING WOULD PREVENT ANY MORE DEATHS. THANKS. DJK
I AM TRYING TO FIND OUT HOW MANY DEATHS HAVE OCCURED IN WEST VIRGINIA IN 2007