[ZTWsquared]

There's so much at work here, and so many factors raised - it's hard to keep track of what is really salient.

Some thoughts:

1) He was a refugee claimant which suggests some sort of legal status. I tried Adam to find a connection as to why they mentioned it ... it was at a point in the video where he was heard talking a foreign language, but they didn't seem to infer his actions were related to his citizenship or ethnicity.

2) They didn't say if he owned the bike - if he did, that would suggest he was licensed, or alternately the dealership didn't check his license status. Or maybe he bought it used -- who knows -- not enough info from the story.

If he was properly licensed I should think a re-vamp of the training and licensing requirements might be in order ... and not just because of this incident -- we all see motorcyclists doing this stuff regularly.

3)He was obviously very inexperienced - not only was he not wearing leathers or proper boots, he wasn't even wearing gloves at first - at that temp and at that speed his hands must have been almost paralyzed from cold.

I used to race motorcycles when I was single (between wife #1 and wife #2) and you can often feel the onset of a high speed wobble and correct for it (takes a solid grip) -- and if you've been riding for even a few months you quickly learn to recognize the type of road surface that can help cause it. Improper tire inflation can often be a cause, and given the snow on the ground (Superbowl weekend) they were probably also riding on rubber that was far too cold for proper handling.

4) The "racing" dynamic was also obviously at work here ... I seriously doubt he would have been driving that fast or that recklessly had he been riding alone. This video just reinforces in mind the need for special sentences for those deemed to have been racing.

Having said that ... I somehow doubt that this group would have been deterred by the prospect of heavier sentencing - just a hunch.

5) I'm not sure how often additional fatalaties happen - usually the rider simply kills themself - but in any event, I'm beginning to wonder how much responsibility the bike manfucturer should be asked to take for making a machine capable of 250 kph -- and basically selling it to anyone with a relatively useless license and the cash or credit.

6) And finally, I really feel for the families of the victims (and even the rider) - I can't help but think of my wife and kids on the road everyday and I gotta tell you, this stuff makes me more and more nervous and angry every day.

Maybe it's just of symptom of getting / being "old" - but my tolerance level is down to nil -- this stuff on our roads simply has to stop.