I recently returned to motorcycling as a means of fun and relaxation. Whereas other sports take time to prepare (driving to golf course, towing the boat to the lake, etc.) it takes only a few moments to hop on the bike and enjoy a ride, be it 10 minutes to the store or cross country.

But to re-enter the world of motorcycling enjoyment, I had to overcome the protestations of a loving wife and daughters who fear for my safety. I raised all the logical arguments: I had taken the motorcycle foundation safety course, would wear a helmet and, of course, would exercise extreme caution when riding.

In spite of these arguments, in truth I do recognize the danger of riding. I believe it is far more dangerous to ride now than when I rode a small 90cc motorbike to the University of Pittsburgh as a student in the late 1960s. Even though I now ride a modern 750cc bike with more safety features than bikes had in the '60s, it is not as safe now as it was then.

There are a couple of reasons for this. One is back then more drivers rode with windows open or partially open and a cycle could be heard if not seen. Air conditioning and better music systems now make an open-window driver a rarity.

But the most compelling reason is a lack of motorist attention due to electronic device distraction. You know what I am referring to: cell phones, PDAs, iPods, GPS and other devices. One does not need statistics, although there are many studies to substantiate the argument, that driver inattention is rampant. You see examples of that every day. Observe drivers trying in vain to double park because they will not put down the cell phone they are holding to their ear. People getting into their car in the mall parking lot and immediately making that phone call before buckling the safety belt and while backing out of the space. I see them running yellow and red lights, stop signs, and generally being oblivious to the world outside their automobile.

I'm awfully tempted to do those same things while I'm driving, and to some extent I do. However I use a hands-free system, voice dialing and in general keep two hands on the wheel and attention focused on the road. Even then, I find it distracting when using a GPS or finding that right track on the CD player. But I know it is distracting and so do my best to avoid using these devices at all or at least while in motion. Most others do not.

Yet in spite of this obvious situation, I am surprised by the lack of support from the motorcycling community to rally against distracted drivers. A call this summer to the Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education (ABATE), an organization to which I belong, found little to no interest in lobbying the Pennsylvania State Legislature against distracted drivers. Perhaps because bikers believe in freedom of choice and lobbied so many years against motorcycle helmet laws, they chose to not promote additional law making.

Yet there is a difference. To wear a helmet or not wear a helmet primarily affects only the rider. But a distracted driver is a danger to the biker, their passenger, pedestrians and other motorists. This is why I am far more cautious now on a modern bike than I was on that two-stoke 90cc scooter that took me from Mount Oliver to Oakland, rain or shine, summer or winter.

I urge bikers to be more vocal about encouraging safe driving, and the only way I know how is to encourage Pennsylvania, like California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and several local cities and municipalities, to pass distracted driver legislation.