Better Gas Mileage

If you are a motorcycle lover, Easy Rider, made in 1969, is a must see. Indeed, it’s required viewing. It’s not so much an action movie as a piece of history. The plot starts with Wyatt (played by Peter Fonda) and Billy (played by Dennis Hopper) riding their way to Mardi Gras. During this drive they encounter hitchhikers, a drunken lawyer (played famously by Jack Nicholson), some jail time, and ultimately the great unknown.

They are traveling from Southern California where they sell drugs to get money to fund the ride to Mardi Gras. The money is placed in their gas tanks as they set off across the United States. Regrettably, along the way they have a number of trials. The two men are arrested on the basis that they didn’t have a permit to ride in the parade. In other parts of the story they are verbally abused and threatened by officers of the law and local communities. Their ride was meant to be a testament to freedom, despite the resistance of the status quo.

At one dramatic point, a truck almost runs them off the road. Out running the cops, a bust, and shotguns, it is easy to dismiss as pure fiction. However, there are real riders in the world today that need help. Bikers are like everyone else - sometimes they need some help to get them out of a scrape.

Motorcycle law, as it happens, is a specialization in legal jurisprudence. In the film, when they are initially arrested they had no lawyer to help bail them out of jail. As the story progresses, you can see every instance where some kind of legal assistance would have helped, not withstanding a spaced-out and full-forced Jack Nicholson.

Currently, a motorcycle lawyer can help rescue any money lost in settlements. Better yet, they can help secure substantial settlements from insurance companies and careless drivers alike. In 1969 motorcycles were seen as agents of evil; today the stigma still applies, unfortunately. A great deal of intolerance is still evident even from the courts. Just one screening and its easy to see how a little legal help could have help Wyatt and Billy avoid a number of pitfalls. Better yet, a lawyer versed in motorcycle law could have had our heroes out on the road, cruising, continuing the search for the American dream.

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