OLD BLASTARD: There is no justice, only the law

Ranting and raving about the way the criminal justice system treats motorcyclists is as effective at changing it as rapid eye blinking is in reducing global warming.

Still, it doesn't hurt to remind ourselves how important we are to Joe and Jill Public.

Take the case of  Chattanooga motorcyclists Orvil and Patricia Laymon. The Laymons are now dead, have been since April 26, 2009 when stone-cold sloshed Sara Smith slammed into them. Smith, who had several DUIs before including one where she plowed into a house while driving a car full of teens off to the pizza parlor,  just received a 10-year sentence for the killings.

According to Chattanooga media reports, Smith was remorseful of the incident.  Her attorney said Smith should be allowed to move on with her life, return to her twin boys. Those, of course, are options that the Laymons do not have.

There are crash deaths that are heinous. There are crash deaths that are tragedies. The Laymons were slaughtered by a drunk who had a history of hitting things and being airlifted to hospitals because she was so intoxicated. She did so with kids in her car -- her son was in the car when she crossed the line and killed the riders.

That's heinous. That's just as heinous as the Ohio woman who painted her nails at 50 mph into the back of rider stopped for a traffic signal and killed her.

Remember that, once you die on a motorcycle, the court system doesn't care about dispensing justice to your family, it only cares about the law. You are dead and gone and all focus is on the person surviving, the one who killed you.

So keep an eye out. You are the only protection you have.