Biker Killed, Once Again

[TomTerrific]

I've been driving for almost 52 years now and I rode bikes (Ducati's & BMW's) for 43 years. One thing I learned along the way is that motorcycles blend into to the "background" of other traffic very easily. They are not "car shaped" and that is what people are looking for when they proceed to pull across a lane of traffic. Don't forget people regularly pull out in front of cars and trucks. So if they can miss something that big, what chance does a motorcycle have to be spotted - very slim. Sad but true.

In the three fatalities I am close to, in each case an elderly person pulled out/turned in front of the deceased. It was strictly the other persons' fault.

In my strictly humble opinion, the biker has to accept these risks. In my mind, riding a bike entails too much risk.

Drivers do stupid things when I am driving my car, but at least I am not nearly as vulnerable as a cyclist.

I personally think bikers have a death wish, particularly those who won't wear helmets.

Rant done.

 

[OneStory]

Are those Spyders with two wheels in front any safer?

 

[charlie12]

Another man was killed in Tangi

http://www.actionnews17.com/News/NewsbyArea/Tangipahoa/tabid/156/ArticleID/4017/ArtMID/513/Highway-38-motorcycle-accident-claims-the-life-of-70-year-old-Kentwood-man.aspx

 

[TooOld]

My wife has a Spyder and I would say it is a little safer, but I've seen fatilities with those also. I ride a Harley mostly, but was difficult packing for trips, so we got the Spyder with a trailer. Just came back from a 2500 mile trip and only one near miss. Guess people see them a little better (the one she has is almost as wide as a car). I rode for the Sheriff's office also, take my word they don't see flashing lights or hear sirens either. All of you riders out there, just be extra careful and remember you are invisible.

 

[Dishonored]

My wife has a Spyder and I would say it is a little safer, but I've seen fatilities with those also. I ride a Harley mostly, but was difficult packing for trips, so we got the Spyder with a trailer. Just came back from a 2500 mile trip and only one near miss. Guess people see them a little better (the one she has is almost as wide as a car). I rode for the Sheriff's office also, take my word they don't see flashing lights or hear sirens either. All of you riders out there, just be extra careful and remember you are invisible.

Glad y'all made it back safe. You are correct. Never assume the cars around you know you are there.

 

[charlie12]

Have any of you bike riders had problems following some of the drivers we have now that have switched to putting landing lights on their trucks? With the bright lights and them running fog lights all the time do you think you have problems with them blinding the on coming traffic and not seeing your lights?

 

[TooOld]

Never had a problem as you described, but I hate those bright blue lights. They completely blind me.

 

[Leonidas]

If your safety is the goal, wouldn't the smarter play be to slow down to get away from the other driver. I'm no physics whiz, but your solution, and that of many other bikers seems counter-intuitive.

"Such and such driver is stupid, I'll just cancel that out by being stupider." Yeah, that's the ticket.

+1

I am sympathetic, to a degree, that riding a bike is significantly more dangerous. May not be fair, but it is. Weigh the risk/make a choice. Recognize that it is not as much the relative invisibility of the smaller vehicle, as it is the fact that the much smaller profile makes it more difficult for even aware drivers to accurately estimate its distance. It is even more difficult to gauge its CLOSING rate.

However, as so often happens in these discussions, after the bitching, the inevitable comments surface that the solution to the risk is to compound the risk. You will never convince me rationally that 50mph is safer than 40mphbecause of such and such. Bullsh_t! My sympathy wanes drastically, at that point.

 

[Dishonored]

+1

I am sympathetic, to a degree, that riding a bike is significantly more dangerous. May not be fair, but it is. Weigh the risk/make a choice. Recognize that it is not as much the relative invisibility of the smaller vehicle, as it is the fact that the much smaller profile makes it more difficult for even aware drivers to accurately estimate its distance. It is even more difficult to gauge its CLOSING rate.

However, as so often happens in these discussions, after the bitching, the inevitable comments surface that the solution to the risk is to compound the risk. You will never convince me rationally that 50mph is safer than 40mphbecause of such and such. Bullsh_t! My sympathy wanes drastically, at that point.

Is it safer to stand in a room full of unpredictable people with loaded guns or alone in a room with only your gun?

 

[Leonidas]

Is it safer to stand in a room full of unpredictable people with loaded guns or alone in a room with only your gun?

You don't get it. You ARE the unpredictable person. Because of the physics involved, I can fairly predict what a car will do because of what it is able to do. A bike that can accelerate 30mph in the blink of an eye is unpredictable, particularly when piloted by one who has your mindset.

I see idiots driving drunk or texting or just plain stupid. I slow down to clear the radius of risk. I am encased in a few thousand pounds of steel. You, who are in the wide open think it logical to speed up. All I can say is.....Good luck with that. Keep your life insurance up to date.

 

[sandman7925]

I have only been riding a bike for a few months and is i still catch myself riding and not looking far enough ahead of me as I should. I'm constantly telling myself to look far ahead and To constantly scan left and right, cover both brakes and clutch in high traffic areas are an intersection. its allot you need to do and I catch myself slipping sometimes but I'm working on it.

I've learned this though, most people just drive their cars. If you want to ride a bike and live long you don't drive it...you operate it. And it requires multitasking by having to use both hands and both feet at the same time while watching in all directions, even behind you. im constantly checking my rearview for tailgaters so i can get away from them. Nothing like a car.

 

[JBP55]

Another man was killed in Tangi

http://www.actionnews17.com/News/NewsbyArea/Tangipahoa/tabid/156/ArticleID/4017/ArtMID/513/Highway-38-motorcycle-accident-claims-the-life-of-70-year-old-Kentwood-man.aspx

I was about 5 miles from the accident attending a funeral after the accident and many there knew the motorcycle rider. Later in the day at an event in the Amite area several people said they knew both of the people involved in the accident.

 

[Dishonored]

You don't get it. You ARE the unpredictable person. Because of the physics involved, I can fairly predict what a car will do because of what it is able to do. A bike that can accelerate 30mph in the blink of an eye is unpredictable, particularly when piloted by one who has your mindset.

I see idiots driving drunk or texting or just plain stupid. I slow down to clear the radius of risk. I am encased in a few thousand pounds of steel. You, who are in the wide open think it logical to speed up. All I can say is.....Good luck with that. Keep your life insurance up to date.

Until you operate a motorcycle on the roads you will never understand. Who has my mindset? My mindset gets me home and has never failed me before. I know what I can do and what I will do; I cannot attempt to even wonder what the car 100 yards in front of me is going to do.
Now, this thread was about a lost life and I don't want to argue about riding anymore here, especially if you don't drive one.

 

[Leonidas]

I was trying to save a few lives. But, then, you are smarter than all the riders who have died. So were many of them.

 

[lost]

They used the exact same wording when the lady killed the biker in front of Albertson's on Airline and she was never charged....
She got some traffic violation that she payed and that was it.

Thanks for explaining it. I don't usually read any article about a rider getting killed because it bothers me too much after seeing a couple of really bad accidents. I am not familiar with the other acccidents that were mentioned, my knee jerk reaction was just that the woman should have at least been cited for -something- and upgrade the charges as needed.

 

[VeedUp]

Praying for his family's lost, I've had women, men, old and young look straight at me on my bike and pull out in front me. I've had people try to intentionally hit me, brake check me for no other reason then I simply pass them up. People rage on the roads these days.

 

[VeedUp]

If your safety is the goal, wouldn't the smarter play be to slow down to get away from the other driver. I'm no physics whiz, but your solution, and that of many other bikers seems counter-intuitive.

"Such and such driver is stupid, I'll just cancel that out by being stupider." Yeah, that's the ticket.

If you don't ride you won't understand, you get ahead of the potential hazards to eliminate them, if you slow down you just compound the hazards and then you really have to have eyes in the back of your head. I always wanted a helmet that had some mirrors in it so I could just glance up and see behind me.

 

[king4456]

The only way to avoid an accident with a car is to not be there. Speed up or slow down or stay home. I don't stay next to car so they can switch lanes and kill me. My best defense was to learn as much as possible about my bike and how to ride it and then apply what I had learned while riding. Still you have to know that every car that is waiting to pull out may not see you. Riding a motorcycle should not be a relaxing experience. You have to be alert and ready for anything all the time. I see problems and adjust before those potential threats become unavoidable. Even then I accept the fact that I still might die every time I ride. Also gear will save your life. It has saved mine and my brothers. We would both be taking a dirt nap without a dot snell approved helmet.

 

[TomTerrific]

Helmets are optional here in Kentucky.

I wince every time I see one and hope they are not in my insurance pool.

 

[sandman7925]

Helmets are optional here in Kentucky.

I wince every time I see one and hope they are not in my insurance pool.

Forget the safety part, who the hell wants bugs and dirt in their teeth just to look cool by not wearing a helmet. I don't ever want to ride without full face cover