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Is it Accident Season???

I

instructor

Road Bike
Take short rides most everyday and in past two weeks have seen two major accidents with motorcycles on the Interstate. Couple weeks ago bike with trailer pretty much spread all over the side of the road, police cars, ambulances, flashing red and blue lights everywhere. This last Sunday upon returning home with friends in their car came upon very similar scene only this time there were some 8-10 bikes involved.  From their "colors" appeared to be a club ride of some sort.  Some were in the grassy strip and others strung out on the side of the Interstate in pieces. Lots, and I mean lots, of flashing lights and 3-4 tilt bed trucks waiting to haul the "remains" away.  I rode some 100 miles yesterday and these two accidents fresh in my mind and the wrecks could well have been the bikers fault, but almost every day I experience some "dingaling" cutting way to close in front of me or pulling out from intersection when he should have waited or coming from behind and being very few feet from my rear wheel and makes you wonder where are these people's minds?? It is against the law here to be using your "handheld device" while operating an automobile, but daily see both men and women talking on the phone or worse yet, texting and they don't have a clue what is taking place on the road. If I had an accident and was able to move and knew the guy/gal was on the phone and tried to run over me there would be some very serious confrontations prior to the police arriving. Having just survived and accident and took issue with the idiot involved could not be construed as "road rage" could it??  Perhaps August is motorcycle accident month??  Bottom line, be careful out there and keep your head on a swivel for there are those on the roads that can give you serious problems. 
I am now stepping down from my "soap box." 
 
You're absolutely right, instructor; no need to apologize for the soapbox.  I reiterate my call for us as the motorcycle community to come up with a hand signal for "get off the damn phone!".  I've tried the fisted right hand slamming down on the left flat palm, but either they don't get it, or they don't care (most likely the second). 

All year 'round is accident season with these idiots running around.  We see an increase in accidents in the summer because so many more of us are out there on our bikes.  So stay on the soapbox, instructor.  It's a dangerous world out there; but we should do all we can to make it safer.
 
Solomookie said:
I reiterate my call for us as the motorcycle community to come up with a hand signal for "get off the damn phone!". 
Click to expand...

I have a special hand signal for them but you cant fix stupid
 
Mine have been sitting for years because it is way too risky with all the distracted drivers nowadays. Yes, that's a '98 in the Connie's license plate...
20544570795_32725915ec_b.jpg
 
:c029:  BARN FIND!!!  :) I saw it first  :p

92? Those look awesome with the red stripes.... when I saw one like that on Craigslist I was hooked.
 
Thud300 said:
:c029:  BARN FIND!!!  :) I saw it first  :p

92? Those look awesome with the red stripes.... when I saw one like that on Craigslist I was hooked.
Click to expand...

LOL! Yes, it's a '92. Picked the colors I wanted and bought it from Southwest Kawasaki in Lawton, OK and only rode it 1700 miles because our first kid came in 1998, and now all these people on their phones have caused me to not have much of any desire to ride again. Maybe someday in the middle of nowhere or on private property...
 
We have been having 2 fatalaties a week here in Houston lately. The scary ones are the rear enders on the freeway. Hard to watch your back every second, especially at night when the other driver has no headlights on.
 
Texting is out of control. I got a ticket in the business park the other day rolling a stop sign that I actually stopped at. I asked the officer how many texting tickets they've written in the past month. The officer replied none. It's not going to change until the police realize that this if  a viable source of revenue.
 
  The bottom line IMHO, is that the value of human life here is not what it used to be. Texting and chatting on the phone is far more inportant than the life around them. In there minds, .... ALL TEXTS HAVE TO BE VIEWED AND REPLIED TO .... IMMEDIATELY ..  :mad:
  And it's not just kids with this mentality it ALL AGES that are guilty.  The very sad thing is that 1) it's not enforced 2) the punishment is a joke 3) it's never important unless someone dies... and even them it's questionabe if the judge will do anything.....  :mad:

Cheers
Ron
 
Not too long ago we had an accident on one of our highways via a guy eating and looking at his GPS (he was out of state) There was construction
which was noted 2 miles back yet this guy rear-ended a vehicle and killed a teenager in the back seat.  Last I heard they
were still deciding if he would be charged.  Come on, that SHOULD be a no brainer, right?

Part of the problem is if someone sees the police they put down their phone, when they go away, they pick it up again and if you or I come
up on them while texting etc they don't care because we can't do anything.

Someday maybe there will be cameras built in to the sides of vehicles which would allow you to trigger them to take a picture of an offender or
maybe someday it will be automatic - and then upload it automatically to the cops for a ticket.  YES I know, to much control - but something has to change
or more people will lose their life - the only one they have, to some idiot that thinks texting is more important then someone else's life.

Maybe the better answer is that phones can't work in vehicles via some detection, if a phone is on the vehicle won't start and once started the phones inside
the vehicle can't be turned on while the engine is running.
NO I haven't figured it all out yet - all I know is something has to change.

 
I used to work with a guy, he took a job writing dealership service after losing his job as a sheriff's deputy. He was on patrol one night and was texting on his phone, when he ran into the back of a pickup truck that had stopped in the roadway. The driver had gotten out to reload a mattress that had fallen onto the road. His legs were crushed and amputated. The dashcam in the patrol car caught the whole thing.

The truck was white, with 4-ways on, and stopped under a street light.

Charges were brought, but they ended up being severely reduced and he never did any jail time. The pickup driver got a large settlement from the county. The former sheriff's deputy has returned to active service in the Navy.
 
Well, it was for me.  About three weeks ago, I was run off the road by an oncoming pickup who crossed the double yellow on a two-lane road. 

When the towing company arrived to haul of the carcass of my bike, I talked with the driver.  He said that he is the "motorcycle specialist" with his towing company, and gets the majority of the calls for wrecked bikes.  Said it has been his busiest season ever (been there 8 years).  He's averaging 3-4 calls per week.  Said it was "about double" of what he has seen in prior years. 

Be careful out there . . .
 
The condition is pathetic. I don't understand why people text while driving! It is horrible to see someone die because of someone who was busy sending crap messages! Distracted driving is a growing menace and it won't stop unless the police takes serious cognizance of this grave offence. I feel like hitting out on people who text or are on call while driving!
 
They made it against the law to do anything with a phone here but it made no difference.  I see um every day.

They already can make a phone not work if it is moving.  At least the ones with gps.
 
arthurhoffman said:
The condition is pathetic. I don't understand why people text while driving! It is horrible to see someone die because of someone who was busy sending crap messages! Distracted driving is a growing menace and it won't stop unless the police takes serious cognizance of this grave offence. I feel like hitting out on people who text or are on call while driving!
Click to expand...

Because its a physical compulsion for many.  When a message arrives on their phone, a shot of dopamine is released in the brain.  It's like getting a little gift each time a text message or E-mail notification arrives.
 
KellyfromVA said:
When a message arrives on their phone, a shot of dopamine is released in the brain.  It's like getting a little gift each time a text message or E-mail notification arrives.
Click to expand...

I like to give them a shot to the brain; but not of dopamine.  >:D
 
It's definitely that time of the season. I had my own close call just recently...

I left work early on my C14 to enjoy any remaining nice sunny weather we PacNWs get around this time before we get more rain and storms. My plan was to take some backroads home with a somewhat busy 2 lane roads in a scenic nice area. The driver in a general contractor van turned left in front of a car with the mother driving and her son in the back seat. I happened to be behind the van and gave him a little room when he indicated his left turn signal. Apparently I saw the oncoming car but he didn't and what happened next was an awful but expected head on collision. I pulled over when safe and called 911, then checked the car with the mother & son and luckily they were ok, shaken up but ok. The driver in the van was also ok but apparently didn't want to admit he was on his phone doing whatever when state patrol asked him questions about how the accident unfolded. I think I recall the cop asking him to check his phone which he didn't want to do until he called a lawyer and his insurance company. I'm positive when the driver said no that it confirms the cop's suspicion about being distracted by his phone.

Anyway, be safe out there! I'm thinking of adding some additional lights and reflective strips on my C14 in cases like these. Any little bit helps.
 
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