Scooter fatality

[Eiron]

Just a reminder to be aware of the traffic around you.

People in "enclosed vehicles" typically only watch for other "enclosed vehicles" to avoid. We're insignificant traffic specks, & will lose in every accident.

This accident happened 2 mi from my work, on my scooter route, on a day I was riding my PCX. If I had been 5 minutes earlier, it might've been me. According to a friend who spoke with the police, the semi driver claimed that he never saw the scooter, even though the scooter was in front of him at a stop sign.

As the weather warms up & we all get back on the road, here's my reminder to be ever-vigilant of "the other driver".

Safe travels ....

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[flyingzonker]

It is a good idea to be aware that those guys sitting 10 feet up are blind to somebody who is right in front of them on a scooter. Your best bet is to know who is behnd you and if it is a semi...get the hell off that road til the evil thing passes by. You are so right: In a fight with four (or more) wheels, two wheels loses. Every time.

[easyrider]

Texting /emailing ?? They say he was not however at this point in the investigation. That is a problem in today's world.. Smart phones only add to the hazards of motorcycling. I suppose he will be facing manslaughter charges anyway and a huge settlement to the family. Story says he was turning his head at the time probably was looking to roll and go through the stop. In a hurry ?? Sad to hear !

[Geoffers]

Best advice I ever had as a rider ... you are responsible for everything in a 100 yard radius, whether you are supposed to be or not.

[dkazzed]

That's sad. I do agree that as riders, we are responsible for our safety. However, given that we are at a stop sign and waiting to make a turn, and someone comes up behind us with no intention of stopping, what do we do? I was rear ended about a month ago where a car rolled into my scooter while I was stopped to make a right turn and he was looking to roll forward to the edge of the road to make a right turn, only paying attention to traffic and not what was in front of him. The problem was, traffic was moderately heavy and fast. If I tried to move forward, I risked putting myself in danger. I was stuck so to speak.

If it was something that had the potential to kill me, I would like to think I would bail. It's not something we practice however.

[homie]

We have had this unnerving discussion before about being in a collision from the rear and apparently the percentages are low. I still don't position myself with large vehicles following in my lane. Best we get scooped up over the hood than be imprinted on a big radiator boys and girls.

[Mel46]

Unfortunately, in that situation where the semi ran over the scooter, there is very little that can be done to anticipate what the driver behind you will do. Most of the time we try to move to the far left but then you run the risk that you still won't be seen. What would be the outcome if he had been in a small car such as a Mazda Miata or a VW Beetle? There is no easy way for the truck driver to see those in front of him if he is following too close or not paying attention. Once the other drivers are in front of him, it becomes the semi drivers responsibility to keep track of them. I am going to guess that this particular driver was either new at the job OR he had other things on his mind when he pulled up to the stop sign.
Geoffrey, keep in mind that even though we may feel that we are responsible for everything within 100 yards of us, we can NOT control other driver's actions. We can't even anticipate some of their actions, especially if they are distracted. All of us have seen drivers who have been on their cellphones. All of us have seen drivers who have been texting. All of us have seen drivers who have been doing everything except paying attention to the road. We can not control their actions, and sometimes we can't get out of their way either, especially if we are doing what we are suppose to do. Where could that scooter rider have gone? What could he have done once he realized the semi was not going to stop? In this rider's case, the best he could have done would have been to try not to be in the center of the lane, but would the semi driver have seen him in ANY case? Who knows. Semis are big. Semis are wide. Semis are dangerous. But sometimes you can't avoid being on the road with them.

[gn2]

The design of the typical American truck with a long bonnet makes forward visibility even worse.

[homie]

The design of the typical American truck with a long bonnet makes forward visibility even worse.

yea but you people drive on the wrong side of the vehicle... so there's that

[gn2]

Ah yes I remember that video, the guy on the bike didn't do very well.

[homie]

So polite... looked like the driver was too worried about dragging the rear wheels over the woman and her stroller. Bag lady's hugging the biker and he's laughing plus Jesus got a mention several times. All so stinking beautiful over there isn't it

[easyrider]

I understand that the newer larger pickup trucks like Ram are putting front bumper cameras on their vehicles so the driver can see directly in front and below the hood. A great idea..hope the tractor trailer and commercial trucks do likewise. Now lets hope the driver checks it out.

[MKE PCX]

I understand that the newer larger pickup trucks like Ram are putting front bumper cameras on their vehicles so the driver can see directly in front and below the hood. A great idea..hope the tractor trailer and commercial trucks do likewise. Now lets hope the driver checks it out.

IMO, that should be mandatory for any commercial vehicle. Cameras and screens are so inexpensive these days, there really is no reason not to have them.

[flyingzonker]

Best advice I ever had as a rider ... you are responsible for everything in a 100 yard radius, whether you are supposed to be or not.

This is it. This is the mind you need if you ride in traffic. Of course it is not completely possible, but with this spirit you will not easliy be sideswiped or rear-ended.

[MKE PCX]

Best advice I ever had as a rider ... you are responsible for everything in a 100 yard radius, whether you are supposed to be or not.

This is it. This is the mind you need if you ride in traffic. Of course it is not completely possible, but with this spirit you will not easliy be sideswiped or rear-ended.

I use a similar mantra I picked up somewhere: Ride as though you are almost invisible and everyone is trying to kill you.

[Eiron]

Texting /emailing ?? They say he was not however at this point in the investigation. That is a problem in today's world.. Smart phones only add to the hazards of motorcycling. I suppose he will be facing manslaughter charges anyway and a huge settlement to the family. Story says he was turning his head at the time probably was looking to roll and go through the stop. In a hurry ?? Sad to hear !

The intersection where this happened is a "T" from that direction. Visibility in a "normal" vehicle is sub-optimal, with both curves and dips/rises approaching from both sides. I'd think the added height of a semi would aid driver visibility, but there's nothing you can do about driver impatience. My suspicion is that the semi driver was only watching for his chance to cross the intersection & was so intent on timing with clearing traffic from both sides that he completely ignored the stop sign. Since the scooter was significantly smaller than a car, it was not a crash threat & got "processed out" by the semi driver's brain. But that's just speculation on my part.

[easyrider]

Lets face it, you put yourself out there on any motorcycle or bike and you are highly at risk of injury. Especially in dense traffic commutes or on high speed highways. Motorcycles in general should be driven on pleasure roads where you don't compete with cars or trucks regularly. I know they are heavily used in traffic in places like Rome , Bangkok, etc but if you get hit most likely it will be by another scooter. In America you are the minority and just a glimpse in an auto's eye.In this case nothing could have prevented someone running over another. He just plain ran over the poor rider. It was his time.Its a crap shoot for all of us every time we turn the key.
PS ..there are more distractions for drivers than there ever was like cell phones, smart phones, DVD players, GPS navigation screens and of course girls in mini skirts. !!

[you you]

Best advice I ever had as a rider ... you are responsible for everything in a 100 yard radius, whether you are supposed to be or not.

This is it. This is the mind you need if you ride in traffic. Of course it is not completely possible, but with this spirit you will not easliy be sideswiped or rear-ended.

I use a similar mantra I picked up somewhere: Ride as though you are almost invisible and everyone is trying to kill you.

Or just go out be careful and enjoy yourself

[Mel46]

" Motorcycles in general should be driven on pleasure roads where you don't compete with cars or trucks regularly."

When we had our accident it was on one of those pleasure roads. The problem was that more and more big vehicles have found these pleasure roads as a shortcut once the freeways start to back up. In our case, the freeways require drivers to first go south to connect into the freeway that goes west, after which the driver would have to head north once they reached the other freeway across town. The pleasure road had become a short cut to go straight to the north-going freeway, cutting off many miles. It is all farm country, but developers are starting to look at it because so many drivers use it during traffic rush hour. In our case, it happened to be 3:30 in the afternoon and suddenly there was an influx of vehicles, most of which seemed to be in a hurry. It only took one driver looking down at his cellphone at the wrong time and we ended up in the middle of a head on collision between two trucks.
We all wish that things would remain as they were once in the traffic perspective, but progress shows that we eventually will be caught up in heavy traffic. We can be as careful as possible and as vigilant as possible, but things happen that are beyond our control. The scooter that was run over from the rear is a prime example of an inattentive truck driver. I am not sure that the rider could have gotten out of his way in time even if he had noticed that the truck was about to run over him. It only takes an instant. We all worry about this happening. Still, what could he have done any differently that would have saved his life? That becomes OUR question as well.

[easyrider]

Good point Mel..I agree.. You are right, our roads are becoming more and more thoroughfares rather than scenic drives anymore. Getting harder to find for sure. Too many folks and not enough roads.We do have a population explosion going on and nobody paying attention to it. Wait , pretty soon there will be a lot of driverless vehicles out there.. Wonder how that will do in our motorcycle world? May be better or maybe worse. Human vs Electronic.. ????