I read this story somewhere else... not that it changes anything, but I read it was a scooter, not a motorcycle, and the other article made more of a point that the rider killed the scooter before (like, popped the clutch too quick and it died) getting run over. The article linked to this thread seems to try to imply the trucker just hauled *** and ran over a guy on a motorcycle who was also accelerating out from the light.

As others have mentioned, there isn't enough information here to make an accurate judgment of what happened. Scooter or motorcycle, if he was at the light when the trucker approached, the trucker should clearly have known he was there. On the other hand, if the kid somehow pulled in front of the truck after the truck was already there, it's possible the trucker had no idea there was anyone in front of them.

Without knowing exactly what happened, I can't be too quick to lay all the blame on the trucker.

 

I agree, we shouldn't be too quick to judge without knowing all the facts. A couple of points; what Donna said earlier should have been checked (maybe they were) was the trucker on the phone and, did they look at his tachograph - just to be sure.
Any time I've been dumb enough to lane split and then scoot in front of a semi, I sure as chit let him know I'm there. Loss of the lad is a tragedy but that truckers also got to live with this the rest of his life. No winners here.

 

From the account in the story, I wouldn't be inclined to think the scooters pulled in front of the truck. I would think the truck driver would have seen them do that, plus, I wouldn't think the biker would have pulled in front of the truck then backed up to within a foot of the truck.
I think the truck driver pulled up behind the bikers, sat there and forgot the scooters where there then drove over the guy when the light changed, but even this doesn't make sense if the one scooter pulled away. The driver would have had to have seen the one scooter pull away and that would have jogged his memory that there were two scooters.
I think he is guilty of reckless driving by not maintaining an awareness of his surroundings. I've never driven a truck, but I would be inclined to think awareness is one of the highlights of training for these guys.
Whether the guy gets off with a $130 fine or goes to jail, this would be a case that is referred to in the future for other similar events. Ya just can't drive over people and say ya didn't see them. Too many people will use that as a simple excuse to take care of business.

 

Lots of guesses, but no facts.

Like I said, I'll reserve judgment until I have the facts.

 

In the first post by fatvette, there is mention of a witness to the effect that the truck was about one foot behind the bike. That tells me that the truck driver probably forgot the bike was in front of him. How could he see a bike in front of him if he is in a semi. There is no law as to how close one can get to the vehicle in front at a stop light or stop sign for that matter. That is where the problem lies. There needs to be a buffer space between vehicles at a stop. Courtesy suggests to stop at a distance where one can see the rear tire touching the pavment of the vehicle in front of you. Again, if that truck driver was only one foot behind the bike he wouldn't see the bike in front of him.

 

The thing is, did the bike pull up in that little space in front of the truck after the truck had already stopped and then the witness pulls up and it looks like the truck stopped too close to the bike?????? It's all speculation. I wish someone knew the facts.

 

If the article is accurate, then the truck driver should be in jail and charged with manslaughter. It's the truck driver's responsibility to be aware, at all times, of his surroundings, especially that which is in front of his intended path of travel. It's completely unacceptable that he merely be ticketed and get's off scott free. Doesn't matter one bit whether this was an accident or not. The truck driver must be held accountable. Absolutely unbelievable.....

 

You've gotta be ****tin' me... reading the story, the friggen' truck driver had to have pulled up behind the bike! He HAD to have known he was there in front of him! The light turns green but you don't have to maintain a safe distance???

I think the driver has an LEO connection and I also think he should be tethered to a bike and keel-hauled down the boulevard!

 

Not targeting truckers, but I read a trucker was arrested after they found a bikers leg stuck in his front end (grille) WTF?

 

Well I know there are some truckers on this forum, but I will say this anyways.

I have been working in traffic for years now. I deal with knocked-down traffic signals by truck drivers on at least a weekly basis here in central Mass. I even have them rolling over 15k traffic signal cabinets occasionally... wtf?? The amount of hit/run damage they cause is enormous and in my opinion they could never pay enough over-the-road taxes to make up for their damages. Used to be they kept safe distances, but now the majority of them are mavericks that will steam-roll 10' behind the bumper of the car in front of them at 70+ mph. I hear them on the CB radio complaining about all the "4-wheelers" (cagers) all the time. Whats scary about it is that they all kinda seem to promote aggressive driving to each other now.

All too many times I've been at the scene of major carnage they cause on the highways with rollovers, jacknives, etc, that could have been avoided if they drove like the professionals that the drivers years before seemed to be.

I know this is off-thread a bit, but I'll tell you... I hope there's a real investigation into what happened to the kid run over on the bike. Until then I will think the truck driver ****ed up.