I found this while just perusing different bike related stuff, and it p!sses me off. This is the mindset of the media, and average citizen, all over the world. Not just in America, that whenever a motorcyclist gets hurt in a wreck its thier fault because they weren't protected enough. WE as motorcylists should know what WE are doing before WE get on a bike! Where is the advise to the general public and the woman in particular who pulled out in front of him and caused the accident in the first place, to know what you're doing before they get behind the wheel of a car?! I know this is obvious stuff but just had to vent,

I thank you.

 

I agree with you but there isn't much the media can do, or us for that matter about the cagers, so making comments about them really isn't productive. Making comments about his driving is way out in left field, however if he had been wearing all the saftey equipment he could have been wearing then maybe things might have not been so bad. Speculation all the way around, but ask him if he is going to wear a helmet in the future and see what he says.

 

Some might say that this case is an example why wearing a helmet is unnecessary. The guy goes headfirst into a car and has minor head injuries. With a helmet he may have broken his neck. Speculation I admit.

Saying that making comments about poor cager driving habits would be non-productive is BS. Education works. Calling people's attention to being aware and safe driving is productive, for cagers, bikers, and pedestrians.

And yes, I consider his head injuries minor.

 

I lived in Germany for almost fives years, rode a motorcycle daily to work and every weekend for fun, and never once had a car pull out in front of me, because people are taught to look for bikes there.

I lived in Phoenix for 3 years and had so many oblivious a-holes pull out in front of me and cut me off that I stopped getting mad about it.

You can teach people to share the road and look out for bikes. You just have to convince the state gooberments that its worth the effort.

 

Yep. US driver education does not touch on total driving awareness. Which is why every damn day I ride in traffic there will be a dumb f**k trying to kill me. Happened 2 times Saturday - 3 if you count the encounter when I was in the car.

But there is no consequence for accident causing here unless the person is drunk. You can be senile and 80 and kill 10 'mistaking' the brake and gas, and they may force you to take a driver's test (MAY). Wipe out a car or bike by turning in front of them and get a $50 ticket for failure to yield.

ALL people that cause accidents from non-mechanical problems should have a minimum of driver's retraining. And if they wipe out a biker, they should have to take the MSF course as well to see what it really is like. Any killing done by them is an automatic revocation of license. Period. The only way to stop a growing problem is to eliminate the virus causing it.

...and the next dumbass that pulls out in front of me WILL be getting followed home. They can explain their behavior in person. Not behind a 2 ton weapon.

 

There is an article in American Motorcyclist that touches on this. The German drivers are much more aware of their surroundings. Their licensing system is a stepped system for cars and bikes. You don't see as many dumb a$$es on the road not worried about anyone but themselves. As far as the media not having any choice in what they say BS. They say what they please; there is so much editorializing now that it is very difficult to get any news out. If the powers that be in the media don't like you then you will get no positive image portrayed. Yes Big Ben should have done things differently, but granny did run him over.

 

I hate to say it, because it happens everywhere, but Arizona is the worst state that I have ridden in for people turning in front of you. I rode through there going to the last Laughlin rally and had three close calls with idiots turning left in front of me. First was an airhead teenage girl, then an a-hole in a pickup, and finally an old man driving a tractor pulling a fairly long trailer. I really thought I'd bought my wife the farm on that one.

 

Grunt:
"But there is no consequence for accident causing here unless the person is drunk. "

Here in Washington state,it seems to be the opposite. I can't tell you how many fatality wrecks have happened here, and hear that the drunk driver had been covicted 5 times before! WTF are they doing driving?
Two weeks ago a young LEO, two mo's on the street was broadsided by a 6 time felon.She was doing 80, on crack,ran the light,...killed the officer,..24 yrs old!
I guess this is why I ride in the country, and watch everybody as if they're trying to kill me,...because some of them are!

 

You have to remember that most of the idiots from other places especially Kalifornia idiots have all converged upon the Phoenix metro area, so now we have the largest group of idiot drivers known to man except for maybe Kalifornia. I know, I spend a lot of time avoiding these idiots.

 

Speaking from experience, I would say a broken jaw and head injuries are not Minor. And from experience, his jaw would not be broken if he wore a Fullface. No two ways about it.