I guess bikers are second class citizens

[Protein Filled]

hmmm, I got in a car accident (while driving a car) once where I got rear-ended by another car and the person driving the other car got a ticket. I don't see how that is any different if you rear-end a motorcycle...

I'll have to agree with Tom. Regardless of what the motorcyclist was wearing, they were still hit from behind, while driving legally down a road. Regardless of the difference in speed (I see lots of freeway signs that say "min. speed 45", so she was OK there), or what they were wearing for safety gear. I may not have been riding like that personally, but it does not make it your fault if you get rear ended while doing it! Does that mean that it would be OK if an 18 wheeler hits you from behind while wearing your roadracing leathers, boots, gloves, back protector and helmet?

I understand that truck drivers may be some of the better drivers, but there is always an odd one in any bunch...

[GregR6]

Your statements are illogical.

That's all I need to quote....Interesting the authorities ruled it the same way though, isn't it?

By the way, when's the last time you seen an F1 car on a major highway?? .....thought so.

Turn statements around and attempt to publicly humiliate till you're blue in the face. Your not going to change my opinions, which obviously aren't too illogical, as I agree with the decisions of those who were there.


 ::)

Reading the story, I don't fault the truck driver...  

enuf said

[tshort]

By the way, when's the last time you seen an F1 car on a major highway?? .....thought so.

 ??? ??? ::) ::) ::) :-/

(BTW, the correct verb is "saw", not "seen."). :o 8)

[Gixxer124]

I agree with you, Tom. If a car rear ends another car, almost every time the "rear ender" gets a ticket. Why should it be any different for bikes. I would guess in this case, they figured the bike should'nt have been out in that kind of weather and the victim acted like it was her fault. If it was raining so hard he couldn't see a bike in front of him, he was going too fast.  

Got to go now. I'm going deer hunting on my way to St. Louis. ;D

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Surprised no one already said this.The posted speed limit is the max speed for IDEAL conditions. YOu can get a speeding ticket doing 55 in a 55 if the road conditions are bad enought that you need to slow down. IF the trucker couldnt see infront of him, then he should had been going slower.

As far as truckers being the best drivers on the road, well they USED to be. In the last 2 yrs I've been put on the shoulder by one who decided he wanted to change lanes. Never mind the fact I was already by the tractors tag wheels when he flipped the signal and moved right over. TWO of us ended up on the shoulder due to that clown. Seen that happen MANY times to other drivers all because the trucker is coming up to another truck going 1 mph slower than they are. Had one this summer purposely SLAM the brakes on in the left lane trying to get me to rear end him. Same guy tried that to others also. Then tried to keep them from passing him by weaving a bit. A guy who rides with us drives trucks and he says he turns his signal on for 3 flashes then moves over. HE said he doesnt care if theres a car there, they can get out of the way. ::) I dont know how many of you guys have CDL's or even got a CDL instructional permit, but when I took the permit test, ANY nitwit would pass that easy. Seems like truckers are just as bad as the preverbial soccor mom and yuppie on a cell phone nowadays. Its getting way to crazy out there on the interstates, no common sense, no courtesy and no patience from anyone.

[Baltobuell]

 I am a trucker and don't understand why he didn't get a ticket. Yes, 50% of us give a damn, but 50% of them are new, or exhausted, or just idiots. Ticket or not the truckers insurance is going to pay hospital bills lost wages, pain & suffering, and all the lawyer fees.
 There is no way to judge who you are driving next to, so the safest way is to be as far away as possible. You never know, the safest driver with the best truck, can spit a 20lb piece of leaf spring any direction, anytime. People, even the drivers, don't realize how much 40 tons weighs and your cage is no protection. 2 days ago a truck back ended another truck at the tunnel. The police said they "think" it was a minivan that was sandwiched inbetween. 3 fatalities.

[GregR6]

Bottom line is, none of us were there to determine all the variables, so we could sit here and debate for hrs about something we know nothing about. The lady could have been wearing all black on a black HD with a burnout taillight.  :o I comepletely agree that any motorist should slow down some if conditions dictate. But in this case, it might as well been a deer jumped out in front of him. The lady obviously took the same precautions (other than driving slower) that a deer would: none.

I guess I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt, as it's obvious the cops did. Have any of you ever seen a 1986 Harley Davidson from the rear during a rain storm at night? Well, apparently neither has this guy. (OK, that wasn't funny...) But had it been a car with two relatively bright taillights, or the rider had some sort of reflective material on, this incident would probably never have happened. It's AMAZING how far you can see reflective material, even in inclement weather. But a 10w light bulb (or whatever they are) behind a could-have-been old, dirty red lense at night in the rain 12-18" off the ground.... like I said, too many variables.  Common sense, folks. Even with a modern sportbike's bright-arse LED's, it would be more than wise to make yourself a little more visible to other motorists.

The decision to not fault the driver, from what info is provided, is a good one IMO.

[251am]

 I finally read the article. The cop stated the motorcyclist was going the correct speed for conditions. THE MOTORCYCLIST WAS GOING THE CORRECT SPEED FOR CONDITIONS. It does not matter what kind or what year of bike was involved-she was run down by an irresponsible jackass running too fast for conditions.
  The point of the post is that all too many cyclists are being killed, disabled, and mamed on the roadways today with ZERO REPERCUSSIONS. Do you get it Greg? Motorcyclists do not have the perceived rights given to us by the laws. If you don't want your rights, that's fine. If you don't want to speak out for other cyclists, that's fine too. However, do not try and tell a bunch of motorcyclists the tractor driver in this scenario has no responsibility for his actions w/o catching some flack.
  Professional drivers? Anybody that gets paid to do something is a professional. That doesn't mean they're any good. Just ask the guys I am a backmarker for.  ;D                    

[cornercamping]

Easy fix: Don't ride on the street.  Take it to the track where it's "safe"  ;)

Sucks though.  We had some guy here locally get rear ended at a light (again, 2nd time this week, different people) last night on a Laverda and he didn't make it.  He was stopped an some kids were cruising, and while changing CD's at 50 MPH in a 35 MPH zone, they kinda forgot to stop for the 2 big lights hanging across the intersection.   Biker got killed.  Kids when home with parents.   >:(  No alcohol involved, so I guess it's not a big deal.  Should be on the news some day soon.  Wasn't "breaking news" because it happened at 4 am.


This... is why I gave up street riding.  They need to make seperate highways for motorcycles only  8)

[cornercamping]

Also, another thing to think about:

What we as sport bike riders "look" like to people that don't ride motorcycles, and even some that do?

If you think about it, all they see on the news is how "dangerous" we are and they portray stoppies, wheelies, and tricks as how we ride.   Channel 7 (ABC) news did a special report just this week (Thurs.)  about "stunters" on "crotch rockets" being a "danger to Metro Detroiters" as they called it.  I started to watch it, but all it was about is people on Busa's doing 170 MPH down the freeway, drag racing, stoppies, and so on so, so I shut it off.  Then, you go Jimbob or whomever saying how cool he is on camera, and how fast his bike is.

What do you think this makes us look like to the "general public" that watches that complete B.S. on TV?  So, we are targeted as dangerous before we even leave the driveway.  Obviously, this doesn't justify someone running you over, but when it happens, regardless of what the cause was, the news stations air this kind of crap.  Regardless, we are considered a menace and people now worry more about talking on the phone or reading a magazine while driving rather than the guy on two wheels around them.

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

Yup.  I can just see it now.  Black Harley, black leather jacket, black bandana, black chaps over black jeans, 3" iron cross taillight bolted to the swingarm...  Maybe if she'd taken a hacksaw to her pipes and been running in second gear, her loud pipes would have saved her life!  She was riding a Harley.  She got what she deserved.
No no, no.  I really don't mean that.  I just never miss an opportunity to rip on Tom about Harleys!

[EX#996]

Without knowing all the circumstances surrounding the accident, I'm not going to offer an opinion as to whether or not the truck driver should be sighted in this incident.  However, I will leave you with something I experienced one night....

As a motorcyclist myself, believe we have the right to be on the road just like anyone else.  BUT, we should be responsible about it also.  There are several 'classic' bikes in this area (I don't know if they're Harley's, BSA's, or Triumph) with the lights they run, at night you can barley see them.  THANK GOD one was riding with another person, except for their dim headlights, you could not see the back end with the red with blue dot lights on his tail.  When I came upon the pair it scared the crap out of me because they were turning with NO TURN signals.  Sorry, hand signals don't work at night especially when you have black gloves and a black leather jacket.

If I hit them, would you be so quick to condem me?

Dawn   :-/