Apology wanted
Published Wednesday, July 2, 2008
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To the editor:
“Watch out! Motorcycles are everywhere.” I believe that we have all seen that bumper sticker on vehicles around town. I am one of these avid bike riders. I am not one to complain much, but a soccer mom almost took my life yesterday pulling out onto Badger from Plack Road. I’m thankful she left me at least half of the lane to radically swerve around her vehicle.
I had learned this maneuver in the motorcycle safety class that I took years ago. It came in very handy on this occasion. I know that the No. 1 excuse of motorcycle versus vehicle accidents is “I did not see you.”
However, in these incidences the biker always seems to lose. Had she continued pulling out, thinking that she would have gotten across in time, then I would not be here to write this letter today. That fear in her eyes when she did see me was, I can assure you, multiplied in mine.
Watch out for motorcycles. We do have the right of way like any other licensed motorized vehicle. This is my real name, and I am in the phone book if the person who pulled out in front of me would like to call and apologize.
Robbie Parker
North Pole
Community Discussion
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How is this any different than the soccer mom executing this dangerous move to a four-wheel motorized vehicle, i.e. a car?
Some people are just seriously, crappy drivers. I can rattle off at least five different examples in the past month where a vehicle did the same to me, ... and I drive a truck.
Still, it is important to be extra aware of motorized bikes, bicycles, skateboards, runners, walkers during the summer months so I thank you for that.
Best of luck to you, hope you wear a helmet.
It's different because for a motorcycle it can mean certain death. The human body isn't designed to go from 45mph to 0 on the side of a yukon. If a vehicle hits that same suv at 45, the not-at-fault vehicle driver has a great chance of walking away.
What exactly is a "soccer mom" anyway? And what does that have to do with anything? Motorcycles are dangerous. You will never get rid of cars on the road so everyone ("soccer moms" and motorcycle drivers included) have to adapt. I too hope you are wearing a helmet. I have taken care of MANY brain injury patients from motorcycle accidents and it isnt pretty regardless of who is at fault. By that time its too late and your only hope to save your brain is your helmet - if it works.
Apparently, the above posts are not motorcycle riders. I happen to know the author of the letter, and I can assure you that he wears his helmet religiously as I do. But because a person wears a helmet does not mean that he/she will not sustain a head injury. But that is not the issue at hand.
There are more and more motorcycle riders on the road now because of the skyrocketing gas prices. Everybody needs to be more vigilant because, pulling out in front of a motorcycle going 55 mph WILL result in a different outcome than if you pulled out in front of a car or SUV. The motorcycle rider will likely sustain massive trauma, life threatening injuries, or death. The car driver, probably only minimal injuries at worst.
Now if the car driver (SUV driver) pulls out in front of another car driver (SUV driver), then the person pulling out (Soccer Mom) will get "T-Boned" and will likely receive life threatening injuries if not death, while the car that was driving the 55 mph will likely see minimal injuries. This is all assuming everybody is wearing a seatbelt. Oh, by the way, did I mention that is not an option for a motorcycle rider?
How do I know all of this you might ask? As a former police officer and accident investigator, I have seen these scenarios more times that I care to count.
Not to undermine the importance of watching out for others on the road whatever they drive but a motorcyclist makes a choice to get in a vehicle that has less protection and can move at higher speeds than most cars or trucks. If they make this choice they also make the choice to be on a vehicle that is harder to see exspecially when moving at high rates of speed. Just a thought.
look, then look again, then LOOK AGAIN...
Have to disagree with part of your assumption JB. Nobody says that the motorcycle driver was going at a high rate of speed. Going the speed limit is not only legal but otherwise a safety hazard if you are going much below the speed limit. Because a motorcycle CAN go faster than many cars does NOT mean that it is being driven at that speed. I have owned my motorcycle for 3 years. I have more than 10,000 miles on it and I have no idea how fast my bike can go. I know the speedometer goes to 130 mph. But the fastest that I have ever rode it has been 66 mph according to the onboard computer. That was on a trip going down the Richardson toward Delta where the speed limit is 65 MPH. So, do not assume that it is the motorcycle "going at a high rate of speed" that is at fault.
Truisms:
Motorcycle + Legal speed limit = High Rate of Speed
Woman Driver + Cell Phone + Vehicle bigger than car = Soccer Mom
No matter what you are driving: You have to be smarter than the throttle! As a cycle rider you always have to anticipate the worst, or, Murphy's Law will get you.
How to cleanse the gene pool: Motorcycle + Alcohol
Bottom Line: Stay Vigilant, Stay Alive
Motorcycles are not dangerous they do have increased risk involved what makes driving one dangerous is the people in the cars most people I see on the road are very curtious towards me however there are those few that figure I drive a big car I can make that motorcycle move around me, and theres some that just dont look, the worst I have seen are them drivers and there damn cell phones I almost got plowed over by a white tahoe cause she was on her cell phone and couldnt make the turn and stay on her side of the rode. Id say my biggest complaint is the driver that tailgate so close behind me at 55 mph I can stop my bike in roughly 30 feet thats 70 feet shorter then the car, SUV, or truck thats 10 feet off my rear tire I would hate to have to stop quickly to avoid a wreck just to be plowed from behind cause someone feels the need be so friendly with my rear end. End Rant
speeders speed limit!!! 99% of cage drivers are not out there to kill bikers, bikes are hard to see. Cage drivers watch out for bikes, bikers watch out for cars......
Some bikers seem to want it both ways. They have the same rights and responsibilities as motorized vehicles on the highways. Yet you see them running down the sidewalks, cutting across traffic and going down the street in the wrong direction. Recenly I had a bike come speeding down the sidewalk from my right side and clippled my bumper. The rider was able to proceed, but turned around and gave me a nasty look.
nanook,
the thread topic is motorcycles, not bicyles...
Anyone heard of defensive driving. Seeing on oncoming motorcycle is not the same sight perception as an on coming car. Your eyes are not tuned to it, you have been trained to judge a car not motorbikes over years of driving. Take a second look before you pull out. And we wonder why winter driving is so bad, same bad drivers just a different season.
Robbie, good luck on getting that appologie.
Motorcycles can show up out of no where just because for the most part we only have one headlight, when a car is coming at you even in the daylight you see the 2 headlights. Motorcycles are much smaller and the single headlight is missable. (not sure if that is a word but it fits) The bikes that have the flashing headlight are funny looking but very visable. Not all bikes are speeding as some have eluded to, but some are, cars speed too so picking on a motorcycle in this way is not really viable.
Someone mentioned it in a earlier post Motorcycle VS. Car = Bike down rider hurt. I love to ride my GSXR (yes its fast) but I don't always ride it fast. Tere are places and times for that, not on the highways. Due to the size of my bike I know I have passed people in cars and startled them becuase they didnt see me in there mirrors and then there I am next to them.
So please "Look Twice Save A Life"
There are bad drivers out there, and even a good driver can make a mistake or error in judgment, it happens. That is why we have accidents. I agree we need to watch out for each other in a car or on a motorcycle. The fact of the mater remains, that when you choose to drive a motorcycle you are at risk, and yes a higher risk than if you were in a car. There will always be bad drivers and motorcycles will always be at a higher risk than cars and trucks.
Please EVERYONE slow down, LEAVE EARLY if you have to, drive DEFENSIVELY, and help lower the risk of being on the roads for all.
Look All motorcycle riders, I have lost 12 friends (dead) on motorcycles. I used to ride motorcycles a lot. NO MORE. I can't even get on a motorcycle anymore because I remember the ROAD BURNS.
Motorcycles are dangerous, whether you're going 25 mph or 65 mph. People don't see you, regardless of the car driver's fault or the motorcycle's lack of being seen.
I know, I know, you motorcycle rider have "rights", well, that doesn't matter much,...when you're dead. It's as though motorcycle riders think /want reality to differ from fact. A person on a bike has ZERO protection from any obstruction.
Don't be stupid. Motorcrcycles/cars don't mix....helmet or not.
I hate motorcycles simply because I do not like being so vulnerable, now that doesn't mean I don't like them tho.
I respect and often yield to anyone brave enough to cruise around on a bike on Alaskan roads, around STUPID drivers that think they are the only ones on the road.
When you're driving something that is hard for other motorists to see, then you have to be that much more vigilant yourself. I have driven motorcycles, bicycles and lots of small cars around town for years. Folks just pull out in front of you, that's the way it is. The smaller vehicle is hard to see.
It's not malicious, it's just physics.
Motorcycles - An enjoyable, gas saving way to travel;
Motorcycle safety - A highly recommened element for driving a motorcycle;
Defensive driving - A must for any motorcycle rider and a "vehicle driver";
Death - It can happen day or night, in light or in darkness, on a motorcycle or in a vehicle and it can happen at 15 miles per hour. How do I know?
Yes, my husband's death anniversary is around the corner by one week as a result of a motorcycle vs. motorcycle accident.
Result - A family whose lives are broken.
Suggestion - Drive defensively and carefully and keep families entact. You never know how many lives you will affect by any kind of accident - be it stupidly or unfortunately induced.
Oh no, not the "soccer mom" card! What is this world coming to, lol...
Icarian,
You are absolutely right but I felt compelled to comment.
I was waiting for some one to mention the "Soccer Mom" card. Glad to see it was a woman...LOL
I have to agree with McGrumpy (eeek!). One of the most terrifying sights on the roads around here is a woman in a minivan or SUV with base stickers, talking on the freakin' cell phone while swatting at the out of control kids in the back seat as the unrestrained dog hops from front to back seats. I've seen more dangerous driving behavior from that sector of the driving public than any other. A majority of the people riding motorcycles at least recognize how vulnerable they are on the road and try to be aware of what's going on around them - that "soccer mom" doesn't have a clue.
"Suggestion - Drive defensively and carefully and keep families entact. You never know how many lives you will affect by any kind of accident - be it stupidly or unfortunately induced."
Did you guys miss that comment? Gripe, whine, ask for apologies, whatever... but make sure that all of this typing makes you a better driver. There is no one out there who can't stand to be more focused and careful on the road.
The gas prices are getting my bum on a motorcycle, and I love it.
an interesting phenonema, the brain tends to filter out the massive amount of stimulus it recieves on a daily basis. it has to if we wish to remain sane. information the brain deems not immediately important (like a neon sign for a store you'll never go into) gets filtered and sent to the back of the brain and never enters the active consciousness. i think the situation is the same with motorcycles. a person driving a car is looking for other cars coming before turning out into the road way. a bicycle, pedestrain OR a motorcycle can easily be filtered out by the brain and not register on the active consciousness. so in way car drivers just don't see you coming even if you are plain as day. now that it is summer, i look TWICE to avoid this happening to me. i couldn't live with myself if i was the cause of a bikers or pedestrains death or serious injury. and i'm betting this phenomena is increased when you are distracted by either a conversation in the car with a passenger or talking on a cell phone.
my motorcycle is saving me 60 dollars a week in gas...love it, just look twice if not three times. dont get mad at bikers w/loud pipes either-loud pipes save lives!
I just try to think "what if", what if I had been on a motorcycle, when that lady made a last minute, abrupt, oh I forgot to go to the bank, left hand turn and crashed right into me! I'd be dead. And dead frankly would have been better than being brain injured, paralyzed, and a cripple the rest of my life.
Wake up drivers:
PUT AWAY the cell phone
Put down the coffee
Tell your kids to sit-down and SU
Keep your eyes on the road!
I say prayer for every bike rider out there!
Now I don't want to sound contradictory, but I am going to. I see a lot of chop busting going on here on this thread. It seems to me almost everyone is talking about the evil car. I just want to say that the bikes are not always the angels that we are portrayed. I have seen crotch rockets racing up and down airport weaving in and out of traffic. Now that is not safe and if a car hits a motorcyclist not being safe then its not the cars fault.
I have to agree though Cell phone + car of any size is dangerous. The police soon will be able to pull you over and give you a ticket for talking on your cell phone. so becareful out there.
So lets see I ride a bike but I side with cars when motorcycles are being buttheads but I want to ride my bike with out fear of getting hit. Is that asking to much?
I haven't really noticed an issue with riders in town. Many of the cyclists I've seen have gone out of their way to make sure they are visible (by being on the proper side of the lane) at a light & driving defensively. Where I have had problems is the motor-racers out on the Rich. We recently went to NP for dinner & had a pack of riders (not Harley style, but rockets) approach the pack of cars very rapidly, weave in closely (I swear one guy pulled over a foot in front of this Toyota), wreak havoc, drive stupidly & then once they were through, they took off like the proverbial bats out of hell. (I did see where they turned, but am not convinced it is relevant.)
These guys are giving good riders a bad name. I don't ride, but my parents do. For all you responsible riders, thanks & enjoy the road. For the idiots who think they are immortal? You are wrong, slow down & stop being so dumb & dangerous.
Do "soccer moms" drive Subaru's also?
Just curious?
Point of the whole letter... do what you are supposed to do when you are behind the freakin' steering wheel and that is drive, pay attention to the road and YOUR SURROUNDINGS!!!
I try to watch for them but when you get these morons flying by on those rockets and cut in front of you doin 120 and they are about two from my bumper if i could catch them i would love to slap the insert what ever four letter word you like here out of them. As for the smart drivers of bikes i look out for them but just turn the headlight on so i will see ya
I am writing to you Robbie Parker, before reading the other comments. Motor cycles ARE very hard to see. Were you wearing orange or deflective clothing so you could be seen. Also a good driver drives defensively. I think motorcycle riders above all need to do this since you are hard to see. One of my pet peeves about motorcycle riders is how they tend to drift from side to side in the lane...making it even more difficult to know where you are when you are behind me. Believe me I don't want to hit anyone, that would be really traumatic for my passengers should they be soccer/etc. kids. Now to see what others have said.
I'd like to reiterate what getreal said..."Point of the whole letter... do what you are supposed to do when you are behind the freakin' steering wheel and that is drive, pay attention to the road and YOUR SURROUNDINGS!!!" Now this has to apply to both vehicle and cycle drivers! Both drive defensively! Keep family and friendships 'intact'.
I am glad that the incident was only a near miss and not an accident. Hopefully the woman was a little frightened, as you were, and will be more aware of her surroundings in the future. Good riding to you! I will "watch for motorcycles" when out and about.
"The police soon will be able to pull you over and give you a ticket for talking on your cell phone. so becareful out there. "
Not completely true. The way the law was written doesn't go so far as to include TALKING while on a cell phone. It pretty much just includes texting.
Either way.... I doubt that anyone who has a cell hasn't used it while driving.
Risk management...
cp. the risk of driving a motorcycle (which I used to own and drive to work till I was shoed off the road by a 18 wheeler) vs. paying a little more at the pump for gas. Safety has a price. If you are riding for enjoyment... well that has a risk as well.
The cell phone/kids thing is totally a ridiculous argumet. Hey, come take a spin in my Navajo (aircraft) when I've got 8 people on board, two crying babies, a kid kicking the back of my seat, ice is building up on the wings, I have to read the airport approach chart, tune the radios (which may have a great amount of error), deal with shaddy autopilots that may or may not work, and YES... TALK with air traffic control, listen to dispatch as well as people talking on company freq. By the way we are moving at around 140kts or 160mph and can't see where we are going in the clouds, if we miss an altitude and keep descending we all die.
Funny - pilots have been doing this for years by themselves (single pilot) with relatively VERY few accidents.
SO DON'T TELL ME TALKING ON MY CELL PHONE IS GOING TO DISTRACT ME FROM DRIVING - YA... RIGHT!
As to whether motorcycles are dangerous, there is this fact: I have never known ANYONE who rode a motorcycle regularly for over a year that did not get hurt. That means good drivers, bad drivers, mediocre drivers. They save gas, they're a lot of fun, but I see no evidence they're safe.
you need to get to know more motorcyclists.
I have lots of friends who have never been hurt and and ride all the time.
Hardly any of them are dead. Just a few.
family_reformer, that has to be one of the most idiotic comments I have ever read in this forum. There is a world of difference between an airplane and a road vehicle. If you are talking on your cell phone and drift ten or fifteen feet left or right chances are high that nothing will happen because there is nothing in your way. Lets get real, when your in the air and the nearest obstacle is miles away you can pretty much do what you want, but when your on the ground a few feet from another vehicle it makes a big difference. In addition a properly maintained aircraft, once trimed properly will maintain a straight course with very little effort. Bottom line for all if you always look for the motorcycle, bycycle, or pedestrian maybe you won't miss the truck that's about to tbone you.
aurora, I have been riding motorcycles for over thirty seven years and have been in two accidents. I have been driving for thirty six years and have been in four accidents. Oh crap, no you all know my age, lol. None of these acidents were my fault, but I always look for ways to improve my driving ability in order to avoid them in the future. It was 30 years between motorcycle accidents and they have done nothing to deter my interest in motorcycles. For all of you helmet advocates out there, both the NHTSA and insurance industry statistics show that more people are injured and killed while wearing helmets than not wearing helmets. In addition over half of those fatalities can be attributed to the helmet itself being the root cause of the fatality. The human neck was not designed to support the weight of the helmet, and helmets certified by DOT and SNELL are only certified to 14 mph. The question I have always had is, if helmets are such a lifesaver and statistics show that even with todays advanced safety devices many car accidents involve head trauma, why aren't we required to wear a helmet in our car or truck, since that is what they were originally designed for? If you choose to wear a helmet be aware of the risks, plan accordingly and do not let that helmet make you feel like superman. Just some food for thought.
There was a previous comment bashing women drivers, I think it was a bit stereo typical. I can remember multiple occasions where a MAN in a large truck or SUV, most likely compensation, with children and or a adult female in the vehicle has obviously seen me but still proceeds to cut me off, run me off the road, or turn in front of me. The message is here it does not depend on our anatomy as to how we drive. Ye s females are more chatty but I know multiple males that cannot put down their cell phones and are blantly rude to other drivers. YOU ARE NOT BILLY BAD A$$ on the streets of Fairbanks. Cars, motorcycles and all motorized vehilces (lawn mowers, LOL) are dangerous.
To my motorcyclists friends and the reason we all are writing today. Good Luck to you and I do my best to pay extra special attention in warm days to your possibilty of being on the road. To many riders are hurt for many reasons not excluding their own miss judgements.
I remember when my brother was ran off the road on his motorcycle. The driver of the car didn't even stop. After my brother got out of the hospital, him and my other brothers found the driver of the car at a restaurant. They all (4 of them) went an sat down across the booth from him. The next day the guy moved out of town.
I gave up my bike in 1977 after nearly being killed by a former co-worker on Parks and Geist. I am pretty sure he was stoned, but the fact remains that a person on a bike is more vunlerable than someone in a car.
Some years later, a motorcyclist was killed on Airport Road near University because he stopped much faster than the lady behind him. Tha one broke his neck.
Friends have had serious injuries due to dirt and mud on the pavement which contrbuted to skidding-and don't forget the black ice that tforms in the spring and fall.
Numerous motorcyclists have died due to their own excessive speed and the resulting colisions with cars and trucks.
Go ahead, cyclists, take the holier than thou attitude about biking and accidents involving cars. It might help you get into heaven.
Only way I would get on a bike now is if it had training wheels, my helmet would have a flashing light on top (like ones on slow moving vehicle) and you would have to clear the road between Two Rivers and Fairbanks because it would be hard telling what I'd hit. I would also wear a football uniform with all the padding.
Badger Road is the "Pull-out-in-front-of-you-and-go slow" capitol of the world. My advice is don't go there.
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