I watched a man die today-

[rcecale]

Originally posted by Kurt V
This was one weird story. A story of death juxtaposed with a story of your highly polished, stickered up minivan. Weird.

I'm glad I'm not the only one to pick up on that!

Randy

[Aerkuld]

I feel sory for you having to see that and even more sorry for the driver of the Acura.
A girlfriend of mine was involved in an accident with a motorcycle couple of years ago. She was driving her car and basically hit the guy and his pillion passenger. Fortunately no one was killed, but the pillion passenger was quite badly hurt. The thing that annoyed me was that these two chumps on the bike were the shorts, t-shirt, and running shoes brigade and probably wouldn't have had any more than bruises if they had proper safety gear. In fact if they had been riding with any awareness of the traffic around them and their road position the accident wouldn't have happened at all. Even so, my friend got very distressed about this and ended up very depressed for a long period of time.
This is the problem with irresponsible riders and drivers, it isn't just them that are affected.

Like I said, sorry you had to see that but there was nothing you could have done to avoid it. Just as someone else said, if it's still bothering you in a week or two go and speak to a proffessional counsler, it works wonders!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Terrible story, but one with great value in that it provides us with a reminder to value each moment we have. We are all, after all, mere mortals.

Good to hear from you Normy. I've wondered a few times what had happened to you and a few of the other R-list regulars since my decision to exile myself from there. Hope you're doing well - present vivid and less-than-savory memories excluded.

[snowman]

Just remember, freedom has its price. To many of us its worth it. Just remember its a choice, their choice, not necessarally ours.

So don't feel bad about anothers choice, feel good, that they had the freedom to make it. It may have cost them their life, but it was their choice to make and that choice, the freedom to make that choice is worth whatever the consequences are. The lack of that freedom is a much harder choice to make, the consequences, much more horrible.

And Yes I have personally seen the same, in person, at the scene, its horrible. The lack of freedom is worse.

Just say no to more dumb rules. Americans need the freedom to kill themselves, its their life, not ours.

Just don't splatter your blood on my newly waxed mini van.


I will restate this rant in more pleasent words. Just because you were unfortunate enough to be involved in the mis calculation of some idiot, who killed himself, through his misjudgement, lack of judgement or whatever, do not hold it against yourself. Also do not hold it against the rest of us with additonal useless rules. HE killed himself, that was and is his right. We owe him nothing. We also do not owe the world another usless rule as it would not have prevented his stupid mistake in any case. Do not feel bad for him, feel bad for the rest of us who will probably have to live up to some additional restraint on our freedom, a restraint that will do nothing to prevent a recurrance of this accident it will only add to the choke hold that the government has on a so called free society. That is the real crime of any accident like this.

[alf]

Thanks so much for sharing this story. My thoughts are with you.

I was thinking of getting a bike; I will stick with my bicycle, SUV and 911.

[Sonic dB]

The guy in Florida on the bike put himself and worse, others in danger
with his stupidity and recklessness...and he got the short end of the
result. Perhaps a Darwin award is in order? That's the Cold Hard Truth.

Now, this person on a bike in Michigan got it on the other end of the stick...
wrong place, wrong time:

Motorcyclist dies in accident with car being followed by police
July 15, 2007

FREE PRESS STAFF REPORT


A 46-year-old motorcyclist from Romulus was killed Sunday night after he was struck by a car being followed by Canton police on eastbound Michigan Avenue, near Haggerty Road. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a press release from Canton police.

The unnamed male driver of the car police were following was admitted to an undisclosed hospital to be treated for injuries.

Advertisement


Canton police had been following the man in the car after a 911 call at about 9:05 p.m. from a woman who said the car had struck hers while she was driving eastbound on Michigan Avenue near Beck. He fled the scene after the accident.

Canton police had been trailing the man, attempting to get him to pull the car over when he accelerated and hit the motorcylcists.

Michigan State Police are investigating. Sgt. Robert Sidor of the Canton Police Department said no other information was available

[speeder]

Hyabusas are death machines, plain and simple. They accelerate so violently, (0-60 in about 2 seconds), and they are usually ridden by people who ride like lunatics on the street.

I've seen an almost identical accident, right down to the severed limbs and it was a Honda that turned left, but it was in L.A. and it was a Harley. He was accelerating wide-open, and as slow as they are he was going fast enough for the car to mis-judge his speed and he could not stop or steer around her. This is how a lot of MC fatalities occur. You have to be an idiot to speed like a maniac on city streets through intersections like that. He was asking for it, and he got it.

That said, I've done dangerous things and not had to pay, so just dumb luck, I guess. This story does not make me feel any less safe riding a bike in the city, though. If I rode like that on a bike like that, I'd expect to die the first day. Bummer story, though.

[JavaBrewer]

A couple years back I was driving with the wife and our kids (ages 8 and 6 then) on I-78. We came up on an obviously drunk driver who was trying to keep it within the left 2 lanes. We quickly called 911 to report him and while speaking to the operator we watched him drift onto the shoulder and into a landscaper who was tending to a loose ladder on his truck. The impact threw the landscaper into the second lane of the freeway. We all freaked - especially my kids in the backseat. I'll never forget the sight of that pour soul lying face down on I-78 with his shirt and shoes knocked off and his pants ripped down to his knees. His poor brother was on the other side of the truck and saw the whole thing. I watched in my rear view as he ran screaming to help his brother. We had to continue on following the drunk as he didn't stop and ended up leading the police to him for arrest once he stopped to pull his right front fender off the tire... The landscaper died there on the highway.

Witnessing trama and death like that is very upsetting. Take a couple days off to talk to as many friends/family as you can. You'll likely never get over the image but the shock will wear off. Sorry to hear about this.

RIP rider.

[MMARSH]

Very sorry you had to see that. You did what you could do. There are many others that would not even have stopped.

Originally posted by alf


I was thinking of getting a bike; I will stick with my bicycle, SUV and 911.

Why? Theres plenty of stories of people killing themsleves on bicyles, SUVs and 911s. 100-120 mph in a 35mph zone, is commiting suicide as far as I'm concerned.

All you can do, like everything that involves a certain amount of risk is try to stack the odds in your favor. Wear gear to protect yourself and try to become as proficient as you can in machine control and road craft.

[MMARSH]

Originally posted by speeder
Hyabusas are death machines, plain and simple. They accelerate so violently, (0-60 in about 2 seconds), and they are usually ridden by people who ride like lunatics on the street.

There are plenty of bikes that will smoke a Busa today. They are not death machines. Not any more then any high performance machine in the hands of someone who doesn't know what they are capable of, isn't respectful for what they can do or doesn't have the skillset to handle it.

[Tishabet]

I volunteered as a WEMT in the northeast while I was working as a professional alpine guide between 1998 and 2001. The vast majority of incidents I responded to were twisted ankles, broken bones, exposure, a heart attack, etc.
I responded to only one call where I saw an injury which was "incompatible with life." Not something you forget easily.

[on2wheels52]

I'm sorry you were involved in that affair, as someone who rides every day I know one can't get away with that riding style very long.I asume he was in that invincibility of youth stage rather than being suicidal.
Jim

[URY914]

I was a witness to a similar accident several years ago. The light turns green and the bike does a wheelstand as it left the light. We were in the next lane to the bike. 500 feet ahead a Honda makes a left turn in front of the bike and the bike tags the rear q-panel and rider flys over the top. The driver of the car never saw the bike as he was just a dot coming at him a 90 mph. I left my statement with the cop. Several months later I get a to give a depisition on the accident. Seems the rider wants to sue the driver. I told them the rider was 80% responable. I never heard back from them.

BTW, you nearly lost me with all the irrelevant info included in the story.

[m21sniper]

People die every minute of every day. Big deal. The details of it are mostly irrelevant- especially to the victim.

[}{arlequin]

i went to school in plantation. broward blvd is prolly the absolute worst street to speed on. plenty of shoppers and people generally doing a lot of lane/direction changing.

at least on a highway you have a fighting chance, but as far as a road w/ intersections that runs through a busy area, not the right place for playing slalom w/ cars.

i too found the van/928/wax/stickers parts unusual but i get how all of that was vivid in your mind especially since there was a reason he was checking out your ride and you his.

[VenezianBlau 87]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by URY914
...The driver of the car never saw the bike as he was just a dot coming at him a 90 mph. I left my statement with the cop. Several months later I get a to give a depisition on the accident. Seems the rider wants to sue the driver. I told them the rider was 80% responsible.I never heard back from them."

How do you assign the remaining 20% blame to the yielding driver? If I turn, or pull out, in front of another (non emergency) vehicle that's an appropriate proportional distance away for the speed limit, and I don't hang about, I've done my due diligence. When an object is on a straight heading towards me, I can't instantly determine (or divine) with any certainty whether it's velocity is 50 or 80 mph.

[URY914]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by VenezianBlau 87

Originally posted by URY914
...The driver of the car never saw the bike as he was just a dot coming at him a 90 mph. I left my statement with the cop. Several months later I get a to give a depisition on the accident. Seems the rider wants to sue the driver. I told them the rider was 80% responsible.I never heard back from them."

How do you assign the remaining 20% blame to the yielding driver? If I turn, or pull out, in front of another (non emergency) vehicle that's an appropriate proportional distance away for the speed limit, and I don't hang about, I've done my due diligence. When an object is on a straight heading towards me, I can't instantly determine (or divine) with any certainty whether it's velocity is 50 or 80 mph.

Just because.

[the]

Where can I jet this Rejex wax, and how much does it cost? Sounds dynamite.

[azasadny]

Normy,
I'm sorry for what you had to see/experience. As a former Navy Corpsman, I was face-to-face with death more times than I care to remember and it never gets easier. you did the right thing, don't beat yourself up.

[JeremyD]

Originally posted by the
Where can I jet this Rejex wax, and how much does it cost? Sounds dynamite.

+1