I watched a man die today-

[azasadny]

I use Rejex and I bought mine from a place called CorrosionX (http://www.corrosionx.com/) . I use Klasse to polish the car, then use Rejex in place of the P21S Carnauba wax and the shine is amazing and it lasts. Seems kind of strange to be discussing car wax (acrylic polymer) in a thread about a man dying...

[JeremyD]

I'm just glad the dude did not take anybody else out. I read the story and get a little pissed off when I hear of / witness one of these doucebags doing something like this. Sure, I drive my car on the street fast - but only when no one else is around and when I am alone.

Just last week - I picked up my kids from day camp. My other car is a Nissan Armada - a big friggin SUV. Two guys on motorcycles - a ninja 600r and a haybusa 1000 pass me (on a 35mph two lane street) - both doing a wheelie.

As soon as I see them pull the wheel - and come along side, I lift off the gas - Just at that moment - I see a car come up to a stop sign to my right - looking like he was going to roll through it and jump out in front of me.

Anyway - just as they are getting by me - the one closest to my truck catches a glimpse of the car and think it's gonna roll through the stop sign too - he wobbles - almost came off the bike 4 feet from my drivers side 265/70/18 wheel.

If he would have come off the bike and I would have run over him - and my kids would have witnessed it = my kids would have also witnessed me beating him and his buddy to a pulp.

Normy - sorry you had to witness it - Sorry you had to be there -

I had a bike in school - and there is no way in hell I would own a motorcycle in Florida

[pavulon]

Tragic. But the guy seemed to be asking for trouble. Please understand that I'm not trying to play "one-up" by saying this...but speaking from experience (had a 67 y.o. die in our ED just this morning) I will say that, for me, nothing is worse than a child or a pregnant female fatality...thankfully, they are rare but it shakes me to the core.

[onlycafe]

as horrible an experience as it must have been for you , the question that i have[not that the wax did not intrigue me] is this.....

"-I'm not posting this on Rennlist, and I'm personally happy that Rennlist.com is not going to profit from the story I'm about to tell. I have a problem with their absent management, and I refuse support them at all." .....!

....what is up with this?

[Hoots]

Originally posted by MMARSH
Why? Theres plenty of stories of people killing themselves on bicycles, SUVs and 911s. 100-120 mph in a 35mph zone, is committing suicide as far as I'm concerned.

+1

Just because I have seen an automobile/train/airplane/boat accident doesn't mean I'm going to stop riding in a automobile/train/airplane/boat.

If restrictions are put on performance motorcycles, the next restrictions will be on performance cars. Also, no one has published the accident per motorcycle ratio compared to accident per automobile. I would be willing to bet the auto ration is much higher.

With myself and the guys I ride with, we each feel safer on the bikes. They can accelerate/maneuver faster away from a potential accident. My stopping distance is greatly reduced further helping me to avoid someone entering my lane.

Plus on a motorcycle, I am more focused. No coffee, reading the newspaper/novel, putting on make-up, dialing in the radio, adjusting the temperature on the A/C, talking on the cell phone, watching the GPS, disciplining the kids, petting the dog with its head hanging out the driver side window while obstructing the field of view, fast forward the opening credits on the in-dash DVD player, eating a sausage egg & cheese croissant from Dunkin Donuts, while doing 70 MPH on a jam packed five lane interstate, like the lady in the suv who has decided with out looking to her left she needs to occupy the same space in the lane I am in!!

[the]

just watch out for those coyotes.

[Joeaksa]

Originally posted by Rick Lee
And I felt foolish putting on all my riding gear today in 90 deg. heat just to go down the street to get a tank of gas for the bike. Yesterday, also with all the gear on, I had my closest ever miss at about 80mph when a guy in his SUV jumped over into my lane without looking or signaling. I was so shaken up (after passing him and giving him the finger), that I had to stop and have a smoke, buy a few 22 oz. cans of Sapporo to put in the tank bag and go home to relax.

I'm happy to be alive when I get on my bike and I'm happy to be alive when I get off my bike.

Rick,

I used to ride really, really fast on bikes. 99% of it was out in the countryside on open roads with no possible issues but some of it was on twisties as well.

One night riding home from the airport on my black R100RS speeder and the headlight went out. Did not know it and I kept on going. All of a sudden I thought people were trying to kill me on purpose, they would drive right at me or turn in front of me.

Finally pulled over and found the front light out and figured out what was going on. No front light, no moon or street lights and no running lights on a black bike.... Rigged a flashlight to the front of the bike and rode in first gear on the right side of the road the rest of the 2-3 miles home with my flashers on.

I learned a lot on that short ride. Now I ride as if I am invisable and always leave room for other vehicles to come into my path and ALWAYS have a escape route if possible. Yes it does take some of the fun out of riding, but then so does a wheelchair or coffin.

Please learn from all of this (I believe you have not been riding very long?) and always have a "way out" while on the street on two wheels. When someone in a car does something stupid and it hits another car, at least you have some protection. With a bike we have to be smarter and hopefully have a bit of luck and God on our side to walk away.

[Rick Lee]

Joe, I had my low beam go out last Sunday as I was on an onramp on the Garden State Pkwy. at 11:30pm, five miles into my 250 mile ride home. THAT sucked! I noticed it right away and switched to high beam. No one flashed me and there was very little traffic out. Luckily, the low beam came back to life 100 miles later when I stopped for gas.

[billwagnon]

That Aerostar sounds like it was

jet fockin' black!

[URY914]

Last Sunday we were driving back from Ft. Lauderdale on Alligator Alley and two dip$hits passed us doing at least 150 mph. Hell I was doing 90 mph. If I had changed lanes, I'd be posting a story too.

[Danny_Ocean]

Here's his driving record from Broward & Dade Counties...whew! Looks like he had it coming:

Broward County Case Number: 06007602TI20A
Court Type: TRAFFIC - INFRACTION Case Type: TRAF INFRA
Incident Date: 01/16/2006 Filing Date: 01/23/2006
Court Location: NORTH SATELLITE COURTHOUSE Case Status: OPEN
001 LOUIS NICHOLAS P DEF M B 12/06/1971
Counts
001 IXXD3161871 SPEEDING STATE POSTED 01838DMO CLOS
002 IXXD3166144B FAIL WEAR SAFETY BELT/OPER 01839DMO
003 IXXD322151 LICENSE NOT CARRIED/EXHIBIT 01840DMO OPEN


Broward County Case Number: 06045258TI40A State Reporting Number: 062006TR045258A88840
Court Type: TRAFFIC - INFRACTION Case Type: TRAF INFRA
Incident Date: 07/15/2006 Filing Date: 07/20/2006
Court Location: SOUTH SATELLITE COURTHOUSE Case Status: DISPOSITION ENTERED*
Case Parties
Relationship Last Name First Name Middle Name Party Type Sex Race D.O.B. D.O.D. ID Type ID Number
001 LOUIS NICHOLAS P DEF M B 12/06/1971
001 SOMERA MICHAEL PA BARID 000000090190

Counts
Select Count Count Statute Statute Description Citation/NTA Status
001 IXXD3161871 SPEEDING STATE POSTED 00549EIX CLOS


Broward County Case Number: 07008802TI40A State Reporting Number: 062007TR008802A88840
Court Type: TRAFFIC - INFRACTION Case Type: TRAF INFRA
Incident Date: 01/21/2007 Filing Date: 01/29/2007
Court Location: SOUTH SATELLITE COURTHOUSE Case Status: DISPOSITION ENTERED*
HELP

Case Parties
Relationship Last Name First Name Middle Name Party Type Sex Race D.O.B. D.O.D. ID Type ID Number
001 LOUIS NICHOLAS P DEF M B 12/06/1971
001 SOMERA MICHAEL PA BARID 000000090190

Counts
001 IXXD3161871 SPEEDING STATE POSTED 04014ETB CLOS

Defendant Name: NICHOLAS P LOUIS D.O.B.: 1971 Gender: M
City: MIAMI
State: FL Zip: 331433546
Driver's License #: XXXXXX571446 Tag #: RYB17L
Tag State: FL

CASE SUMMARY FOR CASE NUMBER "358860O"

Citation #: 358860O State #: 132007TR000358860O00
Incident Date: 06/28/1996
Case Type: INFRACTION Attorney of Record: ASSIGNED PUBLIC DEFENDER APPOINTMENT

Violation: 316.074(1)-DISOBEY TRAFFIC CONTRL DEVICE
Case Action: CLOSED



Defendant Name: NICHOLAS P LOUIS D.O.B.: 1971 Gender: M
City: MIAMI
State: FL Zip: 331433546
Driver's License #: XXXXXX571446 Tag #: RYB17L
Tag State: FL

CASE SUMMARY FOR CASE NUMBER "358861O"

Citation #: 358861O State #: 132007CT000358861O00
Incident Date: 06/28/1996 Related Misdemeanor Charges: NONE
Case Type: CRIMINAL Attorney of Record: ASSIGNED PUBLIC DEFENDER APPOINTMENT

Violation: 322.34-DRIVING WHILE LIC SUSP OR REV
Case Action: CLOSED

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Infraction 214127O CLOSED 316.605(1)-NO LICENSE PLATE 1/10/1996 131996TR000214127O00 NONE*

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Criminal 214128O CLOSED 322.34-DR W/LIC SUSP-RV 1/10/1996 131996CT000214128O00 $0.00*

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Criminal 482412I CLOSED 322.34-DR W/LIC SUSP-RV 11/16/1995 131995CT000482412I00 $0.00*

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Infraction 482411I CLOSED *316.646(1)-NO PROOF OF INS 11/16/1995 131995TR000482411I00 NONE*

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Infraction 482409I CLOSED *320.0605(1)-NO REG CERT 11/16/1995 131995TR000482409I00 NONE*

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Criminal 482410I CLOSED 322.03(1)-NO DR LICENSE 11/16/1995 131995CT000482410I00 NONE*

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Infraction 4735FAZ OPEN 316.123(2)(B)-FTYROW 4STOP INT 5/1/2007 132007TR0004735FAZ00 $151.50

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Infraction 3596DVU CLOSED 316.209(2)-IMP PASS/MTRCY 2/4/2007 132007TR0003596DVU00 NONE*

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Criminal 3595DVU CLOSED 322.34(2)-DWLS KNOWINGLY 2/4/2007 132007CT0003595DVU00 NONE*

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Criminal 4609CGY CLOSED 322.34(2)-DWLS KNOWINGLY 4/19/2003 132003CT0004609CGY00 NONE*

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Infraction 4608CGY CLOSED 316.187(2)(C)-VIOL ST SPD ZONE 4/19/2003 132003TR0004608CGY00 NONE*

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Infraction 289804I CLOSED 316.074(1)-DIS TRF CON DEV 2/17/1997 131997TR000289804I00 NONE*

NICHOLAS LOUIS 1971 Criminal 289805I CLOSED 322.34-DR W/LIC SUSP-RV 2/17/1997 131997CT000289805I00 $0.00*

[Wickd89]

Very sad story. Death comes to all of us eventually, but that was a tough way to go.
Kind of you for stopping and offering a helping hand on such a tramatic incident...

I use to love bikes, an on occassion I think of buying a custom Harley, but I have had friends who have really bitten it while riding, and it always shocks me at how bad accidents in motorbikes can be...

Best of luck........

[Aerkuld]

Originally posted by Joeaksa
Rick,

Please learn from all of this (I believe you have not been riding very long?) and always have a "way out" while on the street on two wheels. When someone in a car does something stupid and it hits another car, at least you have some protection. With a bike we have to be smarter and hopefully have a bit of luck and God on our side to walk away.

That brings us back to the point of inadequate training. Over in Europe this is how you are taught to ride a motorcycle rather than "show mw where the turn signals are, now ride aroung the cones".
The accident I refered to in my earlier post was essentially caused by the motorcyclist shadowing a van so that the rider couldn't see cars coming out of side streets and the drivers coming out of side streets couldn't see them. This isn't about fast motorcycles, it's about protecting yourself, riding responsibly, and being aware about what's going on 15 seconds down the road.

[snowman]

When you see something like this, up close and personal, you just have to talk about it, that simple. Otherwise you cannot cope with the consequences. Encourage talking, discourage the illogical action that is likely to follow. People have the basic human right to kill themselves. You are not the blame and you can not prevent it, nor should you try.

[911pcars]

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

Sounds like you've experienced your share of death and have built a wall between it and your emotions. I guess people cope in one way or another.

I've never experienced death in my presence. It must be mind numbing and gut wrenching, even for someone you don't know. Normy, take care. Luckily it wasn't you or a loved one.

Imagine seeing friends and relatives, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers die. In some parts of our world, that happens every day. That really sucks.

Sherwood

[Rick Lee]

I doubt the dead guy was a nut because of poor rider training. He died because of piss poor judgement and no amount of training can change that. My rider safety course was waaaaayy inadequate for what I face on the road when I ride. I was the only person in my class to get 100% on my road test and I was terrified when I picked my first bike up in NJ and had to ride it 100 hwy. miles to my folks' house and then back home to VA. Experience is really what makes someone a good rider. The only time I've taken my bike over 100 mph was on a very deserted, straight, flat hwy. where I could see ahead for a few miles. To do that kind of stuff on a crowded street in a 35 mph zone is just playing Russian Roulette.

[Joeaksa]

Rick,

Agreed but with your experience level pls be careful. Ride like you are invisable and always have a way out.

Two times with my old R1100RS the ABS brakes saved my life when idiots turned left in front of me. I was at or under the speed limit and they were in the wrong. I still would have been dead...

Just be careful and always wear a helmet, gloves and jacket.

[Rick Lee]

No worries Joe. If you saw my riding gear, you'd think I looked like a Martian. I wear the flourescent yellow/green Olympia summer jacket with full padding, Cortech pants, Timberland riding boots, armored gloves, have an LED brake light and HID's upfront. I may be invisible, but not by much.

[masraum]

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.

You noticed that too? I suspect his mind is still reeling and the shock has the mind going weird places to handle what he's seen.

[Peterfrans]

I worked my way through college as a paramedic and it seems that most of the people involved in this line of work (police officers also) have seen their share of these accidents. In one particular accident two guys on a motorcycle drove into a lamppost in the middle of town. Both were killed on the scene, total carnage. Now, 15 years later there is still a dent where they hit the pole. I also encountered a number of accidents where the motorcyclist was not at fault but heavily injured after being hit by a car. I have decided not to ride bikes, it is just to dangerous.