[Jeff Higgins]

Notice how little the bike is leaning prior to impact. It appears as if he was afraid to really lean it over, a common malady among inexperienced riders.

"Lane errors", as they are known, are one of the leading causes of motorcycle accidents. Riders who missjudge and wind up in someone else's lane, most commonly a head-on or sideswipe like this. In our country, it's the right hand corners (of course) that will ruin your day like this. A really good rule of thumb is to go after them somewhat less aggressively than the left handers, where running wide might see you off in the grass or gravel (if you are lucky) or the ditch or guardrail if you are a little less lucky.

Take it easy on that driver. I'm sure the rider came out of nowhere, giving that driver no time whatsoever to react. Even if the driver did see him, I'm sure he assumed the rider would lean the bike and negotiate the corner just as the guy in front of him had. It's way too easy to second-guess how much time he had to react, and it's impossible to judge the speed they were travelling from the stop-action.

A lot of the local SQUIDS ride with those armored jeans, with the kevlar sections and body armor sewn in. They are probably every bit as good as most true riding pants, plus they let the kids continue to look cool (very important...). At any rate, they are far better than the assless chaps most of my Harley buddies wear.