06-09-2016, 11:23 AM
(06-06-2016, 01:12 PM)LongRanger_imp Wrote: I've never felt spooked by riding but we've had three fatal motorcycle accidents in the past three days. My girlfriend and I rode past the first one on Saturday -- a car pulled out from an intersection to enter a busy four-lane highway and never saw the Harley rider and his pillion rumbling down the road. When I rode past the scene, the helmetless rider was in a fetal position in the middle of the highway, being tended to by a first responder (emergency crews were still enroute). He died at the scene, and his passenger was life-flighted to the hospital. His wrecked bike was in a tangle in the middle of the road, the headlight still on, but hardly recognizable. I was quite shaken by the sight. Then another fatality on Sunday, and yet another one earlier today. Now I'm questioning how much I could get for my bikes in trade for a Miata. Someone please talk me off the ledge!
Perhaps this is why there have never been so many low-mileage used motorcycles on the market. I'm seeing many beautiful machines for sale with very few miles-maybe the rider was enthusiastic about riding-took a safety course, and in no time had a close encounter that caused them to re-evaluate their decision to ride.
It seems that every year I have a "close call" with a cage or big truck that would cause me to re-evaluate my decision to ride but since I've been riding for about 45 years I have a greater background with which to put each "close call" into perspective.
My latest was last Sunday on my return trip from the kcmotoshow. I was westbound on I-70 when the 80mph flow of traffic came to a halt in the span of about 1/2 mile in a construction zone. When stopping I leave at least a car space between myself and the car ahead and one eye on the mirror...sure enough, a Nissan sports-something came up at an alarming rate so I eased over to the left "out of the way". The sports car (with ABS I assume) locked up it's tires and came to a squealing halt about even with where I'd previously was parked, but had managed to move to the right to avoid me. It must've put the p**p up his a** because when traffic started moving again he followed behind at a much greater distance. It was a matter of experience for me, but for a new rider the same close call might cause them to stop riding. (I didn't think that ABS would cause the tires to screech on pavement).
Automobile operators, I believe, would be better drivers if they had motorcycle riding experience.
Anyhoo, FWIW.