Thursday a coworker of mine and friend of 10 yrs was informed that his 20 Yr old Son was killed in a motorcycle accident. After viewing the pictures of the accident, it is obvious he was traveling at a very high rate of speed. Like 100+ to do the damage to a Chevy Silverado. From what a I understand, he and the motorcycle ended up inside the cab, except for the front wheel. Killing himself and the driver of the truck. His father wanted to see him, but the Sheriff would not let him for obvious reasons.


The article is here.
http://www.gazetteextra.com/fatal062405.asp

I am not saying motorcycles are bad, but the people that ride them need to use there heads. I guess what I am trying to say is just cause you go down a highway, doesn't mean you can hammer it.

As you can see here, its obvious to most of us that you should keep these crotch rockets bridled on the street and let them loose at the track.

Also people that stop at a stop sign should be more attentive to whether they can procede. Look both ways 2 or three times. MAke sure you can actually go and someone isn't hauling **** and you did not see them cause you were to hurried to take the extra few seconds. Ideally they were both at fault here, but it could have been prevented by using there heads.

My heartfelt condolences go out to his family and hers.

 

Scary! I guess when it's your time to go then it's time to go, but your day will come sooner if you think you own the road.

 

Although I do feel for all of the families involved because of their loss. A couple of things stand out from the article.

Maybe she didn't see the motorcycle. Maybe she was in a hurry. Maybe she gambled.

Hockmuth pulled out to cross Highway 11. Eckelberg's motorcycle slammed into the driver's side door of the pickup.

Speed was a definite factor in the accident, said Vierck, who directed the investigation at the accident scene.

Hockmuth failed to yield the right of way from a stop sign. Eckelberg was speeding.

So what we can see here is that she was not paying attention, pulled out in front of a guy on a bike and killed him. As soon as she pulled out in front of the bike he was as good as dead. Because of his speed and the fact that the front of the bike will hit a truck higher than a car would the truck tipped over. The article does not say what killed the girl buy I suspect that it was the body of the guy on the bike. The article also describes that the girl had a poor driving record and had her license revoked multiple times.
What I get from this story is... watch out, dumbass cage drivers don't care about you and will kill you any chance that they can.

Joe

 

Motorcyclists should always be very aware of intersections.

 

My dad always told me he was never worried about my riding, but rather all the stuiped people out there driving and thats what happened in this case.

 

I rode a Harley for a couple of years, but recently sold it for reasons that have nothing to do with safety concerns. A couple of points:

1. I probably had a near miss about once a month during the riding season. Except for but one or two times that I can recall, the near misses always had to do with car / truck driver not being able to see me.

2. Intersections / on-ramps are the devil. Even with all the chrome in the world and the big lights on the front end, drivers still had a hard time seeing me (day or night).

3. I hated the first half of the riding season here in Nebraska (March-July). It seemed like most drivers weren't used to seeing motorcycles on the road after the winter. Things seemed to get better the longer the season went on.

4. Most sport bike riders were / are younger guys around here...while I can't speak for them, I know having a bike that could do 170-180 mph at 19-20 years old would not have been a safe thing for me. That said, many of the younger riders I know have been riding since they were kids and are mature enough to handle it. I would not have been.

5. Riding at night is fun, but I almost always had a near miss at night. Toward the end, I quit riding at night all together.

6. My pipes were loud, but they never helped much as far as I could tell (hell, I bought them for the way they looked and sounded anyway, not for safety). Many of my near misses involved people talking on their cell phones or doing something OTHER than paying attention to the road. Driving today has become too passive...

7. The MSF courses are GOOD for the novice rider. I rode a lot as a kid, but hadn't as an adult. I took the course and was glad I did...IMHO, everyone should be required to take one when getting a license, regardless of experience because it "reblues" you to riding and all the bad habits that riders develop.

8. Cars / trucks kill riders for sure. But, pride / vanity / youth / stupidity etc doesn't help.

I'm sorry for your friend's loss. I hate it when bikers go down, and it is worse when they take someone with them. I just wish that people who don't ride would pay more attention, and riders would use their heads a little more.

 

LMMFAO....

That's right, I got metal around me and the moron on a bike going over the speed limit doesn't...

I seen two moron's on the road just the other day trying to do wheelies and a trucker behind them. Had they screwed up they too would have been road kill, oh well, so sad...

 

I love it... One idiot kills himself being stupid, so that means the rest of us responsible riders are idiots too... I'm sure none of you non-riders speed, tail gate, cut people off or ever break any traffic laws right? Only us motorcycle riders do that stuff.

Sometimes I wish non-riders would just shut the hell up when a motorcyclist is involved in an accident. You don't see motorcyclist's up in arms everytime a CAR or TRUCK is involved in an accident do you? There are probably 10 times the number of automobile accidents then motorcycle accidents but no one tries to tell car drivers to be more responsible when a car accident happens. It is a statistical fact that 90% of accidents involving motorcycles are the fault of the automobile operator, not the motorcycle. I can't tell you how many times some fat mini-van driving wife blabbing away on her cell phone has almost run me off the road. Here in NJ we have traffic circles. The LAW regarding them is: Yield to traffic ALREADY ON the circle. Simple right? Twice, less than 5 miles from my house, I've had to kick the driver's door (left a dent both times) of some as$-wipe who didn't yield & almost ran my as$ over. Really gets the attention of a brain-dead car driver when you plant a size 11 on his door at 30mph. The bumper stickers you see that say "Save A Life, Motorcycles Are Everywhere" couldn't be more true. If you can't "see" a motorcycle coming then you should have your license revoked. I ride a bright yellow bike with the hi-beam on during daylight, wear a jacket with reflective material on it & have a helmet that is by no means dull or drab, if you can't see me coming that can only mean you are a retard or you're not paying attention.

Plester73 is right on the money with what he wrote. Get back on a bike dude, you're missing out.

Wookie is right on as well.

It is very sad that two people were killed, just don't assume that all riders are idiots...

KC-10 FE out...

 

Very sad. I sold my Harley years ago and I miss it. I think they are giving drivers licenses to mentally retarded people nowadays. I can't believe some of the stupid things that I see _every_ time I drive. Don't think I'd ever get on a bike around here again. Just feel a lot safer in my 6,000 lb F-150.

Scott

 

Not at all, there are many responsible riders out there. I am willing to bet the vast majority of bike riders are responsible. I know I always pay attention to them and look for them.

However, we know who the morons are, the idiots that don’t have a clue about reality. You know, the ones that want to do 160mph and if someone pulls in front of them and they eat it others think it’s the caged drivers fault.

Don’t matter, if I see a bike that “appears” to be behind in the other lane I am going to change over to, I need only be concerned that they are going the speed limit. If they are doing 160mph and plow into my tail gate then oh well so sad, their fault and not mine and I hope they live so I can sue their ***.

It is NOT my responsibility to try and judge how fast they are going that is theirs and theirs alone. Fact is you can not ever judge how fast someone may be approaching, and in my book it don’t matter. If you look to be safely behind me where it “appears” I can make a safe lane change and they are speeding, oh well, so sad….

Same for the morons trying to do stunts on a public road way. If a biker is trying to pull wheelies and eats it in front of me I will “try” to swerve and avoid the body. If it is not safe for me, my passengers or other vehicles around me to swerve then body will be nothing more then an over grown cat and BLOP BLOP I go, oh well, so sad, not my responsibility the organ donors organs are now un-donateable…

 

KC-10,
I'll get back on, but I've got a couple of things to take care of first. My next Harley will be a Screamin' Eagle Electra Glide or something along those lines...

I'm probably 3 or 4 years out...

 

01 XLT Sport while I agree with you on some of your points however your being quite harsh in your wording considering this thread was created to morn about a loved ones loss of life not to debate wether or not it was his fault or the reasons behind it...

 

It was an accident. It was an unpredictable moment that shouldn't have happened. The woman pulled out in front of a guy on a bike doing 100+ mph. Plain and simple.

It's hard to judge how fast something is coming up on you while it's going that fast. The woman had no time to react once she pushed on that gas pedal to pull out because it was over in a fraction of a second no doubt.

I agree, the guy on the bike was going way to fast. But if he was doing the speed limit...it might not have happened. But it's to late now to do anything about it. When driving/riding, always expect the unexpected. And please try to do the speed limit whenever possible no matter what your driving/riding.

My prayers go out to the families of thier loved ones who were lost.

 

I did not say the rest of the motorcycle riders were idiots, in fact all I was trying to do is convey the message to just pay attention when driving your vehicle or riding your biike. ever heard of being a defensive driver. I guess not. If I wanted to convey that message that ALL motorcycle riders are idiots, my topic would have been , and would have been straight to the point.

Some of you guys try to read more into it than is actually there. I have seen many more Great motorcycle riders than bad ones. But it's the bad ones that make the rest of the riders look bad.

It shows that you Sir are indeed brain dead already if you think that way LOL.
I see you need to retake your driving course again.As they state look both ways a couple times in my drivers course. Or talk to a judge, as if he heard that in court what you wrote here, you certainly would have your license taken away! It's people like you that give the rest of us a bad rep.

 

While I will agree I may have been a bit harsh I am only speaking the truth and reality. My point was not to say it is not my responsibility to look both ways and watch for others but rather if I look in my rear view mirror and someone, a bike rider, appears to be, say 10 car lengths behind me in another lane and I make a lane change and he runs off the road it is not my fault that they were speeding and thus put themselves in danger.

I will also say there are more idiots driving in cars that have no clue what is going on and the same applies to them as well if they are traveling at a high rate of speed and my actions happen to accidentally cut them off it will not be my fault and in court I would win every day and twice on Sunday.

My point being, bad drivers, riders, that can’t pay attention to the safety of others, are bound to find themselves in a bad situation and it won’t be the other person’s fault that was paying attention and following the law.

I apologize if my post came off as towards this particular biker as that was not what was meant, it was meant to be a response to another post that seems to group a complete group of people “caged car drivers” into one category in not giving a crap about bikers on the road and intentionally trying to kill them. I have always watched out for other drivers especially bike riders as they are harder to see because of blind spots.

People like me give no one a bad rap, those who have no clue what their doing on the road when the unintentionally or intentionally put others at risk, some bike riders and some car drivers are the ones who give themselves bad raps and for good reason.