Accidents

Since I am holed up in the house for yet another sick day, I thought I would do some reading about motorcycles. (Like, I never, ever do that!!!! :-) )

I google motorcycles, and Buell Blasts, and the Yamaha TW-200 and the Triumph Bonneville. Somehow I accidentally searched on Google News and ended up with pages of motorcycle accident reports. Some morbid curiosity overtook me, and I started counting which accidents were the motorcyclists' fault.

1. Too much speed and loss of control. Rider was in the wrong lane and collided with a truck.
2. Small truck sideswipes a rider.
3. Rider looses control and collides with tree.
4. Rider looses control and collides with stop sign.
5. Rider without right of way T-Bones a truck (killing three people).
6. Rider fleeing police (he had a suspended license) looses control and slams into a traffic sign.
7. Rider was put into the hospital after hitting a stationary street sweeper. He was weaving around cars that were stopped in traffic behind an accident.
8. Man buys a brand new Harley, takes off into the dealer's parking lot, looses control, smacks into a parked vehicle and dies. No helmet.

So, from those eight incidents, only one was not blatantly the riders fault. Seven times in eight was the rider. Yes, riding is dangerous. The danger is within the riders, not the cagers. It is our responsibilities as riders to drive that danger out. If we do not, we will kill ourselves.