In light of a recent news article concerning a motorcycle related death here in Georgia, I would like to just say three things…maybe four.

MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT

1.) Once again a left turning dumb-ass cage driver doesn’t “SEE” the cyclist approaching in the oncoming lane. She was probably too busy chatting or texting to notice…and her little mind was focused on getting on to the I-20 highway so she could then hit the pedal to the metal and fly down the road non-chalantly as she continued her phone conversation. However, all the blame cannot be laid on the stupide cager. A motorcylist has the un-earned responsibility to be keenly aware of such a scenario as he/she approaches a car in any intersection, especially an interstate entrance intersection…and NOT assume that the oncoming driver will see him/her or even attempt to delay their God-given entitlement to turn left.

2.) Mr. Wust had traded in his car for a Honda Shadow motorcycle to spend less money on gas. I think lots of folks do this. Can you spell “BAD IDEA!”? Motorcycling in a huge suburban sprawl environment is about as safe as swimming in a pool of sharks with bleeding scabs all over your legs. It takes very little to knock one over and a person who rides his or her bike EVERYWHERE is asking for trouble, unless the most extreme caution is used and many hours of practice and training have been had. That’s really a sad situation but it is a fact! And even then, accidents still happen. But the chances can be minimized.

3.) The one line in the article where someone is quoted as saying, “He tried to lay the bike down.” STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! This is an old method of avoiding a head on crash used by motorcops many years ago. And it was done because the brakes on bikes were horrible back then. Now it has been proven over and over again that the best method to avoid as little damage as possible to your body is to brake as hard as possible and get your speed down before the crash…But stay UPRIGHT! Make the hit as slow as possible and as straight as possible. Mr. Wust probably wasn’t consciously trying to “Lay his bike down”. That is something that happens when you reflexively brake hard and swerve at the same time. He most likely just skidded onto the side of the bike as the car slammed into him….with him and the bike laying on the ground. STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! I’ll take my chances flying through the air any day over laying on the ground as cars run over me.