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READ ME. Another DC Area Death, and a message

28K views 43 replies 37 participants last post by  Suprising6  
#1 ·
I'm really getting tired of posting these, but it's necessary.


From what I hear from the tail end of a news story on 95.5, a rider was killed somewhere in PG last night when his bike slammed into the rear end of a tractor trailer. If I can locate the news story, I'll post it up.

RIP to the rider, condolences to his friends/family.


----------------------------------


On a sidenote, DC area riders (and everywhere else).... this is 4 people killed on bikes in this area in the last 4 days.

Let's get it together, boys and girls. There are so many of these crashes that, unfortunately, could have been easily avoided by the rider, or were caused by the rider. I'm not blaming the riders for all of them, but SO many could be avoided. It's sad. The youngest of this 4 was a 20 y/o woman.

Learn from these crashes and unnecessary fatalities.

  • Don't ride beyond your skill.
  • Don't ride with riders who encourage (or seemingly force) you to do so.
  • Don't pressure a newer, less experienced rider.
  • To the total noobs, don't buy a bike that's not very forgiving.
  • Watch where you're going.
  • Dress for the crash.
  • Know that no one sees you.

There's a million more. Please feel free to contribute. I'm stickying this for a while.

Everyone, ride safe.
 
#2 ·
very good post, and there have been many many killed and crippled in my area. i stopped posting them :headshake all so young, and all so tragic.

a few things i would add to keep us alive.

watch the cagers head when your passing. alot of cagers will not use blinkers to indicate a lane change. and watching the cagers body launguage could save your life.

do not ride in on others blind spot "as M_Easy said..they cant see you".

keep your safety cushion, do not ever ever tailgate. this will also help to see if there is debris in the road way.

most important..constantly check your six "you have mirrors, use the damn things".
 
#3 ·
watch the cagers head when your passing. alot of cagers will not use blinkers to indicate a lane change. and watching the cagers body launguage could save your life.
x1000. Head-turning, twitchy turn-signal fingers, favoring one side of a lane suddenly, leaning in a particular direction, looking at a cell, not watching where they are going, a relaxed posture suddenly changes to an anxious posture- all telltale signs that something's about to go down. Great add.
 
#4 · (Edited)
i could not agree more on all the above....so very true and i hope that not only that the DMV riders take note of this thread but to all riders on this forum.....

Im no motorcycle god but please guys/girls....use what your helmet is protecting...when riding at nite...and you think that your invincible...your not, if your riding 2 up, keep in mind the person on the back has or is a mother/father also...they are trusting you with there life but not only that...he/she's family is trusting you to bring them home that night/day ALIVE!!!!

take your time
keep your distance
loook around your self (as JPG stated CHECK YOUR SIX)
at night....look for drunk drivers....they cant see you...and you cant see them at 110mph!!!!

lets get it together people....its not that hard...lets enjoy what god gave us as hobby as a way to relieve the stress of the work week, as away to express our selfs....ride safe family!!!!
 
#8 ·
+1 on everything said so far. Another big thing that people tend to not do is look through turns to see what they are coming up on. I know I've done it but I've learned from it. If you are coming fast through a curve and you don't look through it then you could miss the stopped car at the exit of the turn or the patch of gravel that could have been avoided. By the time you see it, its too late to stand it up and hit the brakes and suddenly you and the guard rail are best friends. Keep your head up and pay attention!!!!
 
#10 ·
I know that people don't like reading about fallen bikers, but unfortunately it's something that we all face every time that we go out for a ride. it's kind of like crosses on the side of the road, every time I ride past 1 where a friend died it reminds me to perhaps take it a little easier... also well said on the fact that we should all learn from these unfortunate accidents. RIP brothers!
 
#11 ·
Im DC born and spent all my life (til i joined) in PG and Charles Co. Hell when I was home in Feb the 210 massacre happened with that streetrace where the guy ran over a bunch of the spectators (did they ever name an official "what happened" to that anyway??)

Honestly I would not be shocked to find out this accident occoured in the PG side of 210. Everyone and their mother hits that road like a 4 mile straight dragstrip (which it practically is give or take a few miles lol)
 
#13 ·
Don't listen to music in town! I see alot of new riders make this mistake. You bought the bike for freedom, listen to the engine reving, and the wind going by, don't block your hearing with loud music. Also, if it helps, treat riding like a game. Be on the offensive, don't just sit back and cruise with your mind on that hot chick that wanted you to wheelie. Just my .02:thumbup:
 
#19 ·
:wtf: dont fucking ever listen to music your not in a fucking tin can your on a bike everyone is out to kill you and you shuold ride like that .make sure people can see you .ive been ridin since i was six and have never listened to music on a bike my life keep that shit for work or down the night club.learn to ride before you ride fast.
 
#14 ·
When traffic is flowing, I never let a car/truck/whatever stay directly next to me. You never know when they might swerve to avoid something and either forget you were there or never knew you were there. Either speed up (A LITTLE) or slow down so they are not right next to you. Just some ideas. The more I keep reading about these crashes the more gear I keep saving up for. We have to shape up! I'm also worried that "they" are going to start passing some harsh restrictions on us sport bikes real soon if this keeps up. If it's harsher penalties then all well. Live and learn. But I would be extremely upset if they decided to stop bikes from lane splitting. This is a HUGE thing in CA. RIDE SAFE!
 
#25 · (Edited)
dude, I argree. If the law makers propose restrictions on riders, then we should together go on strike...cause we're environment responsible.
P.S. IMO, lane-splitting allowance is life saving, giving riders ways to escape if cages in front slowing down from high speed. I find it safer and practical to swerve instead of sudden stopping. It's useless to avoid rear-ending the front cage and get rear-ended from the cage behind.
 
#18 ·
Basically everything has been said already but the only way to teach the kids is repition.

* Don't ride beyond your skill.
* Don't ride with riders who encourage (or seemingly force) you to do so.
* Don't pressure a newer, less experienced rider.
* To the total noobs, don't buy a bike that's not very forgiving.
* Watch where you're going.
* Dress for the crash.
* Know that no one sees you.
(totally copied M_Easy's post but he said it the best)

Take it easy out there. We all have to be alive for the legendary GSXR.com group ride that will probably never happen but still. :]

Stay safe kids.
 
#23 ·
The best advice is expect the unexpected. Expect drivers to pull out in front of you, change into your lane, or anything else.

Also, IMO, stay off the rear brake and if you do use it, practice using both under sudden stops. I see so many people get into bad situations and hit the rear brake in panic. I think the throttle can get you out of more tight spots than the brakes ever can. I'm sure some disagree but that's the way I see it.
 
#27 ·
Before I pass on the highway during the day or if I enter high traffic areas I flip on my high beams... NOT AT NIGHT but just during the day to increase my visibility.

Also before passing and while passing I keep an eye on the passenger mirror to see if they look at me. A lot of times you can basically make eye contact with the drive of the car and get a good idea whether or not they saw you.

Using hand signals helps as well.. especially if you have flush mount signals. Of course if you cant handle the bike with one hand keep em both on the bars.
 
#31 · (Edited)
If something doesn't feel right, when your about to leave on your bike (like you have a gut feeling that something isn't right) just take your car. And the hole listening to ipod while riding i think that's so stupid, i want to hear shit thats going on around me, not tunes!! Thats what my car is for. And you should always check your bike over before every ride. Just do it while your bike is warming up, you never know it could save your life or someone elses.
 
#32 ·
Only noticed said by M_Easy and no one else emphasized. RIDE AT YOUR EXPERIENCE LEVEL!!! I have had my gsxr for just 2 months. About 1200 miles. I have only found one sport bike rider that I am truly comfortable riding with. When a new rider tries to go downtown on bike night w/ some friends and he gets left behind while he's doing 120 it's ridiculous. If you guys ride w/ new riders, slow down. A lot of young adults r pressured to try to keep up with experienced riders when they get a sportbike and being young, peer pressure causes them their life. This is an emotional issue to me b/c I have a 150 teenage employs and b/c I lost a 7 month old daughter last year. Not many people know how it hurts and how it effects people's lives to lose one of your children. The parents of these 20 yr old fallen riders will never be the same. I have been to enough support groups and seen enough 250 lb tough guys crying for their teenage children that passed way too soon to last a life time. Hope this saves someone.