I hate to preach on Motorcycle safety. BUT…… I just learned something new from an article I read. We know there are many things to watch out for when we are riding. Just the other day I avoided a run in with a Semi by watching his front wheels. I was going North and he was heading South. When I got about 15 feet from him I noticed he had his wheels turned for a left turn into lumber yard he was going to make a delivery to. He was trying to find his gate, and didn’t see me. Good thing there was no curb but about 12 feet of level grass to my right. I braked and slid my bike in the direction of the grass and was able to come to a safe stop. When the truck driver realized what had happened he apologized. No Harm. No Foul. Then I happen to read a news story about a motorcyclist who was killed when a motorist in an SUV backed into him. Seems the SUV driver, was looking for a friends house. When she realized she had passed the address given to her; she shifted to reverse and started to back up. When she looked in the rear view mirror she saw an explosion. The motorcyclist was traveling about 40-45 mph. (There was no mention of the speed limit.) When he crashed into the back of the reversing vehicle. If the accident happened at night one should be able to see the backup lights work. If it was day it could be another story. Perhaps the backup lights weren’t working. The thing I learned is to add watching for backup lights, on slow or stopped vehicles. I know in some of the larger cities you may have bumper to bumper traffic with a 45 mph speed limit. In these cases I see many vehicles, including motorcycles bunch up closer than the usual interval. So even if he saw the backup light he may not have had time to avoid the collision. But at the same time why would one decide to backup in such a situation. I don’t know all the details, as they were not given in the story. So add backup lights to your list of things to watch for. That Is How I See It. find find find Post Views: 113
