From: josh@Happy-Man.com (Joshua_Putnam)
Subject: Re: adding more fuel to the fire
Reply-To: Joshua_Putnam@happy-man.com
Organization: Happy Man Corp., Vashon Island, WA 98070-7399
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 16:48:59 GMT

In <1992Apr8.185043.19130@pslu1.psl.wisc.edu> pfs@pslu1.psl.wisc.edu (Paul Schnettler) writes:

>From the BADGER HERALD - UW Madison WI.

>Accident victim remains critical

I try to stay law-abiding no matter what vehicle I'm controlling, and
to act sensibly even when the law might allow stupidity.  This story
sounds like the inevitable intersection of two human
accidents-waiting-to-happen.

>According to the Madison Police Dept. report, a witness said the bicyclist
>changed lanes from the far right side of the road to the left while a motor-
>cycle was approaching at a high speed.

The bicyclist probably should not have tried this.  Left turns are
much safer from the left side of the lane, which is why the rule about
riding as far to the right as safely practicable has exceptions such
as preparing to make turns, overtaking other vehicles, etc.

The original post deosn't say what the conditions were, so I have no
idea whether the bicyclist should reasonably have seen the motorcycle
and correctly perceived its excessive speed.  If the bicyclist saw the
motorcycle and wasn't sure about its speed, he should, IMHO, have
assumed the worst and yielded the right of way.  I'd rather sit on the
left edge of the lane blocking traffic than be sprawled in the middle
of the oncoming lane blocking traffic.

The description also does not say if the bicyclist signaled before
making the turn, which would at least have given the motorcycle a
chance to slow down to a legal speed and/or take evasive action.


>The report also states that Raab has a Type II licence from Minnesota which
>classifies him to operate a motorcycle of under 260 CC's.  The 1984 Honda
>Interceptor that Raab was driving is much larger than the allowed engine
>size.

Without some indication of just how fast the motorcycle was going, I'm
not sure the engine size is terribly relevant.  A 125cc can easily go
fast enough to create the sort of accident described.  There is no
indication this was anything other than a straight-line accident, so
maneuverability may not have been much of a factor either.  Still, at
least a smaller bike has less mass at impact.

>William T. Britt, a 33 year-old Madison man, was the driver of
>the TREK bicycle.

Interesting that the paper referred to the "driver" of the bicycle.
Many papers seem to think bicycles are toys that are "ridden" instead
of "driven."  I like "drive" better than "ride," since it puts the
responsibility on the person controlling the vehicle, not on the
vehicle for carrying the person.

>OB-MOTO: IMHO the bicyclist made an improper lane change into the path
>of the speeding squidly motorcyclist! WHO DO YOU THINK WAS AT FAULT! (:')

Both drivers appear to have been at fault, IMHO.  Without knowing
more, it's hard to say which was more culpable, but both seem to need
serious retraining.

The real question is, how can we prevent people like this from ruining
innocent lives?
-- 
 Joshua_Putnam@happy-man.com    Happy Man Corp.  206/463-9399 x102
 4410 SW Pt. Robinson Rd., Vashon Island, WA  98070-7399  fax x108
 We publish SOLID VALUE for the intelligent investor.  NextMail OK
Info free; sample $20: Send POSTAL addr: Solid-Value@happy-man.com