Dangerous Times

[Uncle Willie]

Got to put this out for some conversation.

I live in Oklahoma City, and have for 30 years
Up until about 2-3 years ago motorcycling in and around the city was pretty much like most
other cities of this size, but then things started
changing. Law Enforcement noticed crime climbing at a faster than normal rate. Gangs increased, drug issues started to skyrocket
along with DUIs, along with a population
of drivers that 40% had no insurance and about that many no licenses. Along with that many of my brothers and sisters on 2 or 3
were getting hit and way too many were dying
at the hands of others in cars and trucks not
watching, or sober, or talking/texting, or caring.
In the last 48 hours in this town 3 bikers have died from the deeds of others!

MY QUESTION: Is this going on everywhere?
I've got enough lights front-back on my TRIGLIDE that it looks like an ambulance,
loud horn and watch like a hawk and I still
have close calls on sunny, low volume traffic
days because someone else thinks they paid for the road!
Your observations and input please.

Uncle Willie

[alienwulf]

You are very much right. There is a change going on in the county in general of people just not caring. To busy in their own life to see what is going on around them. I as someone older have noticed the lack of respect everywhere. I asked very nicely if my neighbor could please get his dogs under control bark all day long. He called me every name in the book threatened to F me up if I didn't get off his property. He is a good 30 years younger than me. Just an example of no respect your your seniors anymore. Didn't mean to go on and on but you pushed my button on this one. So yes you are right in what your seeing these days.

[rhino 2]

Sign of the times..... That said i get just as many close call's even when I'm in my truck'
The reason why you might notice /think its just when your on a trike/bike is because on a trike/bike, It becomes up close and personal...
You can't have as many lights as a school bus has, And yet still people run into them...
Thats just the way it is... And Its only gonna get worster...

[Ed Hobgood]

I have always been a defensive driver which is a MUST even more on a motorcycle. I think you are right on needing to watch out for the other drivers. Some of the increase is because there are more riders out there and the more riders the more the chances of getting hit by a car. The bottom line is you need to watch out for the other guy and be as careful as you can. Ride safe and have fun.

[Rosy]

Motorcycling here has stayed about the same. Most of the accidents are what I call self induced, like DUI, speeding, but you do have the hits.
Like all my life, you have to drive very..very defensibly or you can get in trouble.
Most problems we are having in NH and towns are drug overdoses, like about 6 in Dover so far...That is very sad, because law inforcement should do more, but again, with budgets being cut, it is very difficult.
NH is also cracking down on loud pipes and will pull you over and check noise levels.
We do have a no hands on law when driving, and the are doing something about it to enforce it. The other day they pulled 106 people over in one town alone.
I believe our town is pretty safe if you drive a trike/bike.
Rosy

[Sidecarbill]

I don't c much of what ur talking about. Texting is a problem. Around here bikers like 2 kill themselves. High point mountain is some kind of timed run. Couple sportbikers usually crash big time. And the other only a couple miles away is the hawks nest on rt 97. Very unforgiving roads.

[rhino 2]

I don't c much of what ur talking about. Texting is a problem. Around here bikers like 2 kill themselves. High point mountain is some kind of timed run. Couple sportbikers usually crash big time. And the other only a couple miles away is the hawks nest on rt 97. Very unforgiving roads.

The Hawks Nest... I go though there a dozen times a year, Cliffs on one side, and a 3 hundred foot drop off into the Delaware on the other side, If your not careful the curves will hypnotize you and down you'll go..

[Peter A.]

Agree100%
Careless and in-attentative drivers are VERY PREVELANT here in sunny California and I put
much of the blame on our wonderful government -
The state legislators have virtually done away with any/all drivers education - this with handing out of
licenses to ILLEGALS/lack of respect for fellow drivers, etc. will do US ALL IN eventually.......d-- Jerry Brown!

[rhino 2]

Just to add.... Most people are in such a hurry to get somewhere fast..That i'll bet that if their Doctor said to them that they only have 6 months left to live... They would probably say, Don't worry doc....
I can do it in 3 months...

[Catfish]

The number one thing I experience in this area are people pulling out in front of you from a side street into thru traffic. In Illinois in you run into the back of another vehicle you are automatically at fault. That basically makes every cross section a four way stop or at least a slowing of speed. If they have enough room to get their ass facing you they'll do it in a heart beat. People take extreme advantage of such a law, and as been stated previously in this thread, everyone seems to be in a hurry to get to their destination. Defensive driving is a must with complete focus.

[LadyonaMission]

Defensive driving is a must with complete focus.

The outlet mall in San Marcos, TX is a refresher course in defensive driving. You don't even have to exit IH35 unless you want the graduate degree.

[tomg]

Personally I feel it is more to do with our wonderful justice system. There doesn't seam to be much of a consequence for just about any law broken these days so the offenders just don't care. They break the law and are out on the streets faster than it took to get them in jail to begin with. If you stole John Wayne's horse, they would hang you when caught, now you steel a vehicle 20 times and still don't do any hard time in the slammer!! Just how bad does it have to get before we wake up??

Tomg

[Mykneesbehurtin]

They other day i was talking with a buddy of mine who hauls asphalt for a large road construction company.As he was waiting for his turn to back into the paving machine he was stopped next to the flag girl.There was a young woman in her car waiting to get thru,well she must have figured out that she had been waiting to long,so she starts blowing her horn then yelling at the flagger that she couldnt holder her up she wasn't the police.Well the flagger ignores her ,this just makes her more pissed so she rolls up and just lightly bumps the flagger with her car the flag girl steps forward so she bumps her again.He said that it seemed like just seconds there was a cop there and they pulled the woman from her car cuffed her and stuffed her then had her car towed.What is wrong with people now days that they feel that they are so special that rules don't apply to them.This woman could be facing assault with a deadly weapons charge and on a highway worker at that.

[consitter]

They other day i was talking with a buddy of mine who hauls asphalt for a large road construction company.As he was waiting for his turn to back into the paving machine he was stopped next to the flag girl.There was a young woman in her car waiting to get thru,well she must have figured out that she had been waiting to long,so she starts blowing her horn then yelling at the flagger that she couldnt holder her up she wasn't the police.Well the flagger ignores her ,this just makes her more pissed so she rolls up and just lightly bumps the flagger with her car the flag girl steps forward so she bumps her again.He said that it seemed like just seconds there was a cop there and they pulled the woman from her car cuffed her and stuffed her then had her car towed.What is wrong with people now days that they feel that they are so special that rules don't apply to them.This woman could be facing assault with a deadly weapons charge and on a highway worker at that.

They should have put her UNDER the jail.

[Gorilla]

Oh I wish I had gotten that call. Assault with a deadly weapon. Failure to obey a traffic control device. Here her car could be seized if it was used in the commission of a felony. But that would be only if she owned it not the finance company. All though we would take it if the payoff was low enough.

[bustedwing]

I've seen the same thing happen in the ritzy area of Boca in Florida. I was down there after a hurricane doing clean up and the truck is a huge logging truck. Those people were happy to see you when you picked up the trees off their lawns, but after that they were mad as hell because you were stopping traffic or backing up from a spot only a Beemer could fit in! But after an attitude adjustment, they made room!!

[Bigfoot21075]

As a motorcycle rider in the DC/Baltimore metro area for the last 38 years I can tell you it has changed around here. We now have eclipsed LA for the worst traffic and there are some looney drivers out there. That said, there have always been looney drivers out there. I have never had a problem that I was not able to avoid or did not cause myself in all that time. I always ride like I am invisible. I am just used to it now. I always watch my 6 for the teenage bimbo texting on her damn phone who is not going to stop at the light or whoever. I always leave an escape route and have had to use it in stop and go and at lights. There are more people here now, but it is still the same for safety IMHO.

Cars are MUCH more safe than just 2 decades ago. Almost all have anti lock brakes, great suspensions and some sort of traction control. That keeps idiots more in control after they do stupid things. There are more DWI's but they enforce those laws MUCH more these days, so the % of DWI drivers is probably lower. Heck some cars are now coming with radar to avoid accidents.

I still ride like I am invisible, yes someone could cross over the line or whatever and get me but I could also fall in the shower and die. I have decided a long time ago do what you love just do it as safely as you can.

[brianl]

I live in Massachusetts and people have always been too aggressive here but it's getting worse. It's not just people playing with their phones but people purposely cutting you off because they know if they get hit by a bike, nothing will happen to them. They tend to back off when they try to pass me in my pickup truck because they know it won't end well for them, and it won't.

[Uncle Willie]

One additional thing: I've trained newbies
(I've been in LE for over 4 decades) when either in a car or on a bike or Trike: when approaching an intersection, cross street or
driveway with a vehicle sitting there look closely at the wheels of the vehicle, if they show movement your brain will process that
quicker than the visual cues from the entire vehicle starting to move.
It could be just enough to keep you and/or
someone else from not having a good day.
We passed laws here last year against texting
etc. from what I've seen most of these violators seem to think they are above the law
and their messages are more important than someone else's life.

UNCLE WILLIE

[Sidecarbill]

Two things I really hate tinted windows and a couple years back they had wheels that kept spinning when you're stopped. Tinted windows are a pain because you can't see what the driver is looking at. When someone pulls up to an intersection looking to the right I'm wary, the first car you're gonna hit is on the left.