Biker with Road Rage loses his cool and his life...

[xcel]

NEVER let your emotions take over when riding

Andrew Blankstein - LA Times - Aug. 12, 2009

A Ventura County motorcyclist died in a collision with an RV on Highway 101 in what California Highway Patrol officials described Tuesday as a road rage incident.

A witness told investigators that the motorcyclist made obscene gestures before suddenly pulling in front of the larger vehicle and slamming on the brakes, said CHP Officer Terry Uhrich. The rear wheel of motorcycle got caught under the front right bumper of the RV, which lost control and slammed into the center divider, he said.

The biker, 57 was pronounced dead at the scene. Uhrich noted that the biker was wearing a so-called skull cap which partially covered his head but is not certified and did not provide protection in the event of collision.

Commentary:

Originally Posted by Don’t be a part of the problem

This time it was a cyclist, tomorrow it may be someone in a sports car or in a hummer, or a sedan. The bottom line is that many people in this area drive like complete idiots-- speeding, swerving, running lights, cutting off or getting too close to bikes and pedestrians, tailgating, making dangerous lane changes--and for what?? To get somewhere 4 seconds faster?? To prove that your vehicle can beat someone else's vehicle?? To let pedestrians/cyclists know that you "own" the road?? Just to be a bully??
Can you say that you always drive courteously, that you always let someone in, that you always use your signal, obey the laws when it comes to pedestrians, let it go when someone cuts in front of you...?
So this idiot lost his own life with his selfish, juvenile behavior. Tomorrow it will be someone else who injures or kills his or herself or someone else all because of impatience. It might even be you.

Originally Posted by Jill

Like bringing a knife to a gunfight...absolutely priceless! Sounds like natural selection to me.

Originally Posted by Internet Joe

Lovely article. Made my day. Hope they charge his estate for the cleanup and the damage to the RV.

Originally Posted by John

Umm, I guess the fact he tried this showed he waste wasting air when he was alive.
Oh by the way I love those brain buckets they wear on their heads to protect them.

Originally Posted by John Kuehne

Some comments seem to imply that somehow stupid and dangerous acts of road rage have something to do with motorcycles. In Austin many years ago I was almost killed when a driver of a truck pulled around me at high speed, yelling out his window. He got far ahead of me, stopped, and went into reverse! I just managed to pull my bicycle into the ditch to avoid being killed. He then roared off. I was not hogging the road, but this portion of Manchaca is very narrow, and he had to follow me for all of a ***few seconds***, and apparently this was the cause of his road rage. These criminal acts having nothing to do with what kind of vehicle you are on.

Originally Posted by Frank F.

Social Darwinism at its best.

Originally Posted by NZ

I will not brake for these losers. My car will provide me with enough protection. Just like another bug on the windshield.

Originally Posted by Bob

RV = 1, MC = 0
I like the little line at the bottom that he was wearing a "so-called skull cap". Was he wearing shorts and a tank-top also?
It's like a Chihuahua showing how tough he is to a Rottweiler...in the end the Rottweiler wins. You've got to admire his machismo though.

Originally Posted by gryphonisle

At 57, the biker was old enough to know better than to pull in front of an RV and slam on his brakes. It's a dumb thing to do to a larger vehicle in a car, but on a bike? And if he didn't like how the RV was driving (who does?) why didn't he just pass? Flipping someone off, how juvenile. Or maybe the biker was an elitist local who felt the highway was for bikers and not tourists in RVs. Oh well, this idiot got what he deserved, an idiot's death. As George W. Bush so often taught us: A brain is a terrible thing to waste.

Originally Posted by Alan

The tragedy in this story is the anguish undoubtedly suffered by the people in the RV.

Originally Posted by Windfall

But did the police ticket the biker for failing to wear a DOT approved helmet?

Originally Posted by GG

Winner of today's Darwin award.

Originally Posted by Jad

Smart. When I rode, I ALWAYS pulled in front of large, ungainly vehicles and stood on the brakes. Figured it would teach 'em a lesson. Something of a safety issue, you know, like loud pipes.

Originally Posted by Mike – Former MC Rider

Chickens coming home to roost/Thinning the herd...

Originally Posted by Jacob

It doesn't take a genius to figure out who's fault this was. He cuts in front of the RV and slams on his brakes? Suicide by RV!

Originally Posted by Mike

Sounds like the roads are a little bit safer than they were.

[JusBringIt]

I think he missed what happened to the last biker that had an encounter with a larger vehicle...

[Earthling]

It's a cinch he won't do that again.

One technique I use to be as good a defensive driver as possible is to read articles like this one and learn from them. It's much easier and less costly to learn from others' mistakes...

Reminder to self: bikes are small, RV's are big, road rage is dumb and can be fatal...

Harry

[Chuck]

Maybe he thought he could do it again like Wiley E Coyote.

Will there be a toxicology report to see if he was sober and just incredibly stupid?

[jhu]

So the gene pool is culled of one less idiot. That's always a good thing.

[Traal]

Passing a test for road rage should be required in order to get a license.

[Xringer]

A test for road rage?? Now that is a good idea.

I know how it could be done, but I'm not sure that it would be acceptable by the public.

[Chuck]

Originally Posted by Traal

Passing a test for road rage should be required in order to get a license.

Good idea, but how?

[Chuck]

Chances are he road raged before.

Not a perfect plan, but remove license for first offense of road rage for a month or so

[greenrider]

Another example of "thinning the herd" at it's finest. Why? Why? Why people!