May God bless and help Mr. Baggett’s family through what must be a very difficult time--my sincerest prayers for his transcendence to be with our Lord and Savior.
That was a great point made regarding us being cage drivers as well as bikers. I can say riding motorcycles has made me a safer driver, for both types. The lesson of looking over our shoulder before changing lanes was the most valuable. We can’t trust the mirrors and unless I know exactly what is going on in the lane I’m moving into, I’m looking back, in the car and on the bike. It has prevented a number of what would have been close calls or chance meetings.
This is not MC related, but same context. Just this week a kid ran over a father and his two little girls riding bicycles on the sidewalk in Concord, CA. The father and one of the daughters were killed instantly and the other was injured seriously. The authorities are investigating what he was doing when he lost control of his parent’s SUV. I suspect texting, but that remains to be heard.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=8613692While the statistics for so many areas of safety on the motorways have improved, the smart phones have created a digital monster that some just seem to be unable to put away. The cellphones were bad, but smartphones are like having a mini-computer in your hands available all times. Scary thinking a teen is not only an inexperienced driver, but distracted too. They are a serious danger to all.
When riding on an open highway or city street where cars can make left turns into our path, assume they will -- it might save your life. I’ve held the philosophy for over 35 years no one else can see me on the road. They might hear me, or not; but I assume I’m invisible. Therefore, they will try to enter my space and I’m ready to evade them, looking for an out and into a safer position. A car moves over, I move over and of course let them know I’m there, or was. Almost all the time I get a “sorry” from them, but even so, I’m free to move on without incident. Maintaining a defensive posture has kept me from having a collision with other vehicles for many years. Hope my luck holds, as well as yours.
Stay safe friends.