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Pulled off the Sport-Tour board. An article about lane sharing. I wish it were legal everywhere.
Article - News - Cycling tragedies are too frequent
Brandon Garcia joked that he read too much and listened to way too much music. He worked for a carpet-cleaning company in Mission Viejo. He was a DJ and a part-time youth pastor. And he rode a motorcycle. On June 14, Garcia died riding that motorcycle. He was 23.
Garcia was splitting lanes in heavy morning traffic on Beach Boulevard in Buena Park when he tried to maneuver past a big rig. His handlebars caught on the side of the semi, sending Garcia and his motorcycle careening into a Mercedes. Garcia bounced off the Mercedes and under the semi. Garcia wasn't speeding. He wasn't drinking. But he died.
Also called lane-sharing, it's the practice of motorcyclists of moving between stopped or slow traffic traveling in the same direction. It's legal – but for many drivers, it's annoying. For motorcyclists, it's dangerous.
If you've ever tried to escape the O.C. anytime after 3 p.m., you've probably watched a clinic in lane-splitting. Kawasakis, Suzukis, Harley-Davidsons cruising past the SUVs stacked up bumper-to-bumper through the Orange Crush. Admit it, we've all had times sitting in traffic jams where we wished the four-door we were driving was magically transformed into a hog so we could head for the open road, leaving everyone else – and their sensible cars – in the dust.
But that nimbleness comes at a price. Most drivers lumber down the highway encased in thousands of pounds of steel. Their vehicles have four stable wheels. But motorcyclists are exposed to all the elements. The only thing between them and the asphalt is a short drop and a leather jacket – or a T-shirt.
Motorcycle rider fatalities accounted for 10 percent of the 43,200 total deaths from motor vehicle crashes in 2005 – even though motorcycles made up just over 2.5 percent of all registered vehicles in the United States. It also marked the eighth straight year the number of motorcycle fatalities went up.
With traffic getting worse, there are more motorcycles speeding off dealership lots and onto the roadways. Unless you own one, most drivers haven't been reminded of how to share the road with a motorcycle since they passed their first driver's test.
Next time when you see a motorcycle cruising by as you're stopped in traffic, keep these tips from the DMV in mind.
•When you change lanes or make a turn, look for motorcycles. Motorcycles can easily disappear into a vehicle's blind spots.
•Allow a four-second following distance – just in case a motorcyclist falls in front of you.
•Things that annoy you – like potholes, gravel, and wet or slippery surfaces – could be deadly for motorcyclists. So look out.
And don't think of it as a motorcycle – think of it as a person.
I think she got it right...except for this
Admit it, we've all had times sitting in traffic jams where we wished the four-door we were driving was magically transformed into a hog
I wish the four-door I driving could be magically transformed into a CAT D9
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