Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Why Not Vehicular Homicide?

Well Dude, this "piece of sh*t"(I would have been just FINE with "asshat", ya know) certaining didn't MEAN to insult you by disagreeing with ya bud. I'm just pointing out that more times than not, the "Blame Game"(yeah...I HATE that friggin' expression TOO, but it kind of filled the bill in this case) is pretty much moot or unneccessary if the motorcyclist never forgets that they are gonna be the person most affected(i.e. HURT) if they're not constantly on guard for almost every little quirky manuever those cagers constantly perform out there on the road.

And IF those cagers WILLFULLY ENDANGER others(especially ME) by drinking to excess(or as in Larry's account of those punks purposely running lights...though a RARE occurance, I'm sure)...then...THROW THE FRIGGIN' BOOK AT 'EM!!!!

Dwight, stop with the "this piece of sh*t" stuff. You know I wasn't referring specifically to you. Yet.

That said, I still don't know where you come down on that specific example. It sounds like you want to blame the biker (at least partially) because (we can infer) that he didn't slow down and anticipate that the woman would pull out in front of him.

Is that the case?

And the law is all about "the blame game" which I know is hard for a lefty moral relativist to grasp.

Well, THIS "lefty moral relativist"(come to think of it, I THINK I'd preferred the "piece of sh*t" tag BETTER, ol' buddy...might just be a liitle more accurate in my case) must admit that you are right! Just like the guy who didn't notice the telltale signs that that lady was about to do something reeeeeally out of the ordinary.

Yep! He was "right" too.(you know where THIS is going, don't cha?)..."DEAD RIGHT"!!!

As a motorcycle, the lion's share of resposibility of (in the immortal words of the Brothers Gibb) staying alive, is OUR'S.

(gee...that word sounds downright "conservative" in nature, don't it?..."responsibility"?!)

So, you drive 5-10mph past all parked cars just in case there might be a clueless cager inside, ready to pounce on you? Do you stop and yield right of way to every oncoming vehicle just in case they might turn left in front of you?

I don't "stop" per se, John, but I sure as heck slow slightly and put my two fingers on the front brake lever whenever I come towards intersections that have anybody coming the opposite way in the left turn lane, and I use my peripheral vision to check for cross-traffic as I come towards them too. If it's a "blind" intersection that I'm coming up on, I especially slow down until I make sure that there are no cars violating my right-of-way.

And, I try to stay as left as possible(or in the left lane, if I'm riding down a road with parked cars if there are two lanes going in my direction.

You used to live in the environs of L.A., didn't ya?! I'm sure you remember most of the more dangerous situations that a motorcyclist can encounter with all these cars around here.

Every day of the week I see motorcyclist "practicing" ill-advised manuevering on their bikes, in situations where they should observe an addition amount of awareness, but they don't, because I'm guessing that they feel that they have the right-of-way. And I think to myself, every single time..."these guys are headed for a ride in the ambulence, very soon."

I'm not saying that I wouldn't be pissed about someone interferring with MY right-of-way and causing me to crash(and it can happen...and THAT'S one of the reasons I feel people who don't wear their helmets are what YOU might call "asshats" for not accepting this possiblility), but I try as much as I can to stack the odds in my favor whenever I choose to ride these fun, but potentially dangerous contraptions, and I often note my fellow motorcyclist failing to this very thing out there, especially when they feel that they have the "right-o-way".

And so, I believe it's not always the cagers singular "fault" whenever I see some rider down.

I'm thinking every day I walk out my front door I am taking on risks. Some larger than others. We are always doing risk assessment and risk management. As a motorcylist I truly enjoy all the rewards of a nice ride but I must accept the increased risks. (or quit riding). I figure I can only try to manage and minimize those inherent risks as much as possible. Speaking of risk assesments below are some interesting stats from a Stanford study... I particulaly like the statistic near the bottom that refers to; 20 minutes being a man aged 60. (ouch!)

Bob


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Comparative Probability of Death by doing different activities:

(Taken from a From a Stanford study)

Units of deaths per billion- with one hour of risk exposure:

Being vaccinated: 1.3
Exposure to radiation in a two hr. high altitude flight during a solor flare: 2.5
Living in an area where snakes are present: 3.8
Radiation exposure of world population to a local nuclear conflict: 5.0
(areas away from conflict)
Rail or bus travel (USA): 10.0
Rail or bus travel (Britain): 50
Child asleep in crib: 140
Being struck by lightning: 200
Coal mining (Britain): 400
Amateur Boxing (Britain) : 450
Climbing Stairs: 550
Coal Mining (USA): 910
Hunting: 950
Automobile Travel: 1200
Air travel: 1450
Cigarette Smoking: 2600
Small boat boating: 3000
Motor scooter riding (Britain): 3000
Swimming: 3650
Motorcycle riding: (Canada)- 4420, (USA)-6280, (Br.):-6600
Serving in Armed Forces in Vietnam: 7935
Canoeing: 10000
Motorcycle racing: 35000
Alpine Mountaineering: 40000
Professional Boxing: 70000
Being born: 80000


One in a million risk of death from the following:
1.5 cigarettes
driving 50 miles
flying 250 miles
1.5 minutes of rock climbing
6 minutes of canoeing
20 minutes being a man aged 60
1-2 weeks of typical factory work