According to Rome City Police, the driver of the vehicle apparently stopped at the traffic light on Sherwood Road before making a right-hand turn onto Shorter Avenue without noticing the approaching motorcycle.
The motorcycle flipped and slid along the roadway for a long distance, causing the cycle’s engine to rupture.
A significant amount of oil spilled onto Shorter Avenue, warranting a call for the Rome-Floyd County Fire Department to clean the roadway of the oil.
The driver of the motorcycle was transported to Floyd Medical Center, where his condition remains unknown at this time.
http://www.romenewswire.com/index.php/2009/09/29/motorcycle-wreck-injures-man-on-shorter-avenue/
Lesson Learned
We can rant against oblivious cagers who cut us off or turn in front of us, but at the end of the day what good does ranting do? More effective than ranting is defensive riding.
I'm not at all blaming the rider in this tragedy for the accident...I'm just using the news as a reminder of what I want to do as a rider.
A car waiting at an intersection ahead of you should raise a red flag...What's he going to do? Watch his tires closely...it's easier to see movement in the tires before you can detect his vehicle starting forward.
I once spotted a driver start to edge his car into the intersection before I had passed...it startled me and I stopped before entering the intersection. He waved at me, signalling me to go on ahead, but I shook my head and just waited. After hesitation he proceeded, turning into my lane of traffic and left, shaking his head. I interpreted that as exasperation at me for being overly careful, but I'm glad I was.
Drivers tend to edge into the intersection early, anticipating the delay it will take them to get up to speed to enter the traffic flow. This makes sense, but it's also very hard to detect whether they are timing their entry or ignoring me! I like to ride on the defensive side, assuming that drivers are either out to get me or at the least, ignoring me.
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