Saturday, October 3, 2009

Fatal motorcycle crash in Georgia

WALB-TV in Albany, Georgia reported a fatal motorcycle crash occuring October 1, at about 5:30 PM, the second motorcycle fatality there this week, and the fifth in the last five months.

A 57-year-old man was riding southbound on Liberty Expressway. As he neared the intersection with Antioch Road, a driver of a pickup truck pulled out in front of the motorcyclist. The intense collision between truck and motorcycle was severe enough to break the truck's drive shaft.

The motorcyclist was alive, still wearing his helmet, when the ambulance arrived, but he died about 20 minutes later.

The driver of the pickup stated that he entered the intersection just after another vehicle had turned in front of him, blocking his view of any oncoming traffic.

Read the article: http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=11243364

Lessons Learned



Primary fault for the accident obviously goes to the driver of the pickup truck, but we must admit the motorcyclist neglected several essential defensive riding tactics.

Scan for potential hazards: look as far ahead as possible...identify hazards well before you get near them. The sequence of one car turning in front of a hidden second car, and the motorcyclist ramming into that second car, means the motorcyclist was not slowing for the first vehicle...he was counting on the road being clear after the first car made his turn...but it was not, and he didn't have time to avoid it.

Ride defensively...assume traffic is crazy and liable to act in unpredictable ways.

The fact that there had been at least one fatality every month for five months running probably meant little to the motorcyclist. Of all people, perhaps motorcyclists are most notorious for thinking "It'll never happen to me!"

No comments:

Post a Comment