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2 Bikes Wreck in KC
Sgt.B	I saw on the news this morning that two men on bikes lost their lives last night when a pickup pulled out in an intersection. The policeman on TV stated that the bikes had forfieted their right of way due to the fact that they were speeding. This was the end of the report. Now it makes you wonder if this would have been the casew if a mother and her child were killed due to someone pulling out in front of them? It seems to me that there must be more going on here than simply two bikers wrecking due to speeding. It was at night and they would have had headlights on. The street they were on is virtually flat and straight so the driver of the pickup should have seen them not matter how fast they were going. Thesee are just my thoughts and Ill post more If I learn more about the incodent.
Jim	I hate to be cynical about this but: IMHO it is S.S.D.D.. Same Sh** Different Day! The non motorcycle riding public looks upon us, ALL of us, as lower than a snakes belly in a wagon rut in Death Valley. Thanks to Hollywood and the image WE present to them, they think that we are all outlaws and gangsters. I don't have any answers, but we gotta do something. All the charity runs and toy drives haven't done it. Maybe a small cannon on the front fender? Jim AMA Ironbutt Association Jimmy is not very sharing and does not play well with others First grade report card 19--
KCLu	What age people were the riders? And what kind of bikes were they riding? I agree with you B, if it were a woman and a baby in an SUV going 100 mph and someone pulled out in front of her, it would be all over the news about the drunk that killed an innocent child & its mother. Did they mention the state of sobriety in the assault vehicle's driver? And what about the bikers? Any more info on that? And B, did you get the names of the bikers? Ride safe & Sparkly! Lu
Retro	Actually, not to be disrespectful to the guys who died, but they were both going in excess of 100mph in a 35mph zone. These are the kind of dipsh!ts that give bikers a bad name. These guys are the reason that legislators think they need to "protect" us with stricter helmet laws, clothing laws, and any other law that might save our lives. I have no sympathy for idiots who ride through the middle of town popping wheelies or racing through a heavily populated section of town at 100mph... I end every one of my posts with the same thing....this time it is different... Ride safe or don't freakin ride at all! Retro "Life may begin at 30, but it get's real interesting around 150."
FXSB	I agree retro, there is a term for these type of actions. "Nature weeding out the stupid" "Gray-hair bikers don't get that way by accident"
Retro	Darwinism at its finest.... Ride safe! Retro "Life may begin at 30, but it get's real interesting around 150."
KCLu	They get a little scsry sometimes. I was pretty freaked out at a ride a couple of weeks ago when some guys were splitting the lane that I was already sharing. It really pissed me off, here we were on a ride, with about 4-5,000 bikers and we have fellow riders acting like jack asses putting everyone's life on the line. I didn't feel safe on that ride, and I probably won't go on any more big rides. Unfortunately, I think maybe rides need to be more closely policed by the ride presenters and promoters. I feel it is my duty to be MORE careful when I'm riding in a group, and when I'm in a poisition to be representing the biker community. These guys n this ride, and the ones who were speeding last night weren't donig any of us a favor. I feel sad for their families. Ride safe & Sparkly! Lu
dusty	FYI - news story portion... ============= ...The accident happened at 78th Street and Troost Avenue. Witnesses at the scene reported that two motorcycles were northbound on Troost at a high rate of speed when a southbound pickup truck began to make a left turn onto eastbound 78th Street. Both motorcycles struck the passenger side of the pickup truck. Both men on the motorcycles were killed. The people inside the pickup truck were not hurt. Police identified the victims as Michael D. Byrd, 26, and Charles Vanoy, 32. Both victims were wearing helmets. ================ - Dusty www.hkrause.com/bike
rwd407	two people died. and that sucks for everyone who has to deal with it... that said, I couldn't agree more with Retro's closing sentiment... "Ride safe or don't freakin' ride at all!!"... In fact that outta be the newest most popular helmet sticker... Oh well,, "Thining of the herd"..... Ron 2002 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic.
KCLu	Thanx for the info dusty... anyone know these men? Ride safe & Sparkly! Lu
bear	It is a shame that two young men lost their lives acting stupid, sorry but thats what that was, now for a answer to part of the problem, this actually happened I was there...We were on a Poker run last year, and of course we sort of went at different speeds, not a race mind you but anyway some guys thought it was...well a couple young men, remember anybody under 50 is young to me, started to act up, doing stupid things, like passing groups in a no passing zone, going well over 100 mph and such, weaving and bobing in a group, all very dangreus things, a lot of us had grandchildren and children with us...At one stop a couple old graybeards tried to talk some sence into the younger guys heads, well that went as far as a ice cube in a forest fire with the kids, so at the next stop the two old graybeards went up to the younger guys, knocked them off their bikes and threw their keys into a cornfield, sound harce, maybe, maybe not..might have saved their lives, might have saved some-one else life, who knows, I did note that when the FOG's did it they got a round of applause from the rest of the group, what do you think, maybe, just maybe we need to start to do this kind of stuff FOR the young and dangrous, and we would start to look good to the public...one thing I hate to hear when someone dies on a bike is, so what it's just another biker that died...not cool......... Joe [the bear] noli illegitimi carborundum
Sgt.B	Well, hmmm. While I agree that its to bad to have people driving like fools and acting crazy it still a shame that the two guys had to die this way. To me its still a bit odd, Ive watched two channel and read a newspaper article and the witness statement were that they were going really fast. Well everyone I know who doesnt ride a motorcycle thinks everyone on a motorcycle is going really fast. There was not police on the scene befor the accident just pedestrians. Now I'm not disputing the fact that they may have been speeding but I still believe the man in the truck has some resposibility in not ensuring he was clear befor making the left turn. I know legally they lost the right of way due to speeding. I do have to say though that it makes you wonder how fast they were going. They were not young men by any means and their bikes were not crotch rockets but cruisers. They were both wearing helmets in a state with no helmet law. To me I think it bears looking into a bit more. I hate to think that It was me and someone just got off because a bystander said I was going to fast. When did they start putting radar guns on the tables at resteraunts anyway. Lood pipes as said to save lives, in this case I think its more a case of loud pipes make it seam like they were going faster than the may have been. As I ride to work daily on the same roads these two were killed on I feel a little less safe due to the fact that pedestrians here in KC have been give an green light to pull out in front of any bike that is deemed to be going to fast. Hell, they already run you off of the road at any given time. And since when does anyone go the speed limit on troost after the sun goes down?
Retro	Hey B....I think you're watching a different news channel than me. The bikes were both bright yellow crotch rockets and although they were wearing helmets, Missouri is a helmet law state. http://www.kctv5.com/Global/story.asp?S=947186&nav=1PuZBQ12 To see the whole story, go to the link above and click the "View Video" link. Now don't get me wrong...I'm all against cagers who pull out in front of motorcycles, but think about this. Suppose your the guy in the truck turning left out of a parking lot onto a four-lane street. You look down the street and see a pair of headlights coming at you a half a mile down the road. At 40 miles an hour, these headlights won't reach you for about 35 seconds ( -- plenty of time to pull out and be safely in the other lane...right??) Now suppose those headlights are doing twice that, buty since it's dark you don't know how fast they're going and you do what the rest of us do and make the turn based on the assumption that they are doing the speed limit. You now only have 17 seconds to get out and clear traffic. How about 100 miles an hour...now you only have 13 seconds. The problem is that you are making your turn assuming that you have 35 seconds to make a turn in only half that time. That's why these guys T-Boned the truck. He was only half way through his turn when he got hammered. Just look at the huge dent in the side of that truck. That's no fiberglass car..that's a Ford truck and it has a HUGE dent in the side of it. Again...it sucks that they guys died, but racing around in populated areas, they're lucky they didn't kill someone else. Ride safe! Retro "Life may begin at 30, but it get's real interesting around 150."
Sgt.B	Your right, Im getting Kansas Mixed up with Missouri now. And the channel I watched the bikes liked like cruisers. By the way I understand the theory behind speed and the time it take to make a turn. But I still do not like the fact that the police announced the fact that the speeders gave up their rights. I think they should have investigated the incodent more befor they made any determination on charges or statements. Owell, maybe Im just a bit proactive when it comes to motorcycles always getting the blame for any accident they are involved in. It seems to be too common. The shame of this is that two men are dead and motorcyclists are not getting any one bit the better for it. I guess its easy to say if you cant ride safe dont ride but maybe instead of that we should draw attention to the fact that not all motorcyclist are the same. And the only way to do this is to have the news and police agencies out there give more detailed reports. Not two nights earlier I saw the same channels give a report about some bike gathering in North Kansas City, the footage shot there was of crotch rockets hot dogging and messing around. The news anchors thought it was the greatest thing going. What they failed to point out was the fact that the riders were not only breaking the law but neither did they have on protective gear. How many news reports did anyone see about the Bikers for Babies ride in KC? I saw none. Why dont they report on an event like that as much as they report on the people who have accidents or are out showing off.
Retro	You're absolutely right in the point that our news outlets just loooove to point out everything that's wrong with riding a motorcycle. Seems like someone has to die before bikers get press. I, too, was pretty unimpressed with the coverage of Bikers for Babies. 5,000 bikers show up and bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars for a great cause and some news outlets don't even give a 15 second blurb.... Oh well, I guess so long as we're doing good...to hell with the media ! Ride safe! Retro "Life may begin at 30, but it get's real interesting around 150."
KCLu	I think that if an old ladies sewing circle got together and raised 50 bux for the March of Dimes they would have gotten press... just my opinion. I'm still a little ticked that there was a band of about 12 crotch rockets on that ride making us all look like maniacs anyway, so I may be a little biased about sport bikers right now. Ride safe & Sparkly! Lu
John Bennett	Like Sgt.B, I was initially angry about a truck pulling in front of bikes. I don't believe there is anything such as "giving up your right-of-way" like the cop said in the video. However, the wreck was certainly not the truck driver's fault. ========================================== Click here to visit the Lufkin, Texas MC Group!
dusty	Sure is a terrible shame about the riders. Unfortunately, their actions will end up adversely affecting a great many people around them. The family members must be sickened by the waste of lives dear to them. There might be kids left without a father, wives without husbands. As several people mentioned, it's another black eye to bikers everywhere. Imagine the horrible ordeal of emergency workers having to scrape pieces of body from around the accident scene. And the truck driver will probably be traumatized and suffer terrible feelings of guilt and anger for months or even years to come, not to mention that his vehicle is probably trashed by someone's concept of "fun." - Dusty I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific!
bjojr	KC states:[I'm still a little ticked that there was a band of about 12 crotch rockets on that ride making us all look like maniacs anyway, so I may be a little biased about sport bikers right now.] Well theres's "BAD" in all types of riders, in the 60's no one cared about the "fast" guys on cafe racers as the "Bikers" did all the BAD things and got the heavy press. Nowadays the "Bikers" are seen as angels and race replica riders as a danger to the public, SIGH! Will it never end, it doesn't matter what you ride, if your being a idiot or causing problems it's BAD for all us that RIDE! Riding on public street's at that mph. is just plain stupid, just like riding down to the BAR and drinking and then riding home. There's always a chance someone is gona get hurt. All the rest of us can do is try to be good citizen's and don't cause too much greif. There's always gona be some moron, with a flash bike doing wheelies or a chopper with "straight pipes", rev'in the motor at 2AM. They paid the "ultament" price for their stupidity, nothing we do or say will change the outcome. Ride Often & Enjoy Life More! BJ Ondo 95 ZG1000 Concours Colorado Springs, CO.