Deadly Do-gooders

[dantama]

Here's a link to a story in SLC about people killed on a motorcycle.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4014912

On a major road (two lanes each direction) a car is traveling in the outside lane, followed by a bike with a passenger in the inside lane a short distance back.

At an intersection without a stop light, the car decides to stop and allow a car wanting to come in from a side street enter the road and turn left.

Bike doesn't see the car entering and vice versa. Bike hits car broadside and kills rider.

I hate it when cars play the good samaritan game and mess up traffic. Even when cars give up the right of way and signal it to me, I hate it. If it's your turn to go.....GO.

Somebody wanting to spread a little cheer, then drive away with an ego boost proclaiming to themselves that they are such a kind person......killed a rider.

If you are supposed to go, then go. No stopping in a 40mph street to let side traffic go. If they side traffic has a hard time getting across, they can go down to a signaled intersection. They don't need your help.

If you have the right of way, don't give it away, it just messes things up.

Kind of a rant huh?

I walk ALOT....and refuse to go across the street when a car stops to "let" me...you never know when the car in back of him is going to crash into both of us...I've taught this to the kids too! The little one is usually with me walking...he's heard me MANY times call 'cagers' out loud "idiot!!!"...lol

[cactusjack]

Dan, your post made me think of something related to the "good samaritan" driver. You know when you are trying to pull out of a gas station or shopping center trying to turn left onto the main road in heavy traffic and there's always some dude who makes an opening for you and then motions that it's okay to pull through into traffic you can't see? That person is, in fact, directing traffic and can be held responsible if you get t-boned as you pull into traffic. I never signal to anyone else that it's safe for them to maneuver into traffic they can't see. I'll wave someone in ahead of me, but that's about it.

[dantama]

Cactus, same here. I'll leave a break in traffic when I'm already supposed to be stopped to let traffic in, but never, never, never would I stop when I'm expected to be moving like the car in the story did.

Your description did remind me of a time I was stopped on my bike one intersection back from a light, double lanes. I was in the front spot of the second intersection, and the car next to me also stopped (traffic was heavy and backed up past the second non signal intersection).

Oncoming traffic was moving about 35mph and a car from my right pulled out. I expected her to pause and look for traffic coming traffic from the right. Somehow she must have thought that because we were stopped, oncoming would be stopped too, and she just kept on going.

She got creamed and one of their bumpers came to rest up against my front tire.

I stayed and gave a witness statement, she tried to blame it on a phantom car that left the scene, I set the record straight.

This one didn't involve a "good samaritan" but like you described, somebody pulled into traffic that they couldn't see. It was a strange feeling for me to sit there and see it all, but it happened in less than a second from the time I thought she'd stop, till I knew she was getting creamed.

[bkmaxvrb]

Dan,

That's not a rant, by any means. That is one of my biggest pet peeves as well. I absolutely refuse to go when some chuckle-head, who has the right of way, stops to let me out. 9 times out of 10, there is a car right behind them that is going to go around on thier right. They don't see the car, but I do and I know it would have killed me, had I gone.

I stop, wait, listen to music, twiddle my thumbs, whatever.... but, I always wait for as long as I have to before they get pissed and do what they're supposed to which is proceed in accordance with the traffic rules of the road. I will admit, it sometimes gives me a little satisfaction to get them mad when all they're trying to do is be nice. NOT ALWAYS, but, once in awhile, when I'm in "a mood".

Anyway, like Dan and the others, it mostly just irritates me all to hell.

[cactusjack]

Dan,

Here's the same story as reported by the SL Tribune:

Motorcycle rider killed, passenger hurt
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 08/15/2008 12:20:14 PM MDT


One man died and another was critically injured in a motorcycle accident Thursday afternoon on Redwood Road, police said.
The accident occurred at about noon when a car attempted to turn left out of a mobile-home park at 705 S. Redwood Road, said Salt Lake City police Lt. Dave Hoffman. A northbound car stopped to allow the car to turn, but the motorcycle rider, also traveling north, did not see the car turning left and hit it.
The motorcycle crashed and caught on fire. The 28-year-old male rider became trapped and was killed. A 31-year-old male passenger suffered critical injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital.
The men's names and towns of residence were not released because their families had not been notified, Hoffman said.

[rksaw]

Great reminder. They may be nice, but they can't drive the other cars around them.

[mmartin]

When someone makes an opening for me I look at the traffic and if it is safe I wave at them and take the opening, if I don't think it's safe I wave at them thats it's OK and I will wait. Just because a person is trying to be nice does not mean they are looking for a ego boost. Lord knows what we need in this country is more people being nicer to each other.

[dantama]

I can see your point Martin, and I'm glad that some people are able to let people merge, pass, and not bock intersections etc. But when they are supposed to be moving, and they stop, it causes more danger than it does good.

When traffic is supposed to be moving 40mph and a car decides to stop in his lane to be good samaritan, it's too dangerous for whatever good they are trying to accomplish. Just keep moving, it is what everybody is expecting.

[flightdoc]

I'll let a car turn in from of me if traffic is creeping, otherwise no way. someone said something interesting earlier in this thread...that if you let someone cross in front of you or direct them to do that then you can be held responsible for directiong traffic? That would be an interesting question to pose to one of our police officer members? I was always under the impression that even if another drive allows you to turn...you are still responsible for avoiding other vehicles.
Anyone that works in law enforcement having an answer for this would be appreciated.

thanks

vin

[glwilson]

Seems to me that there should be some liability on the car alowing the other to enter the highway. In fact; I would almost be sure there would be if the deceased biker's family wanted to pursue this further. In Illinois, it has been illegal for quite a long time now to wave another car on around you on a two-lane highway.

Either way; really a bad situation all around.

[dougster]

Good points. But we have to keep in mind that we are "invisible" to the cars. That is, we have to ride like they do not see us.

Two things stood out from the article: First, the rider did not see the other car. We need to be looking for cars to come out of nowhere (I nearly got creamed by a guy coming into an alley the other day), and second, no helmets (IT is the better part of wisdom to to cover your head if it is possible you could hit it on something hard, like pavement).

[cactusjack]

I will let someone cut in under certain circumstances. If they are trying to pull out of a gas station or something, and it's near an intersection where traffic is backing up, I let them in. If it's due to their lack of consideration for others, trying to pass people on the right before their lane merges, for example. They can go pound sand. This is in my cage, mind you. I don't play head games with people when riding.

When we first moved here, a major freeway was under construction. There were 3 lanes merged down to one to get through the construction area. Instead of merging at the rear of the single lane, these a-holes would try to get up to the front and cut in. I've seen people stop diagonally to block these folks from going any further. It's frustrating to deal with these jerks who feel their time is more important than everyone else's. Sure, you may be Mr. Big Shot at work, but when you get behind the wheel - you become Mr. Just-Like-Everyone-Else.