Do to a recent local accident I feel compelled to address this issue about group riding.
A couple of weeks ago there was a group ride heading north on I-5 and enjoying the day. Along the way another rider attempted to join the group, in the middle of the group, which resulted in a three bike pile-up and sent all three riders to the hospital with injuries. One rider was treated and released, one was critically injured and the third was in intensive care.
When joining a group ride, while in progress, wait until the group passes and then follow from the rear. Wait until invited to pass the tail gunner and then join the pack.
More and more articles are in the headlines about older riders riding bigger bikes resulting in more fatal accidents. They do not address how many may have been caused by auto’s or trucks but only that motorcycles were involved. They further state that most fatal accidents are caused by riders going into curves too fast to negotiate. They fail to address the dangers that exist in intersections.
They reported that in 2005 there were 6.1 million registered motorcycles in the U.S. and 108,958 of them were in Oregon. They go on to say that there were 43 motorcycle deaths in Oregon last year. They don’t say how many were related to alcohol or were involved with automobiles.
Constant awareness is a must to safely ride a motorcycle on our highways. It’s easy to just sit back, enjoy the breeze, smell the air, take in the scenery and forget about your surroundings but that is dangerous. It’s better to pull over, get off the bike, stretch and enjoy the surroundings. This will help to keep you more alert and be safer at the same time. A safe ride is a good ride. We want to talk to you and not about you.
Roads can be slick this time of year so be cautious, Don