Author Topic: Rider killed by grass clippings  (Read 7459 times)

Offline Muzz

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #30 on: June 16, 2019, 04:17:59 PM »
If you have sheep, you wont need to mow the grass and risk a road accident.....  :wink:


 :embarrassed: oh oh.

That looks like rural NZ. :grin:

Fairly regular occurrence out here.
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Offline Guzzistajohn

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #31 on: June 16, 2019, 04:57:51 PM »
That looks like rural NZ. :grin:

Fairly regular occurrence out here.
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Offline roadscum

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #32 on: June 16, 2019, 06:56:51 PM »
Seems to me grass clipping are pretty obvious and can easily be avoided,at the least, slow down and ride over them carefully.  I blame the rider for this one, not the grass clippings.

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Offline Sykestone8886

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #33 on: June 18, 2019, 05:30:17 PM »
I agree grass clippings or for that matter any yard waste should not be blown out on the roadway. But also I wish this country would get serious about cell phone use while driving. It seems like every time I'm out for a ride somebody is trying to kill me. The technology is there. Where I worked we had hand held computers ( basically a big cell phone) when the vehicle was moving the device wouldn't work. How many innocent people have to die or seriously hurt ? Rant over !!!
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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #33 on: June 18, 2019, 05:30:17 PM »

Offline Lannis

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #34 on: June 18, 2019, 07:03:25 PM »
How many innocent people have to die or seriously hurt ? Rant over !!!

Rant continued on your behalf .... Innocent people will continue to die until the use of cell phones and texters while driving becomes "socially unacceptable", like drunk driving has become relative to the 1960s.  Very few people defend drunk driving today, although addicts continue to do it.

No laws are going to help as long as a large majority of the people on the road believe it is WRONG to risk other people's lives for their own pleasure, or because us little people can't possibly understand how f****** VALUABLE their time is relative to the value of your life.   

Police do it, lawmakers and their families do it, and teenagers are dying by the thousands because their parents expect them to be able to "multitask" and take a call while they're driving.

Don't know what it will take.   The butcher's bill is in the tens of thousands already over the last few years, but it's only getting worse.

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #35 on: June 18, 2019, 07:21:05 PM »
 Rant continued....About 10,000 people a year are killed by drunk drivers, many times that suffer life changing injuries...Yet we raise a beer in toast to certain statements like the badge of honor...

Offline twowheeladdict

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #36 on: June 18, 2019, 07:30:36 PM »
Rest in Peace.  Her husband has to live with this tragedy for the rest of his life.  Hopefully the homeowner gets sued. 

Never heard of anyone losing control in grass clippings.  They must have been mighty wet and/or he over-reacted.
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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #37 on: June 18, 2019, 07:34:56 PM »
 Fellas , people die in all kinds of senseless ways , we might not want to go down that road . Thanks .

 Dusty

Offline Sykestone8886

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #38 on: June 18, 2019, 07:35:42 PM »
Ya it will probably never change in my lifetime.last wknd I had a young girl all most hit me head on. I could literally see her face buried in the cell phone , I felt like chasing her down and give her a piece of my mind , but I pulled over took a deep breath , cooled down rode home and parked the bike for the day. It's un freakn believable out there. Sometimes I just want to hang up my riding boots.
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Offline Tom

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #39 on: June 18, 2019, 07:57:10 PM »
I'll take grass clippings over mangoes any day of the week.  Summer time when the mango trees fruit out and drop, loads of highway action in a turn. :shocked:
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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #40 on: June 18, 2019, 08:29:18 PM »
Let’s face the cold hard truth. Yes motorcycle riders are often killed or injured due to the actions of other motorists. That being said. As a retired LEO I take interest in every motorcycle death that I read about and take the time to read the entire content including any information offered by the officers investigation and you know what the majority of the time the cause of the accident was contributed to.... you guessed it speed and alcohol. Just the difference in traveling the speed limit and just 5 MPH over can be the difference in colliding with a car which turns in front of you or being able to avoid it. When ridding in  congested traffic conditions one cannot be to too high of alert, expect the unexpected. The fact is this, although yes sometimes accidents happen, that’s life and sometimes simply out of our hands however the truth is this, when we ride as professional cyclist, obey all the traffic laws and keep out full attention on the road at all times, ridding our motorcycles are as safe as any other mode of transportation. Want proof, look at the thousands of old farts on this forum 👍

Offline Socalrob

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #41 on: June 19, 2019, 04:16:06 AM »
Let’s face the cold hard truth. Yes motorcycle riders are often killed or injured due to the actions of other motorists. That being said. As a retired LEO I take interest in every motorcycle death that I read about and take the time to read the entire content including any information offered by the officers investigation and you know what the majority of the time the cause of the accident was contributed to.... you guessed it speed and alcohol. Just the difference in traveling the speed limit and just 5 MPH over can be the difference in colliding with a car which turns in front of you or being able to avoid it. When ridding in  congested traffic conditions one cannot be to too high of alert, expect the unexpected. The fact is this, although yes sometimes accidents happen, that’s life and sometimes simply out of our hands however the truth is this, when we ride as professional cyclist, obey all the traffic laws and keep out full attention on the road at all times, ridding our motorcycles are as safe as any other mode of transportation. Want proof, look at the thousands of old farts on this forum 👍

Yes, at the risk of being a kill joy, I agree.  As a Land Surveyor, I know something about curve geometry and road design.

Curves are designed for specific speeds, but it often is not traction and grip that is the limiting factor, it is often sight lines.  Now a bike can have better sight lines than a car due to lane position, but only so much.  If you are riding public roads at a pace you have serious pucker moments because you come up on the unexpected in a curve, you are by definition outriding safe sight lines.  Do it enough and some day your number will come up,ie, the unexpected stalled truck totally blocking your way in that blind curve, only it was not really a blind curve if you were riding in the sight lines. 

On my morning commute I have a nice double lane in same direction freeway transition ramp with an enjoyable curve.  I have ridden it literally thousands of times.  The inside lane is safe to about 70mph as the inside radius cuts the sight lines and once in a while there is stopped traffic.  The outside lane is safe to about 95mph as the sight lines are much longer.  The curve radius I am on while riding is not hugely different, grip is not the limiting factor, if it were grip this would be in excess of a hundred mile per hour curve on the inside lane. It is the sight lines on that inner lane that will get you.

Offline twowheeladdict

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #42 on: June 19, 2019, 07:35:27 AM »
Yes, at the risk of being a kill joy, I agree.  As a Land Surveyor, I know something about curve geometry and road design.

Curves are designed for specific speeds, but it often is not traction and grip that is the limiting factor, it is often sight lines.  Now a bike can have better sight lines than a car due to lane position, but only so much.  If you are riding public roads at a pace you have serious pucker moments because you come up on the unexpected in a curve, you are by definition outriding safe sight lines.  Do it enough and some day your number will come up,ie, the unexpected stalled truck totally blocking your way in that blind curve, only it was not really a blind curve if you were riding in the sight lines. 

On my morning commute I have a nice double lane in same direction freeway transition ramp with an enjoyable curve.  I have ridden it literally thousands of times.  The inside lane is safe to about 70mph as the inside radius cuts the sight lines and once in a while there is stopped traffic.  The outside lane is safe to about 95mph as the sight lines are much longer.  The curve radius I am on while riding is not hugely different, grip is not the limiting factor, if it were grip this would be in excess of a hundred mile per hour curve on the inside lane. It is the sight lines on that inner lane that will get you.

Very good points.  Here in Tennessee you can almost guarantee that when you crest a hill the road turns, and when you go around a curve there will be gravel from a driveway in the road.  We can also encounter tractors, ATVs, bicyclists, locals straightening out the curves, crops in the road, etc.  We also have a lot of people who will load up the bed of their trucks or a trailer and not tie or cover the load. 

Of course one might argue that gravel, or grass clippings reduce the grip causing riders to react badly.  In many cases it is the way you react that causes the crash and not the slip on the loose surface.  I have had both tires slip a couple inches because of unseen rock chips in the curve and I kept my focus on the horizon and the bike regained traction and I went on.  Of course my adreneline spiked!

You will notice that skilled and experienced riders that want to take a set of curves at a very fast pace will first ride the section of road to look for hazards and then turn around and run it at a spirited pace, turn around and enjoy it in the other direction and then move on to the next set of curves. 
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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #43 on: June 19, 2019, 08:46:29 AM »
I don’t wish to be a kill joy here as I have no right to throw stones living in a glass house. That being said, every time we ride in excess of the posted speed limits on any road for any reason we take our lives in our hands. Don’t blame the person making the dreaded “left turn” in your path when you are running 10mph over the posted limit or the vehicle in front of you stops suddenly and you are riding up his arse. The posted speed limits by no means is ok to run that speed regardless of conditions such as traffic, weather, or even times of the day. I’m sorry guys but I’ve investigated hundreds of accidents involving motorcycles and cars and I can attest there have been very few which were simply acts of God, 99.9 percent were operator, weather intentional or not, caused the accident. There are opinions and there are facts, I withhold my opinion on this one. Ride safe my friends:)

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #44 on: June 19, 2019, 09:55:52 AM »
If you have sheep, you wont need to mow the grass and risk a road accident.....  :wink:


 :embarrassed: oh oh.

Flocks of sheep crossing the road were a common road hazard when I lived in the UK. Then there was all that sheep sh!t in the road afterward.
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Offline rocker59

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #45 on: June 19, 2019, 09:57:51 AM »
I don’t wish to be a kill joy here as I have no right to throw stones living in a glass house. That being said, every time we ride in excess of the posted speed limits on any road for any reason we take our lives in our hands. Don’t blame the person making the dreaded “left turn” in your path when you are running 10mph over the posted limit or the vehicle in front of you stops suddenly and you are riding up his arse. The posted speed limits by no means is ok to run that speed regardless of conditions such as traffic, weather, or even times of the day. I’m sorry guys but I’ve investigated hundreds of accidents involving motorcycles and cars and I can attest there have been very few which were simply acts of God, 99.9 percent were operator, weather intentional or not, caused the accident. There are opinions and there are facts, I withhold my opinion on this one. Ride safe my friends:)

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Offline BrotherJim

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #46 on: June 19, 2019, 12:32:36 PM »
I've always viewed the practice of mowing grass into the road as bad form when it can be avoided.
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Offline twowheeladdict

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #47 on: June 19, 2019, 12:40:48 PM »
I've always viewed the practice of mowing grass into the road as bad form when it can be avoided.

My wife takes care of the yard and I have had to skool her on proper mowing etiquette.   :violent1:  Besides not blowing grass into the road, it is proper etiquette to stop the blade as a vehicle passes, and to not blow grass against the house. 
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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #48 on: June 19, 2019, 01:03:18 PM »
Speed Kills?  Nah...  Speed Thrills!
Yep, FREE WILL trumps common sense every time, I know because I often choose “free will”to “reach that trill zone”:)
« Last Edit: June 19, 2019, 01:15:51 PM by Ncdan »

Offline hidn45

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #49 on: June 19, 2019, 01:32:36 PM »
Motor vehicle "accidents" are very rarely completely accidental....  Cause & effect, whether intentional or not.
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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #50 on: June 19, 2019, 02:54:33 PM »
Motor vehicle "accidents" are very rarely completely accidental....  Cause & effect, whether intentional or not.
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Offline Guzzistajohn

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #51 on: June 19, 2019, 04:05:59 PM »
Good conversation guys!
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Offline Lannis

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #52 on: June 19, 2019, 09:05:42 PM »
Motor vehicle "accidents" are very rarely completely accidental....  Cause & effect, whether intentional or not.

Very true, and I have to give our local papers credit for never using the word "accident" any more in association with a motor vehicle crash.  "Wreck", "Crash", or "Collision" is what they quite properly use, because as Ncdan says, only a tiny percentage of them are "accidents", except in the sense that people didn't intend them to happen.   Lack of caring, lack of attention, lack of skill, or results of addiction are the typical causes ....

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Offline lorazepam

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #53 on: June 19, 2019, 09:22:59 PM »
If you have sheep, you wont need to mow the grass and risk a road accident.....  :wink:


 :embarrassed: oh oh.
Lot of potential girlfriends in that picture.  :whip2:

Offline Guzzistajohn

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #54 on: June 19, 2019, 09:32:36 PM »
Lot of potential girlfriends in that picture.  :whip2:

That was just baaaaaaaaad
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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #55 on: June 19, 2019, 10:06:44 PM »
Very true, and I have to give our local papers credit for never using the word "accident" any more in association with a motor vehicle crash.  "Wreck", "Crash", or "Collision" is what they quite properly use, because as Ncdan says, only a tiny percentage of them are "accidents", except in the sense that people didn't intend them to happen.   Lack of caring, lack of attention, lack of skill, or results of addiction are the typical causes ....

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Offline Tom

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #56 on: June 20, 2019, 01:20:19 PM »
Interesting to note...the news media out here always will add the tagline that the rider in a motorcycle accident "was not wearing a helmet".  If there is no fatality there's no mention of the rider wearing a helmet.  No mention if the rider is licensed and legal.
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Offline vhntr1

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #57 on: June 20, 2019, 01:38:55 PM »
I have been riding for close to 45 years and wet or damp grass clippings on a damp road or extremely dangerous you go into a slow speed curve with that and they are just as slick as a glazing of ice on the road !

Offline Lannis

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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #58 on: June 20, 2019, 03:04:15 PM »
Interesting to note...the news media out here always will add the tagline that the rider in a motorcycle accident "was not wearing a helmet".  If there is no fatality there's no mention of the rider wearing a helmet.  No mention if the rider is licensed and legal.

We had three auto fatalities yesterday in our and the next county, and to be fair, the newspapers noted that none of the people in the three separate crashes were wearing a seat belt.

A 2001 truck, a late-model Mustang, and a late model Toyota.   All three exactly the same - single car, clear road, daytime, ran off the right side of the road, either hit a tree or rolled over on a bank, ejected from the vehicle, and died at the scene.  One young woman, one middle-aged, one older man.

I mean, how do you even drive a modern car these days without fastening the seat belt?   Ours harasses us so bad that you can't go a half a mile without it nagging you into compliance.    And why would you NOT want to wear a seat belt?   You can't even tell you've got a modern one on.

It's not like wearing a helmet versus not wearing a helmet.   Riding without a helmet is a COMPLETELY difference experience out in the air and sunshine and wind, than riding WITH a helmet, which is intrusive and cuts you off quite a bit from the outside.   But buckling up a seat belt changes nothing about the driving experience.   

Do they do it just to be contrary?   Do they NOT buckle up because The Man is always controlling their lives and telling them to do things and by Gawd Ah'm sick-n-tahrd uv bein' tol' whut ta do?

Whatever it was, three stupid decisions, and three people dead for nothing ....

Lannis
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Re: Rider killed by grass clippings
« Reply #59 on: June 20, 2019, 03:09:17 PM »
I have been riding for close to 45 years and wet or damp grass clippings on a damp road or extremely dangerous you go into a slow speed curve with that and they are just as slick as a glazing of ice on the road !
Just curious Sir, how many times have you went down due to this road hazard ?
« Last Edit: June 20, 2019, 08:30:55 PM by oldbike54 »

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