Rider killed by grass clippings

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

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 !

  The danger remains for days afterwards. The grass clipping get smeared all over the road and dry, next time it rains - slick all over again.

Two years ago was especially bad around here for grass in the road - I "dirt tracked" my way around a corner or three. Last year a little better and this one a bit better yet. Whether it's due to drier conditions and the grass not growing as fast or that the "word" is getting out about it's consequences, I don't know. I'm just happy that there's less of it.

[Lannis]

Just curious Sir, how many times have you went down due to this road bazaars?

Road bazaars - The Attack of the 50-Foot Spellchecker!

Lannis

[Tom]

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

The local media reports the same about not wearing a seat belt out here. 

[Ncdan]

Road bazaars - The Attack of the 50-Foot Spellchecker!

Lannis

Why didn’t you just correct it got me Lannis? I can’t remember if I was trying to say  hazards or  buzzards 😂. Spelling Police is a needed position here, lol:)
And I still want to know the answer to the original question 👍

[Lannis]

Why didn’t you just correct it got me Lannis? I can’t remember if I was trying to say  hazards or  buzzards 😂. Spelling Police is a needed position here, lol:)
And I still want to know the answer to the original question 👍

The only thing I was sure of is that a Fanged Spotted Spellchecker got you somehow .... wasn't sure what the intended word was but I was guessing it wasn't "bazaar"!

And regarding the original question, we may never know, BUT you don't actually have to fall down due to a road bazaar hazard to know that it's a hazard.   I'm pretty sure that tar snakes, texting drivers, and drive-by shooters are pretty dangerous, even though I've never been downed or shot by one .... !!      

Lannis

[twowheeladdict]

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.

I remember when my parents bought a "safe" car that continuously beeped at you if you didn't buckle the seat belt.  What did they do?  The buckled the seat belt and sat in front of it. 

I started wearing my seat belt because my car had a vinyl bench seat and I got tired of hanging on the wheel to keep from sliding down the seat in a curve.  It stuck and have been wearing one ever since.  Feels weird not to have one buckled.

[Huzo]

The rider was killed by the consequences of his own command decisions.
If I get a bug splatter on my visor at 130 k and wipe it causing me to lose visibility, was it the bug that killed me?
We all need to accept that it is our decision alone, to assess the available road ahead to the point where we can evade or stop, and if we are not within that envelope, then to some degree we are hoping for the best.
I do it, you do it, we all do it..

[Ncdan]

I agree with my friend, Huzo and that’s been my take on the subject all along, as professional riders we must realize people and situations cause road hazards that we must take into consideration every time we ride.
Now, I must admit something and “eat some crow” at this time. This thread started with the “grass clippings” content and I was a naysayer with the opinion some grass blown onto the roadway is not going to cause an accident on a motorcycle unless the rider is riding over their head in the first place. Well, just yesterday I was ridding my 1400 and as I rounded a curve, some idiot was mowing high thick grass right on the road with the discharge side of the deck toward the highway. He had deposited heavy amounts of grass onto at least half of the road.  I was traveling at a the speed limit, 45mph and I simply moved over a bit and bypassed the, potential hazard with no issue. It was in a blind curve and I will admit here to my friends who feel this is an extreme hazard and could cause death, if the right circumstances developed such as the grass laid there a couple days and got rained on and matted to the asphalt, a rider traveling above the speed limit could hit this  obstacle and the outcome be bleak. Also I’ll confirm that an  obstacle such as this at night, when  visibility is low, could be bad.  Contrary To a few opinions, I think this post is entertaining and informative.

[Rough Edge racing]

I agree with my friend, Huzo and that’s been my take on the subject all along, as professional riders we must realize people and situations cause road hazards that we must take into consideration every time we ride.

  I live in an area with miles and miles of two lane roads, hills and bends, with little traffic..It's also an agricultural area so there's a possibility mud or tractors pulling an array of equipment as wide as the road...Always slow down when entering a blind turn or cresting a hill....
 Of shit can happen despite taking every precaution...hopefu lly it'll be minamized by proper riding and equipment...Even down to regular tire air pressure checks...

[Testarossa]

We all need to accept that it is our decision alone, to assess the available road ahead to the point where we can evade or stop, and if we are not within that envelope, then to some degree we are hoping for the best.

Agree with this generally, but as with many generalities (including this one I guess) there are important exceptions. Yesterday I was cruising home at the 50mph speed limit, eastbound on a stretch of straight two-lane. In the westbound lane traffic was stacked up behind a slow-moving vehicle (the only time we get a line of traffic around here is when a sleepyhead potters along 10mph under the limit, holding up the folks behind). The third or fourth pickup truck in that parade was probably no more impatient than anyone else, and when his left turn came up he pulled across my lane quickly -- may even have accelerated. He should have seen me a half-mile ahead, but didn't look. Saw me braking hard just as he crossed the centerline, but it was too late to avoid crossing my lane. He waved apology as we completed our near-miss. In this case I was in a position to evade/stop BUT if I'd begun my trip two seconds earlier the collision would have been unavoidable. And whose fault would it have been? Mine for being on the road at the speed limit, or that of the driver more intent on his left turn than on near-distance line of sight? Unfortunately this scenario is probably the second most common cause of motorcycle fatalities after alcohol.

[Ncdan]

Agree with this generally, but as with many generalities (including this one I guess) there are important exceptions. Yesterday I was cruising home at the 50mph speed limit, eastbound on a stretch of straight two-lane. In the westbound lane traffic was stacked up behind a slow-moving vehicle (the only time we get a line of traffic around here is when a sleepyhead potters along 10mph under the limit, holding up the folks behind). The third or fourth pickup truck in that parade was probably no more impatient than anyone else, and when his left turn came up he pulled across my lane quickly -- may even have accelerated. He should have seen me a half-mile ahead, but didn't look. Saw me braking hard just as he crossed the centerline, but it was too late to avoid crossing my lane. He waved apology as we completed our near-miss. In this case I was in a position to evade/stop BUT if I'd begun my trip two seconds earlier the collision would have been unavoidable. And whose fault would it have been? Mine for being on the road at the speed limit, or that of the driver more intent on his left turn than on near-distance line of sight? Unfortunately this scenario is probably the second most common cause of motorcycle fatalities after alcohol.

👍 yes there is a small percentage of what we call unavoidable or “acts of God”
ACCIDENTS, in the LEO family.

[twowheeladdict]

The rider was killed by the consequences of his own command decisions.
If I get a bug splatter on my visor at 130 k and wipe it causing me to lose visibility, was it the bug that killed me?
We all need to accept that it is our decision alone, to assess the available road ahead to the point where we can evade or stop, and if we are not within that envelope, then to some degree we are hoping for the best.
I do it, you do it, we all do it..

The lady following her husband was the one killed.  She was probably in Lemming mode and when he screwed up she crashed.  This is one of the main reasons I wouldn't want my wife to ride unless she really wanted to ride.  I would feel that now I have to ride for the both of us which apparently this guy wasn't doing. 

[twowheeladdict]

I agree with my friend, Huzo and that’s been my take on the subject all along, as professional riders we must realize people and situations cause road hazards that we must take into consideration every time we ride.
Now, I must admit something and “eat some crow” at this time. This thread started with the “grass clippings” content and I was a naysayer with the opinion some grass blown onto the roadway is not going to cause an accident on a motorcycle unless the rider is riding over their head in the first place. Well, just yesterday I was ridding my 1400 and as I rounded a curve, some idiot was mowing high thick grass right on the road with the discharge side of the deck toward the highway. He had deposited heavy amounts of grass onto at least half of the road.  I was traveling at a the speed limit, 45mph and I simply moved over a bit and bypassed the, potential hazard with no issue. It was in a blind curve and I will admit here to my friends who feel this is an extreme hazard and could cause death, if the right circumstances developed such as the grass laid there a couple days and got rained on and matted to the asphalt, a rider traveling above the speed limit could hit this  obstacle and the outcome be bleak. Also I’ll confirm that an  obstacle such as this at night, when  visibility is low, could be bad.  Contrary To a few opinions, I think this post is entertaining and informative.

Dan, please please tell me where I can go to get paid to ride my motorcycle.  I would definitely like to be a professional motorcycle rider. 

I am far from being a novice rider and definitely not an expert rider but still an amateur none the less. 

I am close to retirement and would love to get paid to ride.  Please share you source of income.  Thanks.   

[Ncdan]

Dan, please please tell me where I can go to get paid to ride my motorcycle.  I would definitely like to be a professional motorcycle rider. 

I am far from being a novice rider and definitely not an expert rider but still an amateur none the less. 

I am close to retirement and would love to get paid to ride.  Please share you source of income.  Thanks.   

Not sure what you are referring to, “getting paid to ride ride your motorcycle”, which I assume you were referring to something in my last post?
Please explain and I’ll attempt  to respond accordingly.
To respond to the first part of your comment about getting paid to ride, I did, for nearly 5 years as a motor Officer with the WSPD;)

[pete roper]

I think it was your suggestion that *we* are 'professional' riders, that implies payment. We may be experienced and enthusiastic but it doesn't make us professional.

FWIW I'm sitting in the pub having a beer and a group of knobs on bikes just left. The 'King Knob', who was old enough to know better was telling his catamites, including a couple of really young lads, that a local road, Shingle hill way, was a great road with 200kph sweepers on it. While his audience was clearly agog I have to admit to being more than a bit worried by this. Shingle hill way is a potholed goat track with 'roo infested scrub and plenty of road furniture right up to the edge of the tarmac! I'd no more go fast down it than set fire to my scrotum but he was about to take these lads off to show them! Two beers under his belt as well!

I'll listen for the sirens.......

[Ncdan]

Hey Pete, hope you are enjoying your beer with your mates and I hope you don’t have to hear the sirens either, for those lads.
As far as the “professional rider” thing, in my humble opinion, there are several classes of cyclists that I would consider as a professional rider and we get paid with survival:)
One, would be a motor officer, as they spend hundreds of hours in every condition imaginable ridding and training. Another would be a racer, of any type, dirt, flat track, motorcross, high speed tracks etc. Those being recognized, as the number one professional rider ,in my book, is the old guy, such as many of us that has managed to log in tens of thousands of miles, in every weather condition, road condition, road type and terrain. On every type, brand, model and size of bike on the market and some which are no longer on the market, and to accomplish this feat and still be able to make these observations at our age. Now if that’s not considered a professional rider in anyone’s book I’ll be glad to be enlightened by anyone here as to what a professional rider is. This is my explanation as to my assessment of a “professional rider” is.
By the way Pete, thanks for all the help you give us guys here that would be in deep $#|+ without guys like you 👍