News article on motorcycle safety .....

[Lannis]

Some good information and some maybe not so good information in this local Virginia news article today .... when you get to the part about "exhaust" you'll see a familiar theme, although not what the newspaper normally says .... and apparently, playing "Angry Birds" while you drive is Legal ...?

Back in February, when an unseasonable spate of warm weather hit, Bobby Snotherly brought out his Suzuki motorcycle for the 50-mile commute between his home in Dinwiddie County and his job as service manager at Richmond Harley-Davidson in Ashland.

As he was rounding Interstate 95's bend as it passes through downtown Richmond, a car started drifting into his lane.

"I had to get on the shoulder between her and the jersey wall; if not I would have been run over," said Snotherly, 53, who has been riding motorcycles as long as he has had a driver's license. "She wasn't paying attention. She was on the phone: looking down at it, looking up, looking down at it."


More motorcyclists died on Virginia's roads in 2017 than any year since 2007, according to figures released this week by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, which says it is delving into the numbers to try to extract any trends that might be behind the increase.

The 107 deaths among motorcyclists in 2017 was up nearly 50 percent from the 72 recorded in 2016. The previous high during the prior 10 years was 126 in 2007.

“We’re hoping that we’ll be able to find some sort of pattern that might explain this a little better," said Brandy Brubaker, a DMV spokeswoman.

The Virginia numbers mirror what's happening nationwide. Statistics from the National Highway Transportation Administration showed an increase of 5.1 percent in motorcycle fatalities in 2016, the largest number of fatalities since 2008.

Local motorcyclists acknowledge that riding is inherently more dangerous than other forms of transportation and that skill, recklessness, motorcycle maintenance and alcohol impairment can all play a role in crashes. But they also see a more disturbing modern trend that makes riding increasingly riskier.

"Phones, phones, phones, phones," said Joey Ledford, owner and technician at Richmond Superbike in Sandston, which sells and services motorcycles. Ledford also blames increasingly technologically sophisticated cars and dashboard displays that take drivers' eyes off the road.

"We all look at our cellphones when we drive," said Cory Manning, 37, who runs Engine and Frame, a repair shop and nonprofit community garage for motorcyclists on Valley Road in Richmond.

He added: "Everyone does it. ... I try to stay far away from other cars at all times."

***

There were 1,453 texting-while-driving convictions in Virginia in 2017, the same number as a year before. The number has ranged up and down over the past seven years, according to the DMV, from 1,016 in 2013 to 1,685 in 2014.

The DMV's Brubaker said 208 people died in Virginia last year in crashes involving distracted driving, a fatality classification that is on pace to meet or exceed alcohol-related fatal crashes in the near future.

Overall in 2017, 843 people died on Virginia’s roadways, a 20 percent increase over the state’s low of 700 highway deaths in 2014.

"Definitely, distracted driving is a growing trend," Brubaker said. "It's a behavior. It's something people choose to do. ... It's something we hope we can combat with awareness campaigns."

In a news release this week in which Gov. Ralph Northam declared April as Highway Safety Month, his administration pledged to focus attention on "particularly vulnerable" road users: pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclists.

"Texting while driving, although against Virginia law, continues to be one of the leading factors in distracted driving crashes, and is one of the most visible unsafe motorist behaviors,” said Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine. “While a driver is distracted, he or she may not be able to react to a changing environment on the road.”

Attempts to toughen the state's laws regarding cellphone use while driving, to capture activities beyond texting, died in the General Assembly this year.

“Right now, law enforcement has stopped writing tickets. Because they can’t tell whether someone is play 'Angry Birds,' which is legal … or engaging in illegal activity," said Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, on the Senate floor during debate on the measure.

***

The DMV can't say yet how distracted driving trends intersect with the growing number of motorcycle deaths.

About 40 percent of all single-vehicle motorcycle fatalities last year involved a motorcyclist with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, the agency said this week. And at the same time, the number of licensed motorcyclists is up: Motorcycle endorsements for Virginia license holders went from 353,117 in 2010 to 422,477 in 2017.

The DMV did note, however, that "in more than half of all crashes involving motorcycles and automobiles, the automobile driver didn't see the motorcycle until it was too late."

To that end, Ledford and other motorcyclists say adding after-market lights, horns and exhaust pipes can all help make motorcycles more visible. Ledford emphasized flashing taillights that make it harder to look past motorcycles stopped at red lights or stop signs and "odd lights" beyond the single headlight on most bikes.

"Odd is good," he said. "It makes it look different. That way you're noticed."

Helmets that fit correctly and wearing reflective clothing are bits of good advice that not everyone takes, he added.

"Very few people want to do that," he said. "They want to ride a black bike with a black jacket and drive it really fast.”

Proper maintenance is also crucial for general motorcycle safety, Ledford said.

“If the wheel falls off the car, you can probably get to the side of the road. If a wheel falls off a motorcycle, it's a bad day," Ledford said.

Safety courses, such as the Virginia State Police's free Ride 2 Save Lives courses, which are structured for intermediate and experienced riders, and the Motorcycle Safety Center of Virginia's paid rider instruction programs, are all crucial, say Ledford and others.

"Do whatever you can to make yourself as visible and as safe and educated as possible. The rest is luck," said Ledford, who estimated that over more than a decade at his shop's current location in Sandston, he has lost nearly a customer a year to a fatal crash.

They also implored drivers to put down their phones and watch for motorcycles.

"There's not a day I don’t come to work or go home and see someone texting while driving, talking and all over the road," said Snotherly, who recently lost a co-worker in a fatal motorcycle crash. "I just wish people would be more aware of their surroundings."

[Rick in WNY]

Where's David Hogg? Where'e the outrage? When will they start banning cell phones that can text too fast or have high capacity batteries that allow them to text for hours on end?

In all seriousness, this is a terrible trend I've been noticing for a while now...

[Lannis]

Play 'Angry Birds'

Define please?!

We'd both have to "Google" it to find out, so you go ahead ... 

Lannis

[RinkRat II]

 
  The best piece of information in that whole article 

He added: "Everyone does it. ... I try to stay far away from other cars at all times."

    You have to ride like your invisible, because to most  out there you are!

         Paul B

[PJPR01]

We'd both have to "Google" it to find out, so you go ahead ... 

Lannis

A video game that folks get absorbed in...hard to believe people can't figure out that driving and texting or playing is incompatible...

[kirby1923]

Ah!
Gracias!
Not in my lexicon, nor do I have access to "Google".

Curious!

:-)

[Toecutter]

In my opinion, we're only going to see these stats grow worse, as kids that have literally been holding a cellphone for their entire life, start getting behind the wheel.

As an old fart, I didn't even buy a cellphone until about 5-6 years ago. It's easy for me to put it down and leave it alone. Riding my bike means I couldn't look at it or use it if I wanted to. Would I be the same If I'd owned one my entire life? Probably not.

One of the other things I've noticed... if you wander the web and check in on other forums, where the demo skews a bit younger.... is an overwhelming desire to stay wired while riding. Music, cellphones... younger riders want it always, and don't beleive it's in any way a distraction while on a bike.

I think things are absolutely going to get worse.

[kingoffleece]

This relates back to the thread about rider training.  The phrase "ride like you're invisible" gets used a lot but what does it REALLY mean and how do you do that effectively?

After 47 years, I learned a lot about this during my two Stayin' Safe classes.  I didmn't know what I didn't know.  I'd offer that the ride invisible thing is correct and deserves a rider to spend a few moments on how to do that and what it entails on the street every day.

[kingoffleece]

That said, it's criminal that there is not a way to limit cell phone use for the driver.  I'll bet half the drivers I pass every day have the darn thing IN THEIR HAND EYES DOWN.  I'm no luddite-I figures how to use the Bluetooth connection and play it thru the car speakers.

[Lannis]

That said, it's criminal that there is not a way to limit cell phone use for the driver.  I'll bet half the drivers I pass every day have the darn thing IN THEIR HAND EYES DOWN. 

They know it's dangerous (to them, too - they care nothing about motorcycles).   They know people get killed doing it.

But it's a commentary on the dark side of human nature.   They're addicted to it, as surely as a heroin junkie or wino is addicted, everyone they know does it, and the "risk" to them is tiny compared to their need.  The risk to others isn't even in their picture.

Legislators won't fix it, because they and their wives and daughters and sons do exactly the same thing, everywhere.

No telling what the butcher's bill will get to before driving-while-texting reaches the same level of social unacceptability as driving drunk is today.   People drive drunk, but they don't brag about it and encourage their children to do it ....  We fixed THAT with punitive penalties, but there's no collective will to save thousands of lives each year by doing the same with texting-impaired driving.

Lannis

[Toecutter]

Lannis... I think Ego plays a huge part. Everyone knows it's wrong... but everyone thinks "they're better at it" than those idiots that crash and cause accidents.

[Lannis]

Lannis... I think Ego plays a huge part. Everyone knows it's wrong... but everyone thinks "they're better at it" than those idiots that crash and cause accidents.

That's definitely one reason - same philosophy as the good 'ol boy (I've heard it a hundred times) with

"Hell, Ah kin drive better with a case of Blue Ribbon in me than most people drive sober ....".

And it's exactly as true.

I've mentioned before that I lost a ... well, acquaintance ... when she berated her son for not answering a call she made to him while he was driving, with "We're going to have to teach you how to multitask ...".   I couldn't help telling her her fortune that day ...

Lannis

[RinkRat II]

   kingof fleece,
 My humble interpretation of being invisible promotes riding in a way people don't even know I'm within their "space". I don't ride next to them, I pass them or stay behind them until an opportunity presents itself to ME to ride out of their danger zones to ME. Yes I'm selfish that way, but I plan on being around several more years to enjoy life. Situational awareness plays a big factor in all this such as " do I need to make a left turn here?"  and all the other expexted stupid maneuvers people make.
     
          Paul B

[ITSec]

In Nevada, use of a cell phone by the driver, unless with a handfree device, is illegal and subject to fines.

It makes no difference; when I stop for a light, it's likely half the drivers around me are playing with their phones (and they don't stop when the light changes, either!).

Why?

The fines are tiny - starting about $50, topping out at about $200 after multiple offences.

The likelihood of getting caught is tiny - with so many people doing it, cops regard it as a nit and let the fish escape into the school.

The chance of being stopped in non-existent - it may be illegal, b ut it's not considered a 'primary offense', so LEOs can't stop you just for doing it. You have to be using your phone AND doing something else wrong, and that other thing has to provide a justification for the stop.

The cure is simple, if unpopular. Make use of a phone in the hand a primary, major offense, equivalent to a DUI or more. Start the fines at a level that people see as significant - say, $250 or more for the first offense, escalating to 30 days in jail on a third offense. Point out both of these changes to enforcement bodies and tell them expectations are changing and they should take this seriously.

[rodekyll]

Yup, that's words between dots right there.  Reads like a sodden dog.

[kingoffleece]

RinkRat,
Right on there, sir.  And I like IT's idea, too.  I'm no expert, but that doesn't mean I don't see riders do things I'd never do all the time.
I hear the invisible thing all the time from my Harley buddies an then I see them take 15 seconds to pass a semi.  Nope.  Way too long in the danger zone.  And that's just an example.  It's not just them, either.  But, it's just my .02 and most likely worth half that, at best.

Be safe out there.

[pebra]

So, in Virginia in 2017 843 people were killed on the roads, 107 of them were motorcyclists.
Hard to fathom  -  aren't those sort of third world figures?

[Lannis]

So, in Virginia in 2017 843 people were killed on the roads, 107 of them were motorcyclists.
Hard to fathom  -  aren't those sort of third world figures?

843 out of 8,700,000 in Virginia, .0096% of the folks in the state died on the highways.

40,000 out of 320,000,000 in the USA.  .0125% of the people in the country overall.

So I'll agree that Virginia has a third-world death rate on the roads, but the USA as a whole has a fourth-world one by that standard.

Not really, though.   Southeast Asia's death rate is three or four times ours .... AND depends on whether you're measuring by population or by miles driven, etc ...

Lannis

[Tim Henry]

When my kids were little riding in the sidecar every time they saw a cell phone driver they held up a sign that said "hang up doofuss "
Go ahead argue with a kid they did it to a deputy he smiled and put it down