I have seen both as a rider~ cars that "do not see you" and folks,on what I will call "rice burners" and on American made bikes act like fools. Statistics show cars impact more motercycles,last time I checked.

All I know as a rider,is it is the skill of the driver,our combined alertness,correct riding ware(leathers,boots,helmets) that keep my skin from the pavement.

motocycleists that are at fault are usually young dumb kids on crotch rockets. being young myself (23) i ride a custom harley and I feel more safe on it then in a car. a few of those accidents sice 07 were solo on the part of the rider. hence the guy that ran into a car on manor after preforming stunts. these guys are the ones that need to be ticketed. guys like me that do the speed limit and obey traffic laws but have a stripped down motocycle (no signals, horn, mirrors, and what not) shouldnt be the ones getting the boot so to speak. i will guarantee though, that most auto motorcycle crashes are usually due to the driver of the car. i have been cut off several times usually by women or guys that act like women, talking on cell phones and dont look over their shoulder before merging. so when people like to bitch about my bike being too loud need to understand that loud pipes save lives.

sage- they also call them "crotch rockets" didnt know if you had heard that one yet.

I believe that both rider, and person driving vehicle need to pay attention, not every rider is perfect and not every driver is perfect, but both need to be alert of their surroundings..

Right before the accident with Jared on sunday, i was in Bakersfield visiting, and on wednesday i saw a horrible street bike accident, the lady died and the guy is still in ICU... and that was pure accident..

and 2 years ago my mom was hit by a street bike, he just ran right in to her car .. i dont know how you miss big red parked volvo, but hey accidents happen.

and i also have known someone that hit a motorcyclist from not paying attention.

As you can see, accidents happen, and everyone needs to just pay attention, and riders PLEASE WEAR YOUR PROTECTIVE GEAR!!

So i am not on either driver nor rider side, as a matter of fact, i respect both.

*sorry didnt see comment ahead of mine where they used the word i was showing you. he must have been posting the same time as me.

Another name for the motorcyles=widow makers. I never heard of that until my dad used the term recently.

michele- thats sad :'-( but true..  

LOL~ yes Tiff,that term has been used quite the while...except the way I heard it you change the words a bit and and rot  and another term for anatomy to it,just not suitable for here ;-)

Motorcycles made in Japan are also called Rice Rockets.

Tiffani, if the accident you saw was the one on Stockdale near Buena Vista, where the female passenger was killed, the male driver was DUI when he hit the tree. So even though it was an accident, he will be facing felony criminal charges if he gets out of the hospital with a functioning brain.

Motorcycles made in Japan are also called Rice Rockets.

some what true, however there are three types, cruisers, sport bikes and touring.

sport bikes or GP style bikes are the only ones considered Rice Rockets.

See i call really annoying import cars rice burners.. i never heard of rice rocket before, thanks!!

OldBlue.. that would be the accident i was talking about. i didnt know who they are, just happend to be there and saw the aftermath, it was gross. i know someone that knows him, and she is denying he was drinking but my best friend works for HALL and knows otherwise... sad story :(

First off I want to say to GoBlue, you need to get facts straight before spreading them. When A.J. was killed on Manor he was not in fact riding a wheelie. An officer that was quick to make a statement combines two stories to make one that was not true. A.J. had rode a wheelie earlier in night before the accident. At the time of the accident he was not riding a wheelie and infact had suffered what we call a tank slapper, a sort of speed wobble. Many of us run steering dampeners on our bikes to reduce the affects of a tank slapper, but when this does happen, you have no control of where the bike goes. Not arguing fault of that accident, but pointing out when the facts are not given correctly, then people do not understand what really happened.  As a figure in the streetbike comunity we do what we can to take in the young riders and try to guide them into the proper ways to ride and point them in the direction for the type of riding they want to do. I myself prefer really fast riding, so I take my bike to the track. We also have people who prefer to stunt, and they take new riders who want to learn and give them tips and lessons at the stunt spots that are used. So because they are some riders out there that make a bad image, in a whole the riding community is actually for more organized than most ever see.  Stunt riding has became a full on sport that has a national chapionship, and big money paid for shows. So naturally young kids see this and get a bike and want to try it. Well unfortunately they do pick the wrong places many times, which results in serious injury or worse. This is why we have been working for a long time to find a controlled environment for this to be done. Most of us riders agree 100% when you say that the wheelie riders and speeders should be ticketed, we will not argue that point at all. But to target motorcycles, because drivers dont pay attention, just does not seem to be the proper way to handle things. I can honestly say that when out riding I can count on being cut off several times by a driver not paying attention or talking on the phone. So instead of the police targeting us and making us more of an outcast to the public eye, why dont they put those efforts into assisting in promoting motorcycle safety. I believe my good friend said it best on aninterview when he said the only way for us to survive is to act as if we are invisible when we ride, because in reality to most drivers we are.

Chico, that is a very scientific way of saying, "slow down dumb ass".

While there are of course lots of drivers not paying attention out there, that doesn't absolve motorcyclists of all blame. Paying attention or not, they can be just as reckless, and from my personal experience,  arrogant. When I was 21, I was merging on to the freeway in rural Northern California and I hit a motorcyclist. He was in my blind spot. I used my mirrors and looked over my shoulder, but did not see him until he was hitting mirror on my driver's side door. He saw me, he'd later testify, but because he was an arrogant man, he decided to go full steam ahead because he had the right of way. Another car hit him after he went into the other lane (only because the force of my car pushed him) and eventually each party was 33 percent at fault. But truly, he could have prevented it all, if he had lost his king of the road attitude. It's dangerous to ride a motorcycle, everybody knows that, so act like it. 

So lets use your way of thinking, cause as I have said in other blogs, I believe in taking credit if doing something wrong, be it a car or on my bike. I ride defensive at allt iems cause I am constantly cut off, and unfortunately have lost many friends from the usual " I didnt not see him as I made my elft turn".  Fault you say is devided between both on that. So then wouldn't it seem logical that our lovely law enforcement officers devote their time to citing all drivers? Cause How else do you take it when motorcyclist are " Targeted for special enforcement". Doesnt that seem like we are in the wrong? And am I in teh wrong when people are on their phone, fixing make up or eating while driving? When is it if I dont signal on an open road I will expect a ticket, but that person driving with their knee while they eat a sandwhich drives free? I use that example becuase I was at an intersection between a car doing that and a law enforcement officer, adn I will give you one guess who got followed. Even though I rode fine adn didnt not get pulled over because I gave no reason to. Atleast that person got to finish their lunch right?

I don't ride at the moment, sold my last bike 8 years ago, but I can say after riding a bike in traffic I was alot more carefull on the road watching for bikes. Yes I wil agree that doing stunts on the road isn't exactly safe but that also goes for speeding, racing, talking on the phone (aka brain sucker) doing makeup, etc. I've been hit on bicycles when cars weren't watching & I have seen motorcyclists do dumb things, but if you check the stats on it, more motorcyclist have gone down due to stupid drivers in cars & those drivers not paying attention. If people want to see how good these riders are, go to the track or bikenight & watch them, most are EXCELLENT riders, I was told Jarod was also & he went down due to a stupid driver. Everyone, PLEASE be aware of what is around you at all times & stay off the "brain sucker" while driving, & that includes officers.

Chio, why should the cops provide extra enforcement on motorcycles than on cars???? Yes there is more chance of you getting hurt or killed on a bike, but most m/c accidents that involve cars are caused by the car not the bike.

No one can deny cycles,bikes,walking or driving are all dangerous activities.I know a group of 4 riders who were intentionally "taken out" by a trucker.

My wish is that all practice safety and that the police site anybody behaving foolishly.

actually Chico I'd sit in the area of the calf & take out the yote, but that's another sport, but we don't use calves we use calls.

They haven't said how is at fault in the latest accident, but last I heard you could only pull out into traffic when it is clear, oviously the stang wasn't clear in the Panana accident.

Being an avid rider myself , I see some amazingly stupid driving/riding.

How about we all pay more attention to our driving/riding.

I am sure we have all noticed that rosedale highway and even stockdale

are some trouble spots for bikers. Also if you bikers ride on the 99 fwy especially around  rush hour , please be extra carefull as it is just a matter of time until we have some very bad accidents on the exits.

The Gasser