almost killed a squid

[K.D. Bailey]

A few months ago, I was driving a car to work. At the time, I was riding most every day. When I turned onto the street where our office is located, I noticed a rider on a badly beat-up sportbike. He had no protective gear. As I neared the office, I checked the mirrors and turned to check my blind spot; it looked clear, but I remembered seeing the rider so I slowed down and checked again. He was riding directly in my blind spot. Had I not been conscious of having seen him a couple of minutes before, I would have come over right on him. It reinforced my knowledge of how important it is not to ride in car's blind spots. I wonder if the rider I saw has survived the last few months. Lately, I have had several people tell me how dangerous it is to ride. One told me her grandchild was killed, when riding with her son-in-law. Turns out the son-in-law was drunk. A one armed man told me how he lost his arm in a cycle accident; turns out he was drunk, too. A coworker told me how he was badly hurt in an accident; he explained that he rode into a parked car on a residential street, while trying to impress a girl with how quick his bike was. Motorcycle are certainly less forgiving of of stupidly. Ride safely! K. D.

> Tom wrote; > ...I've seen motorcyclists (my own riding buddies!!) let themselves into > silly situations so they can use the horn. They're in the 'blind > spot" and **they know it**. That's the best way to catch a cager by > surprise. Then when they talk about it (and they always do) it's as > if some driver endangered their life. Sorry pal, I saw the whole > thing, and I know they were either baiting the cager or not paying > attention, in which case they're about equal at fault. I've been > around motorcyclists long enough to know that this attitude is > common, accepted, overlooked, and even congratulated. THIS is the > situation I'm complaining about, not the genuine emergencies. > > There's enough rudeness out there as it is. The road rage thing is a > sickness on society. I sure hear a lot of buzz from motorcyclists > looking for an excuse to contribute... >