And here's why the media sucks...

The St. Petersburg couple was on a large motorcycle heading west on Interstate 4 when its rear tire separated as they crossed the bridge separating Volusia and Seminole counties, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller said.

How in HELL is THAT a "bike week related" crash???

Sounds more like the tire got chewed up in an expansion joint more than anything.

 

And here's why the media sucks...

The St. Petersburg couple was on a large motorcycle heading west on Interstate 4 when its rear tire separated as they crossed the bridge separating Volusia and Seminole counties, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller said.

How in HELL is THAT a "bike week related" crash???

Sounds more like the tire got chewed up in an expansion joint more than anything.

I cannot give you an answer on that. My only concern was with the family left behind and the couple who died. Regardless of how the media reported it, two bikers went down and lost their life's and I guess the point I was making is that it brings it all home for us bikers.

It could have been you and your wife or me and my wife who lost their lives this weekend. I wasn't considering how the media reported the story. Either way, its just plain sad.

Chris

 

I'm sorry to hear about all those accidents. In an ideal world none of those things would happen. Alas, we do not live in an ideal world.

This post has made me think about something I've not given enough thought to ... the notion of tire hazards on things like bridges. I know bridges with steel grates can be tricky to navigate. To the best of my knowledge the steel grates do not themselves represent a tire hazard, except to the extent they can be slippery, particularly when wet. Expansion joints I'd not thought of before. I know in cold weather they'll have their maximum gap. Is there a strategy for navigating expansion joints?

 

I'm sorry to hear about all those accidents. In an ideal world none of those things would happen. Alas, we do not live in an ideal world.

This post has made me think about something I've not given enough thought to ... the notion of tire hazards on things like bridges. I know bridges with steel grates can be tricky to navigate. To the best of my knowledge the steel grates do not themselves represent a tire hazard, except to the extent they can be slippery, particularly when wet. Expansion joints I'd not thought of before. I know in cold weather they'll have their maximum gap. Is there a strategy for navigating expansion joints?

Don:

I always try to be upbeat and positive in life, but when things like this happens it makes me do a reality check and start thinking. I feel the same way you do and I am now thinking about tires and road hazards I hadn't considered before.

Thanks for your post.
Chris

 

I always try to be upbeat and positive in life, but when things like this happens it makes me do a reality check and start thinking. I feel the same way you do and I am now thinking about tires and road hazards I hadn't considered before.

Thanks for your post.
Chris

I look at it this way -
None of us will live forever. But many people never live at all.
The couple knew the risks of 1. Riding and 2. Riding without a helmet.
Accepted the risk.
Died doing something they probably loved to do.

It would have been more of a tragedy had they
Died in:
A hit and run while walking towards work (or a work place accident)
Carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty furnace, while sleeping.
Cancer
Disease
-ad infinitum-
and last but not least - old age - (I worked in a nursing home while going high school -conclusion: living too long is NOT a good thing).

 

[

I look at it this way -
None of us will live forever. But many people never live at all.
The couple knew the risks of 1. Riding and 2. Riding without a helmet.
Accepted the risk.
Died doing something they probably loved to do.
).

YES! if i thought about all the ways i could die on my bike every time
i get on it to go for a ride. i wouldnt even ride it. :wink:

i think, too many riders on this forum worry too much about how to protect them selves instead of just enjoying the ride. if its your time it doesnt matter what you have done to protect your self......

just my .02


droy

 

i think, too many riders on this forum worry too much about how to protect them selves instead of just enjoying the ride.

Being killed instantly in a motorcycle accident is one thing ... being permanently maimed or disabled is quite another. To the degree protection might avoid permanent brain damage, or a painful series of skin grafts ... well, then I think a certain amount of precautionary thinking is prudent.

 

How in HELL is THAT a "bike week related" crash???

The article clearly states that they were returning from Bike Week. If a soldier dies in Iraq because his Hummer rolls over that is classified as a war-related death because the soldier was there pursuant to a war. Another commonly reported category is that of "holiday weekend traffic fatalities", even though some victims may have been going to the grocery store instead of the beach when they crashed.

I understand your point about media misrepresentation of motorcycle accidents but you are stretching on this one, my friend.

 

How in HELL is THAT a "bike week related" crash???

The article clearly states that they were returning from Bike Week. If a soldier dies in Iraq because his Hummer rolls over that is classified as a war-related death because the soldier was there pursuant to a war. Another commonly reported category is that of "holiday weekend traffic fatalities", even though some victims may have been going to the grocery store instead of the beach when they crashed.

I understand your point about media misrepresentation of motorcycle accidents but you are stretching on this one, my friend.

Your soldier is still in a war zone. Makes sense.

A holiday weekend is just fatalities counted on a long weekend - every weekend has certain number of fatalites, it's just a lot more road travel on the Holiday weekends whether you are going to the grocery, or going to grandma's. It covers the time period of road travel over the entire/state/region/country....makes sense.

However, classifying fatalities for Daytona Week, when you are not in Daytona, or riding in a sponsered Daytona event shouldn't be tallied.

It would be like dying in a highway accident while I am riding home from a day of boating - by your definition that would be a boating fatality?

 

How in HELL is THAT a "bike week related" crash???

The article clearly states that they were returning from Bike Week. If a soldier dies in Iraq because his Hummer rolls over that is classified as a war-related death because the soldier was there pursuant to a war. Another commonly reported category is that of "holiday weekend traffic fatalities", even though some victims may have been going to the grocery store instead of the beach when they crashed.

I understand your point about media misrepresentation of motorcycle accidents but you are stretching on this one, my friend.

Your soldier is still in a war zone. Makes sense.

A holiday weekend is just fatalities counted on a long weekend - every weekend has certain number of fatalites, it's just a lot more road travel on the Holiday weekends whether you are going to the grocery, or going to grandma's. It covers the time period of road travel over the entire/state/region/country....makes sense.

However, classifying fatalities for Daytona Week, when you are not in Daytona, or riding in a sponsered Daytona event shouldn't be tallied.

It would be like dying in a highway accident while I am riding home from a day of boating - by your definition that would be a boating fatality?

No you wouldn't call it a boating fatality, but... if you were taking your boat out on a holiday weekend when it happened it would be considered a holiday weekend crash.

Bike Week is an event not a place. They attendend the event so it's related to the event in that way. If they were in New Jersey on their way back from Bike Week they still could have called it a Bike Week related incident.

If they had not gone to Bike Week and the same thing happened then it would be wrong to report it as such.

 

It's just sad to see but its also a reality check. It could have been anyone of us yesterday who went out riding.

I send out my heartfelt thoughts, prayers and sincere sympathies to these peoples families.


[/b]

Chris,

I feel the same way. It is a reality check for sure.

I'll pray for the family and friends they left behind. Everyone is missed by someone.

Steve

 

How in HELL is THAT a "bike week related" crash???

The article clearly states that they were returning from Bike Week. If a soldier dies in Iraq because his Hummer rolls over that is classified as a war-related death because the soldier was there pursuant to a war. Another commonly reported category is that of "holiday weekend traffic fatalities", even though some victims may have been going to the grocery store instead of the beach when they crashed.

I understand your point about media misrepresentation of motorcycle accidents but you are stretching on this one, my friend.

Disagree. It's absolutely not a stretch. They were riding down the highway.

A "bike week" related death would be one of the stupid parade-formation group rides going awry or other such activities while AT bike week. They were going from point-a to point-b. I see *your* point, but frankly that story is yet another sensationalist swipe at bikers. That's all that was.

 

It's a sad story. But I've often wondered why accidental deaths make such great news. Death is death... if you see it coming or not.

People die every day, and their deaths are equally as sad as those of two people in their prime who have chosen to gamble in a risky activity, and lost. It's not a stretch to assume that this was published for one of three reasons... to draw attention to the "dark side" of Bike Week, to draw attention to their lack of helmets, or to draw attention to the the size of their "large" motorcycle, all with the purpose of selling more papers, and igniting the self-righteous fury of those people that take this issue to heart.

All news is published with an agenda behind it. All of it. This one may only have the agenda of the reporter, or maybe the editor or possibly much larger, but it's there, you can see it in the choice of words... an unbiased reporter would probably have written something along the lines of:

****
DAYTONA BEACH --

A St. Petersburg couple was on a motorcycle heading west on Interstate 4 when its rear tire separated as they crossed the bridge separating Volusia and Seminole counties, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller said.

John F. Taylor, 45, died at the scene. His wife, Laura Ann Taylor, 39, died about an hour later at Central Florida Regional Hospital, Miller said.

****

Still ghoulishly printed to sell papers, but at least it's only facts.

I feel sorry that these people's families that they have to read any details about their loved one's deaths in the papers. That they are denied the dignity of private grieving. That the general public gets to make assumptions out their family's loss (if they wore helmets... if they had a more reasonable bike... they were probably speeding.... f*&king bikeweek tourists.. etc etc)

There is absolutely zero purpose behind stories like these, beyond feeding our own morbid curiosity with everyone else's business.

Ride safely, and then, if your number comes up... you gave it 100%, and there's nowhere to run. Riding a bike is dangerous. Period. If you make the choice to do so safely, no point in sweating the what-ifs.

 

Tire seperating...That just spooks me because it seems like something that all the preperation and know-how in the world couldnt have prevented.
If your tires are newer, say less than 5000 are the chances of this happening lowered or does it really matter?

"....................."

 

See... now that would be worthy of print. Get the make of the tire, do some research... see if it's happened before, see what the road conditions were. Is this a common problem with these tires? Is it statistically impossible? Give me some information that I can put to use. Then you'd be actually earning your dollar.