Insurance Tips for Motorcyclists

Motorcyclists regularly encounter dangerous road situations.

A 2009 Highway Loss Data Institute report found more than half of motorcyclist deaths involved at least one other vehicle. Forty-two percent of two-vehicle fatal motorcycle crashes involved a vehicle turning left while the motorcycle was going straight, passing or overtaking.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data from 2008 showed 47% of all motorcycles involved in fatal crashes collided with another type of motor vehicle.

Recent research by a Texas Tech University psychologist suggests that the regularity of this problem isn't necessarily a case of poor driving or carelessness, but may be related to a basic human miscalculation.

Pat DeLucia, the coordinator of the Human Factors Psychology Program at Texas Tech, says her research shows that small, near objects can appear farther away than larger, more distant objects. The study is published in "Current Directions in Psychological Science."

Through computer simulation, DeLucia had study participants view two objects simultaneously, one large and one small, coming at them. The viewer must decide which one will reach them first.

The study explores how the human brain perceives objects, their size and motion and time to impact. Her findings indicate that an object's size affects distance perception, causing drivers to miscalculate motorcyclists' distance and speed.

Visual cues go wrong

It seems the brain uses two visual information cues for judging time to impact. In the first, a moving object is reflected on the eye's retina. It expands as it approaches, providing the brain accurate information about when the object will hit. This is called an optical invariant.

"It's basically determined by how big that object is on your retina and how fast it is growing on your retina; those two things actually give you the right amount of information about how long it will take the object to hit you, and that's accurate information," explains DeLucia.

However, the brain also uses what you can think of as an artist's depth cue, as if one were sketching two trees, one close up and one in the distance. This cue is a shortcut, or a human "rule of thumb."

"Those depth cues are also available when an object approaches you but they don't guarantee the correct information," says DeLucia.

The study pitted the two different cues against each other by putting the artist's depth cue of which object is closer against the retina's way of viewing the object.

"People generally picked that simpler heuristic: Larger is closer," says DeLucia.

If something is big in your visual field you assume it's closer, but that's not always accurate. What seems to be happening is that when you have small vehicles that are far away and coming closer, they don't look as close as they really are, so you think you have more time before they reach you -- as opposed to a big truck where you think you have less time.

Optical illusion or human miscalculation?

Since motorcycles are smaller than cars, the brain may use this shortcut to decide that a smaller motorcycle is farther away than it actually is. This size-arrival effect can lead drivers to misjudge when a motorcycle will arrive at an intersection and could be considered a contributing factor in motorcycle/vehicle accidents.

"In 75% of crashes with other vehicles, motorcyclists hit a vehicle that was in front of them [according to NHTSA], so they should try to anticipate what other drivers may do and remain visible with lights and bright gear," says Hannah Kim, an analyst and insurance expert at NerdWallet, a personal finance site. Kim says motorcyclists should also avoid risky maneuvers, including lane splitting, weaving in and out of lanes, passing vehicles and trying to overtake other vehicles. Most of the time, drivers in other cars never see a motorcycle before it is too late.

Kim explains that despite the fact that over half of motorcyclists who died in 2011 were 40 years old and older, insurance rates are highest for those who are younger than 25 because they're considered the riskiest age group.

"It is important for motorcycle riders to act as if no one sees them and to use their horn whenever there is a chance that a vehicle will not see them," says Thomas J. Simeone, a personal injury attorney in Washington, D.C. "It is not uncommon to see accidents where a vehicle cuts off a motorcycle while turning left or enters the lane of a motorcycle."

Insurance claims for motorcycle accidents occur at a disproportionally higher rate during the initial months after the rider first purchases a motorcycle insurance policy.

Some studies from the Highway Loss Data Institute and elsewhere put the first-year motorcycle rider risk at almost four times the risk of the second-year rider. Good motorcycle insurance is especially crucial for protecting against loss.

DeLucia hopes her research will ultimately help reduce motorcycle accidents.

A tag line such as "motorcycles may be closer than they appear" could be a place to start.

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Source: Fox Business (Nelson, 12/03)

Exploring America’s Main Streets on a motorcycle

Brothers Brant and Dylan Ozanich and Wyatt McCall were at a motorcycle shop in Hamilton, Montana, ordering a part for Dylan’s bike when they met two old bikers from Texas and talked with them about their trip across the country.

Although they had no treasurer, Brant pointed to McCall to answer the question. “You guys are going to need this, trust me,” said one of the older men, handing him $200 in cash.

The three friends, all in their early 20s, admit they looked a little raggedy at the time. “It was straight kindness,” said McCall, and typical of the generosity of the bikers they met across the country. And it turns out, “we did need it the next day for more bike repairs.”

The generosity of strangers repeated itself during the two-month summer journey of three young men on the cusp of adulthood to find and document Main Street culture and people across the United States. And making the trip on motorcycles connected them not just to the towns and people they visited, but also to the country’s biker community.

An exploration of biker culture

Contributing their own money and raising funds from family, friends and Kickstarter, the trio started a blog, raised over $10,000 to fund the trip and pay for the pre- and post-production costs of documenting their journey. They documented the journey on their blog and the reddit online community, and they hope to have a documentary and book out sometime next year.

Traveling on motorcycles turned out to be key. Dylan rode a 1982 Yamaha XJ 750 Seca ($500 cost); Brant rode a 1980 Yamaha XJ 650 Maxim ($500); and McCall rode a 1985 Honda V65 Magna ($1500 cost). “On Maxim, On Magna, On Seca” was a mantra they picked up for the trip.

“We didn’t know motorcycles were going to be that much of a connection between people, but they were,” said McCall. “Every time you get to a new place, you’re part of this new community.”

“With motorcycles you feel the scenery and the microclimate change and smell the fields you drive through,” said Brant. “Besides, it’s just plain badass.”

Finding their first Main Street

They packed up their bikes and left around noon on July 6. They planned to head north, turn east to get to New York, south to Mississippi and then through Texas and the Southwest to return home to California, But they decided not to keep to a strict schedule, allowing for fellow travelers to guide them on their way.

It didn’t take long to hit pay dirt. A few hours after they hit the road, they found their first Main Street in Point Arena, a small town north of San Francisco.

As they hopped off their bikes, the locals they met convinced them to come back the next day for a parade marking Independence Day. “The whole community came out and let us be a part of it and accepted us into the community,” Dylan said.

That serendipity set the tone for the rest of the trip.

The best sandwich in Idaho, or anywhere

The travelers only had a guarantee of places to stay (and eat) in New York and Los Angeles. Everything else would be an exploration, local recommendations and possibly, information from their not-guaranteed Internet connections.

The road led them to a Mennonite deli in Clark Fork, Idaho, that “made the best sandwiches we’ve ever tasted,” said McCall. They bought sandwiches and drove a mile down the road into Montana near a bridge to picnic and more. “We jumped off the bridge to swim,” Dylan said. And the drive through the Bitterroot Mountain range that cuts Idaho and Montana wasn’t too shabby either.

They also explored the source of their food, working for five days at Echo Valley Farm in Wisconsin in exchange for room and board. “It was some of the most gorgeous, breathtaking American looking farmland I’ve ever seen, with rolling green hills and grain mills,” Brant said. “It felt like what we were looking for the whole time — true America heartland.”

The farm’s kindness was typical of the people who gave them shelter on their journey. “We pulled up, three dirty bikers, to this nice sustainable farm,” he said. They “showed us a nice place to park the bikes, took us on a tractor up around the whole property and told us about everything they were doing.”

A willingness of strangers to share their stories was also typical. Shortly after they crossed the Mason Dixon Line into Maryland and found a good campsite at Catoctin Mountain Park, they heard music coming through the woods. “Was it a violin or cello?” said McCall, so they went to explore it.

They discovered two older Korean men playing songs about Korea on their saxophones. “We found the coolest guys on the whole trip.”

Busted shocks and other struggles

The trip wasn’t without its troubles. San Francisco street cleaners knocked over Brant’s bike the day before they left on their trip, pulling off the entire front end. Brant thought he had repaired the damage that day, until the shocks stopped working somewhere in Montana.

“For a few days I didn’t know if my bike would be able to make it,” said Brant. But they were able to fix it. “He pulled it all apart in the forest, drained it and put in new fluid,” said Dylan.

Brant also had the smallest gas tank, holding a gallon less than the other two bikes. He also had the worst gas mileage. And so he ran out of gas at least five times on the trip, and coasted into gas stations on fumes at least three times. “I learned toward the end of the trip to carry a water bottle or two of gas.”

By the time they arrived home in San Francisco on August 28, everyone was glad to sleep in their own beds again.

“For the first six days back, McCall was at his girlfriend’s house, and Dylan and I sat on the couch watching movies,” said Brant.

‘An adult within my society’

Giving up the benefits of home for a couple months was worth the journey. Dylan left San Francisco thinking it would be a way to transition from his youth to adulthood. Along the way, he hoped to learn “what it means to be a man in my society.” While he doesn’t have any specific answers, “seeing my country and understanding what my country is about … helped me understand that more.”

While Brant has always liked to travel and experience new things, he thought he would graduate college, get a job and save for his next planned trip. Not anymore. “Being out there in America on the road, and roughing it, inspired me to book a plane ticket to South America with my last $400,” he said. “I thought, ‘If you did this, you can do pretty much anything without a lot of resources.’ “

McCall, who had graduated in May not knowing what he wanted to do, thinks travel and video may be his calling.(And he learned how to ride a motorcycle along the way.)

The three friends credit each other with making it an amazing experience. “We did get in fights and have problems, but we wouldn’t have been able to do it without each other,” said Dylan.

“Every different leg of the trip, there was one pushing, one dragging and one on a stretcher,” he said. “It would change every single day.”

“We wouldn’t have made it across the country and back without the others.”

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Source: KPLR (AP, 11/06)

Number of motorcycle deaths should lead to more helmet laws

On a trip to Fort Worth’s main post office a couple of months ago, I noticed the traffic on Interstate 35W North moving very slowly on this “expressway,” especially for a Saturday afternoon.

Rather than get angry, I blamed myself for not remembering all the construction that’s been there for months. At least the return trip would be quicker, I thought as I dropped off my mail.

But in less than 10 minutes something happened that also had brought the southbound lanes almost to a standstill, a situation I didn’t realize until I was already on the entrance ramp with no way to avoid the massive jam.

This time I was about to get angry until I saw the flashing lights of emergency vehicles ahead and realized that there had been an accident. As my car inched along and got closer to the scene, I was not prepared for what I saw.

On the side of the highway was a wrecked motorcycle, and a short distance away lay a covered body, with only a man’s shoes exposed. An ambulance was leaving with its lights flashing, causing me to believe that perhaps a motorist had been injured as well.

I learned later that afternoon that only the motorcycle had been involved in the crash that killed a 44-year-old Haltom City man and critically injured his female passenger. Neither the driver nor the passenger wore a helmet, police said.

I’ve long been concerned about the number of motorcycle fatalities in this state and nationwide each year, but the problem became more real for me after I viewed that awful sight.

In March, there were four motorcycle fatalities in Fort Worth in one week, and on Sunday a 24-year-old Cleburne man was killed when he was thrown from his motorcycle as he tried to make a turn.

While other traffic deaths have been on the decline, motorcycle fatalities have been rising in Texas, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Although down slightly last year to 460 people killed compared with 488 in 2011, annual motorcycle deaths in the state have increased 56 percent since 2004.

Nationally there were about 4,550 deaths in 2012, doubling the amount in the mid-1990s, USA Today reported.

The number of fatalities, as well as serious head injuries, began to rise significantly as states repealed or relaxed their laws requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets.

Texas had such a law but changed it in 1997 from mandating helmet use for all riders to requiring helmets for those under 21 and those who have not completed a rider education course or secured a minimum of $10,000 in medical insurance coverage. Then in 1990 Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill that removed the minimum amount of insurance coverage.

Helmet use decreased significantly after those laws were passed, placing more riders in danger of being killed or gravely injured. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that, during the first full year after the weakening of the Texas helmet law in 1997, “deaths jumped 31 percent compared to the year prior to repealing its law.”

The CDC says helmets reduce the risk of death by 37 percent and the risk of head injury by 69 percent. In 2010, the U.S. saved $3 billion because of helmet use and could have saved $1.4 billion more had all motorcyclists worn helmets.

Some people are calling for national laws to address the problem, but I won’t go that far.

I do think individual states, and particularly Texas, should pass laws requiring helmet use by all riders — drivers and passengers.

At the same time we must continue to educate the rest of the population about motorcycle safety, including reminding motorists to be on the lookout for those riding two-wheel vehicles.

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Source: Star-Telegram (Sanders, 8/07)

DPS Urges Motorists to Use Caution Around Motorcyclists

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is reminding drivers on Texas roadways to use extra caution around motorcycles as part of Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month, which is observed during the month of May.

“Because of size and visibility, motorcyclists face unique challenges on the road that make them more vulnerable,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “We encourage all drivers – whether on two wheels or four – to actively watch out for each other and obey traffic laws. Motorcyclists can further protect themselves by wearing helmets; and other drivers can help by looking twice and giving extra space to motorcyclists.”

Currently, there are more than 440,000 motorcycles and mopeds registered in Texas, and that number is expected to grow.

DPS recommends all drivers “Share the Road” and “Look Twice” for motorcycles, which are Texas Department of Transportation public awareness campaigns that highlight motorcycle safety. Motorists should use caution, especially at intersections and when changing lanes – two common places where serious motorcycle collisions occur. Half of all fatal motorcycle crashes in Texas occur because a car or truck driver never saw the motorcyclist.

In 2012, 460 people in Texas died in motorcycle crashes – down from the 488 motorcyclists who died in 2011. However, those deaths accounted for approximately 13 percent of all traffic deaths in the state last year, and 89 percent of motorcycle crashes in Texas result in death or injury.

In addition to the annual awareness campaign, May 2013 also marks the 30th anniversary of the DPS Motorcycle Safety Unit. The unit coordinates training courses at more than 200 locations around the state for both basic and experienced riders. Motorcyclists must be properly licensed to operate a motorcycle in the State of Texas. For more information on motorcycle training or to find a training location in your area, please call 1-800-292-5787 or visit www.dps.texas.gov/msb.

Drivers and motorcyclists can significantly reduce their chances of being involved in a serious or fatal crash by adhering to basic safety measures, including:

• Always allow a motorcyclist the full lane width – never try to share a lane.

• Perform a visual check for motorcycles by checking mirrors and blind spots before entering or exiting a lane of traffic, and at intersections.

• Always signal your intentions before changing lanes or merging with traffic.

• Allow more following distance – three or four sec¬onds – when behind a motorcycle so the motorcyclist has enough time to maneuver or stop in an emer¬gency.

• Never tailgate. In dry conditions, motorcycles can stop more quickly than cars.

• Never drive while distracted.

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Source: KBTX (AP, 5/2)

Gender makes no difference when it comes to having fun or accidents on motorcycles

EL PASO — The 2006 Suzuki GSXR 600 roars down the I-10 freeway going 60 mph at 6:30 a.m. on a weekday and exits on Schuster Avenue. The woman at the wheel, Tory Lewis, a fit 5’ 2’’ blonde, then turns left onto Hawthorne from Schuster Avenue entering the University of Texas at El Paso campus. Her bike comes to an abrupt stop behind the Administrative Building and she parks in a spot designated for motorcycles.

She removes her dark-blue helmet and is ready to start her day as she walks towards her graphic and design fundamentals class located in the Liberal Arts Building.

“I just love how I’m able to feel the speed,” said Lewis, a medical engineering student at UTEP.

Lewis, 28, was born and raised in Michigan and served in the United States Army for about seven years before being stationed at Fort Bliss in April of 2005.

Growing up around motorcycles motivated Lewis to learn to ride at the age of 15 and she hasn’t been able to get off since.

She bought the Suzuki, her first motorcycle, in 2006 and is proud to say she has never been in an accident.

“I always take precautions and I wear my safety gear,” she said. “I have also taken the motorcycle safety course and the advanced one.”

She understands it’s a risk to ride a motorcycle because no matter how safely she drives other vehicles are unpredictable and larger vehicles sometimes do not see her.

And she remembers getting pulled over by a police officer for speeding one time. The officer acted surprised when she removed her helmet. “He said he never expected he was pulling over a girl and talked about it nonstop,” she chuckled.

Lewis’ mother, Vickie Knake, 50, has also been riding since the age of 15 and has always been a member of motorcycle clubs. She currently lives in Baldwin, Michigan, and now only rides for fun and occasionally attends motorcycle events. Knake said a lot has changed since she started riding as a teenager.

“Riding used to be exiting and free. Now it’s a money maker and (full of) politics,” said Knake, explaining that most motorcycles clubs and events now seem to focus on making money rather than cruising and enjoying the ride.

El Pasoan Timothy Daniels, 44, has been riding since he was 18. He likes to ride with Lewis, and sometimes jokes about being a better driver than women motorcyclists. He has been a member of various motorcycle clubs for about seven years and is currently a member of the Moto Family, a driving club created about two years ago. Moto Family has 18 members, mainly men, and just three women members. The club participated in the Toys for Tot’s Bike Run last year in Las Cruces. Bike members usually cruise the city in groups when time allows, and try to ride together every Sunday morning depending on the weather.

“We treat women just how we treat the guys in the club,” Daniels said. “No one is better than anyone else.”

He added that although men have always outnumbered women in the club, the few female riders who join like to stick around.

Although accidents are common among motorcycle drivers, the sex of the rider is usually not a factor. Most motorcycle-related deaths occur because the riders aren’t wearing a helmet, according to accident statistics. What matters most is that drivers take precautions like driving safely and wearing a helmet.

There were 426 motorcycle deaths in Texas in 2009, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. This is a 13.6 percent increase from the 375 motorcycle deaths recorded in 2007, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Sixty percent of these bike drivers were not wearing helmets and 39 percent of the motorcyclists killed had a blood alcohol level greater than .08.

According to NHTSA, motorcycle riders are 35 times more likely to be in traffic accidents than someone driving a passenger car. The agency does not break down the statistics for men and women motorcycle drivers.

A possible factor in the increase of motorcycle accidents is that the number of states requiring riders to wear helmets has decreased in the past 40 years. In the 1970s, for example, 47 states had laws requiring the use of helmets by motorcycle riders; today only 19 states have a law requiring helmets. The rest of the states, including Texas, only require riders to wear helmets partially, meaning once they reach a certain age. Here is a map from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showing helmet laws in all 50 states.

Although some men claim that women don’t drive as well as men, gender does not appear to be a factor in accidents and motorcycle deaths.

“I was about to sell my bike a few years ago because of how dangerous it is and all the deaths (I read about) but I wasn’t able to,” Lewis said.

“You’re always going to have accidents, either on your motorcycle or car, and you just have to be as cautious as you can,” she said. “I enjoy riding too much; it’s hard to get rid of something you have had almost your entire life.”

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Source: Boderzine (Gonzales, 3/28)

Ten Things to Take on Every Trip

Spring is here, which means sitting down and planning those long summer trips that you'll be dreaming about at work to keep yourself sane. But your dream trip can easily go from a story you'll tell your friends about to make them jealous to a trip that airs on When Vacations Attack in 2.5 seconds. To keep things on the right track, always pack a few necessary things:

An A Plan: Whether you like to schedule every little thing down to what undies you want to wear on what day or you're a free spirit that like to go wherever the road takes you, some sense of a trip outline is a must. Sure, you can deviate from it a little as you go, but knowing where point a is and where point b is and how to get between the two before you hop on your bike is a must. Plus, it doesn't hurt to map out where gas, food and places to sleep along the way so that you don't end up stranded on a road somewhere with no gas and only a pack of gum to snack on.

Once you get all that figured out, feel free to tell a few people so that they'll have an idea where you are and which way to send the search team if you don't make it to your final destination. Have someone at home that will be freaking out if you don't call every hour on the hour? Invest in a Spot II Personal GPS Satellite Messenger. The thing tracks where you are by satellite and can send messages to your loved ones telling them your exact coordinates and that you're okay.

Speaking of GPS: Getting lost is one of the fastest ways to kill a good trip, especially if you're the group's navigator. Taking a GPS unit with you is a great way to keep everyone on track or get back on track if you find yourself in some unexpected places. Either leave it on to guide your whole way or only turn it on in emergencies; either way, you'll be glad you had it. Take one of these GPS units, for example. Still stubborn about taking modern day technology on your "into the wilderness" trip? At least take a map and a compass.

For the things that happen after you say, "This couldn't get any worse": Survival kits are the items you hope you never have to use but are glad that you brought if you need them and it's always that one time that you leave them out that they're necessary. So, despite how mild of a trip you plan to be taking, never leave out waterproof matches, a decent knife, a flashlight, a rescue blanket and some water purification tablets. They won't take up that much room but can be a real butt saver in the scheme of things.

Aid of the First: Scars are sexy. Or so we've heard. Bleeding out or having to ride with a broken appendage, not sexy. Unless you're into that kind of thing, bring a first aid kit in case your body takes a beating if something goes south or if you get a blister. Even the smallest of injuries can be a huge pain in your ride. Grab a handful of band-aids, some burn cream, butterfly sutures and sunscreen.

Your ride's survival kit: Just like you might hit something unexpected, your bike might too. And while you may plan your entire trip down to the bathroom breaks, you can't plan for when your ride breaks. Bring with you a small tool kit with all the essentials for patching your trusty steed up. Most multi-tool tool kits will have the basics while staying small and organized so that they're easy to bring with you. Otherwise, make sure to at least have pliers, a screwdriver, Allen wrenches and an adjustable crescent wrench. Whether you're rocking the kit or your own collection, just remember, duct tape and zip ties can fix almost anything, at least temporarily.

You ride's first aid kit: Even on the simplest of rides there's a chance a part could break. Set your bike on its kickstand in a softer area of the road and you could find it chillin' on its side with a broken control lever and no way to get to a new one. If you're planning a more adventurous trip, then spare parts are a definite must have. Depending on the ride you have planned, think about packing some spare levers, bolts, screws, fasteners and even a fresh oil and air filter.

Snackage: Let's face it, we all have alter egos that come out when we're hungry. But you don't want that cranky beast to be the one enjoying your ride when it should be a happily riding you enjoying it. Pack some snacks and plenty of hydrating fluids (no, beer does not count) to keep your stomach sated so you can focus on what really matters. And it won't hurt to bring a little extra, just in case you do get stranded and have to wait it out for help to arrive. You can live a few weeks without eating but why the heck would you want to?

A space suit: Well, maybe just a rain suit instead. No matter how well you plan your trip around the sun, nature has a way of sneaking up on you. So if your parade does happen to get rained on, don't let it slow you down. Pack a Two-Piece Motorcycle Rain suit. Their inexpensive and light weight do they won't weight you down but you'll be glad you have one when you're not trying to ride while being soaked to the core.

Say Cheese: We know it's a little cheesy, no pun intended, but a bringing a camera can immortalize this phenomenal trip you've been planning and dreaming about forever. Whether it's a good ol' fashion camera, a riding camera or even your smart phone's lens, snap a few pictures here and there so that you'll be able to remember it like was yesterday when you're pruney and telling your grandkids about the trip or even when you want to brag to the fools who chose not to take time off work and join you. You'll be happy you did when the trip is over.

A Winning Attitude: Your attitude can have the biggest effect on your trip no matter how perfect everything turns out. As long as you prepare by following the guidelines above, chances are that everything will go smoothly. So be sure that the second you hop on your ride, you've forgotten about all your worldly troubles and are open to anything. You may have most of your trip planned out but allow for the unexpected to happen. And if anyone else on your ride has a bad attitude, don't let them get you down. Just threaten to leave them at the next rest stop if they can't turn their frown upside-down.


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Source: Bike Bandit (AP)

Traffic fatalities on the rise in West Texas

The screech of tires on asphalt. A crash.

An ambulance wails, lights flashing, but arrives too late. Another person is killed on a Texas road — It happens every day.

Statewide in 2011, 3,016 people died in 2,797 crashes, according to state and national data. The Big Country is no stranger to fatal crashes: In 2011, 68 people were killed in 66 crashes in the region.

And according to the most recent available statistics, these numbers are trending upward in West Texas.

INVESTIGATIONS

Armando Renteria is a certified crash investigator for the Sweetwater Police Department. He has been in that position since 1999.

“We look at different things, like at which angle did it (the vehicle) leave the roadway? Was it gradual?” Renteria said. “We look at the different skid marks and markings in the median.”

There were 28 recorded crashes in Nolan County from 2008-12. Sweetwater is that county’s seat, which means Renteria has seen his fair share of crashes.

He said investigators use algebra, calculus and trigonometry to determine how crashes happened.

“You know you’re in high school and you say, ‘I’ll never have to do algebra again?' It’s not true in this job,” he said.

The Texas Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study traffic fatalities and publish statistics on them.

Their analysis supports some widely held conventions about traffic fatalities — that driving in excess of the posted speed limit is dangerous, and so is driving a motorcycle.

Other statistics might be more surprising, though:

Single-vehicle crashes account for the majority of traffic fatalities.

More fatal crashes occur on U.S. and state highways than on interstate highways.

Though general data for 2012 is available, 2011 is the most recent available year for in-depth information.

SINGLE-VEHICLE CRASHES

Renteria said single-vehicle accidents — rollovers in particular — can be especially deadly.

“If you’re doing 75 mph and there’s a rollover, you’re bouncing around in that vehicle like crazy,” he said. “You see all kinds of trauma — brain injuries, broken bones.”

Single-vehicle accidents are even more difficult to investigate than other fatal crashes, Renteria said, because frequently the only witness to the crash is dead.

“You have to go back and figure out the root cause of the accident,” he said. “Is there a mechanical defect? Is there some traffic device defect?”

Since 2007 more than half of fatal crashes in Texas have been categorized as single-vehicle crashes.

Common causes of single-vehicle fatalities include rollovers and crashes into stationary objects such as utility poles, concrete barriers, culverts and guard rails.

Vehicles striking trees, light poles and fences are the most common listed causes of single-vehicle fatalities.

Renteria said drowsiness and a phenomenon known as “road hypnosis” can contribute to these types of crashes.

Watching the yellow line as you drive down the road “can make you tired and put you to sleep,” he said.

Renteria stressed the importance of getting a good night’s rest before embarking on road trips. Driving tired just leads to more accidents, he said.

“There’s a certain thing you need to do before you get out on the road. Make sure you get plenty of rest,” he said. “Take plenty of breaks while you’re driving. You don’t have to do it in one trip.”

ARE INTERSTATES REALLY MORE DANGEROUS?

Interstate highways have some of the highest posted speed limits and have the most miles traveled of any roadways in the state, but account for the fewest number of fatal wrecks.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is recognized as the pre-eminent crash investigator in the state.

Spokesman Senior Trooper Phillip “Sparky” Dean said interstates tend to be safer.

“Interstates are for the most part pretty straight,” he said. “You’ve got two lanes going the same direction.”

State and U.S. highways were the leading locations of fatal wrecks in Taylor County from 2008-11, accounting for 24 of 68 fatal crashes.

Dean said this could be explained by people getting complacent with driving on familiar highways.

“People are crashing on a straight piece of roadway,” he said. “A lot of that is the attitude that it’ll never happen to me — This could happen to you. No one is exempt.”

Carol Rawson, TxDOT traffic operations director based in Austin, said interstates are the safest because they’re built the best.

“Our interstate highways are built to our highest standards. We have nice lanes, big shoulders. The interstate is your best level of road,” Rawson said.

U.S. and state highways account for 28,000 miles of Texas roadways. U.S. 83, at 899 miles, is the longest. The state depends on these highways systems to deliver traffic through many of the state’s rural areas, Rawson said.

“The majority of our crashes are occurring in rural Texas,” Rawson said. “People believe the fatalities are happening in our cities.”

Statewide in 2011 more fatal crashes occurred on state and U.S. highways than on any other type of road.

Rawson said the most dangerous of the U.S. and state highways are those with two lanes moving in opposite directions with no center divider between them. TxDOT is planning to place cable barriers on these roads, along with widening some by 2 or 4 feet, she said.

“A lot of highways don’t have edge lines,” Rawson said.

In Nolan and Howard counties, however, interstate wrecks accounted for the most traffic fatalities from 2008-11. In Howard County, most of its 23 crashes were on Interstate 20, mainly near Big Spring. Nolan County saw half of its 20 fatal crashes occur on I-20, mostly near Sweetwater.

DISTRACTED DRIVING

Though TxDOT and NHTSA do not keep specific data about distracted driving, Dean identified it as a major cause of highway fatalities.

“There’s all kinds of distractions in today’s vehicles,” the DPS’s Dean said. “That driver needs to do nothing but drive that car. Unfortunately, driving the car is the last thing they’re doing.”

Eating, talking on the phone, texting, smoking and messing with the CD player while driving are some examples of distracted driving.

“We’re making the vehicles safer, but we’re not making the drivers safer,” Dean said.

“The factor has always been there,” Renteria said. “It’s just now ... being looked at a little more with the evolvement of technology. You see these wrecks where the teenager is texting, and they’re deceased now.”

Renteria suggested that parents advise their children to pull over to the side of the road before using their phones to call or text.

“Texting?” he said. “It can wait.”

Dean said that a driver with a learner’s permit is not allowed to use a phone in the car at all.

SPEEDING

Statewide, speeding was a factor in about one third of fatal crashes since 2009, according to data.

In the Big Country, speeding was a factor in about 35 percent of the fatal crashes from 2009-11. It was a factor in nearly all of the crashes in Nolan County in this time period.

In Taylor County speeding was a factor in 39 percent of fatal crashes in that time period.

The speed limit on some interstate, state and U.S. highways was raised from 70 to 75 mph in 2012. U.S. 277 north of Abilene saw the posted speed increase in late 2012.

National and state data hasn’t caught up to reflect this change, but Rawson said she doesn’t expect there to be a substantial uptick in fatality numbers because “most people were traveling at that speed anyway.”

“We’re making sure (speed limits) are safe and appropriate,” Rawson said.

PEDESTRIANS

In the state in 2011, 418 pedestrians were killed by vehicles.

Pedestrian-vehicle fatalities in Texas increased by 17 percent in 2011 from the previous year, a jump to 418 deaths from 357.

Three pedestrian deaths were recorded in the Big Country in 2011. In Taylor County, one pedestrian was killed on Key Lane, south of Potosi. One was killed in Eastland County on County Road 323, and another was killed in Brown County on U.S. 183.

In Abilene already this year, two pedestrians have been killed by vehicles. Tina H. Brown was killed in early January by a pickup as she was crossing South First Street. Zachery Joseph Melton was killed by a pickup as he was walking at night on Sayles Boulevard a few days later. Also in January a Ranger woman was killed while trying to help motorists who were involved in a multivehicle accident on Ranger Hill.

“We’re having a lot of pedestrians killed on our highways,” Rawson said.

MOTORCYCLES

From 2007-11 in Taylor County, 29 percent of motor vehicle fatalities involved motorcyclists.

About 43 percent of those killed were wearing helmets.

In the state, motorcycle fatalities accounted for about 11 percent of fatalities for that time period.

About half of the 471 people killed in motorcycle crashes in 2011 were wearing helmets.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of motorcycle fatalities,” Rawson said. “That can be attributed to gas prices that have gone up. There’s a group of baby boomers that love getting the Harley motorcycles when maybe they’re not so familiar using them.”

TxDOT estimates that 127 motorcyclists were saved by wearing helmets in 2011.

If all of them wore helmets — instead of the observed rate of 46 percent — the agency figures 94 more lives could be saved.

In January, Clayton Dowlin Johnson, 18, was killed on when his motorcycle collided with an SUV on South Treadaway Boulevard.

His passenger was taken to Hendrick Medical Center and survived. Both Johnson and his passenger were wearing helmets.

SEAT BELTS

Even though the state has had a seat belt law since 1985, it wasn’t until 2010 that all passengers, including those in the back seat, had to buckle up.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports seat belt use in Texas has remained at about 94 percent for the most recent two-year period (2010-11).

Rawson said TxDOT is focused on getting the percentage of the population who don’t wear a seat belt to start wearing one.

“That group, if we could get them to buckle up, the fatality number would go down,” she said. “When you’re thrown out of the vehicle, your chance of dying goes up.”

“Who in Texas does not know that it’s the law to wear a seat belt?” Dean said.

TxDOT estimates 200 lives could have been saved in 2011 if everyone wore a seat belt.

In Taylor County in 2011, more than half of people killed in motor vehicle crashes were wearing seat belts, six of 11.

DWI

About a third of traffic fatalities in the state in 2011 involved drivers with blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher, which is the legal blood alcohol limit for operating a vehicle in Texas.

The percentage of official crashes involving a drunken driver have risen slightly from 2007 to 2011, despite increased educational campaigns, and DPS trooper and city police patrols near holidays.

Troopers currently are increasing spring break patrols until March 17.

“Impaired driving is the most hazardous occurrence on our roadways, but it’s also the most avoidable,” said Warren Diepraam, vehicular crimes prosecutor for Montgomery County. “If you’re unlucky you may kill yourself or someone else. It’s just not worth the risk.”

More DWI traffic fatalities occur in Texas than in any other state: 1,213 deaths were recorded in 2011.

Diepraam said those numbers would be even higher if all drunken driving deaths were properly recorded.

“That number is a significant underestimate,” he said.

Diepraam said depending on the time and location of DWI-related deaths, a fatality crash might not be recorded as a drunken driving death.

A fatal crash that occurred in a private neighborhood is one example, he said.

The prosecutor, who has been at the scene of more than 1,000 fatal crashes, said he works hard to send a message to potential DWI offenders.

“The message that we like to send is that vehicular homicide is a crime, and it’s a violent crime,” Diepraam said. “If you kill somebody, you need to go to prison.”

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Source: Reporter News (Collins, 3/9)

Driver sought in hit-and-run

A Hallsville man died Sunday night after wrecking his motorcycle and then being run over by a pickup truck whose driver fled the scene in rural Upshur County, said investigating Texas Depatment of Public Safety Trooper Brandon Love.

Officers were seeking a white pickup which ran over Maxwell Kyle Hardin, 35, as he lay in the roadway of FM 726 after wrecking the motorcycle in an accident which also injured his girlfriend, Love said.

Hardin died after being taken by ambulance to East Texas Medical Center Gilmer, where Upshur County Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace W.V. Ray pronounced him dead at 8:35 p.m., said Love.

Donna Rene Miller of Hallsville, who was marking her 36th birthday, was taken by ambulance to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview with possible head injuries, but was expected to recover, Love said.

She and Hardin had left a birthday party for her at her home in Hallsville, the trooper said.

Authorities do not know whether it was the motorcycle crash, or the pickup, which killed Hardin, Love said.

The trooper gave this account of the accidents and related events:

The couple was southbound on FM 726 between the intersections with Hwy. 154 and FM 1650 (near Glenwood), when Hardin swerved the 1999 Honda Shadow to miss a deer. The driver lost control and ran into a ditch on the roadway’s right side, throwing him and Ms. Miller off the motorcycle.

Hardin was lying in the southbound lane when, probably within 30 seconds, the southbound pickup ran over him and stopped momentarily before continuing southward on FM 726.

A man who was sitting on his porch witnessed the motorcycle accident and was going to help when he saw the pickup run over Hardin.

The witness couldn’t tell anything about the driver, but said nobody exited the vehicle. Authorities have no description of it, other than it was a white pickup, and anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Tyler DPS office at 903-939-6000 or the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office at 903-843-2541.

Leaving the scene of the accident was a felony offense.

Hardin and Ms. Miller weren’t wearing helmets, but she was able to call 911 on her cell phone. Love was notified of the incidents at 7:15 p.m.

Those were the first of four traffic crashes attributable at least partly to animals in rural Upshur County Sunday evening. The other two, both caused by a calf who strayed into FM 2263 three miles northeast of Gilmer (off Hwy. 155), resulted in no serious injuries, according to Love.

David Sterling, 55, of Gilmer, was southbound when his 2001 GMC pickup struck the calf, Love said. Sterling exited the truck, was charged by the animal, and received a minor knee injury when he ran and jumped back into the vehicle, said the trooper.

Love said he was called to that accident at 10:30 p.m., arrived at 10:39, and was turning his patrol car around when he witnessed the second crash. The calf had run northward up the road, and 55-year-old Amron Dailey of Gilmer overturned her southbound 2005 Chevrolet Malibu when she swerved to miss the animal, the trooper said.

“I saw her car rolling in my headlights  in the ditch. . . I saw it roll twice,” Love said at the scene. Ms. Dailey escaped injury when the vehicle ran off the roadway’s right side and ended up right side up, straddling a ditch.

Ms. Dailey was wearing her seat belt, which “definitely saved her from getting ejected,” Love said.

Both accidents occurred near the intersection with Blue Bell Road, and both Sterling and Ms. Dailey were alone in their vehicles, Love said. Both reside on FM 2263, he stated.

Love and an Upshur County Sheriff’s Deputy used a flashlight to spot the calf in a pasture beside the road. The animal jumped up and ran a short distance away from the officers into the pasture.

Rain began within an hour after Ms. Dailey’s crash.

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Source: The Gilmer Mirror (Williams, 1/31)

BMW Recalling 2,385 Motorcycles for Kickstand Problem

BMW is recalling 2,385 of its 2012-13 motorcycles to keep gravity from having its way with them.

In a report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, BMW said the kickstand on its S 1000 RR models could fail, allowing the $15,000 motorcycle to topple over.

BMW told the safety agency that the problem was that the attachment threads were not properly cleaned. So the remaining bits of metal could allow the bolts to loosen and the kickstand could separate from the frame.

BMW told the agency it had its first report of a problem in March followed by five more in June and July. “Given the low number of warranty claims and the long period of time in which the claims were received,” BMW said it continued to “monitor” the situation.

Following some additional reports in Germany – as well as in the United States – BMW began investigating in October, found the cause and concluded a recall was needed.

BMW described the recall as “voluntary,” but once a manufacturer finds a safety problem it has five business days to inform the safety agency of its plan for a recall or face civil fines.

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Source: The New York Times (Jensen, 12/28)

Holiday gift ideas for bikers

The holidays are just around the corner. If you are having difficulties on getting something for that special someone, do not worry, Biker Lawyer has you covered!

Great gifts for him:

Water-resistant 100% nylon twill with poly-twill quilted lining. Zipper front. Rib-knit collar, cuffs and waist. Two zipper hand-warmer pockets and two interior pockets. Embroidered appliqué on right sleeve, front and back.

The Microwire™ is woven into a heating matrix within the glove and provides consistent heat coverage to the entire length of each finger, including the thumb as well as the back of the hand. 95% leather, 5% neoprene gloves with waterproof, breathable Aquatex™ lliner. Electrical plug-ins built into gauntlet cuff. Includes connecting harness, power switch, and three prong harness to go up jacket sleeves. Can be worn alone or with other heated clothing. Padded palms, drawcord closure and graphics in contrasting colors.

Hybrid fiberglass composite shell that results in a lighter weight than traditional fiberglass shells. Quick release face shield mechanism. Front and rear vent to provide maximum air flow. Removable, washable Nylex® liner wicks moisture away for maximum comfort. Fits P&A Helmet Headset and Road Tech™ Helmet Headset with Bluetooth® 2.0 Technology (P/N 98272-09VM) sold separately. Helmet bag included. Custom graphics.

Great gifts for her:

Ideal vest for adding patches and pins. Lightweight leather with poly-twill lining. V-neck with snap front. Embroidered graphics on left hem.

Constructed of full grain leather upper, full length cushion sock lining, and YKK® locking inside zipper. Rubber mini-lug outsole and Goodyear® welt construction. Shaft height: 12.5"; Heel height: 1.5". Riding appropriate footwear.

Fiberglass shell. Double D-ring chin strap. Chin and forehead venting. Tool-free removable face shield. Helmet bag included. Allover graphics. Meets DOT requirements. KBC®, 3 lbs. 8 oz.

Halloween Driving tips

Halloween is now upon us, and it is good to go out and enjoy it, but remember Halloween is a holiday for fun activities and candy, not for tragedies. We have a few tips that will make your Halloween experience fun and safe for you and for others.

Refrain from using your phone or any other electronic devices while driving, and even while waiting on lights. Costumes might distract your eyes from the road on occasion, but please pay attention to the road at all times. Doing this keeps you from accidentally running over a trick-or-treater, or crashing into another vehicle.

Watch out for the monsters and ghouls walking by. Pay attention to crosswalks, stop signs, and intersections these creatures of the night might be walking across. Hey, this is not a Stephen King movie! Time doesn’t slow down or speed up on this auspicious of holidays. So abide by the speed limit, and monitor the flow of traffic at all times. At twilight, and later in the evening, watch out for kids who might be wearing all black or dark colored clothing, some costumes reduce the visibility of pedestrians.

Turn on your headlights for easy visibility. Be extremely cautious in rural areas with parked or standing cars, since parents tend to drive their kids around the blocks, but wait in convenient locations as they continue to trick-or-treat.

It may prove trying at times, but please be patient with people crossing the street. Some children may not be accompanied by parents, and will want to scour over their loot while walking to the next location. And others still might have costumes that make it difficult for them to move around at all.

Just remember, it is Halloween, and some kids will be too excited to abide by the old "stop, look, and listen" techniques. Have fun, be safe, and above all be courteous.

Sheriff suspends deputy who seized biker's camera

This is a follow up on two of our previous stories that can be found here and here.

DALLAS — The Dallas County Sheriff's Department has issued a 38-day suspension to a deputy who stopped a motorcycle rider without cause and seized his helmet camera.

The raw video of the Memorial Day weekend arrest by Deputy James Westbrook has been seen by almost half a million people around the world on YouTube.

The suspension — which Westbrook can appeal — amounts to almost two months off without pay.

“I think we should applaud the agency," said Dr. Robert Taylor, a criminal justice expert at the University of Texas at Dallas. "There were days in American law enforcement when nothing would've happened. And those weren't too far off."

However, Taylor said other departments would have surely fired Westbrook.

Westbrook made the arrest on Memorial Day weekend, when local law enforcement departments were on high alert. They wanted to prohibit reckless behavior by motorcycle riders on the anniversary of a biker event where they shut down North Central Expressway in Dallas and sprayed graffiti on the road.

During his arrest of biker Chris Moore, Westbrook said: "The reason you're being pulled over is because I'm gonna take your camera and we're gonna use it as evidence of in the crimes that have been committed by other bikers."

It is not illegal to wear a camera on your helmet. And experts say Westbrook’s reason did not constitute probable cause to make a traffic stop.

But what bothers Taylor more than Westbrook's traffic stop is the deputy's verbal outbursts and how he slammed the squad car door on the biker's leg.

"Those are the kinds of things that smack of all the ugly things we see in law enforcement,” Taylor said.

Hunter Biederman, Moore's lawyer, said Westbrook should have been fired. "I think they're sending the message that what he did was okay,” Biederman said.

He is prepared to take this to trial, a rare step for a small offense. But Biederman said it was necessary after his client was arrested, mistreated, and then held in the Dallas County Jail.

"I don't think this person should be out patrolling our streets. I don't that type of person should be stopping and arresting our citizens,” he said.

Prior to responding to the biker situation, Westbrook had arrested a drunk driver. Eight of Westbrook's 38 suspension days were related to him leaving his prisoner at the jail without booking him in while he went out on the biker call.

Deputy Westbrook declined to comment on the case to News 8. He has not served the suspension yet and can still appeal.


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Source: WFAA (Schechter, 9/12)