Friend of mine was killed yesterday
 

My friend Matt Jones was killed yesterday. He was out riding his motorcycle and a woman in an SUV apparently turned in front of him - details are sketchy. The woman then took off. Police are looking for her now.

Matt leaves behind his wife and two beautiful little girls. I don't mean to be preachy, but if you've got a bike for God's sake be careful, especially if you have a family!

RIP, Matt...

Sorry to hear that DR.

Wife and kids... our toughts are with them.

Freakn motorcycles.:hothead:

Sorry to hear this.
My bike is for sale right now for this very reason, getting to many other vehicles on the road for my comfort. No longer fun riding.

DR, so sorry to hear about this. People simply do NOT pay enough attention when driving.

Sorry to hear the news. Condolances to the family. Last three times I took my bike out, almost got hit. Down here it just wasn't worth it. Sold the bike, I miss it, but not the worry.

Very sad indeed. Things like this make you stop for a minute and realize how precious life is and how fast everything can change.:( my condolences.

Thats terrible and she took off too :hothead:
I always assume the possibility that the driver up ahead will turn in front of you. This has cause me to slow
down at all intersections. I been cut off that way before
if your going slower you have a better chance of stopping. The worst offenders are on cell phones and fail
turn on there signals. I have resorted to back hills riding now. I ride a lot less now. Fear has replaced the sense of freedom I get on the Bike. :rolleyes:

Sorry to hear about your friend DR.I sold my bike for that reason alone.

Sorry for your loss. Every time I take mine out I just assume that the everyone else on the road is trying to kill me and ride accordingly.

damn dr...sorry to hear this...

rip.

Sorry about your Loss and our thoughts and prayers go out to his Wife and children.
Mike sorry about your accident :( . Ron and I rode together on his R6 3 times and I was upset with him our last ride out he said that was it and the bike was going. I love to ride. but a few weeks ago there was a guy on our road (which is the short cut To LG and the corners are extreme) he was laying in some one's driveway with a white sheet over him upto his helmet. not sure what happened but it was enough for me to realize realtiy....
and now when I hear them riding on our road at ungodly speeds it's no longer tempting.
I am now glad that my guy made that choice to sell the bike.

Sorry to hear the bad news. All included in this tragedy will be include in my thoughts and prayers.

Craig

Very sorry to hear.

Most common is people turning left in front of you. Anything can happen.
I ride without helmets and have a few. I know the risk factor goes up but life is worth risk.

I don't ride much, mostly in the country. There is more respect for bikes here in Milw, but as Rodger 1 stated...
assume everyone is trying to kill ya and ride accordingly.

Mike, I know about your leg and I think about that. Anything can happen.

Once again, DOCK...sorry to hear.. and help the family.

:( :( :(

Sorry to hear of your loss.

DR - sorry to hear about your loss.

Fever Mike - I agree 100% with you. I know I posted somewhere else here about selling my bike (Ducati 748). I miss the thing every time I see another bike, but after an accident with my truck, I don't think I'll ever buy another bike again. I consider myself to be a pretty safe rider, I got my motorcycle license in Florida which required a course for anyone under 18 I believe. The course was excellent. A full weekend taught by the same guys that actually train a lot of the Florida motorcycle police. The class provided bikes, and training from simply not falling over (for those who needed it) to full brake panic stops and obstacle courses. These guys taught the basic concept that everything is an obstacle out to get you and you better think of it as such. Unlike driver's ed, these instructors knew the real world and talked about/demonstrated/taught real situations instead of preaching the classic "do not speed", "use your turn signal", "parallel park" etc.
That being said, the obstacle concept is something I apply to everyday driving. A year and a half ago, I was driving on a road I'd driven a hundred times before and I saw a Pontiac Sunfire stop at an intersection. The driver literally made eye contact with me (something I always looked for on the bike), waited until I was nearly on top of her, and floored it out in front of my 2500 Chevy. The girl was airlifted out and luckily lived, but my truck was totalled. I can't imagine the shape I would have been in if I'd been on the bike. This was one of those cases, where no matter how much you think you can be aware and cautious, the times come when there is virtually nothing you can do.

:( :(

Wow, very sorry to hear that, RIP!

Sorry to hear it.

I stopped riding because I didn't (couldn't) enjoy it anymore. I had a few close calls, one of which scared me enough to make me park it for a month. After that every ride was mentally taxing. I couldn't relax. Every car coming at me was a potential accident. I'd watch them like a hawk, expecting them to do something stupid. Always looking to see if they would turn in front of me.

A section of the Jersey State Drivers Manual stated that if you held up a pencil at arms length, the pencil would block your view of a bike that was 100' away.
It also said "remember, to most drivers you are invisible. Ride defensively".


I've been watching the way some of the local kids ride their bikes around my area. Scary, very scary. Passing on the shoulder, running up between cars to pass, pulling wheelies in traffic. These kids are going to be statistics before you know it.

Dockrocker, this is by no means a reflection on your friend. I'm sure he was a responsible rider.

Thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Sorry to hear that. I had a car do that to me years ago and I laid the bike down to avoid the collision. Car kept going but a witness got the license#. Cop said there was nothing they could do because there was no contact. However... he did run the plate and gave me a pen a piece of paper to get the address as he looked the other way.
I really hope they find this woman and charge her with murder. No such thing as a fender bender on a bike.

How incredibly tragic. I'm sorry. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Sorry to hear about your friend DR....our thoughts and prayers are with all involved.

Sean & Terra

Sorry to hear that DR.:( . I've known a number of people killed on bikes. The absolute worst was a husband and wife I worked with. They were on separate bikes , on a two lane country road. They came over a rise with the wife in the lead.....just as somebody was making a left in front of them:eek: Angel broadsided the car and flew 50' in the air. Rich avoided it but had to witness the whole affair. WOW it's bringing tears to my eyes just telling the story again. This really was nobodys fault , just a poor intersection:mad:
Rich did gone to raise their two children himself;)
It really burns me to see some bikers take the chances they do on the highways , including cutting between cars and passing cars on the line between lanes. They're looking for a tradgety to happen and possibly ruin someone elses life too:hothead:

Fault is not the issue, the consequence are.

:( :( :(

I was in a very similar situation where I sold my bike (Honda CBR600) and bought a new truck, only a week later I got t-boned by some idiot who wasn't paying attention. Selling the bike saved my life, I would have been on it that day, no doubt in my mind.

I no longer have the option to ride a bike because of that person...and i miss it, but i'm pretty happy to be here still.

Mike, sorry to hear the news about your friend :( :(

I agree that road bikers need to be extra careful.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why so many Harley riders hug the center lane stripe thus exposing the bike BEYOND the center lane. It only takes the bike to hit someones side mirror and there is another accident or fatality.

Docker
 

I am sorry to hear about your friend.

I had a motorcycle as a "toy" years ago; it was incidents just like this one scared me into selling it.

It is always the driver that doesn't see you to watch out for.

I hope he had good life insurance, especially having kids.

If you set up a fund for the family let us know.

Wannabe

DR, so sorry to hear man, my thoughts and prayers are with everyone.

The reason I hug the centerline is so that on-coming traffic can see the bike behind the car you are following. Running 3 headlights gives more exposure.

The left mirror should not cross the centerline. I see that also too often.

Dock sorry to hear about your friend, my thoughts are with their family. Ian was driving in that area at about that time yesterday to bad he did not see anything. I hope they find the person, sounds like they have some good info.

Sorry to hear about your friend. Dont currently have a bike but have owned one and plan on owning another. Its tough out there with all the idiot drivers. You really have to be carefull when on a bike. My heart a prayers go out to you and your friends family.

Sorry about your friend Dock. I've lost friends myself to motorcycle accidents, one as recently as last year.
Like so many others, this is the reason I no longer ride. When I was single, I knew the risks and was willing to accept them. Now that I have a wife and two small children to think about, you won't see me on a bike again anytime soon.

so sorry to hear about this Dock. hope they catch the person quick. :( :( :(

Our thoughts and prayers go to the family and friends.

Sorry to hear of your friend. My brother died just over 2 years ago while ridding. It's easy to blame the risks of ridding a motorcycle. It's much harder to respect their right to ride and honor them for doing what they love. We asked everyone at my brothers funeral to ride thier bikes there, the church was filled with helmets and leathers. I'm sure that is how they would want it.

-Greg

My wife - God bless her - doesn't put too many rules on me, but one she is adamant about and has been since before we were married: No Bike.

I've always wanted a Harley or similar, but Mama said no bike while she was around. As usual, she's much, much smarter than me.

Matt did everything in the world with those girls, and I just can't imagine what life will be like for them without their daddy. Give your kids an extra hug today, folks.... :(

I am really sorry about your friend. I ride to work almost daily now, as I was sent 25 miles(one way) away to work by my company to save gas. Almost daily (2-3 times a week) I am almost made a hood ornament by someone on I4 not paying attention to what and who is around them. On all occasions I leave plenty of room around me with a way out. I am in NO WAY saying what happend to your friend is his fault, please do not think that. It is just sad that most people on 4 wheels do not seem to pay attention to what is around them. Now that I am riding, I pay more attention than EVER when I am driving my truck.

Very sorry for your loss, Dock! :( :(
What a terrible shame, with a wife and two kids.

Bikers beware.

:( Very sad. Keep us updated. I hope they catch her!

Dockrocker,

I am sorry to hear about your friend and the pain his family and friends must burden over his loss. I wish you all the best.

I am a VERY lucky man. I was riding my bike (Ninja ZX9R) to work on a Highway and the traffic was stopped due to construction. I had just stopped when I heard screeching brakes. I felt the impact immediately and was pushed and then pinned up against the back of the car in front of me. It was an older pick-up with a full plow apperatice (sp) on it. What actually saved my life was that being the truck didn't have anti-lock brakes it slide to the side a few feet and allowed the ram of the plow apper. to go over my shoulder and miss hitting me in the back. He got me with the side of his grill and headlight. They had to move one of the vehicles for me to get out of the mess. The guy who hit me was a bike rider himself and was beside himself that he did not even know I was between him and the car in front of me. The woman in the car in front of me was hysterical. She said she thought I was going to come through the back window of her car. It is unfortuate that some mindless acts can have such a large impact on so many others lives. I have not ridden since, but I am not apposed to it. I miss the riding, but I also would not want to have my family and friends go through the times that Dockrockers friends are going through now.