Safety Is Hard!
“I can’t wait till we’re old enough to have our own motorcycles!”
There are apparently millions of people who think they can safely drive while texting or doing so many other things that take their eyes off the road and their attention off the incredibly important activity of actually driving their car. Those people are idiots.
I never use my phone when I’m driving and I am an extremely careful, defensive driver. And rider.
And yet, despite all my care, I sometimes find myself in potentially dangerous situations. Safety is hard!
If I thought about it I’m sure I could come up with any number of dangerous times I’ve had on the bike, but I don’t have to think too hard to come up with the one that happened on Sunday.
I had been on a portion of the Old Bike Ride 17 and was headed home. I came into town on 6th Avenue and turned south on I-25. I quickly merged one lane to the left and wanted to move one lane further to the left. I turned my head to get a clear view of traffic, saw that it was clear and signaled and accelerated, all in the space of a couple seconds, and turned my view back to the front only to find the traffic in front of me had slowed down and I was already uncomfortably close to the rear end of the car in front of me. I was already moving left so I just accelerated that move and didn’t have to brake or even roll off the throttle and all ended well.
But that’s how it works. You have to pay attention ALL THE TIME. Conditions change in an instant. If you think nothing can go wrong in the three seconds you spend looking at your phone . . . you’re an idiot!
Biker Quote for Today
I have to get a license to drive a motorcycle to protect myself and the people around me. I am adamant there should be some sort of licensing required to have children. — Tim Allen
Tags: distracted driving
