Death.. on the Dalton Highway

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by RedJacket

Yeah, I know (think) you are alive and well. I'll not be positive of that until I see a few anti-American communists sprinkled in with your comments.

Start another "May Day" celebration thread and I can guarentee you will see a few more of those comments being posted.

[RedJacket]

Originally Posted by Glitch

Start another "May Day" celebration thread and I can guarentee you will see a few more of those comments being posted.

Not me, I don't fight with people who are twice my size. I want to pass my Polish genes on so this world will be a better place for everybody.

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by Glitch

Your father was right. But at the same time you cannot allow fear to rule your life. Sometimes the risks are worth it.

I was able to avoid quite a few accidents on a motorcycle that would have been unavoidable in a sedan. I learned quickly that in order to survive in traffic on a motorcycle you have to drive like you are invisible, and every vehicle on the road is out to get you.

I felt the safest when I was on the freeways, because all the traffic was going in the same direction. I felt the least safe on city roads with all the cross traffic. Stopping to make a left-hand turn at an intersection was the most precarious moment. That is where most accidents happen, because the person in the car or truck "never saw" the biker.

I really didn't let it rule my life because I was never a motorcycle enthusiast. I prefer cars and trucks.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by RedJacket

Not me, I don't fight with people who are twice my size. I want to pass my Polish genes on so this world will be a better place for everybody.

Too bad, us Irish love a good fight, and size or numbers does not matter.

I wish you luck in your endeavor, but we should really stick to the topic of this thread.

I know there are a lot of bikers that come to Alaska every summer, and there are a few bikers who live in Alaska. Those who live in Alaska know just how bad our roads can be and drive accordingly, most of the time. Those who come to Alaska from the lower-48 have little experience with our frost-heaves or the gravel we use on our roads during the winter. Many of those frost-heaves are marked, but many are not. Gravel roads in particular are very dangerous for touring bikes. All it takes is one slip on your front-wheel, and you are going down.

I was reminded of that fact once in Los Angeles. I was coming to a stop behind a bus at an intersection. As I applied my front-brake my wheel ran over a small rock in the road and my front wheel slipped out from under me. I was not traveling more than 5 mph at the time, and I did not fall over, but my bike did. It was very embarrassing, but a good reminder of how unstable two-wheeled vehicles can be.

[starlite9]

There are two classes of motorcycle drivers, those that have been in accidents and those that will be.

Doesn't really matter how many of the Organ Donors are from motorcycles, they are a very high percentage which is sad, the fact that their loss of life benefits others is both sad that they died and great at the same time.

Life Alaska Donor Services

[warptman]

Valley ABATE Alaska - Rider Education and Motorcycle Awareness

[RedJacket]

Originally Posted by Glitch

I wish you luck in your endeavor, but we should really stick to the topic of this thread.

.

I have a nine year old son. About two years ago his best buddies mom was killed in a motorcycle accident. She was a passenger and died instantly when her head hit the pavement. No helmet. She left behind a 9 year old son and a 7 year old daughter.

It was a tough funeral for me to attend. I knew her and her family very well.

Like you, and most other people, I don't want the government telling me what I can and can't do. I just wish more people would understand that putting themselves in potential danger also impacts the lives of many others if something does go wrong.

Wearing a helmet is just using common sense, especially if you have young kids like this mother had.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by RedJacket

I have a nine year old son. About two years ago his best buddies mom was killed in a motorcycle accident. She was a passenger and died instantly when her head hit the pavement. No helmet. She left behind a 9 year old son and a 7 year old daughter.

It was a tough funeral for me to attend. I knew her and her family very well.

Like you, and most other people, I don't want the government telling me what I can and can't do. I just wish more people would understand that putting themselves in potential danger also impacts the lives of many others if something does go wrong.

Wearing a helmet is just using common sense, especially if you have young kids like this mother had.

I am sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. I was involved in a similar accident in Nebraska. I was hitchhiking back from college when a motorcyclist picked me up. I was not wearing a helmet. As we were driving down the highway at around 55 mph, a lady in a sedan pulled out from a county road directly in front of us. All the driver had time to do was lift his legs and try to turn with the sedan. It did not work.

When he impacted the sedan's right-rear quarter panel the driver on the motorcycle went flying over the sedan. I impacted with the trunk of the sedan, still on the motorcycle. The sedan was still moving across the road, and the right rear wheel ran over the front-wheel of the motorcycle, which catapulted both the motorcycle and me off the trunk of the sedan and into the air. The driver of the sedan stopped after crossing the intersection, and the motorcycle and I landed about 50 feet in front of the sedan.

I was unable to stand for about 15 minutes, but other than a scrapped knee from landing on the gravel road, I had no other injuries. The driver of the motorcycle that flew over the sedan landed in a cornfield, about 100 feet from the intersection. He was also fine, and on his feet quicker than I. It was another case of "honestly officer, I never saw them."

FYI: I did leave a nice impression in the sedan's trunk.

[losttechnician]

Many of my co-workers ride Harley's, it is kind of "the thing" to do for the middle aged guys chasing their long departed youth.... And yes, before you ask, I might feel the need to chase my rapidly departing youth fairly soon too.....

Early summer, one blew a stop sign going to work, at MUCH higher than legal speed, and had his rear tire clipped by a car driving legal speed (about 60) who obviously had right of way. Popped the airbags on the car, and sent them into a fence surrounding the field on the corner where the accident happened. HD rider also went through the 4 strand barbed wire fence, breaking all four strands with his body and the motorcycle. A bunch of surgeries later, he will walk again, but has had much trouble trying to heal, and is expected to be out of work for the remainder of this year. No helmet. I was unlucky enough to be right there when it happened, and tried to comfort my broken friend while waiting on the ambulance.

Couple months later, another co-worker (a foreman) was driving home in the same general location, but through a different intersection. He was helmeted up, driving the speed limit behind one of his journeymen, and in front of his apprentice. A Suburban blew the stop sign and literally ran over the rider. He was DRT, Dead Right There. Never moved, groaned, or anything. Simply dead, even though he was doing everything right.

One careless idiot rider, and he survives. One careful and safe rider, and he is dead.

So yes, I believe it is a mixture of a million things that determine survivability, but the helmet is NOT the cure-all.