The Call
So. as most of you already know, I received a phone call that a family member had been taken to the emergency room. Mr T and I had to unexpectedly make a trip to Southern California and travel through a pretty nasty storm to get there. We made it there in one piece and spent the next four days out there with my cousin. It was my cousin’s husband that had been taken to the hospital. This is not the cousin I have previously blogged about in Gene Pool, but a cousin I recently connected with after the death of my grandmother last year. We have stayed in contact since the funeral and have visited on a few occassion. The kids love her and her husband and we have had some great times. With the insanity of the family, she has taken a similar to road to what I have. Although she has been kept in the loop of it all throughout the years, she currently keeps to her self in an attempt to hang on to any piece of sanity that she may have left. Maybe that’s why we get along so well.
So what happened? A horrific motorcycle accident is what happened and the whole experience has made me question my thoughts on the motorcycle laws in this country. I decided to blog about it because I am hoping to get some feedback on the motorcycle laws in your area and your thoughts on them. Here’s the story…
He was traveling on a major freeway in the southern California area and was riding in between cars that were in the carpool (HOV) lane and the number 2 lane. In the state of California, a car traveling in the carpool lane may only exit that lane when the solid yellow lines are no longer solid. However, a large van decided to exit it’s carpool lane and clipped the front of his motorcycle. This sent him head first over the handlebars. His head made contact with the back window of the van and his body came to a rest on the freeway. Thankfully, there were numerous witnesses to his accident and an ambulance arrived rather quickly. My cousin arrived at the hospital and she was asked to wait while he was stabilized. She was only told that it was a horrific accident but that he was alive. She was handed a bad of his personal affects that they had taken from him. His clothes had been cut off of him and his helmet was given to her in a bucket. The nurse’s assistant handing her his things didn’t understand why his helmet was in a bucket and attempted to pick it up and hand it to her. As blood flowed from his helmet into the bucket, she quickly understood and put it back down.
He survived the terrible accident but has a long recovery ahead of him. He suffered a brain bleed that was minor, and although he has no recollection of driving on that freeway or any of the events of the accident, he has no permanent brain damage. He has broken ribs which punctured one of his lungs and required a chest tube to relieve a pneumothorax. He broke his arm, his wrist and had bruising that covered his entire torso, all the way down to his knees. His “man-hood” was swollen to the size of cantaloupes.
Considering the damage caused in the accident, he is doing quite well. He is expected to make a full recovery but will need some physical therapy.
In the state of California, it is perfectly legal for motorcycles to ride in between cars. Even though the accident was not his fault, this whole experience could have been avoided had he been riding in a lane behind a car. In the state of Nevada where I live, it is illegal for a motorcycle to ride in between cars. Although two motorcycles may share the same lane, they must not ride in between two cars. We constantly see motorcycles with California plates that are riding in between cars.
Photo courtesy of Life.com
I grew up in Southern California and seeing motorcycles in between cars on a freeway, or even on the street, was a normal occurrence. I never thought twice about the safety of it all until now. So whose fault is it that horrible accidents like these continue to happen? Is it the fault of the state who makes the laws? Is it the owners of the motorcycles who are abiding by the laws but need to take extra precautions? Is is the owners of cars who don’t take the extra time to be aware of their surroundings?
What are the motorcycle laws regarding lanes in your area? What are your thoughts?
I have no idea what the motorcycle laws are in here in PA. I’m a wealth of help, aren’t I?
I am SO glad your cousin’s husband is ok. I was having flashbacks of my son’s accident last year. Time will heal his wounds. It’s probably best that he doesn’t recollect the accident.
Keep us posted on what you find out. I’m curious. I seriously can’t believe that riding between cars is legal! For this reason! NO ONE obeys a line rule like that. People pass on double yellows for cryin’ out loud. What’s to keep someone from passing on a single?
Exactly my point. Even when the motorcyclists obeys the laws, as in this case, it’s sometimes the other driver who wasn’t paying attention or breaking the laws. I’m sure it’s better that he doesn’t remember anything. At least that’s what we told them.
Oh goodness! That is awful. I am glad that he is ok and is going to have a full recovery. Motorcycles scare me, I am not against them, I like to ride them (on the back, I’m not woman enough to drive one) but they still scare me. Years ago there was a bad wreck involving a bike and a cop car in my home town. The cop was chasing the bike and got to close and hit his back wheel causing an accident that resulted in the rider being killed. I keep a ridiculous distance from any bike around me while driving. I had no clue that riding in between cars was even allowed in any state. To me the fact that this is allowed is ridiculous and is a recipe for disaster. I have no idea what the bike laws are here in Tennessee but I hope that riding in between cars is not aloud, and if I was to guess it’s not.
Again, I am really happy that your cousin’s husband is ok!
I grew up around motorcycles and believe that if used properly, they are a wonderful means of transportation. However, you have the motorcyclists who think they are bad asses and invincible who are inconsiderate to other motorists and you also have other motorists who have no consideration for the difficulty of a motorcyclist. Not a great mixture.
Thank goodness he is going to recover. Here in Texas, as far as I know, you are not allowed to ride between lanes, so the bikers just whiz past you on the shoulders. We have no mandatory helmet law, so almost every motorcycle accident you hear about involves someone NOT wearing a helmet.
Thanks for bringing that up Mark. The other thing I do not comprehend is that in quite a few states there are no laws stipulating that you must where a helmet. I don’t know who to put the blame on, that state for not setting the laws or the people for being stupid enough to get on a bike without a helmet.
That is horrific; I personally, will never ride a motorcycle nor will I get on the back of one. And while I’m at it, I won’t date a guy who owns one. That said, I’m not sure what the laws are like here in Quebec – I can tell you that Quebec drivers don’t think the law applies to them anyway, so whatever is in place, is likely not respected. I agree with your POV – motorcyclists should drive in designated lanes, behind cars.
I hope he’s going to make a full recovery – I’m going to send some crazy powerful yoga dedication vibes his way. Man, at this rate, I’m going to have to recite a list before I practice – everyone is getting bad news!
No kidding. I think we are getting such crappy news because we are being tested. We all sat in front of our little computers at the end of last year (myself included) and posted that 2011 was going to be a better year. Well dammit, I’m not letting anything bring me down. I’m hell bent and determined to have a better fucking god damned year so help me god with a huge fucking smile plastered across my happy ass face. So there!
You get my point, right?
Where I live, Holland the none excisting country, cars can only ride in between cars during a trafic jam, where the other cars are actually forced to stand still. Then they can ride as fast as 10 k an hour. Which is still quite fast whem you come to think of it. One unexpected move could still lead to an accident. Only the injuries would be less severe since the speed is that limited.
Apart from that, it is illegal for them to ride in between. So I can see why you might think this should be everywhere. To me is the safest way as you’re not forced to constanly watch out for a possible motorcycle right next to you. With our freeways being as smaal as they are, this would lead to many dangerous situations and accidents.
Althoiugh, we do have this issue with scooters. They have to ride the road where the speed is limited to 50 k. Most of them try to sneak past you in a turn… Insane, dangerous and almost suicidal… So I hope this blog will lead to safer rules for motorcycles in the USA.
Thanks for sharing this. I was curious to read how it worked in other countries. Holy crap! Those scooters have to be suicidal to try and make a move like that. Unfortunately I’ve been seeing more and more scooters here as well making some pretty crazy moves in traffic. Ugh.
I do not know what the motorcycle laws are here in WV. But I have never seen someone do that here. It seems to me, law or not, it is not a safe thing to do.
Personally I think it should be against the law. But even if it is legal, there is a certain amount of personal responsibility involved in doing something so unsafe.
Having said that, you can be doing everything legal and safe, and still be involved in a serious accident caused by another person’s split second bad decision. As I know all too well. My life was changed forever because of an elderly lady’s split second change of heart to “go see a movie”, making an illegal turn (from a lane not allowed to turn), directly into where I was sitting in my car. Stuff happens. Life can be very hard at times. I’m sorry he is going through this, and your cousin as well. As it is hard to watch someone you love in pain. I truly hope he makes a full and speedy recovery!
That’s horrible Deb. I’ve been in a view accidents myself and two of them were pretty bad. I know that shit happens and it’s sad. Its not so much about your own responsibility as a driver anymore as it is about about the idiocy of other drivers.
Hey.
I am so happy your cousin’s hubby is ok. That was a close one but glad he came out of that one ok.
I don’t know much about motorcycles but I do know that it’s against the law for them to ride in between the lanes. That pio of the motorcyclist scares me because truthfully I see that a lot. I am always waiting for people to change lanes and hit them.
When driving, I get them a full car space away. I never drive right on their ass. Thats just safety and courtesy. Its also encouraged that bikers dont drive in the center in the lane.
And I found it drving a helmet or wear eye protection is not mandatory. Its should be but its not.
Driving with a full helmet that has eye protection should be mandatory everywhere. Its crazy that it is not. I’ve witnessed cars tailgating motorcycles and it honestly blows my mind. Maybe part of drivers education should be respecting other types of vehicles on the road (i.e. motorcycles, big rigs, bicycles, scooters, etc.) If people learn about them more maybe they’ll be less likely to cause an accident with one. That’s asking a lot of stupid people though, isn’t it?
What a terrible ordeal. I’m so glad your cousin’s husband is expected to make a full recovery. It’s nothing short of a miracle considering his accident. I didn’t know it was legal anywhere for a motorcycle to ride between lanes. It’s not legal in NY and really shouldn’t be anywhere. I agree with you.
Thanks so much Fringe. I have family in New York and have traveled there often. It’s been a while but couldn’t remember ever seeing motorcycles do it there so I was pretty sure it wasn’t legal. It definitely should be outlawed.
I lived in Melbourne, Australia until quite recently and motorcycles there weaved through the cars all the time. They would zip up the middle through stopped traffic or slow moving traffic. I always thought it was sooo dangerous. In Melbourne it was called Lane Splitting and it’s illegal there too, apparently just not enforced.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your thoughts. It’s sad that such a dangerous practice would not be enforced if it is illegal there. It most definitely should be. I’m sure that people just using common sense would more than any law ever passed.
That’s surprising to me that you’re allowed to ride inbetween cars on a motorcycle.
Being a rider myself, hearing about these accidents always scares the crap outta me.
Thank god he was wearing a helmet. Several states (such as PA) don’t have helmet laws.
My cousin had laid her bike down a year ago but she just s ared herself and sold her bike shortly after. Thankfully he was wearing a helmet. He always does. I couldn’t imagine getting on a bike without a helmet. That’s just suicidal.
So does this effect me getting a bike? I won’t ride it in Cali I promise.
Oh pleeeeease. You can’t even walk across a room without injuring yourself. Somehow you just don’t seem like you’d make it out the driveway safely. Just sayin…..
Hi … just got around to looking at your blog. I’m glad your cousin’s hubby is OK, makes me shudder just to think about accidents like this.
I live in SoCal and drive the freeways a lot. I frequently chuckle at the safe bike riders (not the twits that scream by on the little foreign race bikes, you know … the guys on the big, heavy bikes) because a good number of them will settle in in front of me. I drive a full-sized pickup and am one of very few who actually look for, and are courteous to, bike riders. They want to pass, I’ll hug the line so they have room to pass, leave a reasonable space to the car (or bike) ahead, stuff like that. I get why they like to be in front of me, my truck does afford them some protection from the less polite drivers out here. Sorry, got off on a bit of a tangent there.
I don’t know that I have any answers to your questions. I know most people driving the freeways here in SoCal don’t look for bikes … several friends at work have been hit or nearly hit while riding a bike on the freeways. And it seems that many of the car/truck/SUV drivers feel like they’re entitled to do whatever they want, whenever they want. One of the reasons WHY I drive a large vehicle.
I’ll never ride a bike … frankly they scare the crap out of me. But I get why some folks love them. I just think they’re a little nuts to ride them around people in cars who are completely oblivious and don’t bother to understand the traffic laws.
Anyway … good to meet ya. And I wish cousin’s hubby a speedy recovery.
Thanks for stopping by dragon and lending a Californian’s point of view. I think that I’ve always looked for bikes and been more conscious of them than the average person because I grew up around them. Thanks for looking out and being a driver that a motorcyclist doesn’t have to worry about!
how scary! In Idaho I don’t think it’s legal for motorcycles to ride between cars… I could be wrong, but I never see anyone do it, so I’m pretty sure I’m right. Bringing up this topic also makes me think of bicyclists, and they pretty much ride however they want here.. they don’t give a damn! They are all over the place sometimes. but anyways, I do know that most people don’t pay enough attention. You can be the best rider, but you can’t help it if someone’s not looking out for you. I’m sorry to hear about your cousin’s husband, but thank god he came out alright- without any permanent injuries.
You are right about the bicyclists. Here in Vegas it is not so bad because everyone gives the consideration to the cars. When I lived in California though, it was a completely different story. Bicyclists were horrible and just did whatever they wanted. Thanks for sharing