Fourth Motorcyclist Dies in Accident at Bike Week

AP ^ | Mar. 7, 2004

[nuconvert]

Fourth Motorcyclist Dies in Accident at Bike Week

Mar 6, 2004

The Associated Press

DELTONA, Fla. (AP) - A motorcyclist was killed Saturday when he ran off the road and struck a tree, bringing the death toll at Bike Week to four. Hector Torres, 28, of Deltona, was the only person involved in the accident, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Torres was thrown from the motorcycle after missing a curve and striking a tree. He was wearing a novelty helmet, not a safety helmet, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.

He was the fourth motorcyclist to die in Volusia County during bike week, which began Feb. 27 and ends Sunday.

Meanwhile, two motorcyclists in Marion County died in separate accidents in two days.

Scott A. Ferko was riding a 2001 Yamaha R1 on Saturday when an 1998 Oldsmobile LS turned in front of him, troopers said. Ferko collided with the right side of the car and flipped at least twice before hitting a trailer that was carrying boulders behind a truck. The truck was driving behind the Oldsmobile.

The front half of his motorcycle landed on the shoulder, a few yards away from the back half in the middle of the road, the Ocala Star-Banner reported.

Ferko was pronounced dead at Munroe Regional Medical Center. No one else was injured.

On Friday, Shaun Lowe, 22, of Leesburg, was driving his Yamaha motorcycle on U.S. 441 near Lady Lake when a Chevrolet Corsica pulled out in front of him, troopers said. He was pronounced dead at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Both Ferko and Lowe were wearing helmets, troopers said.

[nuconvert]

Sheeesh
Maybe they ought to change the name to "Death on a Bike Week"

[xrp]

Maybe we can get Congress to outlaw motorcycles.

[steplock]

One was killed by his own actions ---

THREE died from automobile driver causes!!!

Ban autos!

suv'S kill!

[nuconvert]

"The front half of his motorcycle landed on the shoulder, a few yards away from the back half in the middle of the road"

Never good when this happens.........

[Baynative]

Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer held a press conference to announce that 13 innocent morons are killed everyday by motorcycles. "Motorcycles need safety locks - NOW", Hillary screamed. Schumer added that, "George Bush may have had a motor cycle once."

John Kerry issued a statement from his posh townhouse saying that while recent pictures were published showing him riding a motorcycle while not wearing a safety helmet, "you must remember, we didn't have to wear safety helmets in Vietnam, either".

[bobo1]

I put about 10,000 miles a year on a motorcycle. I stay away from cities, and high traffic areas. I grew up in Phoenix, Az., and you couldn't pay me to ride one there.

Motorcycles are flat out dangerous; sometimes, because they have more gears than the rider has brains; sometimes because an eighteen year old wants something faster than a Ferrari but can't pay the price, so for a tenth of the cost, he can outrun any car made; usually it is because a person in a car isn't paying attention and doesn't see 'em. But I love 'em anyway. That's why I live in the sticks.

Blessings, Bobo

[oyez]

He was wearing a novelty helmet, not a safety helmet

When a scooter hits a mature oak tree. The helmet doesn't even enter the equation. The helmet is wearing the rider at that point.

[nuconvert]

Do you know that BoBo was a famous gorilla?
And there's a BoBo THE DETECTIVE CHIMP?

[JoeSixPack1]

...xxxx xxxx, 28, of Deltona, was the only person involved in the accident, ..

He was in his home town of Deltona (just west of Daytona). But LEO's never pass up a usable bikeweek statistic.

[Caipirabob]

Motorcycles are fine with proper training and experience. Sad thing is, most people out there who have accidents on their own have neither. Other situations are caused by cars moreso than by motorcycles. In SoFlo, in this area at least, I believe it's a death wish to ride a motorcycle. Not because of the inherant risk of being exposed on a small moving vehicle, but because of the driving skills of the transient and geriatric portion of the population down here. Bad idea to ride a bike in this neck of the woods.

[nuconvert]

Got him on a technicality.....all were in Volusia County

[Seruzawa]

Considering the thousands of bikers in Daytona a death statistic of 4 is probably no higher than the death statistic for a similar sample in, say, SoCal.

There are two major factors in bike accidents. One is the expected idiots riding 160HP bikes that will do 170+ wiping themselves out.

The other is a recent flood of middleaged buffoons buying Harleys. These guys have no experience and don't have the fast reactions of youth any more.

The one's who are going to bite it do so within the first year. After that the chances of a wreck drop geometrically.

[pt17]

Maybe we can get Congress to outlaw motorcycles

While we're at it, since approximately 5,000 pedestrians are killed in the U.S. each year, let's get Congress to also outlaw feet.

[tacticalogic]

"Casual" riders account for the bulk of the accidents. IMHO, motorcycling is something best done with a passion, or not at all.

[Puppage]

Maybe we can get Congress to outlaw motorcycles

Or, get them to change the name to donorcycles?</sarcasm

[SandyInSeattle]

The other is a recent flood of middleaged buffoons buying Harleys. These guys have no experience and don't have the fast reactions of youth any more.

Well, I'll cop to being middle-aged but not to being a buffoon. I think that what us 40-somethings lack in reaction time we more than make up for in wisdom and a sinere appreciation for our mortality. Except, of course, for the occasional Darwin award nominee who has developed neither.

[Rik0Shay]

When you ride a bike you have to ride like you are invisible to all other drivers.

[blam]

"The other is a recent flood of middleaged buffoons buying Harleys. These guys have no experience and don't have the fast reactions of youth any more."

Check the age of the people in this article who died. I don't see anyone over thirty.

[Seruzawa]

Point taken. I've locally seen a fair number of aging boomers buy Harley's and almost immediately wreck themselves. Most don't by far. There's always the clowns without a lick of sense.

[Malchus]

I would say that the number one reason people get into accidents on bikes are the morons driving their cars who don't care enough to pay attention to what is going on in the road. I totaled a motorcycle when someone pulled out and stopped in the middle of the street because they didn't see me. I was lucky to escape with a separated shoulder and road rash, but have learned that driving in the city is not good.

Also, can anyone think of a worse place to have bike week than Fl? I mean really, there are a lot of people (make the connection yourself) down there who probably should not be driving in the first place but instead are driving huge oldsmobiles and cadillacs.

[fightin kentuckian]

I know what you mean, I get scared driving an SUV through Phoenix. Those guys are crazy. Tucson is starting to get dangerous also.

I live in Sierra Vista and the riding around here and southern Arizona is great. As a matter of fact, I'm going for a ride here in a few minutes. Care to join me?

[Seruzawa]

We have a huge number of octagenarians where I live. But I think that cell phones have become a great danger as well.

As long as law enforcement and the courts continue to accept the "I didn't see him" lie the streets will remain dangerous. Car drivers know they can puroposefully murder a biker and get off free. Look at that @$$hole Janklow from South Dakota who ran a stop sign at 75+ and killed a biker. He got 100 days in jail! You get that for shoplifting.

[SandyInSeattle]

I've locally seen a fair number of aging boomers buy Harley's and almost immediately wreck themselves.

I see that too, out here on the West Coast. When I was taking my motorcycle class one of the topics was the mortality rate among over 30 drivers in their first year.

Our problem when I lived in SoCal was mainly sport bikes racing up and down Ortega Highway or Mt. Palomar, and at least a few each year splatter themselves all over the scenery. (Of course, since moving to "Sunny" Washington state I haven't seen near as many bikes and those I do see aren't as stupid.)

[tacticalogic]

The "blue haired little old ladies in boats" cagers are dangerous, for sure. But, IMHO, not nearly so much as the "soccer moms in minivans full of screaming kids" cagers, or the "little blonde girls in little red cars" cagers.

[realpatriot71]

Bring about half a million people together for a week - bikers or not - into one area, and you're bound to have some accidents. Four in a week sounds like isolated incidences when considering the amount of people who didn't get into accidents.

Freedom loving people hate motorcycles - it's a litmus test IMhO

[tacticalogic]

Freedom loving people hate motorcycles - it's a litmus test IMhO

Did you screw that one up, or did I miss the sarcasm tags?

[realpatriot71]

I put about 10,000 miles a year on a motorcycle. I stay away from cities, and high traffic areas.

Exactly! Motorcycles need an open road - riding on the freeway places one into the "organ donor" category pretty quick. Most people just don't look for bikes.

15 miles and 15 grand don't make you a biker :-)

[BraveMan]

Hooligan ping . . .

[realpatriot71]

Ha! My bad - I just woke up - and to think there's even a convienient "proof" screen before posting.

[Bob Mc]

All twenty something year olds.
Darwin at work.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Helmets can be made safer if only little air bags could be designed inside of them.

They way to make them safer is to regulate them, tax them, impose strong safety regulations, design helmets with GPS antennas in them, and generally harass those that use them.

And make it law that all motorcycles have windsield wipers on their headlights.

[bayourod]

"Bike Week--A Target Rich Environment"

[Joe Hadenuf]

All twenty something year olds.

Actually, most of the ones dying are the 40 and 50 something's, that get bored with the wife, have a few bucks and try and rekindle there youth, so they go out and buy a 25,000 Harley and find themselves under the wheels of two or three cars....Only problem is most of the ones that are dying never spent much time on bikes as a young man, and have little or no experience. And sometimes even that doesn't help.

[realpatriot71]

All twenty something year olds. Darwin at work.

Yeah - if you're going to be an idiot on a bike I don't want you anywhere near my open road. It's interesting Daytona high a MUCH higher percentage of "sport/sreet bike" riders. I've been once and I hated it - there's nowhere to ride! Now Sturgis - there's a rally - while bike traffic picks up (obviously) there are many places to ride in the Black Hills. You can check out free range Buffalo, the Faces Nat'l Mounument, caves, Devil's Tower Nat'l Nat. Landmwark, Wall Drug and the Badlands.

[HighWheeler]

As a part time rider, I can't tell you how many times cars have pulled in front of me from cross streets. It HAS to be the most dangerous part of riding.

Drivers are fixed at looking for only cars or trucks, to the exclusion of anything else. If I don't see the driver look right at me as I approach a semi-controlled intersection, I'm hitting the brakes and swinging a large berth. I know that I have saved my life at least once with that response.

[tacticalogic]

What always amazes me is to see (sometimes even righ next to each other at a light), some kid on a crotch rocket wearing gym shorts, tennis shoes, and a $500 full face helmet and guys on cruisers wearing engineers boots, full leathers, and a soup bowl with a chin strap.

[nuconvert]

You're right, people in cars aren't watching carefully enough for motorcycles.

[tacticalogic]

When I come up on an intersection like that, I try to flick the bike back and forth across my lane a couple of times. Lateral motion seems to get their attention.

[templar]

... usually it is because a person in a car isn't paying attention and doesn't see 'em.

A lot of this is caused by heavy traffic and the fact that the motorcycle tends to be the smalest vehicle on the road. Our attention is caught by the larger vehicles (partly the nature of our eyesight) and the motorcycle just sort of becomes a part fo the behicle behind it to the observer. This is particularly true if the vehicle behind it is a large truck (the motorcycle blends into the grill of the truck). I say a guy die on a motorcycle recently like this: too much traffic on a high speed two lane, too many vehicles, and he had a garbage truck right behind him. Leaving the motorcycle headlight on, or anything to increase visible discrimination from other vehicles, helps avoid this to an extent.

[realpatriot71]

What always amazes me is to see (sometimes even righ next to each other at a light), some kid on a crotch rocket wearing gym shorts, tennis shoes, and a $500 full face helmet and guys on cruisers wearing engineers boots, full leathers, and a soup bowl with a chin strap.

I generally don't wish ill on anyone, but when I see some crazy idiot riding his crotch-rocket in shorts and flip-flops, I hope that guy screws up enough to give himself a nice road-rash or muffler burn. A few years back my bike when down on a wet road - thank God I was only going ~25-30 - and the wet road still put a nice large hole in my leather jacket - could have been my shoulder.

[xrp]

Good idea.

[JoeSixPack1]

Helmets can be made safer if only little air bags could be designed inside of them.

We got airbags. We call 'em fat chicks. They slow ya down and cushion the fall.

<|:-)~~

[JoeSixPack1]

When you ride a bike you have to ride like you are invisible to all other drivers.

You never have to work at being invisible on a bike, just the opposite.

[Mariner]

"Invisible to all drivers"

A REALLY old biker taught me that. Pretend you're invisible and you'll live. AND, if you're in traffic, ride like you're a car.....no quick movement.

Almost all car/bike accidents are due to the driver not seeing the bike. It's true, they don't. Most are used to looking for something big........

[martin_fierro]

	FReeper Motorcycle Hooligan
Send FReepmail if you want on/off FMH list

[Eastbound]

We call 'em ear muffs.

[dennisw]

Was alcohol involved??? Inquiring minds want to know and so does the Darwin Award committee.

[dennisw]

I was just thinking bungee too. The perfect combo (storm) drinking, motorcycles, bungee jumping.

[JoeSixPack1]

Gives a whole new meaning to riding 'one up' !

<|:-)~~