Report: Former No. 4 overall pick RB Cedric Benson dies in motorcycle crash

Yahoo.com ^ | 08/18/19 | Ben Weinrib,Yahoo Sports

[blueyon]

Former Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson died late Saturday night, according to a report from the Austin American-Statesman’s Tony Plohetski.

Benson, 36, was involved in a motorcycle crash with a minivan in northwest Austin, where he played college football at Texas, that left him and another person dead plus two others injured.

[atc23]

Most cyclists are excellent drivers, so why do I always seem to encounter the crazies who like to drive between lanes?

A lot of bikes are air cooled - my 2019 Kawasaki 800C is. I must keep moving so the engine doesn’t melt. That means I get to drive between the lanes. Lane splitting is legal in most states.

[crusty old prospector]

We had four people killed around here a few years ago when they came around a corner and hit a herd of feral hogs on the road. Also, a college student died when his sleeping bag came loose and locked up his back tire and caused him to lose control.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Conceding that a bike is inherently more dangerous than a car, for pretty obvious reasons, those stats don't accurately tell the story.

50% of bike fatalities are single vehicle accidents, most commonly "failure to negotiate a curve". Learn to ride; get professional training and ride within your limitations.

The single most common variable in bike accidents is alcohol (usually the rider's) Don't drink, not even one beer.

AGATT - All Gear, All The Time. I am also a proponent of high viz gear, though there is some debate in the bike community on that. Riding without a helmet or riding with a crap or improperly fitted helmet is also to blame. I wear only a full face helmet when I ride. See impact zones below for why I do:

Learn good riding strategies. The better riders know that road strategy is more effective than superb riding skill with no proper road strategy. Never stop training and practicing.

[napscoordinator]

Keith Richards will be 76 next birthday. Amazing considering. He’s probably 30 years past what most people thought he’d live and he’s still going.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Given the lack of attention drivers show these days, motorcyclists are taking their lives into their hands every time they get on the road. Last week while driving home on the 280 in traffic, I saw a motorcyclist get mad at some woman in the adjacent lane ahead because her car was drifting a bit in the lane as he split the lanes - but regardless of whether she deserved his anger, he has to realize that he’s going to lose any argument involving physics if they collide.

[blueyon]

I am so sorry for your loss hugs and prayers

[HangnJudge]

Rules to motorcycling

1 Put on your brain before you get on the bike, you are going to need it
2 Assume You are invisible
3 Never outdrive the road, the bike, or you capabilities

Stay inside of the envelope because the edges have razor blades

[Hot Tabasco]

Emergency Medicine motorcycles *are* known as “donorcycles”.

Yep, 4 years ago a fellow senior softball player had an oncoming pickup truck make a left turn in front of him as he was headed thru an intersection. His wife was thrown over the truck and into oncoming traffic and died instantly, he spent months in the hospital under going many surgeries.

Maybe 12 years ago another retiree friend was riding to Calif with his son to meet up with another son when he was on the Arizona interstate and his front tire blew out.......DOA.....

[ChildOfThe60s]

One of the best reasons not to live too far north is shortened riding season. Even in the winter I manage to get the bike out for a proper warmup several times a month. I'd rather freeze my butt off a few times to avoid putting the bike up for the winter. Invariably there will be a nice few days where I would be very disappointed if the bike were put up.

2017 Indian Scout Sixty

[EEGator]

[Mr. K]

When I drive m motorcycle I ALWAYS assume the other guy does not see me and will try to pull out in front of me or turn in front of me... It pays off a lot - but my biggest fear is someone riding up and over me from behind then.

[ChildOfThe60s]

I live in a small town. I had stopped for gas and a riding buddy pulled up and said “I saw you a 1/4 mile away”. I replied, yep, that’s why I wear a Hi Viz armored jacket.

There are a couple of good professional riding instructors with youtube “classes”.

Sadly, there are no experienced rider classes within a days ride of me.

[Amberdawn]

I would have kept my Harley, but I needed a new car for work. I always rode on Sundays or low traffic times.

[OrangeHoof]

I used to frequent a bar in North Austin where Cedric Benson would sometimes go to shoot pool and chill. While many knew who he was, the regulars gave him his space and tried not to treat him like the celebrity he was. He was much larger than he looked on television and he was generally sullen, perhaps because he was at the end of his NFL career around that time.

Many athletes either feel they are invincible because of their prowess on the field or can’t adjust after the gravy train stops, particularly when a knee or a shoulder provides a constant painful reminder that the show is over. It can be a very lonely feeling if there’s no support network. Benson apparently turned to alcohol as part of his coping mechanism.

He didn’t expect special treatment because he was Cedric Benson, football star. He was generally thought of as a good teammate. But I also thought it odd that he would chill in a bar that was 90% white and rarely brought any friends with him.

May he Rest In Peace.

[Michigan Bowhunter]

Yep....im a rider still....almost for 40 years. In Michigan, we are nuts to begin with. Just too many distractions on the road today. And our roads are horrible as well.

[Texas resident]

A friend of mine hit a deer while on a bike.

Really screwed him up.

[Kickass Conservative]

Thank you for your kind thoughts.
He was a really good kid. ,
Left the Service, Graduated College, just started a great job and had a serious Girlfriend. The world was his oyster.
He was an only child. His Mother will never get past it.
She was so nervous when he joined the Marines.
Who could have imagined things would have ended up like this?

[Jakarta ex-pat]

Biggest killer of tourists here in Bali...bikes (often alcahol related).

[Arlis]

Friend of mine is nurse anesthetist who works in major teaching Univ. hospital ER. Rides his motorcycle (NOT Harley, big Yamaha) to work every day,rain, shine, snow - whatever - wearing a RoboCop suit....a tank could run over him and it wouldn’t hurt him

ER co-workers tried the donor-cycle bit on him. He countered with, “SEE! another donor-car accident” when seriously injured came in from auto accidents, which are over 20 or 30 times more common than motorcycle accidents.

It wasn’t long before his ER co-workers shut up.

[Dexter Morgan]

For the first time in my life I locked up my rear tire earlier this summer due to a deer running right out in front of me while I was exiting a horseshoe corner. Didn’t hit it but it was close and I’ve been thinking a lot about selling my bikes because I have so much more to lose now than I did a few years ago.

I do commute 4 miles to and from work on a motorcycle almost every weekday March through October but the commute is through very light traffic. I worry much more about wild animals on my joy rides than I do about other drivers, but I’m still an extremely conservative rider.