Rant: Hey, Drivers, Look Out For Me…

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

My Harwinton Volunteer Fire Department pager has gone off twice in the past week summoning firefighters and fire police to the scene of car/motorcycle accidents. In both cases, a rider was proceeding along a state highway when an inattentive driver attempted a turn directly in front of the rider. In both cases, the rider went flying and Life Star was dispatched to transport the injured rider to Hartford Hospital by helicopter. 

Accidents such as these where a driver fails to see a motorcyclist are too numerous and so unnecesssary. The excuse of “I didn’t see him (or her)” is so inadequate. Look, damnit. Put down the cell phone, quit texting and pay attention!

Motorcyclists can help themselves by being extra cautious when approaching any cross street, by adding extra driving lights to their bikes and by wearing bright attire or a reflective vest. Yes, a vest may look geeky, but it sure gets you seen. Even those precautions may not be enough.

While directing traffic during that second car/motorcycle crash in Harwinton, while wearing a vest, I almost got mowed down by non-thinking woman in a Subaru. We were running one-way traffic on Route 118. I was on the west end of the scene and had stopped eastbound traffic. Two large, tri-axle dump trucks were serving as blockers as I awaited the westbound line of traffic to come through. Suddenly, the front dump truck blasted his air horn. I looked up to see the woman about to hit me. She’d simply gone around the trucks – as if they didn’t exist. I flagged her to the shoulder and started screaming: “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME. DIDN’T YOU SEE THE TRAFFIC STOPPED?” I screamed until I was hoarse. She stammered something about a firefighter up the street signaling her to proceed, which wasn’t the case. He had motioned her to pull up to the end of the line.  

The near-miss provides just another example of how “cagers” fail to pay attenion, like those of us who ride need any reminders. Ride safe this Labor Day Weekend and, if you’re behind the wheel of a four-wheeled vehicle, pay attention, damnit. We don’t need any more roadside memorials to fallen riders.