Keep your god damned phones in your ****ing pockets while you drive
 

Lost a friend yesterday because some stupid kid was texting and lost control of her car, went across the highway, and caused my friend to put his bike down.

He lost his life because of you Keonna Whiters of Wichita. I know it was not your intention to cause this good man to lose his life... but **** you none the less. I hope the DA charges you with Vehicular Manslaughter at the very least.


http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/M...129315583.html

RIP Dwight "Slyder" Pierce - B.A.C.A

Sad to hear. Every time I notice someone driving like a dumbass I look over and sure enough they're ****ing around with their phone.

Sorry for your loss man. Lost a few buddies on bikes as well.

I was listening to pandora on my phone, and I grabbed the phone to change the song to something I liked. Came to a red light and some fat piece of shit next to me rolled down their window and yelled at me "PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING YOU ****ING IDIOT!!". I didn't even bother replying. Some people are just stupid and need to mind their own business. Otherwise I agree that talking or texting while driving is usually a pretty dumb idea.

Sorry for your loss.

Amazing that his wife was treated and released, yet he died.

Hope they throw the book at this kid.

Unfortunately, this man WAS minding his own business.

You'll never get my ass on a bike. If something happens even do to no fault of your own you just pay a much steeper price then if you are in a personal auto such as in this case. Too many shitty drivers to take that chance.

Was he wearing a helmet?

Betchya it was riding gear.

Having a helmet and a good riding jacket makes a big big difference in something as benign as a low-side accident (which is what this sounds like). I have a cracked Shoei that can vouch for that and I walked away with nothing more than some pretty good road rash on my legs; not even a headache.

Then again, sometimes it's just damn bad luck. Not much you can do about sliding into the wrong thing.

Hell of a deal. I spend less time on my bike every season because more and more people just can't be bothered to pay attention while they're driving. If you ride for any appreciable period of time and with a sizeable enough group, you'll end up knowing someone that died due to the inattention of an asshole.

Neither of them were that I know of.

That's the ****ed up thing about motorcycles. You can be doing everything right and STILL get killed by some dumbass in a car that can't drive for shit. R.I.P.

Sorry to hear about your friend...and the truth is ANY phone use hands free or not has been shown to be as impairing as driving drunk.

That said there appears to be something missing in the story. Did he hit another car or did he just lay the bike down? Because if he laid his bike down then that is exactly the kind of accident that protective gear is designed to protect against. Was he wearing protective gear or was he just wearing regular clothes? If he wasn't wearing the proper gear(which many people don't) then even though you won't like it, some of the responsibility for his fate lies with him. Anything can happen riding a bike and there are a lot of things that can cause you to lay one down. Even though it may not always look cool or feel comfortable wearing the right gear can save your life.

There isn't a helmet law there?

Did he die from head injuries?

Yes - (thought I was quoting Pest's post)

That said, I don't want this to degrade into a helmet vs no helmet argument. It is legal to ride without in KS. Had he not had a car come at him from across the highway he would still be here.

No

What did he die from?

254 is a hell of a dangerous road.

not in KS.

Too bad that fat piece of shit wasn't a defensive tackle that pulled you out of your car through your newly shattered window and beat you to within an inch of your life before shoving your smart phone up your dumb ass.

Texting or dialing a cell phone while driving is no different than driving drunk.

The problem with riding motorcycles is that you can die when you blow a tire, or when a squirrel runs in front of you etc. Part of the attraction to it is the risk and the openness of it. There are many things that can cause you to go down. A good rider is hyper aware of what everyone around him is going to do so that he can be proactive to avoid it. But one cannot predict everything, things happen, that's part of why some people wear more gear than others. They enjoy the experience but they want to protect against the unforeseen. Some people don't like the look or the feel of the gear and that is their choice not to wear it. BUT when you don't wear it your margin of safety goes way down if something does happen.

Sorry to hear about your friend. I was curious what the sentence would be for "Vehicular Manslaughter" in Kansas, so I looked around. Sounds like a stiff fine and four years probation.

Really amazing to see the wide range of how different states handle the crime. Iowa has a Mandatory 25 year sentence! Pretty brutal for something that is accidental. Nevada is 25 years to life. Most states are 1 year or less.

http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com...nslaughter.htm

sorry to hear dude. RIP.

I sold my RR in March, and hate hearing these things.
I rode all gear, all the time. Went down in '03 about 50mph; bruise ribs, and broken bone in my hand, but nothing much more than that. although, I had a dime sized chunk missing from the back of my helmet - would definitely be dead had I not been wearing it.

Although...I'd love to have a DRZ-400SM; kept all my gear for possible future bike.

I'm sorry for your loss, but statistically speaking, helmets save lives. In light of how inattentive drivers are these days, it's especially foolish not to wear one, despite being legally permitted not to.

Man, sorry bout your buddy. When are bikers gonna realize they are surrounded by idiots and should wear a helmet?

Absolutely; I would like to see the financial penalty be simular to that of drunk driving.

Unfortunately, people will still text and drive. I hate it. I don't even change a CD when I am moving. I'm old school; I still have CDs. I'm sorry about your friend and send prayers to the grieving.

A few months ago here in PHX a couple was killed by a kid who was texting while driving...and they were walking on the sidewalk...these idiots can kill you no matter where you are.

Both of them were stupid as **** for what they did. Sad that one of them had to die because of it though.

Her lifes about to take a dramatic turn for the worst.

No, riding without a helmet may be ill-advised, but it definitely isn't that. This man's death, helmet or not, is the responsibilty of this stupid girl.

How is riding a motorcycle at 65+ MPH without a helmet not stupid?

I'm not going to argue the helmet thing because opinions are what they are on it.

That said, I've never known someone to go down with one that didn't end up having a hell of a ding somewhere on that helmet that would've been in their dome instead. I've also never known someone to go down with a helmet that would ever dream of getting back on a bike without one.

The good news is that they still have the option...

PR is right though, the real cause here is the bitch in the cage that couldn't be an adult behind the wheel of a 2-ton projectile.

One can only hope.

I'm betting she gets a little shock time and a fine.

The penalties in situations like this are entirely too lenient.

How do you know that wearing or not wearing a helmet had anything to do with this? I'm not going to shit on the thread with this stupid argument, sorry.

Kansas usually doesn't charge people for killing people on motorcycles by accident. I know this for a fact.

Possibly. Assuming she has a conscience she will be racked with guilt for the rest of her life. Much worse than any conceivable punishment that the state of Kansas will hand down.

A couple of weeks ago I almost got sideswiped by this assclown in a BWM SUV. He was doing something on his phone while it was raining and veered into my lane causing me to gun it and swerve almost off the road to avoid getting hit. I laid on my horn beside him and rolled down my window screaming for him to pull over. Had he, I would have crushed his god damn face in. People need to put their ****ing phones away while they are driving. And if you are on a public highway you don't have privacy. I am minding MY business.

Yes, choosing not to wear a helmet rockets your risk up. Yes he chose to accept the risk. Yes it means a minor accident can suddenly become a fatal one.

It's sad because this is not an atypical teenager. She was doing what all the rest of them are doing. In my opinion we need policies like other countries have that make it much harder and more expensive to get a license.

There was contributory lack of common sense on both sides. Not all bad things have a clear "your fault."

Not to divert this thread, but how do the youngsters refer to the act of opening/lowering a car window?

Do you refer to it as "rolling" it down?

ROFL Really?
Posted via Mobile Device

What?

I swear I'm going to get one of those cell phone jammers and install it in my car. ****ing people on their phones....

Bob Dole had a friend who was killed 2 summers ago by a woman who ADMITTED she blew the stop sign because she was texting.

She got a ticket for running a stop sign. All his friends got to go to a funeral.

Yeah, I agree. Driving and messing with your phone is only a bad idea when other people do it.

This is one of the times when lawyers might actually be useful.

There has to be some civil liability in a situation like this.

My friends from Tennessee say 'cut' the window down.

oh yeah, absolutely. I was just reflecting on my get-off when someone came across the yellow line etc; scary to think about w/out gear (personnally).

I definitely didn't want to take away from that idiot on a cell phone that caused the wreck etc.

My 79year old dad was T-boned by a kid that was dialing a phone and ran a red light. Luckily it was in town and ONLY totaled his truck.

Same thing, the kid admitted he was dialing. Like, no big deal, that's just the breaks.

Dunno, seemed a little inappropriate for this thread. Gave me a chuckle though.

I'm sorry to hear of this, my sincere condolences.

Except that, in all likelihood, she's judgement proof.

The one other bit that most people tend to forget is that merely talking on the phone, regardless of if it's hands free has similar impairment to driving drunk. For whatever reason talking to someone in the car does not have a similar impairment, but if you're talking on the phone at all you are taking an act that has an impairment level similar to drunk driving.

I presume that she still has her cell phone. Take that away.

She may not have assets but if she's under18 her parents might and they are likely liable since it was their car. But you're likely just to sue the insurance company.

Judgment proof doesn't really mean judgment proof - it means collection proof.

That judgment will last forever (if revived correctly). And it will accrue interest at the statutory rate (9.0% in Missouri).

Take your judgment and garnish every few months. Transcribe it to a lien on their home and try to foreclose on potential equity. Hell, send the Sheriff to take their shit and sell it for pennies on the dollar (sooner or later, they'll get tired of it).

Get your judgment and worry about the rest later. If they're young, you'll get something someday.

/hijack

I'm not sure you can say that about all drivers but I know its true for me. I never answer my cell when I'm driving.

there are just way too many morons driving to get me on a bike. Sorry for your loss, but everyone knows the risk.

Yeah, that's messed up. RIP.

Out of curiosity, how do you know she was texting? The little snippet in the link doesn't give details.

Too bad your buddy wasn't at least wearing a helmet. I ride with one but not any other gear in the summertime. I hope I don't live to regret that someday, but its just too damn hot to wear gear. But right now its good weather to start wearing my jacket again.

My brother doesn't wear a helmet. I hope his dumb ass doesn't end up like this some day. Maybe I should buy him one for his birthday.

Southerners manage to make just about anything sound dumb. I love 'em and all but my oh my.

my roomate used to say 'cut that light on', or "cut it off" etc.

A quick BK and it all goes away.

I had a family member who was killed while a guy was talking on his C.B. jackass didn't even say breaker breaker

True.

Fortunately we've changed up the BK rules to make that a little tougher.

yea its tough to say which is more dangerous. Talking on a cell phone while driving or riding a motorcycle in an era where motorists use phones while driving. My news paper reports a local motorcycle death damn near every day so far this summer. Lots of kids getting hit by distracted motorists.

Sorry for your loss OP. RIP.

While no two drivers are the same, high quality academic studies have shown that across multiple test groups of drivers, talking on the phone has similar impairment to driving drunk, whether you are using hands free or not. Just like not every person who drinks and drives has the same impairment, not every one who talk on the phone and drives will have the same impairment. But it's generally not a good idea to even talk on the phone. The one advantage that talking on the phone has over driving drunk is that you can turn your phone off.....

I had a judgement against a shitbird way back when. Won't go into details but he owed me a good chunk of change, went BK and walked away. Taught me a lesson.

I would find out where he lives and randmly **** up his vehicles. There is an ass down the street that parks his big ass suv and mustang across from each other, bottle necking the road, while no vehicles in the drive wa. 3 car garage, six car driveway. Pisses me off.

If I still had my beater I would scrape both of them. So now I just throw taco bell at them randomly.

I get the texting thing, I really do. How do you feel about talking with a hands-free device? What about eating while driving? I am sure many are guilty of that, and can be very distracting.

I'm guilty of texting and emailing while driving. I curse myself after I do it, and feel like a gawdamn idiot. The next time I feel the urge to do this, I'll remember your buddy, and hopefully make the wise choice. Sorry to hear about your friend.

I felt that way until my attorney explained to me what it would feel like to find myself on the owing end of a judgement to him.
I wrote it off as bad debt but have not forgotten who he is. Who knows what life brings us if we are patient?

Do you have voice texting or do you actually type while you drive?

I use voice texting....but that's usually when I'm sitting at a stoplight.

Absolutely. I wonder how many more people have to die from this bullshit before law enforcement starts treating it the same way.

Not even close to the same thing.

I don't think TALKING on the phone is the same at all. Texting, yes. But talking? Not at all. If you can't talk and drive at the same time, you shouldn't be driving at all.

Well you're wrong. I've seen people driving like complete asshats while talking on the phone as well. In fact, I see that more often than I see people texting.

I suppose you've never changed the radio station while moving.


Sorry about your friend, PR. Thank God his wife survived, although she might not feel too thankful right now.