Just a reminder to ride very defensively folks. This man was a very good friend of mine and he was only 53 yrs young. He was also one of the safest riders I knew.

I'm devastated by the loss of my friend. :cry:

Here's the story:

http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1553705.html

Sorry to hear about this. My condolences.

Very sorry for your loss. Let's hope it makes us all a little more aware.

My condolences.

My condolences.

I am very sorry for your loss. That type of accident has always been one of my worst fears, after seeing it happen to a friend. Fortunately, he lived. Again, my condolences.

Said a prayer.

At any age a terrible tragedy. Makes you think that's fer sure. There's no making sense of it but hopefully everyone around him can move on as best as they can.

I'm sorry about the loss of your friend. Thank you for sharing.

Sorry for your lost.

Sorry for the loss of your friend, my condolences.

Please accept my condolences as well. What a terrible tragedy.

88-year-old woman in a Plymouth? I'm no 'age-ist' but I do think there should be advanced annual driver testing once people reach a certain age... everywhere! This sort of accident is my worst fear as well.... always keeping one finger on the brake lever... not that it likely would have helped in this case.

Makes me sad.

Please accept my condolences as well. What a terrible tragedy.

88-year-old woman in a Plymouth? I'm no 'age-ist' but I do think there should be advanced annual driver testing once people reach a certain age... everywhere! This sort of accident is my worst fear as well.... always keeping one finger on the brake lever... not that it likely would have helped in this case.

Makes me sad.


I agree with the annual driving tests once we reach a certain age. It's for the safety of everyone....including the aged driver.

I too am angry, but unfortunately that won't bring back my friend. As a matter of fact, it won't do anything progressive. All I can do is educate every rider I know and hope that they ride extremely defensively.

This can happen to anyone of us. Charles was extremely safe and always wore all his gear. As a retired Pathologist, he knew how bad things could get. His wife too is a doctor. She's a pediatrician. Poor lady. I still don't know what to say to her.

I cannot even begin to express the amount of grief I'm feeling from the loss of my friend. :-( We'll be burying Charles this Saturday. May his soul rest in peace. May the 88 yr old lady that turned in front of him learn to live with what she has done in peace.

We just need to move on with our lives and try to avoid this kind of stuff from happening again.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and thoughts and condolences.

Ride safe everyone.....

A link of interest:

http://www.usroads.com/journals/rej/9705/re970503.htm

In my province, drivers have to get a mandatory medical test to see if they are 'fit to drive' at age 75 and 80, and then every two years thereafter. Frankly, I'd like to see that changed to an annual medical, and also an annual driver's exam (at least a written one). I know it seems unfair to single out the elderly, but I don't think it's a baseless singling out. It is true that reflexes slow, vision and hearing wane, and general slowness sets in, and a lot can change in 2 years of an octogenarians life.

Anyway, here's hoping that perhaps some good might come of all this, for motorcyclers and all users of the roads.

What a terrible series of events. Sorry for your loss.

So sorry for your loss, Honda Freak...:( Your anger is well justified. Another left hand turner. It is extra terrible when it is someone who otherwise takes extra care to always ride safely, I think.

Yes, on the age-related issues; this will only become more and more critical with each passing year as the percentages rise in this country dramatically.

Excellent and yet scary eye-opening article, ClicketySplit. I wonder...

Unfortunately, whatever trauma the woman is experiencing in the aftermath will probably only make her a bigger hazard on the road, not safer.

Yes, another sad, sad reality check. I hate it.