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Motorcyclist killed in my town

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maximus_flavius

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Possum Kingdom Lake, TX
We recently had a motorcycle rider killed in my small town.

www.grahamleader.com

Graham woman arrested in fatal motorcycle wreck | The Graham Leader

A Graham woman was booked into the Young County Jail Saturday, Aug. 17 on a charge of no drivers license and was later charged with criminally negligent homicide. The charges stemmed from a vehicle wreck in the 1100 block of S Hwy. 16 on the same day which resulted in the death of another...
www.grahamleader.com www.grahamleader.com

The motorcyclist (59yo local woman) was turning left onto a busy 5 lane highway. Crossing 2 lanes & a middle turning lane.

The driver of the car was across he road, heading the opposite direction, turning left & trying to cross 5 lanes & turn right. The driver (37yo) is a Mexican woman here illegally & of course has no drivers license or insurance.

This part of town has become an absolute zoo & the most dangerous part of town. It’s the main highway thru town, 2 lanes on either side of a turning lane. Drivers are always pulling into the turn lane to “merge” with traffic (which is BS & very dangerous). Adding to the danger, a lot of the restaurants/offices on this highway have a steep entry way, so cars have to slow way down, or sometimes even stop to wait on drivers to turn in. Then there’s people like the driver in this story who try to turn left across traffic to turn right immediately on the other side. There’s several odd side streets also.

I always joke that the most dangerous part of a rod trip for me is gettin out of Graham. We have a ton of old people (the Blue Hairs) who can’t see good, & don’t really care anyway. Then we have a ton of Mexican women (some illegals with no license or insurance, like this lady) who can’t see over the dash & are constantly playing on their phone in traffic. This is in addition to the regular amount of inattentive drivers, like soccer moms & teenagers, that are everywhere.

Another aspect I can’t unserstand is why do people think they can illegally enter a country, & just start driving without license or insurance? I would never go to another country (illegally) & just start driving without proper licensing or insurance. Yet we allow millions of people from a 3rd World s-hole come here & do just that.

Now we have a local lady killed & no recourse at all for her family, all because of a bad/inattentive driver, having no DL or insurance, & not even supposed to be here.

Sad for the family of the motorcyclist.

As it cools down & we get more into riding season again, be safe out there.
 
When we lived in Tunisia the police had road blocks everywhere. I was normally stopped at least twice a week: license/ car license/ general look-see.
It was an utter dictatorship and police state, but nobody drove without a license. Once the local stations got to know me, and my commute route, they waved me through.

There are streets I just avoid around Sugar Land. However, some of the worst construction is finally wrapping up. Around here we have a majority immigrant population: many have never driven any vehicle before moving to the area.

Be careful!
 
We need to crack down on drivers without licenses and insurance. And when I say "without licenses and insurance" I don't mean not having the documents on you at that moment, but in fact never having the privilege of driving and having NO insurance. @Downs was hit by a woman without a license or insurance and the cops gave her 2 tickets and let her DRIVE AWAY! They should impound the vehicle (at the drivers expense). If they're illegals, they should be detained for ICE. And the tickets should be several hundreds of dollars, plus the cost of the towing, and should be paid BEFORE the car is released. Lastly, if the wreck if the un-licensed driver's fault, they should be jailed for a couple of weeks, unless there were injuries, which then it should be much longer. Only then will unlicensed drivers think twice before hopping into a car.

WE NEED CAR CONTROL NOW! Maybe background checks on car buyers. Close the car show loophole.
 
Dahveed said:
We need to crack down on drivers without licenses and insurance. And when I say "without licenses and insurance" I don't mean not having the documents on you at that moment, but in fact never having the privilege of driving and having NO insurance. @Downs was hit by a woman without a license or insurance and the cops gave her 2 tickets and let her DRIVE AWAY! They should impound the vehicle (at the drivers expense). If they're illegals, they should be detained for ICE. And the tickets should be several hundreds of dollars, plus the cost of the towing, and should be paid BEFORE the car is released. Lastly, if the wreck if the un-licensed driver's fault, they should be jailed for a couple of weeks, unless there were injuries, which then it should be much longer. Only then will unlicensed drivers think twice before hopping into a car.

WE NEED CAR CONTROL NOW! Maybe background checks on car buyers. Close the car show loophole.
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That just seems like common sense!
 
Trying to wrap my head around this one:

"She told the officers she was pulling out of Bealls Department Store parking lot to travel north on Hwy. 16. She told officers that upon entering S Hwy. 16 she was going to merge to the right and make a slight right-hand turn onto Packing House Road. She said she did not see the motorcycle as she was attempting to get onto Packing House Road and the motorcycle collided with her pick-up truck."

I think I got it now. Typical left turn from a stop in front of a rider, it sounds. I feel like I'm in the most danger when riding through small towns with areas like this. I hate to say it, but I think dividers in the middle with occasional turn lanes would cut down on this type of accident. They did that in our town and everyone complains about having to turn farther down the road, but the accidents like this one seemed to have really reduced.
242634
 
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Cagiva 549 said:
Common sense is not politically correct in this country , just ask any democrat
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"Politically correct speech" is just another way of saying "no free speech". The people wanting to be PC somehow don't get that. They will when its THEIR speech that is not consider "politically correct" and then they MIGHT understand the error of their ways. Doubtful, but maybe possible.

Common sense is so rare that its almost a superpower.

Of course, nothing we do will bring back this woman, so RIP.
 
Friend of mine was a Fort Worth cop. Whenever he encountered an unlicensed / uninsured driver, he would impound the car, ticket the driver, and make them find alternate transport. His boss told him to stop because the impound yard was full.
Uninsured/unlicensed - UNTRAINED drivers. It is a serious problem.
 
Dahveed said:
We need to crack down on drivers without licenses and insurance. And when I say "without licenses and insurance" I don't mean not having the documents on you at that moment, but in fact never having the privilege of driving and having NO insurance. @Downs was hit by a woman without a license or insurance and the cops gave her 2 tickets and let her DRIVE AWAY! They should impound the vehicle (at the drivers expense). If they're illegals, they should be detained for ICE. And the tickets should be several hundreds of dollars, plus the cost of the towing, and should be paid BEFORE the car is released. Lastly, if the wreck if the un-licensed driver's fault, they should be jailed for a couple of weeks, unless there were injuries, which then it should be much longer. Only then will unlicensed drivers think twice before hopping into a car.

WE NEED CAR CONTROL NOW! Maybe background checks on car buyers. Close the car show loophole.
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Agreed. Sad so sad.
 
Jarrett said:
Trying to wrap my head around this one:

"She told the officers she was pulling out of Bealls Department Store parking lot to travel north on Hwy. 16. She told officers that upon entering S Hwy. 16 she was going to merge to the right and make a slight right-hand turn onto Packing House Road. She said she did not see the motorcycle as she was attempting to get onto Packing House Road and the motorcycle collided with her pick-up truck."

Was the lady parked in the turn lane sideways and the motorcycle ran into her there?
Click to expand...

Im not sure. I’ve heard several different stories. I’m not sure the Graham newspaper has it all correct. There freshly painted marks on down a little farther.

The driver either pulled out right in front of the m/c (goin the same way) or was crossing over & hit the m/c (which is the town gossip).
 
Dividers definitely improve safety.

Watch for the left turning cagers: slow down, watch the wheels, ready on brakes.
 
Lucydad said:
Dividers definitely improve safety.

Watch for the left turning cagers: slow down, watch the wheels, ready on brakes.
Click to expand...

I survived a left turner, the bike did not. It was in a location that is sort of famous for limited visibility. I had sprinted out in front of the cars and trucks that clumped together at the last traffic light. Now I tend to stick with the pack of cars because it's easy to see several cars than one lone motorcycle. But there are no guarantees in life.
 
I agree there should be much stiffer penalties against unlicensed drivers, especially when they cause injuries.
If they are here illegally then further action should be taken, removal would be my choice.

There's another theory that many drivers use 'threat assessment' when looking at/for other traffic.
Things like 18 wheelers get more attention because they might not see you and kill you, while bicycles and motorcycles are not likely to do much damage.
Consider how many people you have seen who really don't like driving near big trucks because they feel uncomfortable/unsafe.
People don't usually feel that way about bikes.
My sympathies to the family & friends of the fallen rider, such a sad way to end a life.
 
At 21 years old compound fracture left leg .lady turn left in front of me .i was on my xt 500 totaled it i went flying .learned a lesson that day 60 now but i can remeber it like yesterday
 
KiwiTex said:
I agree there should be much stiffer penalties against unlicensed drivers, especially when they cause injuries.
If they are here illegally then further action should be taken, removal would be my choice.

There's another theory that many drivers use 'threat assessment' when looking at/for other traffic.
Things like 18 wheelers get more attention because they might not see you and kill you, while bicycles and motorcycles are not likely to do much damage.
Consider how many people you have seen who really don't like driving near big trucks because they feel uncomfortable/unsafe.
People don't usually feel that way about bikes.
My sympathies to the family & friends of the fallen rider, such a sad way to end a life.
Click to expand...

I think there’s something to that threat assessment concept. I keep hoping the local police would get similar jackets and helmets as I have. People seem to notice the police.
 
Jarrett said:
Trying to wrap my head around this one:

"She told the officers she was pulling out of Bealls Department Store parking lot to travel north on Hwy. 16. She told officers that upon entering S Hwy. 16 she was going to merge to the right and make a slight right-hand turn onto Packing House Road. She said she did not see the motorcycle as she was attempting to get onto Packing House Road and the motorcycle collided with her pick-up truck."

I think I got it now. Typical left turn from a stop in front of a rider, it sounds. I feel like I'm in the most danger when riding through small towns with areas like this. I hate to say it, but I think dividers in the middle with occasional turn lanes would cut down on this type of accident. They did that in our town and everyone complains about having to turn farther down the road, but the accidents like this one seemed to have really reduced.
View attachment 242634
Click to expand...
With a bunch of traffic there is a lot to keep up with in your picture.
 
Lucydad said:
Watch for the left turning cagers: slow down, watch the wheels, ready on brakes.
Click to expand...
That's defintely my strategy. I treat everyone one of them like they are out there with the intention of killing me. I also try hard to ride where they aren't, but that's tough to do.
 
Same old story and it hasn't changed in 30 years. That's when a friend of mine was hit on his bike by a left turning illegal young Hispanic. He was in a coma for three days with broken leg and collar bone. The illegal had no license, insurance and it wasn't even his car. The police wrote him some tickets and turned him loose. He just returned to Mexico and my friend was stuck with all his medical bills. This happened on Cooper street in Arlington. They have put center dividers on south Cooper but none on North Cooper where he was hit.
 
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