Hello everyone: This post appeared on the V-Star board that I look at. As it is an important subject for all of us I thought I'd pass it along.
As always, ride safely...
This is for all us that ride motorcycles, wether it be Harleys or
any brand, so please take the time to read this. Three weeks ago, I
had the opportunity to take a ride with the ABATE of Ohio group from
Warren Co. Ohio. It was a beautiful fall day, sunny and clear, not
cloud in the sky. About half way thru the ride Bob Bryant told us
that he had to leave, he had a prior engagment. So we all said our
goodbyes and split up. Less than an hour later, we were informed Bob
had been in an accident. A car had cut across in front of him at an
intersection. Of course this put damper on the remainder of the
rdie, cause we were concerned for Bob and his family. Less than an
hour later, we were told Bob didn't make it to the hospital, we were
shocked that a good man like him had been taken from us. He was the
kind of man that would do anything for anyone especially kids. Last
night at the Fairfield Chapter meeting of HOG, were Bob was also a
member, we were told that the sentencing of the girl that hit Bob
was to be on the 28th of Oct. She is to recieve 90 days (suspended)
and a fine. Now I don't about you guys and gals, but I think my life
is worth more than 90 days (suspended) and a fine. But her parents
had hired two mouthpieces and they had cut a deal with the local DA,
your tax dollars at work. The Judge said it's was all Bob's fault
for riding without a helment, and for riding a motorcycle in the
first place. This is after the girl admits to being on her ear held
voice activated life support system (cellphone) and cutting in front
of Bob. Now, if you ask me this smacks of prejudice. So the HOG
group is going to be there for the sentencing, we are going to ride
up to be a public but silent protest of this miscarriage of justice.
Now, here comes the part that chaps my ass. The girls mom was
interviewed and made some reamrks to the effect, that her daughter
was such a sweet young thing and should be given every second chance
she could get, because "all bikers are nothing but druggies anyway".
Now what gives this woman the right to generalize and make these
statments about people she doesn't even know? Let her come to a HOG
meeting, or a Toys for Tots Run and say these things. She doen't
know people like Bob, who qwned a soccer field and would do anything
for anybody, so we need to get this out and hope something can be
sone in the future to stop this kind of prejudice and foul use of
justice against bikers. I hope you guys read this and get it out,
forward it to anyone and print it off and post it on bulletin
bouards something has to be done. Thank you...... Michael Estes
Covington KY.
That's terrible!!!
If there's one thing I can't stand it's people who do something foolish or negligent and then try to blame the victim for the consequences of their own stupidity :x Add a human life the the equation, and it is inexcusable to act like that.
Quote"all bikers are nothing but druggies anyway".
Just remember to keep it classy at the demonstration. You wouldn't want to give the mom a chance to say "see, i told you so".
peace
That kind of crap really pisses me off! Bob didn't get a second chance, so why should she?
"The Judge said it's was all Bob's fault for riding without a helment, and for riding a motorcycle in the first place"...What gives the judge the right to pass judgement on someones personal desicion? She admitted not to be paying attention while driving, talking on a cell phone.
I take this very personally. In '87 a drunk turned left in front of me and stopped. Hit the side of the car and she took off. Totalled my bike. I had a broken arm and severed ligament in my hand when my arm went though the side window as I went over the top of the car. She was only charged with a illegal left turn because she turn herself in within 24hrs and was sober by then.
I can't believe this! 90 days and a fine!
What a world we live in...
*turns off the stereo and holds a 1 minute silence for Bob*
:(
jesus christ that's wrong. man i'm pissed off now.
wow....... thats all I have to say. wow.
I don't know what I would do if he were my Bro/friend.
-Anti
SO... she is distracted, and kills a man with a car. Criminal negligance anybody? That is appauling. Everyone who rides a motorcycle should fight the system in Bob's name when they here of attrocities like this. I hope to god that her killing Bob scars her for the rest for her life, and that she thinks harder about the decisions she makes.
It pisses me off as well, but just to put it in perspective, it doesn't just involve bikes.
I was the only witness for the State (out of more than 100 vehicles who ACTUALLY saw the accident) that came forward to tesify at a trial in which (thankfully) no one was seriously injured. A couple of broken bones, etc. However, through the stupidity of a driver (trying to squeeze between a concrete barrier and a stopped lane of traffic that I was in to merge ahead of slow, legal drivers, the driver in question was doing at least 50 mph).
Said driver went airborne when they hit the rear of a STOPPED Pathfinder (the Pathfinder was totalled) and skidded into lanes of traffic on it's roof. The driver at fault said that they "didn't even remember the accident" so my testimony was the ONLY thing that the State had against the driver. The DA actually thanked me for showing up.
Point being, the fact that I became involved was the difference between the driver at fault ACTUALLY WAKLING AWAY WITH NO CHARGE, and not being able to afford to drive for at least a few years (got max points on the insurance and you can't afford it after they give you your license back)!!!!!!! I shaZam! you not.
Be involved. Stand up. Ride or drive, it's us who let these morons hurt people again.
ive said a prayer for Bob..and all like him, who share a similar unjust fate.
Most of my posts here are humorous and in fun.. but this one isnt.
Im not gonna talk about how appalled and disgusted i am, as that would only add to the negativity associated with things like this, and future readers of this post should really be uplifted and send on the path of STANDING UP.. and FIGHTING for what they/I/we BELIEVE IN.
There is a perfect balance of decision-making when emotions and logic cross paths, and i know how hard it is for all those distraught bikers who had to bear witness to this 'legal' judgement. My heart goes out to all of you. BBanjo is right...
STAND UP!!! Be HEARD!!! DONT LET THIS NEGATIVE GARBAGE HAPPEN!!!
Most of all.. give at least one minute as said above.. its worth it. And if you were BOB... youd appreciate it.
Im done with this...
How many people must die before using cell phones while driving is outlawed :?
what is this. some stupid thougtless girl pulls out in front if him, kills him, and she only gets 90 days and a fine. ok the thing im trying to say this was a KILLING. most people get 25 to life for killing somebody. i think this is discriminatory. the judge actually said he shouldnt be riding a motorcycle in the first place? yeah there are some pain in the neck motorcyclist riding out there but that doesnt mean they deserve to die. this girl outta get at least 20 years for this. prayers to bobs family.
:cry: :( :cry:
In the eyes of the law (which should be the eyes of the judge) the girl was in the wrong, and the consequences were that she killed an innocent person. She should get the same punishment she would get if she had killed the judge's mother.
So, if I understand the judge and the mother's opinions, they think it's okay to break the law and kill bikers because bikers deserve it, for one reason or another. Sounds like war jingoism to me.
And, just my opinion, but I think teenage girls in general and those with cellphones in particular are the most dangerous things on the road today.
Quote from: AfterburnerAnd, just my opinion, but I think teenage girls in general and those with cellphones in particular are the most dangerous things on the road today.
no kidding...
i have seen some girls on cell phones stop traffic because they were in the wrong lane to turn into the mall :x :x
and one more thing its not always the teenagers
sometimes its the soccer moms with their burbs on the phone causing the problems
I totally agree. Why should being a biker struck by a car make it any more ok?!?!! :bs:
We wouldn't go giving a break to a negligent dumptruck driver who T-boned a miata and killed somebody. You wouldn't hear anyone saying "well (s)he got what (s)he deserved, taking such a risk driving a small car". It's a bunch of crap and we shouldn't have to defend our choice of conveyance to anybody.
Sorry for the rant, but its homecoming and i nearly got plowed twice tonight by (i suspect intoxicated) drivers... one ran a stop while looking right at me, and another started to turn left while I was oncoming and stalled his car right in front of me :x If I had been hit and those drivers had walked, I would have been ticked-off big-time.
Bikers get no respect on the road or in the courtroom. Until that changes, our only recourse is to avoid trouble whenever possible. BE CAREFUL OUT THERE GUYS AND GALS!!! As my friend's mom always used to say to me when I left the house "watch out for the other guy".
sucks man
really sucks
peace
that is a out rage, have any of you heard of giant biker rally in canada that raises money for curing diseases. and she has the nerve to call all bikers druggies. that is one of the most disrespectful things you can say, that is a form stupidy on another level. i can understand her need to protect her duaghter but to lash out at bob (the victim) is like going up to every rider and spitting in there faces. im going to stop writing befor this turns into a 20 page responce on how this is wrong on all levels
to sum it all up this is :bs: :x :x :x
Quote from: Afterburnerthey think it's okay to ... kill bikers because bikers deserve it....
It's outrageous to hear such stories as Bob's with the frequency they seem to come up. But put into perspective: For every law abiding motorcycle rider out there [that usually doesn't get noticed] there's a half dozen that are speeding in and out of traffic, wheeling, burning out or the noobs on R1's tossign their bikes into a canyon [and generally acting like buffoons]. There are plenty of riders that only help those negative attitudes propogate.
Set a good example whenever you can [on and off the bike].
Manix wrote:
QuoteI can't believe this! 90 days and a fine!
What a world we live in...
*turns off the stereo and holds a 1 minute silence for Bob*
i second that! :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: i hope that "innocent" :x girl goes through hell with that on her conscience for the rest of her natural life :x :x :x :x :x :x :x ....... okay i had better stop now, before i get myself all worked up, and do something id regret.lets all set a good example and ride respectably so another judge wont have this classification to pin upon us :thumb:
Real real bad news. It sounds like the sentencing we get over here where it is almost acceptable to kill with a car, it seems to be accepted as "one of those things" Speeding bikers on the other hand have recently been jailed. I've long held the view that our judges and magistrates could benefit from a Stalinist style purge, perhaps some of yours should join them. And as for the mother............
Poor Bob :( Cruiser riders are some of the more responsible (well, except for lack of gear) people on the road.
The judge was wrong to say that motorcycles shouldn't be on the roads. They are motor vehicles just like cars, and should be allowed to have a piece of the road.
But, to play devil's advocate here... What if that girl turned in front of a car driver that had no seat belt and the driver died? Would the punishment be any more or less? True, seatbelt use is mandatory, but it is a safety device just like a helmet. Both greatly reduce the risk of dying due to head injuries, and freedom or not, should be worn at all times whether or not the law allows. Bob might still be alive :(
Suspended 90 day sentence is not going to solve anything. Her mommy and daddy are probably angry about the damage the bike did to the car, rather than the fact that their precious daughter took someone's life due to her negligence. And the mom... well she is a stupid cow. moo
today following church svc, myself and about 4 others helpedput back onto its wheels a honda goldwing towing a trailer. he came outta il. to go to our church,? dont know why, but evidently hes not much on riding rather narrow gravel roads sharp turns etc. and laid the bike down. bike was very slightly rashed, but the man and his wife were fine. what i am getting at is it will take many, many small good deeds to overshadow the bad ones to change general opinions about riders :thumb: :)
Quote from: Turkina...And the mom... well she is a stupid cow. moo
:lol: :lol:
she should have been charged with a minimum of involintary vehicular manslaughter
The more I think about this the more outrageous it gets. We can debate sentencing forever, so many perspectives but leaving that aside the Judge and Ma seem to have really behaved badly, perhaps something can be done about that. Unfortunatly nothing can be done about the tradgedy.
When the guys demonstrate, I can understand how angry they may get but please keep any demonstration quiet and dignified, make sure traffic gets stopped or no-one will know and if people don't know there's no point in demonstrating. If you have enough troops slow riding en-mass in busy areas usually makes someone take notice.
no one else said it, so i will. WEAR A HELMET!
not even knowing what happened, i'm going to say he had a much better chance of surviving if he would have been wearing a helmet.
since we don't know what actually happened i the accident, there is a chance he did die because he wasn't wearing his helmet. for example, what if it was a 15 mph accident and he went head first into tree? should the girl be charged with involuntary manslughter for that? maybe not.
Well said Zoltan.
You know its not just teenagers and cell phones.. teenagers with their friends, the radio..blah blah blah. Some people just SUCK and should never be allowed to drive!
My mother and I were hit head on (I was like 6-8 months or something) by a girl who they suspect was trying to get a kitten out from under her feet. My mother says the girl was all over the road (nice curvey wooded road) so she pulled over as far as she could and stopped the car. The girl then hit us "Blam". My mom had the adrenalin rush going and ripped my car seat right out of the car without ever undoing the seatbelt. She was bumped and bruised but generally ok. She took me into the woods a bit incase the cars blew up or soemthing. This was like 1969- so the cars were made a bit different than today. ;)
The family of the girl took my mom to (Civil) court for manslaughter.. they lost (thank God). My mother had to deal with the fact that girl didn't make it even though it was not her fault.
This kid is getting off with nothing! I hope Bobs family goes the same route and WINS!!!! It may only end up being $$ but punish the girl! Make her pay one way or another.
Grrrrr!
Actually, Turkina did mention the helmet thing...
Quote from: Turkina...True, seatbelt use is mandatory, but it is a safety device just like a helmet. Both greatly reduce the risk of dying due to head injuries, and freedom or not, should be worn at all times whether or not the law allows. Bob might still be alive :( ...
Quote from: CrisActually, Turkina did mention the helmet thing...Quote from: Turkina...True, seatbelt use is mandatory, but it is a safety device just like a helmet. Both greatly reduce the risk of dying due to head injuries, and freedom or not, should be worn at all times whether or not the law allows. Bob might still be alive :( ...
actually, i was trying to bring up that maybe the girl shouldn't be charged with manslaughter because he wasn't wearing a helmet.
Oh...ok.
That judge has his head up his arse.... And After all the publicity, post 9/11 Leno auctioning off his bike to give to charity, the many millions raised by Love ride, and other charities that have been pushed further than anyone ever imagined by bikers and celebrities and making big national headlines... How dare that illeterate cow of a mother say that. However ... Remember Carl Koella-Terry Barnard, and many others... There is too many of these happening too often over the years.. .inspite of the good name we are so deservedly getting from some parts of the world... Education should be mandatory, no one should be allowed to get into a car wihtout learning to ride and using a motorcycle for a minimum of 2-3 years sorta like in europe, cars should be much more $$$ than bikes like asia, and fines should be much more severe... I'd say the driver should be never given a car license ... ever and the mother needs to be thrown in jail for stupidity.
And helmet law??? I cannot imagine how they even keep their eyes open at anything over 25mph without a helmet... cos I sure as hell cant...
Cool.
Srinath.
Gotta just say this...
The original post is hearsay. What was the actual court transcript? Where is the documentation of the mother's comments? The truth is that all we really know is: there was an accident between a car and a bike, and the motorcyclist died. Actually, we don't even know that. The entire thing could be an urban legend.
An incident can be spun to any perspective, or entirely fabricated. Before we all get whipped into a frenzy, what are the facts?
"She doen't know people like Bob, who qwned a soccer field and would do anything for anybody, so we need to get this out and hope something can be done in the future to stop this kind of prejudice and foul use of
justice against bikers. I hope you guys read this and get it out,
forward it to anyone and print it off and post it on bulletin
bouards something has to be done. Thank you...... Michael Estes
Covington KY."
So we have a signature (supposedly), an unnamed defendent, and a mysterious philanthropist named Bob, no specific dates or places, no links to news stories, and an appeal to paper the world with this story. Sounds like the same kind of thing as the spam virus warnings...Some people just want to make a splash.
Trev
Quote from: tmckayGotta just say this...
The original post is hearsay.
Quite correct, tmckay. I've said before (to paraphrase Marvin G) I tend to believe half of what I read and none of what I hear. My original post on this matter stated only that the story appeared on another motorcycling board. Period. And, I am highly skeptical of "stories" hearsay" and "rumors"..I like to get it right, even if my position is unpopular.
Accordingly, a gentleman who I have come to regard as reliable, and who has a law-enforcement background, is attempting to get a copy of the court transcript via the freedom of information act (as any citizen has a right to public documents and proceedings). I will keep this board informed as information becomes available.
The heart of the matter still remains: with a few changes in circumstances and location, the basic story has been repeated far too many times. For a variety of reasons (all of them unfair) motorcyclists are second-class citizens when it comes to traffic violations and accidents. Our blood is cheap. All I can say is set a good example, which benefits all of us who ride, RIDE DEFENSIVELY, and speak up when you can.