Those of us who live to ride and ride to live know the old saying very well;

“There are two types of motorcyclists, those who have fallen and those who are going to fall.”

We are all well aware of the risks of the open road and we have all had our share of close calls. When the attack hits the shan, it’s those moments that remind us that no matter how careful we are, there’s always some fool out there ready to ruin a good day. All we can hope for is that in a fraction of a second we are alert and quick to react. Often, it is our attitude in that space in time that makes the difference.

Not long ago during the coronavirus crisis, in sunny Southern California, Malibu to be specific: Neptune’s Net was offering ‘Take Out Only’ orders and there was a line of cars turning onto Yerba Buena Road after each receive their meals. Cars then lined up facing Yerba Buena at the stop sign on Pacific Coast Highway. Impatient drivers attempting to make a left turn and return to Santa Monica often made unsafe exits onto PCH.

One of those cars stopped in front of a motorcycle, and as you probably guess, this story didn’t end well. The driver of the crowded truck later told officers that she did not see the motorcycle. That’s interesting because all the eyewitnesses saw the motorcycle and also heard it. It was a shiny, shiny bike with lots of chrome and an experienced rider and his girlfriend on the back. They had logged more than 10,000 miles together over the past decade.

The driver, realizing her mistake for some reason, froze and stopped instead of continuing to turn. The motorcyclist had nowhere to go. The bicyclist admitted to traveling 5 to 7 miles per hour over the posted speed and some might say he was partially at fault. Did you know? Never mind, it’s still not legal to merge into traffic when another vehicle is approaching.

Now it’s hard to tell if the van driver was worried about noisy passengers, wrapping up her lunch to eat on the way back, texting, or just had a brain fart. She was to blame. The motorcyclist had a grade three sprained ankle, some road rash, a concussion and hurt both wrists. Needless to say, he won’t be working for a while. His bike was almost wrecked, have you ever seen a grown man cry? Her friend will be fine, but they ended up taking her away in an ambulance. Guess how much that costs?

Since the gentleman on the motorcycle is a construction contractor who was still busy finishing his backlog during the coronavirus pandemic, his financial losses will be substantial. His injuries will prevent him from working and, as mentioned, his beautiful one-of-a-kind bike of his was kind of smashed or near it. He will either need a new one or rebuild it completely.

Luckily, he’s a freeloader and won’t stop riding, and neither will his girl. Still, they need to be fairly compensated for this accident. A serious accident with injuries caused by another unconscious left-turning driver who just doesn’t understand life on Earth.