So, you can get a ticket for not having your seat belt on in a car, but wearing a helmet on a motorcycle - in most states - is optional ?
What? It was very clearly a suicide. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt, and had time to correct the vehicle.
Its very strange how different the 2 coasts are with bikes. I bought a bike when I lived in Cali to get back and forth between school quicker, and cheaper(gas was 3$ a gallon there 13 years ago) Most drivers in cali actually look out for bikes, and are taught how to share the road so to speak. Even with all that traffic, I never had an accident, or even came close to one, and I was driving about 50 miles everyday from the coast to the valley. When I moved back here, it was a completely different story. Everyone drives so aggressively, and so distracted that I was way too nervous to go anywhere near a highway. Between that and the ridiculous amount of potholes and debris in the road, I sold my bike. Not worth it to die because some asshole is driving 100 mph swerving in and out of lanes while talking or texting.
i agree wholeheartedly, to ride in areas where there isnt much traffic is one thing, in the northeast the roads are just full of all the issues you mentioned. i did see one of the worst accidents i have ever seen where a bike lost it in the middle of the highway in california. not a pretty site.
I live in the north east. Buddy of mine a couple years ago is driving along on his bike in town at relatively slow speed with his wife on the back. He rounds a sharp corner and the street changes to gravel and shit. No signs whatsoever warning of on-coming construction. He barely lost control of it on the rough road, turning on his side, his leg under the bike, just a quick turn-over. because his leg broke the fall his wife and his bike turned out to be okay. Completely shattered his leg though. had to have the bones surgically reset and all that nasty shit. They were lucky considering what could've happened. It freaked him out though that he wouldn't even consider ever getting on the bike again. He seriously told me I could have it for free he was so freaked out by it. But I wasn't about to get on one either. He sold it, thankfully.