scene of massive 30 motorcycle accident in Oregon
Yes you heard that right. On Saturday there was a massive accident involving almost 30 motorcycles on the I-5 in the State of Oregon. I read about this accident just before I was about to ride my motorcycle to Lompoc, California for a Karate tournament.
The injured bikers were members of a motorcycle club who were riding together in standard two column (side by side) or “coffin” formation.
From the news reports that I have read and watched, it appears that one or two SUV’s in front of the motorcyclist either intentionally hit their brakes with no traffic in front of the SUV, or suddenly hit their brakes because of slowing traffic in front of them.
This caused a chain reaction pile up accident, or domino effect as the bikers apparently had no time to stop or get out of the way.
Many of the bikers were injured, and two were critically injured and were airlifted out.
From the news reports that I read, there were motorcycles scattered all over the freeway.
I have ridden in many packs of motorcycles, and what happened in this accident is everyone’s nightmare scenario. If the witness reports turn out to be true, and the SUV intentionally hit its brakes, then this would be attempted murder as far as I am concerned.
Some of you may be thinking that stuff like this does not happen, well it does. I had a client report to me today that a car load of what looked to him like street gang thugs, tried to hit him in the head with a baseball bat as he was riding his motorcycle in Los Angeles a few days ago. They were in a truck.
Hell, as I was riding yesterday, splitting lanes just before Santa Barbara going north on the 101, some asshole big rig truck driver must have saw me riding up, and purposefully moved his rig left to close off the center lane just so I could not pass. Had I been next to him, he would have taken me out. Other motorist saw what he did because they honked and one guy flipped off the big rig truck driver. It took me about 30 seconds before I could finally pass the guy. He was glaring at me as I looked up at his rig. What was this asshole thinking?
For some reason, some motorist do not think that bikers and motorcyclist have the right to ride on the roads, as everyone else, and they seem to get off on trying to take us out.
Now I do not know why the SUV’s braked in the case of the 30 motorcycle vehicle accident which is the subject of this article and op. ed. , but if it was on purpose to cause an accident, the drivers should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
What can be done to ensure safety while riding your motorcycle in a pack like this? The main thing that can be done is to ensure that the Road Captain, or the one leading the ride, makes sure that there is enough distance between the pack, and traffic in front of the pack to stop in case the vehicles in front suddenly stop. I wrote an article on group riding which you can read by clicking here now. My main rule is that the lead riders should not under any circumstances tailgate cars or other vehicles in front of the pack. There needs to be ample room. I have been in packs where the Road Captain was tailgating, and I just sat there waiting for the car to hit their brakes. I hate to be in the middle of a pack, I would rather be in the front, or rear, preferably the rear!
In a tight pack, everyone must use hand signals so that the people in back know what is going on to prevent just this type of scenario.
I am not saying that this accident could have been prevented, especially if the SUV purposefully hit the brakes to cause this accident, but there are things that can be done to make rides safer for riders in a group.
If you want to read a story about this accident that does not seem to be biased about the club members in this accident you may click here now to read it and watch a video about the accident.
May god be with the injured bikers and motorcyclist who were involved in this accident, and their family members. Bikers and Motorcyclist are human beings and deserve respect just like anyone else.
By Biker Lawyer and Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, © 2009
