Motorcycles

Conspicuous motorcycles are under represented in crashes, so being conspicuous could be a good thing for a rider. The right gear helps prevent look but failed to see crashes (SMIDSY) according to research.

With good weather returning, I wonder if you could remind everyone that there are more motorcycles on the road. We all need to check around extra carefully because bikers are more vulnerable and easy to miss.

The case of Yu v Dynamic Air Solutions involves a collision between a motorcycle and the open driver's door of a pickup truck on Southwest Marine Drive in Vancouver. The key liability issue is whether motorcyclists should be allowed to proceed down lanes with parked vehicles so long as there is sufficient room to pass.

I'm flabbergasted that motorcycles with loud exhausts seem to be the "sacred cows" of our highways and byways. I recently spent about 18 hours working at a job site immediately adjacent to Harvey Avenue near Pandosy Street, during two sunny days of spring weather. The number of loud motorcycles and "jacked-up" diesel 4 x 4's trucks that constantly hammered their throttles was astonishing.

QUESTION: I have been driving home on Rupert Street in Vancouver lately and there are some lane markings I am not clear about. Between 12th ave and about Kingsway there is a narrow right hand lane that has a bicycle and a white diamond, there is no other signage. Are motorcycles allowed to use this lane because they regularly do.

This provincial government news item was released in March, 2010. It advised that the province of BC saw 286 motorcycle-related deaths on our highways between 2000 and 2007. As a result, the BC Coroner's Service convened a Death Review Panel to examine the increasing frequency of serious collisions. The panel made recommendations to prevent loss of life in similar circumstances.

I ride a motorcycle and find that some HOV lanes allow motorcycles and some do not. It is frustrating to pass the non-HOV entrance to a roadway only to find that the HOV lane entrance does not permit motorcycles. Can it be changed so that motorcycles are permitted to use all HOV lanes and entrances, in particular that one as I commute over that bridge daily?

I've been looking forward to eating a meal on our back deck and enjoying the warm sunshine outdoors for a while now. Last evening was the first comfortable opportunity so my wife and I took advantage of it. The breeze was rustling the branches, the birds were chirping, the frogs were peeping and the motorcycles were whining and rumbling.

This video is from the FortNine channel on YouTube. It explains that there are three ways to position your body in relation to  your motorcycle when you are making a turn: lean, counter-lean and neutral. The video explains why learning to counter-lean your motorcycle is the best choice for highway riding.

Sorry Mate, I Didn't See You! This is probably the biggest concern among motorcycle riders everywhere and with good reason. Last year in B.C., 1,600 motorcyclists were injured in 2,600 crashes. In addition, on average, 34 riders die in crashes each year on our roads. This is what a snapshot looks like today.