Because rules don't apply to motorcycle riders

[Yes I am watching you]

I have grown tried of driving behind beater trucks with bumper stickers that read "Watch out for motorcycles!" Etc... I have found almost all motorcycle riders to be self serving jacka$$ery in my state. They don't obey the speed limits passing rules, or frankly any other traffic law. Annoying when they go 20 mph under on a windy two lane road you can't pass them on, because "it's a great day to ride". Sorry I have to go to work if you like the scenic route, obey its speed limits and make two trips if it goes by to fast for you. It is terrifying when crotch rocket riders zip between cars or ride between lanes, because they can be bothered by the legal speed of traffic.

Normally, ill chalk it to being oblivious, but today I met a special biker. He had parked in the yellow lines next to the handicap parking so that A his non-handicap lazy a$$ wouldn't have to walk from one of the man open parking spaces nearby, B EVERYONE would be able to see his shiny (I don't have a small pecker) machine.

I walked up to him and said "Hey man, you know you can't park there."
"Park where!?"
"You're blocking the handicapped parking, what happens when a van rolls up and can't let the wheelchair out?"
"You gonna write me a ticket, huh?!"
"I'll call up the police officer to write you one."
He shuts up I walk away, if I had not been in my work parking lot I would have given him more of an earful.

[protege]

There are simply some motorcyclists that think the throttle only works one way--wide open. No wonder insurance rates for those things are so high.

In fact, I nearly saw one Darwin himself on the way home tonight. I'm sitting at a light, waiting to cross a major roadway. My light is red, the light on the cross street has turned yellow. All of a sudden, I hear a loud roar, and then some prick on a bike goes roaring through the intersection. He's lucky he had to stop at the next light--if he hadn't, he would have plowed into the side of a bus! Seriously dude, there's no reason to be going triple digits anywhere.

[Ophbalance]

The only thing I'd point out that to the OP is that the upper limit posted is not a required speed. There's also a lower end to that limit road user can legally travel.

[LillFilly]

I hated when motorcycles did that at my mall; and I could not ticket them because in my state, the painted lines are NOT considered the handicap space; they are pretty much a no-mans land. The same went for small cars that parked in them too. All we could do was page, and give them an earful when they came out. The police could not write tickets either, and usually the idiot was gone by the time they got there.

Motorcycles also parked on the sidewalk, blocking it for people with shopping carts. I was REALLY waiting for some kid to start climbing on one and knock it over!

Most self absorbed I think was the scooter owner who parked the scooter in the bike rack on the sidewalk. Now, this scooter was over 49 ccs and had a license plate; official vehicle, should park in a regular space. But NO, he said the STORE let him park there. We told him no, store rents its space, the mall owns the sidewalk, so move the scooter off our sidewalk!

I actually haven't had any issues with motorcycles when they're moving!

[MadMike]

A close friend of mine had a brother who rode a motorcycle. He got killed by some woman in a car who ran a stop sign. That being said, it pisses her off to no end when people on motorcycles act like they're invincible, and so stupid things, like the one who did a "right turn on red" when I was right at the intersection, and then proceeded to go at half the speed I was going.

And then there are the ones that ride right on my tail. Don't they realize that if I would have to slam on my brakes, they'd be going thirty feet in the fucking air???

[NecessaryCatharsis]

I heard a public announcement on the radio the other day about watching out for motorcycle drivers. It was sponsored by a bike group and the one thing that caught my attention was the 'almost 1/2 of the motorcycle fatalities are caused by the other driver'. Wait, so MORE than 1/2 are caused by the biker themselves? Maybe your public service is directed to the wrong group.

Most motorcycle drivers I've seen are driving reasonably, usually better than the average car driver out of self preservation, and not being a problem at all. The 5% or so I've seen that are acting like idiots seem to do it in such a exceptionally bad and dangerous way that it never surprises me when I hear about another fatality of a biker on the road.

That parking douche was just asking for it, I wish you could have gotten him a ticket. The kids zipping between lanes of rush hour traffic are asking for death, and get off lightly with a few tickets (the cops here watch for and ticket them frequently). The biker driving well below the speed limit is still following the law, unless you have legal minimum speeds in your area. The roads around here have scant passing areas, so it is common for slower traffic to pull in every 20k or so to let faster people pass, but if most of the highways in your area are straighter it may not occur to drivers to do that for courtesy.

**I haven't had my bike out in four years, I can't afford the insurance right now, but I've owed motorcycles for 20 years, love them and love driving them**

[MadMike]

It was sponsored by a bike group and the one thing that caught my attention was the 'almost 1/2 of the motorcycle fatalities are caused by the other driver'. Wait, so MORE than 1/2 are caused by the biker themselves?

"Sounds like Springfield's got a discipline problem! Maybe that's why we beat them at football nearly half the time!"

[taxguykarl]

Most motorcycle drivers I've seen are driving reasonably, usually better than the average car driver out of self preservation, and not being a problem at all.

Similar here...it's the bicycle riders who seem hell bent on getting hit.

[wolfie]

I had an encounter with a suicidal cyclist a couple weeks ago. Picked up a load in Brooklyn, and as I was leaving the industrial area I had a green light. Naturally, I kept going. A cyclist trying to use the red was miffed that I didn't stop for him, since HE wanted to keep going. If he hadn't stopped, only one of us would have walked away from the incident.

[Argabarga]

There are simply some motorcyclists that think the throttle only works one way--wide open. There's no reason to be going triple digits anywhere.

The last fatal accident I had the pleasure of cleaning up was that. A guy, sans helmet, in a t-shirt, doing triple digits on a surface street.

Truck turned left across traffic in front of him, either not seeing him, or, at the speed he was going, it was entirely possible that they had no idea how fast he was closing on them.

Guy went from 100 to zero in the width of one Ford F-250.

He didn't survive the experience. DOA'd on scene from head trauma, at 20 years of age.

The front 1/3rd of the bike was never "found", it was simply reduced to shrapnel and scattered into the nearby shoulder/woods. Only the front tire was identifiable as belonging to it.

PD investigation later learned he'd been doing triple digits for at least 5 miles by that point, people down-road from the accident site had been calling 911 to report him driving down the center line or passing on the shoulder at high speeds, popping wheelies, drag racing other bikers and being a general asshat.

Got what he deserved.

Just last week, the medevac chopper from the Hospital had to land in the field across the street from us to pick up a cyclist who'd had both his legs broken by a car, after he ran a stop sign, for reasons only he could explain.....

We have one of those arrogant scooter guys too. We've towed him in four times as of this year for either parking his scooter on a sidewalk in front of the doors to a building, or, in front of the dumpster at his apartment. This makes it very hard for the garbage truck to get to the dumpster, and as much as I'd like it if they just smashed the thing and went on their way, having him have to pay $115 to get it back three weeks in a row because he just didn't learn was just as satisfying.

[prjkt]

Having him pay $115 to collect the smashed scooter (that he doesn't realise is totalled until he collects it) would be insta-karma

[Argabarga]

Having him pay $115 to collect the smashed scooter (that he doesn't realise is totalled until he collects it) would be insta-karma

Under Borough pricing rules, we could conceivably charge him "accident and cleanup" rates. Which are $195 for "vehicles up to 3/4 Ton" But that'd just be plain ol' mean!

[Ben_Who]

We have one of those arrogant scooter guys too. We've towed him in four times as of this year for either parking his scooter on a sidewalk in front of the doors to a building, or, in front of the dumpster at his apartment. This makes it very hard for the garbage truck to get to the dumpster, and as much as I'd like it if they just smashed the thing and went on their way, having him have to pay $115 to get it back three weeks in a row because he just didn't learn was just as satisfying.

I love the idea of towing a scooter. Sounds like you could just sling one of those things over your shoulder and walk off with it. Or, better yet, drag it behind one of those old hook and chain jobs. On its side. Through all the potholes.

Motorcycle riders in Maine aren't quite the unconditional crazies that they are in other places, though I could do without the ones that remove their mufflers and whine that it's for safety reasons.

[LillFilly]

On the flip side, my housemate rides his bicycle to work in the summer; no choice as he doesn't have a license. He has all the required equipment on his bike, tries to keep up with traffic and rides the shoulder when possible. Yet some people seem hell bent on TRYING to hit him on purpose! He had a truck rev up behind him on the shoulder (it had to cross those bumps that wake you up if you drift to do it) so it could nudge his back tire; he ended-up flipping into the drainage culvert while the truck took off laughing. He's had people throw things at him. He had a bus driver pass him then turn right, cutting him off and nearly taking him under the front wheels. He had a drunk make an unsafe left in front of him, making him flip over the bed of the truck. He's gone through 3-bikes in as many years. And when he locks up his bike at stores, some people seem to take pleasure in slashing his tires too; I end up having to drive to get him and the bike. I've seen plenty of cyclists who suck at riding, but why pick on a person simply trying to get to his job and make a living? I've heard people argue that my housemate should get a car and pay taxes like everyone else; so you're saying you want a person to drive illegally rather than ride a bicycle legally???

[AccountingDrone]

I hated when motorcycles did that at my mall; and I could not ticket them because in my state, the painted lines are NOT considered the handicap space; they are pretty much a no-mans land. The same went for small cars that parked in them too. All we could do was page, and give them an earful when they came out. The police could not write tickets either, and usually the idiot was gone by the time they got there.

Motorcycles also parked on the sidewalk, blocking it for people with shopping carts. I was REALLY waiting for some kid to start climbing on one and knock it over!

Most self absorbed I think was the scooter owner who parked the scooter in the bike rack on the sidewalk. Now, this scooter was over 49 ccs and had a license plate; official vehicle, should park in a regular space. But NO, he said the STORE let him park there. We told him no, store rents its space, the mall owns the sidewalk, so move the scooter off our sidewalk!

I actually haven't had any issues with motorcycles when they're moving!

I can't *wait* until I get a handicapped van equipped with a lift. I fully intend to extend and drop/extend [depending on the format of the lift] my lift on anything that is blocking my access. Sucks to be them.