This is why it is a good thing to ride staggered.

[JeffM]

A sad story that happened yesterday here in Salt Lake : http://www.ksl.com/?sid=25862762&nid=148

When riding in a group (yes even a group of two) STAGGER. Leave enough room to react. You skill set should include smart riding.

NORTH SALT LAKE — One motorcyclist is dead and another seriously injured after their bikes collided on I-15 Wednesday afternoon.

Around 2:20 p.m., two men on Yamaha motorcycles were traveling south together in the left lane when the lead motorcyclist, Matthew L. Nichol, 36, from Cottonwood Heights, went down, according to Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Ed Michaud.

The second motorcyclist, Mark Ross, 52, from Washington state, apparently drove over Nichol. He was unable to stop in time, and traffic prevented him from veering into the next lane, police said.

My guess is that the two were riding very close to each other, hit, and one rider went down. The second rider hit the brakes but was unable to avoid hitting the rider who crashed.

Also, no helmets (except the one that was strapped to one of the bikes).

[rant] I have come to the point where I think you can choose what you want, or do not want to wear, but I really, really, do not get it - not wearing a helmet. [/rant]

Neither rider was wearing a helmet. Nichol had a helmet attached to his bike.

"Had helmets been worn, the injuries would not likely have been nearly as serious," [Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Ed] Michaud said.

Be safe out there, ride smart and wear a helmet.

Jeff

[Aggrotech]

no helmets, no sympathy.

[fishdip]

Originally Posted by Aggrotech

no helmets, no sympathy.

This is stupid. Are you saying human life to you is a mater of helmet or not

[NevadaWolf]

Sympathy to the families but yeah, sorry, you choose to not wear protective gear, your injury or death is your own damn fault.

[xSean13]

Originally Posted by fishdip

This is stupid. Are you saying human life to you is a mater of helmet or not

Speaking of stupid, that poor excuse of a sentence and spelling is almost as tragic.

[Panda]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

Sympathy to the families but yeah, sorry, you choose to not wear protective gear, your injury or death is your own damn fault.

Yeah. I also have trouble feeling sympathy for riders squidding it up, riding recklessly, or speeding excessively on public roads that get hurt. Definitely feel sympathy for the families though.

[Aggrotech]

Originally Posted by fishdip

This is stupid. Are you saying human life to you is a mater of helmet or not

to the familys, sure.

to the 2 complete idiots who have absolutely 0 regard for their own life, no, i dont have sympathy for them.

riding without a helmet/any gear is just as stupid and ridiculous as jumping out of a plane without a parachute, or being in a nascar race without the rollbars, helmet and safety suite.

I mean i could somewhat understand if ur literally going a few houses down...but going on crowded streets and highways...ur completely disregarding every risk in the book and theres absolutely 0 reason anyone (even them) could use to justify their actions.

[fishdip]

Originally Posted by Panda

Yeah. I also have trouble feeling sympathy for riders squidding it up, riding recklessly, or speeding excessively on public roads that get hurt. Definitely feel sympathy for the families though.

I must have miss the "speeding" or "recklessly" riding part in the story. Also the act of jumping out of a plane or being in a left hand turn race is very different then just riding down the interstate. I am all for Darwin awards but that dose not change the fact a human life was lost.

[Alchemist]

Originally Posted by Aggrotech

no helmets, no sympathy.

Agreed. When you take actions that knowingly and directly add to the circumstances and the problem, my sympathy goes WAY down. Might not be "zero sympathy", but it's fraction of my sympathy for the guy who tried.

[JeffM]

Yep they probably should have been wearing lids. Should have left my rant out of my post.

Lets get back to riding skills.

Reading the article, these two riders may or may not have known each other. This is just a guess on my part because one of the riders was out of state. Could a moment of motorcycle camaraderie - I think I'll ride along side this guy - have turned tragic?

Jeff

[Panda]

Originally Posted by fishdip

I must have miss the "speeding" or "recklessly" riding part in the story. Also the act of jumping out of a plane or being in a left hand turn race is very different then just riding down the interstate. I am all for Darwin awards but that dose not change the fact a human life was lost.

Please read what I wrote instead of trying to be argumentative, thanks.

[NevadaWolf]

Re: separate plates... could have been a visiting friend. I've been riding with bikes bearing California and Washington plates all week.

If they were frends, doubly tragic for the families involved. The injured rider will have the guilt of causing not only the death of a fellow rider but also of his friend. That is a very heavy burden.

[fishdip]

Originally Posted by Panda

Please read what I wrote instead of trying to be argumentative, thanks.

Thanks but I did you may want to read what I posted thanks

[Motofool]

It is impossible to match the description in the news and the scenery.

It seems that they did fall before that turn and skid.
If so, they were on the right lane and ended up on the second lane.
However, I see no marks son the pavement or evident damage to the bikes.

In any event, the advice of the OP is applicable to any riding group.
It is always tragic that the life of a 36 years old man ends in circumstances that could have been avoided.

[CC Cowboy]

Luckily they weren't riding Harley Davidson motorcycles or they would have been called brain dead even before the accident.

I would think they were riding staggered for the second bike to run over the rider of the first. If they were next to each other the second bike would be by the first rider before he hit the ground.

I don't know a lot about riding (even less about crashing) however; is a rider who rides without a helmet for years without an accident safer than a rider (maybe from this forum) who wears gear but crashes (maybe even often) from lack of experience, lack of attention, or lack of confidence?

[fishdip]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

Luckily they weren't riding Harley Davidson motorcycles or they would have been called brain dead even before the accident.

I would think they were riding staggered for the second bike to run over the rider of the first. If they were next to each other the second bike would be by the first rider before he hit the ground.

I don't know a lot about riding (even less about crashing) however; is a rider who rides without a helmet for years without an accident safer than a rider (maybe jiggs) who wears gear but crashes (maybe even often) from lack of experience, lack of attention, or lack of confidence?

[Gurk]

This will sound heartless but..... Natural selection.....

It blows my mind that helmet isn't required in some states. Makes ZERO sense.
Even if it's not a law.. How DUMB do you have to be to not wear one?!?

I feel more sorry for his friends&family than for him.

[Aggrotech]

Originally Posted by Gurk

This will sound heartless but..... Natural selection.....

It blows my mind that helmet isn't required in some states. Makes ZERO sense.
Even if it's not a law.. How DUMB do you have to be to not wear one?!?

I feel more sorry for his friends&family than for him.

lol exactly how i feel.

but obviously im the bad guy. its okay, someone has to be the bad guy.

[JeffM]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I would think they were riding staggered for the second bike to run over the rider of the first. If they were next to each other the second bike would be by the first rider before he hit the ground.

But the the crash was initially caused by contact between the two bikes.

I think that maybe they were staggered just a tiny bit and maybe the leading rider slowed for some reason and the following rider tagged him (not paying attention?) then hits the brakes. The lead rider falls and the other guy runs him over.

It was stated that the surviving rider had no where to go to avoid hitting the other rider. Bad timing or lack of situational awareness?

It is hard to comprehend how this could have happened on a straight stretch of freeway. Makes me think that maybe both were not close to 100% focused.

Now that the weather is hot, there has been a ton of, what looks like, weekend warriors riding around. There was another rider critically injured earlier in the week. He got caught up in a multiple car collision in the carpool lane.

Unlucky? Well, one thing stood out:

A motorcyclist was traveling in the HOV lane and hit the side of the Camry before being ejected onto the freeway, at which point the rider's helmet came off due to the straps not being tightened correctly, according to UHP.

Smart riding? Nope.

[RJprod]

I felt naked when I rode without a helmet.. I only did it once and that was it for me..

seriously, my heart goes out to the affected families, but nothing pisses me off more than to c a person riding while his/her helmet is attached to the bike. It's really stupid imo..

[Domagoj]

I think being too close is the biggest problem of group riding. I tend to keep my distance regardless of the type of vehicle in front/behind.

And honestly, staggered formation looks good in theory but, add some randomness, which you always have in a crash, add some target fixation, and 500mm left or right does not mean that much. You never know which way the guy that went down will slide, or how exactly is the guy behind going to react.

Keep in mind that 80% of regular street riders don't have the skills or readiness of mind to react quickly and correctly. Those that do are usually track junkies who find very little pleasure in cruising around the countryside.

[csmith12]

During a rainy track day last year, no less that 5 riders went down in front of me. Each time, I was very lucky to be able to miss the rider layng on the tarmac. I even had to bail to the grass to avoid one guy who lit it up the rear coming off pit lane, leaving his bike in the middle of the track.

Dodging bikes and bodies on the track is hard enough, I have been graced with not having had that chance while riding street yet. This is why at the track they have a 6ft or more passing rule. Call it staggered or whatever, it buys you time and space but you do have to have the skillz to be able to use the time and space to NOT become part of the accident. Your average street rider will need much, much more than 6ft to account for all the randomness that is the "street".

Group riding tip: If you can't slow the bike to school zone speed within your following distance of the bike in front of you, your following to close.

[csmith12]

Group riding tip #2 - In the event of an off, stay where you are unless you are in immediate mortal danger. Let other riders steer clean of you. DO NOT BECOME A MOVING TARGET. There is nothing worse at causing target fixation than a moving obstacle in your path of travel.

[lgk]

there's always a path whether you see it or not...
the only thing that could have saved them is being more proficient, and PPE.

[bfpower]

There are so many accidents in that NSL area on 15.

Always a soft spot here for SLC; great memories of coming of age there.

[ally99]

It sucks that a stupid mistake led to the death of a fellow rider. I think we've all at one point in our lives (at least one) done something stupid. Most of the time we get lucky. Yes, their decision was stupid, but it still sux ass that someone had to die and another has to live with the guilt of killing another.