I was driving on the interstate the other day, I think it was mid-afternoon. There were a lot of people out but traffic was moving just fine. I think the speed limit at that stretch of the road is 60 or 65, and I was probably going 70, like the traffic around me. I saw a motorcycle approaching in my rear view mirror. A smallish-medium bike. Not a sport bike, but just a non-descript motorcycle. Now, I like motorcycles. I think motorcycles are very very cool. I don’t know if I’d ever learn to ride one, and if I did I probably wouldn’t drive on the interstate, but that is just me. I have no problems whatsoever with sharing the interstate with motorcyclists. However, as this motorcycle got closer, he passed me very quickly and then passed the person in front of me, and then the guy next to him within a matter of seconds. He continued to zip in and out of lanes for as long as I saw him. Judging from how fast I was and how quickly he was getting around everyone, I’d estimate his speed as having been about 90. Normally I would have just shook my head and not thought much about it, but the thing that made me stare after him and think “What a moron!!” was that he had a kid on the back of the bike, who, in the few seconds I saw him, I judged to be about seven or eight.
Was this really as stupid of him as I thought, or is this not such a big deal?
I used to have a motorcycle, and riding on the Interstate in traffic is incredibly scary. I always stuck to the slow lanes and tried to keep as much space between me and the other vehicles as possible.
I’ll also go with stupid, but as a long-time motorcyclist, I’ll add that I feel safest when on the Interstates. By far. No oncoming traffic, no cross traffic, nobody waiting to blow a light and flatten me. Plus, by moving slightly faster than the average traffic, I can keep 99% of the ‘threats’ in my direct field of vision. Once I’m past a given clump of traffic, I need to pay it little attention.
I see motorcyclists doing that same thing all the time on the interstate. Yesterday I saw one weaving in and out of traffic with his wife or girlfriend on the back, and neither were wearing helmets.
Driving in fairly heavy traffic one day, a motorcycle was doing the speed weave. I don’t think he even noticed that he didn’t get run over by his foolish actions because other cars were braking to let him get in and changing lanes to avoid hitting him. Stupid, stupid kid.
Yes, weaving between cars usually entails getting really close to the cars you are passing. This gives you (or the car) no time to stop which can result in a crash if there’s a sudden stop, and accidents on motorcycles are no joke.
The odd thing I just saw a lady crash on a scooter yesterday after she was caught off guard while tail-gating. She was really lucky that she wasn’t hurt (I was suprised after seeing the entire thing).
It’s worse than stupid, its practically assault with a deadly weapon. I can’t say for sure, but I’m pretty sure in NC if that guy were to be in an accident and the kid got killed, he could be charged with 1st degree murder.
They say that speed isn’t a problem; it’s differences in speed that’s the problem. I can see how that would be, if (generic) you are going 150 kph on your bike, and everyone else is going 110. And yeah, weaving around other vehicles means that you’re driving unpredictably, and that’s always unsafe. I’d say that both are a problem.