Posted on 05/19/2010 11:06:18 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW
Mount Pleasant -- A man who drove his SUV into two motorcycles that were stopped at a red light last week, killing both riders, will face no criminal charges and will be cited for a minor traffic offense.
Charles J. McDonald, 38, of Meggett, was driving the Ford Explorer that struck the motorcyclists shortly before 11:30 a.m. May 11 on U.S. Highway 17 at Anna Knapp Boulevard, according to police. Motorcyclists James Doucette, 80, of Port Charlotte, Fla., and James Hines, 50, of Yaphank, N.Y., died in the accident, and the driver of a car stopped in front of them, 73-year-old Mary Lucarelli of Mount Pleasant, was injured.
(Excerpt) Read more at postandcourier.com ...
This is what happens when you blame SUVs for accidents and deaths. The drivers aren’t responsible anymore.
I do the same thing, even in my car. Two months ago I quickly had to pull to the shoulder on the freeway in a construction traffic jam. It was after an NBA game and lots of cars were wandering...
I noticed the car behind me wasn’t slowing to the stopped traffic, so I pulled to the shoulder. He braked hard, but it was too late. I felt bad for the car in front of me.
One thing that I notice bike riders do when they are sitting at a red light is to put the transmission in nuetral and then take their foot off the brake. This dims the brake light, not the best thing to be doing if you are trying to maintain high visibility, IMO.
Great driving!!
The guy in front of you might have been hit anyway, by your vehicle, from the force of the idiot impelling yours forward. Your move also gave him more time to decelerate and lessen
the force of the ultimate impact.
Again, well done!
“Inattentiveness and utter stupidity just isnt a crime.”
Actually when it results in death in some jurisdictions it’s called criminally negligent homicide. Other jurisdictions call it “an accident”.
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Guys that don’t ride much get tired holding the clutch as their grip muscles aren’t used to the strain. If you ride a lot in traffic, you do feel it. I try not to ride in traffic much.
“No cause for a brethalyzer”?? When was the last time you heard that one.
This McDonald has to be politically-connected somehow.
If this guy was cooking hot dogs while driving, that's one thing. But we aren't sure why he didn't stop. He may have been doing something that all people do when they drive.
WTF...is all I can say!
“He may have been doing something that all people do when they drive.”
The only thing that ALL “people do when they drive” is pay attention to traffic, signs, and signals. Some of us even skip the radio, conversation, and cell phone and concentrate on safety.
Sadly, to my own disappointment, I conclude the same.
Haha... Only kidding.
Regardless of all legal arguments it’s time to get the word out to all motorcyclists and their families to never ever patronize a single business in Mt Pleasant, SC. A list of any businesses might be good too.
We are planning on an around the USA bike tour when I retire next year. Rest assured that I will avoid Mt Pleasant SC on that ride. Never will that town get one nickel of tourist dollars from me. Not much of a threat, but there it is.
The foot brake is secondary - the primary braking system is the hand brake, operated by the right hand lever. If you grip one or press the other the light stays lit at full intensity.
Also, visibility doesn’t matter in a world where idiots crash into fire trucks and police cars with lights and sirens going. If they ‘don’t see’ those high-profile vehicles, they’ll never see something like a motorcycle even if you paint it day-glow colors and wear luminescent clothing.
The families of the bikers need to get in touch with ABATE
perhaps the motocycles did not have their tail brake lights on. (you have to pull or press to have the light activate)
I always stop with my headlight in the drivers side rear view mirror and I watch the rearview in case a car is coming. If they ain’t gonna stop, I can hit the gas and run drivers side to get out of harms way.
There was this one time that I was sitting in the left turn lane of a traffic signal. I was over to the right side, where car tires would be, rather than dead-center in the lane, where there are lots of puddles of oil. The driver of a car just didn't see me sitting there - I'm 6'4" tall, with a bright red helmet, on a bright red Ducati, in the middle of a sunny day - and came within 2" of hitting my left leg... I rapped my knuckles on his passenger window, and his girlfriend completely freaked out, as did he.
There are so many distractions for drivers, and they're looking for dangerous situations with objects BIGGER than them. Consequently, they just don't see you. Someone once told me that they rode their motorcycles as if they were invisible to the rest of the drivers. I disagree. I rode my bike as though the drivers around me were trying to run me down.
Mark
Not unless the other vehicle involved, passing through the intersection, jumped the gun.
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