Fallen Rider

[MCRIDER007]

A 23 year old man was killed on a motorcycle yesterday afternoon in my home town. I didn't know him but I was at the dealership when he was picking up his new Buell. It was his first street bike and he was so excited about it that nothing could wipe the silly grin off his face. He had owned dirt bikes so he knew the basics about riding and shifting but I think the salesman who gave him some riding tips as he rode around the parking lot had his fingers crossed when the bike left the dealership. It wasn't enough, and hour later the rider was dead. The bike had 32 miles on the odometer.

He died at the entrance to his apartment complex. I went to the accident scene this morning to try to figure out what happened since there were no witnesses and the only thing I was able to determine was that the rider failed to make a left turn (at about 20-25 mph), jumped the curb, rode through a bush and a fence taking out two posts, and then was ejected into a small tree when the bike fell on its right side. He died of massive body injuries to his left side. Had the tree not been there he probably would have slid on the grass and walked away.

I don't have a clue as to what really happened to cause this accident, maybe someone else or an animal was involved but there isn't any way to tell. I can only speculate that he misjudged his speed making the left turn and froze -- maybe he hit the gas by mistake. He had to have been almost straight up and down when he jumped the curve and if he had leaned right he may have been able to jump the curve and ride down the sidewalk. I do know that if he had been following an experienced rider instead of riding by himself the chances of this type of accident are almost nil. If you have kids (or friends) that want to get into motorcycling do not let them ride by themselves until they get at least a 1,000 miles of experience -- even if they have completed an MSF course. If you have to be a jerk about it then be a jerk about it. This man's father is also a rider and I can't imagine what he must be going through coping with his loss.

 

[Woodstock]

Probably target-fixated on the curb.

 

[Warchild]

This really hits hard.... I have had "issues" with the dealership who sold him the motorcycle for years. They are ex-car dealership people who are simply interested in the almighty dollar; screw the sport and the riders themselves. Schumate Motorsports, I hope you guys are sleeping well tonight. :angry:

Here is the local news story.... this is simply tragic beyond words.....

  Wednesday, September 7, 2005 15:34

Man killed in motorcycle accident outside home

This story was published Wednesday, September 7th, 2005

By Mary Hopkin, Herald staff writer

A 23-year-old Kennewick man died Tuesday after driving his brand-new motorcycle through the fence of his Kennewick apartment complex.

Aaron C. Fouts was driving a 2005 Buell motorcycle he had just purchased that morning westbound on Kennewick Avenue and lost control when he attempted to turn into the driveway of Desert Brook Apartments.

Officer Dion Mason of the Kennewick Police Department said details on the accident are sketchy because there were no witnesses.

Mason said it appeared Fouts failed to make the turn into the complex about 4 p.m. and the motorcycle jumped the curb onto the sidewalk before plowing through the cross-hatched fence and hitting a tree in a landscaped area in front of Desert Brook.

"He suffered major blunt trauma to the left side of his body," Mason said.

The tree was about 50 feet from Frank Robinson's apartment, but as Robinson watched Kennewick police officers investigating the accident scene, he said he didn't hear anything when the crash occurred.

"I was on my computer and had a headset on," Robinson said. "I didn't know anything had happened until some neighbors pulled out and came back in."

Those neighbors spotted Fouts and the motorcycle laying in the grassy area littered with the splintered wood fence rails and told apartment manager Dave Jansen, who called 911. Jansen said he didn't hear the accident either.

Mason said Fouts, who was wearing a helmet, was given CPR at the accident scene and was taken to Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco, where he was pronounced dead.

 

[twowheelnut]

Jesus. Sad.

 

[Ignacio]

It hits too close to home. Ugh!

I didn't know the rider, but do know the cops shown in the picture and the apartment complex myself.

...and I just did a PSA for Shumate that's currently airing on local channels. Gawd, I hope I didn't make biking look safe or anything. Because 32 miles is about 5 or 6 zeros short of how many miles one should go without an accident.

 

[Thug]

Poor *******....

 

[MCRIDER007]

This really hits hard.... I have had "issues" with the dealership who sold him the motorcycle for years.  They are ex-car dealership people who are simply interested in the almighty dollar; screw the sport and the riders themselves. Schumate Motorsports, I hope you guys are sleeping well tonight. :angry:

I don't think anyone involved in that sale will be sleeping very good tonight. They all had very long faces when I stopped there today. That rider was in their building for 4 hours yesterday selecting a bike, filling out the paperwork, and waiting for it to be serviced and everyone liked him. As another reminder, his shiny red truck was still sitting in their parking lot this morning.

I have a lot of issues with dealerships selling high performance bikes to novice riders but I normally don't think of a Buell as being in that category. They are also one of the few manufactures who encourages the no more than 55 mph breakin period. And, at least in this case, I don't think the HP had anything to do with the accident, excessive speed was not involved and he could have made the same mistake on a beginner bike.

 

[Groo]

It's entirely possible, and I'm not too proud to say I've done it myself, that as a new street rider, when making the turn, if he had too much speed, he could have panicked and forgotten to let off on the throttle. The thing that saved me (again, speaking from experience as a VERY new rider at the time a few years ago) was pulling in the clutch (thank you MSF). It wouldn't surprise me in the least to have someone pop the curb and get tossed.

Terrible tragedy...

 

[zorkler]

i really dont know what to type . the bike co. will never go for some type of restricition before you can purchase a bike hell you dont even need a licence

 

[FJRottie]

Just to be Devil's Advocate,

if the guy had a license and knew how to ride a bike, how would the dealership know his competence level. I have driven up to a dealer in a car and bought a bike without them seeing or knowing I ride.

You don't need a license to buy a bike or a car.

Trust me, I'm the last one to defend a salesmonkey.

Did they see him ride ?

I think the salesman who gave him some riding tips as he rode around the parking lot had his fingers crossed when the bike left the dealership

If this statement is true and he showed a very poor ability, maybe he should have been refused a sale.

 

[MCML]

Awful. Simply heartwreching.

 

[MCRIDER007]

It's entirely possible, and I'm not too proud to say I've done it myself, that as a new street rider, when making the turn, if he had too much speed, he could have panicked and forgotten to let off on the throttle.  The thing that saved me (again, speaking from experience as a VERY new rider at the time a few years ago) was pulling in the clutch (thank you MSF). 

He may have panicked and given it more throttle -- which is what I have observed the new riders have a tendency to do when they get in trouble. He was making a 90 degree turn and only completed 30 degrees of the turn when he hit the curb so he wasn't anywhere close to making a successful turn.

You saved yourself on a curve many years ago by pulling in the clutch? I still do that, especially when I am making U-turns.

 

[radman]

About all I would expect a dealership to require would be a scoot license/endorsement. If one has that, then I would not require anything more from them. This happens a lot more than just reading local news would expose-and it's one more condemnation of the piss poor licensing procedures this country endures. What most states test for would/should qualify one for at most a 125cc bike-barely. I have only Minnesota experience to draw on-but I would imagine it represents most state testing. A glorified parking lot, with speeds at most approaching 20mph, and proof you don't fall over very often, hardly qualifies an individual for a machine capable of easy freeway speeds and beyond, amongst cell phone yappin' Tahoe drivers, etc etc etc. Britain has a much smarter program, with horsepower limitations for a period before full license is granted, regardless of age or prior driving experience. That a truly thoughtful and skills based learning and testing program will ever be instituted in the US is a pipe dream, just like cage driving, it's about fees and the impression that the state programs are doing good, like so much of government now. Even the MSF program, touted by so many, is, to me, a farce. I have seen what MSF considered prepared motorcyclists, and they are even more frightening than one totally unprepared for riding-having passed the MSF program, they think they are ready for whatever they get on, little knowing they do not yet have a clue as to what awaits them out in the real world. I watched one guy I know, a cop for christs sake, who had just bought his first motorcycle from me, a Yam XS650, in this order, forget to put his foot down at a stop, laying the bike down. He then rode through a stop sign, thankfully, with no one else crossing, then proceeded to attempt to leave a stop having forgotten to put the bike in gear, and almost laying it down again. Had I not gone along with him for an orientation ride, that I insisted on, I shudder to think what might have happened on that first ride. Two weeks later, he laid it down fairly good, no major injuries, but some scrapes and a tweaked front end. He forgot to use the front brake at a stop, and panic locked the rear. A COP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On a fairly gentle, narrow, well balanced, simple, basic bike!! Had he had something with some snort, I shudder to think what the future might have held.

 

[MCRIDER007]

Just to be Devil's Advocate,if the guy had a license and knew how to ride a bike, how would the dealership know his competence level.  I have driven up to a dealer in a car and bought a bike without them seeing or knowing I ride.

I think the salesman who gave him some riding tips as he rode around the parking lot had his fingers crossed when the bike left the dealership

If this statement is true and he showed a very poor ability, maybe he should have been refused a sale.

The dealership would not have any way of knowing a rider's competence level and I do not know of any dealership in my area that has ever refused a sale for that reason. Washington requires a M/C endorsement to ride legally on public highways but the dealerships are allowed to sell motorcycles to riders that do not have endorsements. Washington also allows motorcycle riders to ride on the street with a learners permit that can be obtained by passing a written test. The only restrictions are that the rider cannot have passengers, ride at night, or ride on the freeway (which I think is the safest place to be on a motorcycle, at least where I live). So the State is actually encouraging new riders to practice on the street until they are competent enough to pass the riding portion of the M/C endorsement. :angry:

 

[slapnpop]

The local Driver's test (car) was simply 4 right hand turns, 3 at stop signs and one at a light. Even at 16 I didn't think this was enough of a test to get compotent drivers.

The bike test is simply to go to the end of the parkinglot, U turn, and come back without dropping the bike or losing control. Definatly not enough.

 

[MCRIDER007]

The bike test is simply to go to the end of the parkinglot, U turn, and come back without dropping the bike or losing control.  Definatly not enough.

Our bike test is quite a bit more difficult but mostly involves make tight turns and weaving through cones in a parking lot. It is not easy to do, especially on a large bike but I have always questioned if it is really relevant to riding in the real world. I just haven't heard of anyone getting seriously injured making a U-turn in a parking lot.

Markjenn is a MSF instructor, maybe he can give us his insight on the testing process and whether he feels it is relevant.

 

[Bearly Flying]

I remember when I took my test for a bike endorsement, I had had several bikes by the time Alberta started with the class 6 Motorcycle endorsement. I had just bought my 85 FJ 1100 and was planning a trip to the States, so I fiqured I had better get it. Did the written exam, out to the Parking lot, The "Instructor" is about 70 years old, has me walk the bike around some cones making a fiqure 8. Ride around the cones making a fiqure 8 as slowly as I could. Then tells me to go to the far end of the parking lot, (pretty big parking lot) and accelerate back toward him as fast as I could until he signalled for a panic stop in front of him. I questioned him if he really meant " as fast as I could".... YEP, don't argue Young Fella.... OK, I said.. I think I hit 3 rd gear with the old FJ by the time the "Instructor" dropped his clip board and started running for the office. .....I took that for a sign to stop.

Luckily he signed off on my endorsement No Problem.......

 

[skyway]

Sad story.

The CA DMV motorcycle test is a complete joke. When I took the MSF class here 7 years ago (which I aced BTW ), one of my instructors was a 5 time rider in the Paris to Dakar rally. He proceeded to tell me how he had motorcycle endorsments from multiple countries from around the world. Upon riding the joke that CA calls a test of skills, the DMV employee was an ass toward him so he did the whole test on the rear wheel, to the bemusment of the DMV instructor looking on.

Even though the MSF in CA is a good class, it does not come close to the training standards and real world skills set in the UK. When I did my test there, it was 1 on 1 with another rider while wearing intercoms and required riding in different urban situations. Prior to taking this riding test, I also had to complete a Compulsory Basic Training [CBT] course just to ride on the street. There are also restrictions on cc's and hp for beginners.

Observation has shown me that the general attitude between riders in the UK and US is almost night and day. Though I have met many riders in the US who take the business of 2 wheels deadly serious, (especially the mature riders I have met) there are many more in the US who show a complete disregard to personal safety. It's difficult to explain but just go there and hook up with some riders and you will see what I'm talking about. Nikes' and shorts are few and far between in the UK, full leathers are the flavor of choice for most riders.

Re: the comments about dealers above:

My local dealer is actually very strict about selling high power bikes to newbies. I recently watched on as a mother and 20 year old son were there to by a new CBR1000RR as a first street bike. The dealer point blank refused to sell to them. I know of many other occurances of the same situation at the dealer, even when buyers got completely irate when refused the sale while also waving cash in hand.

 

[SkooterG]

How very tragic. It saddens my heart to hear such news.

Glad to hear there are a few dealers out there like Skyway describes, and its too damned bad we can't learn a few things from other countries regarding graduated motorcycle licenses. But then this country is all about making the almighty buck.

****. Just too damned bad.