bad wreck on Co 7

[franco6]

When driving south on Colorado 7 last Thursday ,we witnessed a motorcycle in the ditch, only the rear end was visible, but on top of the bike and on both sides was a concertina wire fence. Several cars were stopped and so was the ambulance. Two EMS guys were looking as if they just arrived and could not believe what they were seeing. When I saw the concertina crossing the rear bags of the harley my stomach could not take it. I was wondering if anyone heard anything about it .Hoping the best for the riders.
Fred

[Valkorado]

Hate hearing that,  and hate to admit that there seems to be more whackos on the roads in the Centennial State than ever before.

[Bighead]

Could we maybe base that statement on the legal sale of MaryJane?

[Valkorado]

That and the fact that it's just growing too fast.   There are lots more people zipping around on roads designed for less.

[franco6]

That one was in a downgrade with a left sharp 45 degree turn and it had been raining, those light showers     I figure too much weight braking the front ,no grip.    ???

[cookiedough]

That and the fact that it's just growing too fast.   There are lots more people zipping around on roads designed for less.

that and the cagers not paying attention on their damn cell phones.

I do not get why cell phones do not have the capability to be automatically disabled if the car starts, should be a no brainer see it EVERY single day someone on their cell phones not even bluetooth but right to their ears talking while driving not going on a green light staring and talking into space until I beep the horn at them to get moving.  Or,  not paying attention and rear ending someone.  Saw 2 accidents like this the past 2 weeks with my own eyes have to be on a swivel now to avoid them all....   

I still think carrying a roll of pennies or marbles and tossing them up in the air from someone tailgating me is a good idea...   My wife said though 2 cycles were on her back bumper doing 62 mph NOT passing her when able to do so and so close she could not even see their front headlights she swears both were 3-4 feet behind her rear bumper.    They must of had a death wish I would have slowed down to 45 mph and told them to pass waiving them on by when safe to do so.

[Dave Ritsema]

That and the fact that it's just growing too fast.   There are lots more people zipping around on roads designed for less.

I still think carrying a roll of pennies or marbles and tossing them up in the air from someone tailgating me is a good idea...   My wife said though 2 cycles were on her back bumper doing 62 mph NOT passing her when able to do so and so close she could not even see their front headlights she swears both were 3-4 feet behind her rear bumper.    They must of had a death wish I would have slowed down to 45 mph and told them to pass waiving them on by when safe to do so.

Is someone tailgating you worth getting shot over? Throwing things out of your vehicle to hit someone behind you is a pretty aggressive move not to mention illegal should you get caught doing it. Not worth it to me but hey, it's your life and your lawyer. 

[Westernbiker]

I would have slowed down to 45 mph and told them to pass waiving them on by when safe to do so.

I do NOT recommend this at all. If you wave someone to go or pass or whatever, YOU take responsibility for them. If they get in an accident and you had waved them to go or pass, they can come after you legally. I would NOT want this court battle. DO NOT instruct other drivers!

[0leman]

Thankfully I don't ride on roads with those wires guard rails.  I am seeing them put in more and more on our I-5 roads (some 80 miles away). 

As far as tailgaters, I am finding that there is a certain group of drivers who can't pass on a two lane roads.  I was riding on Wednesday, a vehicle came up behind me rather fast (55mph road-I was doing indicated 65).   He just stayed behind me, not tailgating but close.  Lots of opportunity to pass but didn't.  Doesn't take long to pass a bike.   When we got to a uphill portion of the road with passing lane, he zoomed pass me.  Been seeing more of these folks.  And yes, I did drop off nearly 10 mph on open straight away with no traffic to get him to pass.

[Gryphon Rider]

Thankfully I don't ride on roads with those wires guard rails.  I am seeing them put in more and more on our I-5 roads (some 80 miles away). 

As far as tailgaters, I am finding that there is a certain group of drivers who can't pass on a two lane roads.  I was riding on Wednesday, a vehicle came up behind me rather fast (55mph road-I was doing indicated 65).   He just stayed behind me, not tailgating but close.  Lots of opportunity to pass but didn't.  Doesn't take long to pass a bike.   When we got to a uphill portion of the road with passing lane, he zoomed pass me.  Been seeing more of these folks.  And yes, I did drop off nearly 10 mph on open straight away with no traffic to get him to pass.

I'm glad you do this.  Driving in the BC Rockies, it is often the case that drivers who are timid in the twisties, where there are few passing opportunities, will regain their confidence when the road straightens out and passing is possible, speeding up so that anyone wanting to pass them has to REALLY speed to do so.

[semo97]

I have seen miles and miles of barbed wire fences along roads but never concertina. Was there a prison in the area?

[0leman]

I have seen miles and miles of barbed wire fences along roads but never concertina. Was there a prison in the area?

Not sure about Texas, but we are seeing metal guard rails being replace with steel cables.  Especially on Interstate hwys.   They are a lot cheaper, but will cause a lot of damage to a bike/rider if one hits them.  4 wheel vehicles not so much.  These are the "concertina wire fence" that was mention in the original post.   

AND yes we do have a lot of barbwire fences where I ride.  One really shouldn't try to stop by hitting them. 

[semo97]

We have cable in the center of some of the highways here as well would not want to tangle with cable or barbed wire.

[The emperor has no clothes]

We have cable in the center of some of the highways here as well would not want to tangle with cable or barbed wire.

I have seen it in other places a couple times. Luckily none around here that I know of. It doesn't look like you'd want to mess with it. Although those guard rails can be pretty bad also. A few years back we came across a rider who had been cut off and t-boned the end of a guard rail. It F'd him up pretty bad. I still wonder to this day how he fared.

[SCain]

We have the cables in the median on I-25 here in the Land of Entrapment, I think these are put in the median to keep oncoming traffic from crossing over into the other lanes. We have a lot of that her in NM.

[J.Mencalice]

Yesterday, the Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Dept. of Transportation laid out 103 helmets on a lawn to represent the number of motorcyclists killed last year.  This year the total is 65 as of yesterday.
Worst year recently was 2016 with 125 fatals.

https://www.9news.com/article/news/more-than-100-motorcyclists-died-on-colorado-roadways-last-year/73-31098180-588d-45fd-985a-19856f6d5584

This is a two year old report from the Governors Highway Safety Association but still pretty applicable and a worthy read, I believe...morbid but worthy.
https://www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/ghsa_motorcyclists18.pdf

I wonder how many of the 103 actually had helmets on; we have no law to obligate people to wear them, but eye protection is mandatory.  "Well, he cracked his coconut against that rock, too bad, but the upside is that we'll be able to salvage his eyes because no bugs were able to penetrate his Ray-Bans."

Many wrecks in the open, rural areas out on our western slope are due to poor riding technique; mainly late braking and lack of managing speed on tight, curvy mountain two lanes.
"Guardrails?  We don't need no stinking guardrails."