Treat Williams Crash: Witness Says Seeing Accident Was 'Traumatic'
The actor died after being airlifted to a hospital following a motorcycle accident in Vermont on Monday.
www.etonline.com
From all indications, Treat Williams was riding legally, safely, and simply got nailed by a 4-wheel driver who didn't see him. He is now the late Treat Williams, simply because an SUV driver was a little bit inattentive. It may be an occasion to review the many reasons why motorcycles are inherently - unavoidably - dangerous.
- Exposure to impact. Even a rider with a helmet, reinforced, fireproof clothing, armored gloves, and heavy boots is ten times more vulnerable to impacts from any direction than a driver of even a piece of shit car like a Fiat 500.
- Exposure to the elements. MC's are more vulnerable to rain, wind, snow & ice, potholes, foreign material on the roadway, grooved pavement, painted pavement, and so on than any car. (MC tires are very good - amazingly good - in rain).
- Lack of maneuverability. When a car has to, for example, make an emergency stop, the driver merely has to step on the brake pedal. A motorcyclist has to actuate two brakes (front & rear), and disengage the clutch, while struggling to maintain control of what might be a 900 pound bit of machinery. When a car has to make an instant evasive turn, say, to avoid a running deer, the driver merely has to jerk the wheel to the side. A motorcycle cannot make such a turn. An MC can swerve to avoid something on the road, but the bike itself remains headed in the same direction. A bike cannot make an instantaneous sharp turn.
- Low visibility. Some motorcycles are amenable to enhanced lighting, which is helpful at night, but there's no getting around the fact that MC's have less frontal area, and less visibility from either side or the back than any car. Furthermore, few MC riders put an emphasis on visibility when selecting the color of the bike or his clothing.
- Rider carelessness and stupidity. Most riders ride without helmets and few riders take other body protection seriously. I constantly see bikers with no helmet, a T-shirt, crappy jeans and shoes, and no gloves. Many riders flout speed limits and ride beyond their skill level on curved roads, especially highway exit ramps, which present a particularly dangerous challenge to bikes traveling at speed.
- Passengers are even more vulnerable than motorcycle riders. They are generally not holding on to anything, have no safety belt, and are held in place by nothing but the friction between their butts and the leather seat. It's a bit better on touring bikes with a "tour pack" (a trunk), but not much.
But at age 73 my bike is for sale, and I won't seriously miss it when it's gone. At my age, even a minor spill could be life-changing, and not in a good way. I would NEVER recommend a motorcycle to a young man or woman. If they are determined to get one, I will freely offer my thoughts and suggestions, but I've found that once someone has the bug, they probably won't be deterred (by arguments like I've laid out above).
