Young rider killed after colliding with a car in Tracy.

[ridernextdoor]

http://tracypress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8713&Itemid=2

:rose

FYI. There is a double yellow line. Damage on the car is on the front fender, driver side. Curious to know what exactly happened here.

UPDATED: Motorcyclist dies
Danielle MacMurchy/Tracy Press
Wednesday, 11 April 2007
A 21-year-old from Lathrop dies after crashing his motorcycle into a car Tuesday night. By Danielle MacMurchy


http://tracypress.com/uploads/04-11-07/moto.jpg Enrique Gutierrez/Tracy Press - aftermath:Tracy Fire Department’s Ed McMahon (left) and Chief Germane Friends inspect the motorcycle that crashed into a Ford Taurus on Tuesday evening.

A 21-year-old Lathrop man died after his motorcycle slammed into a car on Chrisman Road near 11th Street on Tuesday evening.

Chris Pease was taken by ambulance to Sutter Tracy Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Pease was heading north on his Yamaha bike when he crashed into a Ford Taurus pulling into a driveway on the 25000 block of Chrisman Road, near West Cabe Road.

A team of five paramedics tried to revive Pease, who did not have a pulse when they arrived, Tracy Fire Department Chief Germane Friends said.

Bilma Cossio, driver of the Taurus, said she’d started to pull into the driveway of a family friend’s home to pick up her granddaughter when she saw the motorcyclist in her mirror.

“He tried to pass me,” Cossio said. “He hit my car hard, and I lost control.”

The crash pushed her car into a small tree and launched the motorcyclist 30 yards from the crash site.



Cossio’s granddaughter, Diana Castaneda, 12, said she saw the crash.



“He was driving very, very fast,” she said. “You just feel so sorry that he’s so young."

[lawangrr]

hm... the governing laws of classical physics do not hold here...

[awgeezdawn]

a fatal mistake, so sad.


:rose Chris

[Bikerx260]

Why not? If he is passing the car from behind, as the car turns left into a driveway it makes perfect sense.I've been caught out by that a few times over the years, but never with catastrophic results though.

Originally posted by lawangrr

hm... the governing laws of classical physics do not hold here...

[pepperell]

wouldn't surprise me if the driver didn't have their blinker on when they initiated the left turn. but at the speed it look like he might have been traveling it would not have made a difference.

[4tuneit1]

So this guy was attempting a pass to the left side of her car (as the car was in left lane), as she was making a turn into a driveway...passing over double yellow lines?? Is this correct?


If so...i can't fathom the stupidity any longer.

If not...please explain.

[zimi...]

“He was driving very, very fast,” she said.

don't they always use this line?

[Enchanter]

Since this was posted in the Crash Analysis forum, let's keep the posts focused on what the rider could have done to avoid this crash. If you do not have something constructive to say about the crash, don't post here.

If this turns into a 'r.i.p.' thread, it will get locked.

[Mortifer]

Sounds like he made a fatal mistake passing the car on on a double yellow while speeding. He obviously couldn't lose enough speed to let the car turn and carry on, or just wasn't paying attention. The car driver said she saw him, bummer she just didn't stop and he'd have gone around.

Lessons would be? ummm... -
Slow down.
Don't pass a car on the left when it's stopped about to turn into a driveway. (if you say you don't have time to notice, see #1)
Don't cross a double yellow.

?

[Enchanter]

Where does it say that there was a double yellow line on the road? I'm not able to find that.

Originally posted by Mortifer
The car driver said she saw him, bummer she just didn't stop and he'd have gone around.

The article doesn't state exactly when she saw the motorcycle. She may have seen it at a point that was too late to avoid.

Years ago, I was involved in a crash almost exactly like this, and I can tell you that there are times when it's damn near impossible to react in enough time to avoid the crash.

I was driving a car in a residential neighborhood. As I approached the cross street (to turn left) I looked for traffic ahead, to the sides, and behind. I noticed a motorcycle a pretty good distance behind me. I signaled and started my turn. As I got about halfway through the turn, I hear someone screaming and a nano second later the drivers door glass shatters into the car and onto me. My instant reaction was to jerk the wheel to the right and away from the impact. I had no idea what happened.

After jerking the wheel to the right, I looked out the drivers door and saw a motorcycle sliding on the ground. Nearby was the rider...also sliding away on the ground. He was wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and NO helmet (this was pre-helmet law).

I continued towards the right and got my car out of the way. I parked on the side of the road, got out and ran to a nearby house and asked them to call an ambulance/cops. I then ran back to the scene to see if I could do anything to help the rider. Initially, I was unable to find the rider. I couldn't see him from the street because as the rider slid away from the impact, he hit the curb and flew up into the air, flew over the sidewalk, over the shrubs, and into the front yard of the home on the corner of the street. As I approached the yard, the rider stood up. He was covered in blood and saying something. I got closer and heard him saying "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" over and over and over again. I was a bit confused because he wasn't looking at ME. He was looking towards the ground in the front yard. As I got close enough to look over the shrubs, I saw the passenger. She was unconscious, helmetless, and bloody.

The police, emt's, and fire department eventually arrived and took care of them. I was uninjured.

Over the next YEAR, I replayed this event in my head at least a million times. I looked for traffic, I signaled, I was not speeding. I'm a FRICKIN' MOTORCYCLE SAFETY INSTRUCTOR! I eat, live, drink, sleep, and breathe motorcycles. I not only look at and look for motorcycles, I actively SEARCH for them. I expect riders to do stupid things. I just didn't expect the motorcycle that I saw in my rearview mirror to be going over 60mph in a residential neighborhood. I certainly didn't expect it to pass me after I signaled. Basically, there was nothing I could have done to avoid the crash. (The force of the impact BENT my car totaling it.)

I've grown tired of motorcyclists blaming car drivers for the crash when the rider was being a total idiot moments before impact.

There are MANY reports of crashes on BARF where the RIDER was the primary contributing factor:
- A few years ago a rider lot their life on an east bay freeway when they hit a car after landing a high speed wheelie. People had the nerve to blame the car driver.
- Another rider died when he hit a truck that turned left in front of them (co-workers said he bragged about riding at 3x the speed limit in that area). The rider's co-workers said that he did this everyday on the way to work. He did it often enough that the co-workers frequently gathered to watch him. On that day they saw him die. Even after learning the facts, some BARFer's blamed the driver of the pick-up.

I could go on and on....

Take responsibility for your actions.
Ride within the limits of your skill.
Ride within the limits of the motorcycle.
Ride within the limits of the environment (weather, traffic, road conditions).

The rider described in the first post lost their life because they were stupid.

[Z3n]

Amen, Enchanter...Mojo if i had it.

[aszreal1266]

From what I've read, It seems like you hit the nail on the head enchanter.

[danc79]

Originally posted by 4tuneit1
So this guy was attempting a pass to the left side of her car (as the car was in left lane), as she was making a turn into a driveway...passing over double yellow lines?? Is this correct?


If so...i can't fathom the stupidity any longer.

If not...please explain.

By law, one can cross the DY to enter a driveway, as what happened in the posted event...

Enchanter +1 i would say 90% of moto crashes could have been avoided had the rider, been more prepared or ridden within the limits (not just rider's limits... but overall limits)

[juha_teuvonnen]

I almost got myself into an accident doing exactly the same thing in a car. A freaking car was moving slow and pulling to the right, so I assumed (Never Assume anything on the road!) that they were going to pull to the right. So I started to accelerate to pass on the left. And they started turning left, right into me. I have not yet accelerated to the "point of no return" so I slammed on the brakes. I was able to stop, but I could have turned out way uglier, if I were going faster.

My takeaway was "never assume what the other driver is going to do, slow down, take preventive measures and wait for them to start doing it".

[Don Tuite]

The cager was countersteering.

Don

[bmer97]

Same type of accident happened to me, but I was driving....

My left turn signal was on, slowing down, with 2 cars behind me.

I turn, and enter driveway (on the left).

A mc going at high speed passed the cars, braked, and slammed into my left rear fender.

The rider was rocketed into the the air and landed in a gutter of mud...

He was OK.

[ridernextdoor]

I live near the place where it happened. I'll try to take pictures of the location tomorrow. Maybe that would help us in analysing this incident better, and hopefully learn something from it.

[4tuneit1]

Originally posted by danc79
By law, one can cross the DY to enter a driveway, as what happened in the posted event...

Enchanter +1 i would say 90% of moto crashes could have been avoided had the rider, been more prepared or ridden within the limits (not just rider's limits... but overall limits)


Of course a driver can cross over a DY to make a turn into a residence or place of business....

But, what i was expressing frustration at was not the drivers moves, but the fact that some motorcyclists see fit to pass on the left side of a vehicle over the double yellow, and not the right which would be legal, and safe.

[ridernextdoor]

I have some questions...If you have two opposite lanes, split by double yellow.

-Can/Would you "lane share" and pass the vehicle in front of you? and where would you pass, left or right side?

Or

Can/Would you only do this when the vehicle in front of you is making a left/right turn, if so, how soon can you pass them? ie. halfway to the turn, as your bike fits, or when it's totally clear.

WITHOUT crossing the double yellow....

[paladinnorcal]

Long straight road...fast approach..car is slowing...goes to pass...she turns left...impact.

Article doesn't say if she had an indicator on, but it would seem that speed might have been part of the problem, and then crossing the double yellow to pass.

http://www.michaelnordberg.net/ChrismanRoad.JPG

[budbandit]

Originally posted by 4tuneit1
Of course a driver can cross over a DY to make a turn into a residence or place of business....

But, what i was expressing frustration at was not the drivers moves, but the fact that some motorcyclists see fit to pass on the left side of a vehicle over the double yellow, and not the right which would be legal, and safe.


Hate to break it to you but passing on the right as you recommend is somewhat random and not really in good form or what most people would be looking for UNLESS the car you are passing is turning left. It seems fairly obvious that the rider was not expecting the driver to turn because if the rider knew what was happening he presumably would have elected not to participate in the collision.

I suspect that we are seeing the tragic combination of what may be a sudden and perhaps unsignaled left turn on the part of the car with excesive speed and inadequate judgement on the part of the rider.

Chill out, slow down and pay attention to what is going on inside the car that you want to pass. Is that little cager applehead looking left? Well, perhaps they are going to turn left. Is anyone in the car pointing or gesturing? Are there driveways or other turnoffs? All these things can help you.

A lesson which cannot really be hammered home enough is that the speed and acceleration that many bikes are capable of are simply outside the experience and expectations of most cagers. They are not looking for something to be coming that fast as they don't even think that things on the road can move like that, so when you are accelerating in a big way, do so in such places that an oblivious cager is not going to be able to turn your 1G accel run into a 2000G impact.

[ridernextdoor]

Before seeing this update. I was going to comment that people drive through this stretch of road at "freeway speed". Despite of some residentials on one side of the road.

Tracy man dies
Danielle MacMurchy/Tracy Press
Thursday, 12 April 2007
A West High graduate died after a Chrisman Road motorcycle accident on Tuesday. By Danielle MacMurchy

Christopher Pease, 21, a Lathrop resident who graduated from Tracy’s West High School in 2003, died Tuesday evening after he crashed his motorcycle as he tried to pass traffic on Chrisman Road just north of Schulte Road.

He was on his way home after visiting his parents, Gary and Mari Pease of Tracy, according to Pease’s co-workers at Jefferson Elementary School District.

The California Highway Patrol estimates Pease was driving between 60 and 70 mph when he smashed into a Ford Taurus, driven by Bilma Cossio, 61, of Tracy. The speed limit on that stretch of road is 45 mph.

He was taken by ambulance to Sutter Tracy Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:41 p.m.

Pease was known for his upbeat attitude and quick wit at Jefferson School District, where he’d worked as a computer technician since February 2005. District employees called Pease an invaluable part of their team.

“He was very fun-loving and jovial,” said Kim Dunniway, the district’s administrative assistant for business services. “He was quiet at times and had a very sweet personality.”

Gary Pease thanked his son’s friends and family for their immediate support in a comment he posted on the Tracy Press Web site.

“It means so much to us to know that our son Chris has touched so many people,” he wrote.

Christopher Pease studied computer electronics at San Joaquin Delta College. He earlier had attended Williams Middle School.

“He was very brilliant,” said Jeri Fisher, assistant manager at Monument Car Parts in Tracy, where Pease had worked with his brother, Steven, for several months. “He was just as nice as he was brilliant. What a loss.”

Pease’s funeral will be at 1 p.m. April 21 at Fry Memorial Chapel, 550 S. Central Ave.

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[4tuneit1]

Originally posted by ridernextdoor
I have some questions...If you have two opposite lanes, split by double yellow.

-Can/Would you "lane share" and pass the vehicle in front of you? and where would you pass, left or right side?

Or

Can/Would you only do this when the vehicle in front of you is making a left/right turn, if so, how soon can you pass them? ie. halfway to the turn, as your bike fits, or when it's totally clear.

WITHOUT crossing the double yellow....

THe double yellow is absolutely a no "lane"share rule of the road, nor a passing area. Only when the double yellow is broken by hash marks on your side of the road, can you make a pass.

[4tuneit1]

Originally posted by budbandit
Hate to break it to you but passing on the right as you recommend is somewhat random and not really in good form or what most people would be looking for UNLESS the car you are passing is turning left. It seems fairly obvious that the rider was not expecting the driver to turn because if the rider knew what was happening he presumably would have elected not to participate in the collision.

I suspect that we are seeing the tragic combination of what may be a sudden and perhaps unsignaled left turn on the part of the car with excesive speed and inadequate judgement on the part of the rider.

Chill out, slow down and pay attention to what is going on inside the car that you want to pass. Is that little cager applehead looking left? Well, perhaps they are going to turn left. Is anyone in the car pointing or gesturing? Are there driveways or other turnoffs? All these things can help you.

A lesson which cannot really be hammered home enough is that the speed and acceleration that many bikes are capable of are simply outside the experience and expectations of most cagers. They are not looking for something to be coming that fast as they don't even think that things on the road can move like that, so when you are accelerating in a big way, do so in such places that an oblivious cager is not going to be able to turn your 1G accel run into a 2000G impact.



This poor SOB...RIP...really had a bad bit of Murpy's law...and its why they are called accident's and not purpose's...Of course he wasn't expecting her to turn left its why peeps need to ride following the rules of the road.

People want to know why this happened and analyze the different reactions like it might make a difference.

But it was plain irresponsible speeding that caught him. Period. It put him in a situation that he was unprepared for, incapable of managing, and unfortunately compounded by possibility the cager was not signaling.

Regardless, the cagers brake lights probably were on if she was readying for a turn, and at normal speed he would have time to adjust and brake or pass safely on the right side ::sigh::

Bad cager drivers will always be on the roads, signaling, not signaling, without working brake lights, making unpredictable moves...we can't change that much. We can change how we make decisions with a twist of a wrist...and i agree with you there

[masameet]

:rip Chris Pease

Odd that his last breath and moment on earth was on Chrisman Road.

The second article, which eulogizes him, says the point of impact was just north of Schulte Rd. and so apparently below West Cabe Rd. and not near 11th St.

[Enchanter]

Originally posted by budbandit
A lesson which cannot really be hammered home enough is that the speed and acceleration that many bikes are capable of are simply outside the experience and expectations of most cagers. They are not looking for something to be coming that fast as they don't even think that things on the road can move like that, so when you are accelerating in a big way, do so in such places that an oblivious cager is not going to be able to turn your 1G accel run into a 2000G impact.

Absolutely wonderful group of words. Great stuff. Too few motorcyclists even consider what the 'average car driver' thinks or acts.

Great paragraph Jason. Thanks for taking the time to cruise through this forum and leave some good information!

[ridernextdoor]

Someone made a comment on the article that he tried to pass two cars. If this was the case, then I can kinda relate as to why he could not avoid the car turning left:

Bike accelerated and passed the first car---Bike saw the second car slowing down---Bike had gathered enough speed that he couldn't/wouldn't slow down in front of the first car---Bike decided to pass the second car as well---Second car turned left while concentrating at the opposing traffic.

[Enchanter]

Someone made a comment on the article that he tried to pass two cars. If this was the case, then I can kinda relate as to why he could not avoid the car turning left

Let's not complicate/confuse the real issue here. The rider chose to pass in an area where there were many locations for cars to turn. THAT was a mistake. The number of cars is a moot point.

From the damage done to the motorcycle, it looks like he was traveling at a high rate of speed in an area that has more than a few uncontrolled intersections (driveways)....another poor choice.

As motorcyclists, we need to be able to operate our motorcycles in a manner that we get home alive, no matter what other people and vehicles do.

[silverbelt]

The lesson here is painfully obvious. SLOW DOWN on city streets. Budbandit is right on the money...

"the speed and acceleration that many bikes are capable of are simply outside the experience and expectations of most cagers"

Don't guess what a cager might or might not do. Leave enough of a margin to escape.

[GhostRider]

also, please consider that there is simply different traffic rules in different parts of the world!

for example, a friend of mine got smacked pretty badly by a mini-bus when driving in mexico.

There it is apparently the rule that when you take a LEFT turn on a rural street that you have to pull over to the RIGHT, make sure no cars are behind you, or oncoming.

that rule makes perfect sense. avoids situations like this accident.
Imagine, the woman would have been required by law to let the bike pass.

unfortunately my friend didnt know that, and the mini van was driving behind her.
she slowed down and signaled LEFT which the driver automatically associated with:
"ah, she wants to turn left, so good moment to speed up and pass".

well, my friend didnt know the local customs and ended up in the hospital, totaling both cars, bad head wounds, the full thing.

so - pleast think about it..... not everyone always has the same assumptions about traffic laws.

[budbandit]

Originally posted by Enchanter
Great paragraph Jason. Thanks for taking the time to cruise through this forum and leave some good information!


Well, thanks for having me and thanks for trying to make this part of the world something more than "boo hoo rip/rose.gif". I think that there is room for level headed analysis and learning from the errors of others. A bit of thought and pondering "why" seems so much more useful and a far more meaningful tribute to a fallen rider than a bunch of lemmings echoing the same empty sentiments again and again. I also like to think that there is at least one rider out there who will read some of this stuff and be able to avoid some pain or mortality work.

[Slowmofo]

One of my fears. But as a rider I look at each car like its going after me on purpose so I am prepared. You never know so I like to prepare and visualize what may or what may not happen.

[Enchanter]

Originally posted by silverbelt
The lesson here is painfully obvious. SLOW DOWN on city streets. Budbandit is right on the money...

"the speed and acceleration that many bikes are capable of are simply outside the experience and expectations of most cagers"

Don't guess what a cager might or might not do. Leave enough of a margin to escape.

I think we basically agree here, but I feel the need to comment on the SPEED issue.

If the rider would have NOT attempted to pass the car, the collision would have been avoided. Not passing the car would have required the rider to slow down. The collision could have happened had the rider passed the car at a lower speed.

Was speed a contributing factor? Yes. Was it the primary factor? I do not think so. IMO, the primary factor was that the rider chose to pass on the left (in an area where cars normally turn).

[wackyiraqi]

Originally posted by Enchanter
Years ago, I was involved in a crash almost exactly like this, and I can tell you that there are times when it's damn near impossible to react in enough time to avoid the crash.

That was a hell of a story, Tim. Thanks for posting it.

[kunoichii]

Originally posted by wackyiraqi
That was a hell of a story, Tim. Thanks for posting it.

What happened to those two?

SUcks for this rider.

[jboat]

I'm sorry to hear of another loss of a young life that could have been avoided. My mom came over the other day and asked me if I'd heard about the young rider that was killed in an accident in Tracy and I said that I had'nt.

This area is about a mile from where I live. I will ride by in a while so I can get a better idea of exactly where it happened. Going from what I do know about that road, I'd say the average speed is about 50-55mph. Too bad young Mr. Pease did not get a second chance to realize that he made a very bad mistake...

[edmo]

My brother and I were involved in an accident last Christmas Day. Same type of thing, we were legally passing a slow car on a regular, dashed road and then other driver turned left and clipped our bumper and sent us off into the dirt.

Point being that this guy never turned his blinker on, so if that's the case it's difficult to tell what the other driver is doing. I try to stay more conscious of this type of thing when I'm driving/riding now.

[plumber]

I live in Tracy a few miles from the accident. Chrisman is not a city street. It is a rural/highway that people use to bypass city traffic.

The rider made a fatal judgement error that cost his life. His judged speed IMO was not excessive for a motorcycle pass. It is illegal to pass above the speed limit but it is a necessary evil to avoid prolonged time in the wrong lane. His mistake was not recognizing the driver's reasonable option to turn left.

Our only hope, as riders, is to learn from the mistakes of others. Will you learn from the mistake of this fallen rider? You had better.

[caponerd]

I followed a link from the general forum to this thread.

I've grown tired of motorcyclists blaming car drivers for the crash when the rider was being a total idiot moments before impact.

Crash analysis is sort of an obsession of mine. I've crashed 4 times in my 38 years on two wheels. All within the first 18 years.
Every crash happened for a different reason, and I was able to understand how I contributed to, or caused each one, and came away with a lesson each time.

I am firmly convinced that no matter what anyone else says or thinks, 99.99% of motorcycle crashes are avoidable and entirely within the control of the motorcyclist to prevent.
Expanding your envelope of situational awareness is one thing. You can also learn to "read the minds" of car drivers. I often pick up very subtle signals that they're about to do something that will put me in danger. I don't just see the cars, I see the people driving them. It's amazing how much information you can take in in an instant with enough practice.

The lesson in this one is really pretty simple, and has only a little to do with my comments above.
Exceeding the speed limit by a big margin in a residential area. Attempting to pass a car without being fully aware of what they're planning to do (although, even if the driver had forgotten to signal, she surely must have put her brakes on, and been looking at the driveway she was about to turn into)

[Enchanter]

Originally posted by plumber
His mistake was not recognizing the driver's reasonable option to turn left.
BINGO!

Originally posted by caponerd

I am firmly convinced that no matter what anyone else says or thinks, 99.99% of motorcycle crashes are avoidable and entirely within the control of the motorcyclist to prevent.

BINGO!

[jboat]

Originally posted by caponerd
Crash analysis is sort of an obsession of mine.

I am firmly convinced that no matter what anyone else says or thinks, 99.99% of motorcycle crashes are avoidable and entirely within the control of the motorcyclist to prevent.

Looks like you may need to re-think your figures...:nerd