Almost A Year

It will be a year this June that we lost our very dear friend, Mark, to a very tragic accident. Whether you know me or have read my blog, you know that I have no tolerance for individuals who drive a vehicle that is out of their ability to operate safely. Awhile back some one placed an anonyms post on my blog saying that I seemed to be a very angry person and asked if life was really that bad. Well, let me say that in certain cases yes I can be a very angry, nasty, vindictive person and yes there are times when life really is that bad. It is not anybody’s place to judge my emotions or how I handle them. I have not caused physical harm to anyone, although I am sure I have caused some individuals a bit of emotional harm. But there is not one person out there who is perfect, or has not caused harm to some one, some how. And as sharped tongued as I can be, it is usually not without cause.

That being said…

This past Friday evening, while visiting with some friends, the topic of the wrongful death suite involving our friend Mark came up. Now let me set this up for you. Mark was riding his motorcycle down a street that is 3 lanes wide in each direction with a center island. It is approximately 7:30 - 8:00pm on a summer evening, so there is still plenty of light. This girl, who was driving a Dodge Ram pickup, similar to mine, changed lanes into him, knocking him 650ft. He came to rest in the middle of an intersection. He was wearing his riding gear and a helmet. His helmet was knocked off by the force of the collision. Mark lived for about an hour before he died at the hospital. His injuries were so traumatic that it was a closed casket. In the course of his wrongful death suite it has come to light that this 23 year old girl, driving a truck that her parents bought for her, was involved in the exact same accident only 3 months earlier. Yes, that is correct, 3 months prior to her killing Mark, she changed lanes into another motorcycle rider, killing them. HELLO!!!! And guess what, mommy and daddy bailed her out the first time, so guess who’s bailing her out a second time?!? Great way to teach you kid responsibility. Let them kill 2 innocent people and then tell them it wasn’t really their fault.

I know all of you out there have seen them, no matter where you live. The full size truck, with those stupid stickers all over. And behind the wheel is some bimbo, who thinks her shit don’t stink. These are the same people who back into you in the grocery store parking lot, run you off the road, can’t pull through the drive-thru at the local fast food place without running over the curb. And although I say she, I have seen plenty of men too. And, unfortunately, I’m not just talking about young drivers either. I have had far too many encounters with the local soccer mom’s driving there SUV’s and mini-vans.

Does anyone get it now? Can we all understand that, just like being licensed to drive a motorcycle, I deeply believe that people should have to obtain a special license to drive anything bigger than a mid-size sedan. I can’t tell you how many times I have had people watch, in amazement, as I parallel parked my truck, or back it into my driveway and not hit my house or one of our other cars. Hell, the woman across the street can barley get her little Eclipse into the garage, but I see her hop in their SUV or mid-size pickup and head on down the road. I wonder what she does when she actually has to park it in a tight spot, or maneuver the vehicle to avoid an accident or other hazard? I hear people say how dangerous it is to ride a motorcycle, but it’s the irresponsible, uneducated people who make it dangerous. So until the laws are changed as to require people to hold a separate license, the very least everyone can do is be responsible enough to drive a vehicle that is within their ability to handle SAFELY! If you can’t park it, back it, or keep it within one lane, you shouldn’t drive it. Here’s a test, next time you’re driving down the freeway and there is road construction where they put up those concrete barrier walls, drive in that lane at regular speed. If you are not comfortable driving in that lane at regular speed you should not be driving that vehicle. Because remember that lane is still big enough for a tractor-trailer to drive in.