Illinois biker killed by left-turning driver
QUINCY, ILL (BIKER DAD) — According to local news reports, a biker was killed in Illinois when a pickup truck made a left turn in front of him. According to the report:
A 22-year-old man died after a crash Friday in Griffith, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.
Just before 4:30 p.m., The Lake County Sheriff’s Department Traffic Reconstruction Unit was requested to respond to a collision involving a car and a motorcycle at Johnson Road and East Main Street in Griffith.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Department says it is believed the driver of a passenger car was traveling eastbound on East Main Street, attempting to turn north on Johnson Road when the car was struck by a motorcycle traveling westbound. The person riding the motorcycle was transported by helicopter to the University of Chicago, but was declared deceased upon arrival at the hospital.
The driver and passenger of the car were not injured. The driver is an 18-year-old man from Griffith. His passenger is a 20-year-old man from Portage.
The motorcyclist was a 22-year-old man from Griffith.
The name of the motorcyclist was not given.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
THE RASH OF LEFT TURN CRASHES I’VE SEEN ALREADY THIS YEAR IS MIND BOGGLING.
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The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that only 6% of crossing-path crashes involve right turns, compared to 53% of left turns. The number of accidents has virtually doubled! To put it another way, turning left at an intersection is MORE DANGEROUS than turning right at the same intersection. The most obvious benefit is that right-turning drivers are spared from having to cross any oncoming lanes of traffic. Therefore, when making a left turn, motorcycle drivers must be alert not just to approaching traffic in the opposing lane but also to their left to make sure no one is attempting to pass them on the left in their own lane.
Drivers frequently admit after an accident that they were honest when they said, “I didn’t even notice the motorbike when I turned in front of it.” The “left turn problem” has a significant impact on depth perception. A typical commuter may encounter several thousand cars in a day, but other drivers don’t perceive motorcycles the same way they see other cars and trucks. They see how many motorcycles. One? Two? Ten? Whatever number it is, it’s a very small part of the daily driving experience. In addition, due to their size, motorcycles tend to blend in to their surroundings, and it is much harder to see and judge their speed when turning in front of them.