You can't fix stupid

[Water Warrior 2]

A local friend of mine had his bike hit yesterday while in a motorcycle only parking area. His bike was over 60 feet from anything and still got hit. Seems the driver did not see a full size cruiser with bags, trunk and a fairing.
The car hit the bike's left side forks hard enough to bend them and knock the bike on it's right side.
Here is the stupid part to me. The driver blamed her daughter for the accident because she was driving her daughter to that location. Give your head a shake lady, you are just plain nuts.

[jonathan180iq]

Good grief...

I once had someone back into my parked bike in a parking lot. It ripped the front fender off and put a small dent in the upper right of the tank. No big deal. The stupid part is that the driver blamed me for driving such a small vehicle and parking too close to her car.

There were a total of two vehicles parked in front of this building. Her white van and my bike. From the entrance, both vehicles were at least 100 feet away - meaning you can clearly see everything, even had there been 15 cars in a row. Not only that, but there were 3 women in that car, meaning that someone had to go around the van to get into the other side, meaning they walked between my bike and her van or behind my bike... Either way, it was highly visible.

It was resolved with them writing me a check on the spot to avoid insurance collection and me taking all of their contact info. I got a new front fender and a really nice riding jacket out of it, so I wasn't too upset

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by jonathan180iq

Good grief...

The stupid part is that the driver blamed me for driving such a small vehicle

Yup, any absurd excuse will do. I once read about a driver who's excuse for turning left in front of a bike was "motorcycle are supposed to yield to cars".
I really have to wonder about the intelligence of the average driver out there. I am sure a lot of drivers out there are alive today because their moderm high tech car keeps saving their a$$ on a regular basis.

[jonathan180iq]

And the thing that worries me is that the more automatic and hands-off that cars get, the less and less drivers will have to actually develop and rely on driving skills instead of computer controlled automation.

I don't mean that to sound like a "ROBOTS ARE TAKING OVER THE WORLD" Doomsday kind of person, but it's something that I really dislike. People are just straight up, Deer-face, lost without their GPS devices today even though there are perfectly good atlases all over the place. We can't even read maps anymore and soon we won't be able to drive... It's disheartening.

[Water Warrior 2]

Here is how to separate the sheep from the real cage operators. You want a driver's road test that is taken with a 1954 Chevy/Ford/Dodge. No power steering or brakes, no auto tranny, hand signals only. No radio, GPS, just a road map.
Just to keep up the pucker value the test is conducted in January and you must drive from Vancouver B.C. to Edmonton Alberta. About 900 miles all together. Arctic clothing will be needed as the testee will be required to change a tire in the Rockies. All expenses, food, clothing and lodging will be at the expense of the testee. Ditto for gas. Going off the road or damaging test vehicle will be an automatic fail with no repeat for 12 months.
If that sounds harsh.........well, it is. We have a couple generations of people who drive cars but very few real drivers. Sadly most cars are smarter than the folks behind the wheel. People have to learn to rely on their heads and accept responsibility for their actions.

Don't get me started on the Education System and no child left behind...........

[Shammua]

Water can we also state that they have to serve in any branch of the military for at least 4 years before qualifying to take the test as well?

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by Shammua

Water can we also state that they have to serve in any branch of the military for at least 4 years before qualifying to take the test as well?

Absolutely !!! I like the way you think. Make em earn the priviledge to drive. That would P off a lot of 16 year olds though.

[mole2]

Dayum you guys sound like communist Russia.

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by mole2

Dayum you guys sound like communist Russia.

No way. Communism doesn't work very well in the long term. I just want folks to realize they have to work for their rewards and not to keep getting them handed to them by a dumbed down society.
Just don't get me started on the Canadian immigration and refugee system. It is like a lottery where almost everyone wins and the Canadian tax payer supports it. ...........Dang it, off topic again.