didnt know him but still RIP Douglas Cozzola he was only 22 and got hit by a car turning in front of him, and i love how the media says he was at fault because of speeding... but no matter what the car is actually in fault and made the wrong decision of pulling out in front of him

Motorcyclist Dies In St. Pete

rip

 

RIP

I respectfully disagree with your comment that "no matter what the car is at fault." You and I know we're practically invisible on a bike, and to think otherwise is irresponsible. As a rider you have to look out for yourself, don't take it for granted that anyone else is. The main reason I disagree is because with the speeds a bike is capable of, a bike can cover 3 football fields in the time it takes for a car driver to check for vehicles in the right away. IF (don't want to assume) the rider was speeding excessively, it would be nearly impossible to a) see him, b) judge their rate of closure, c) make a correct assessment of right of way.

I know we have a lot of moron drivers that pull out in front of bikes...it's happened to us all. But it's simply not fair to always blame the driver or the rider. We simply don't know all the facts. If the tables were turned and your significant other (who most definitely knows to watch for bikes) pulled a U turn into the path of a bike speeding - you would no doubt see this much differently and be pissed at the rider for speeding excessively. All I'm saying is keep an open mind - and do your part to keep it safe.

 

i shouldnt of put the words no matter what but i hate how every time a rider dies its automatically their fault, when in dought it probably isnt, the rider cant speak for themselves because its hard to speak when your deceased. so words of the car drive can be edited to make it sound like its their fault...the driver of the car made a wrong decision and if you know where this place of the accident was youd understand why i say this... it was on the north bound off ramp to roosevelt(sp) where the interstate comes off and has 2 lanes of its own, so the rider had his own 2 lanes but this car cut him off.

 

Hey man, that's the media and general populace for you. The rider will almost always be in the wrong in the public's eye. When a sportbike is involved, speeding is automatically the cause...regardless of the reality. Part of that is because of the negative reputation we have with the general public, and partly because smaller objects simply appear to be moving faster. A bike going 50mph vs. a drump truck traveling 50mph is perceived much differently because larger items appear to move more slowly.

Don't let your guard down out there, every car has the potential to pull out in front of you, might as well assume they're going to.

 

Itd be nice to know how much he was speeding by.

Was he speeding by 5-10-15MPH? Yeah, you should be able to see something like that. Damn people need to realize that you have to LOOK and not try to skate out in front of other people.

Was he doing triple digits flying down the road like a moron? Sorry, you can't judge that kind of speed while checkign for other vehicles. And I don't respectfully disagree at that point, I say that squid suffered the consequences of his actions.

Now, which one of these are accurate I dunno at this point. But there are my possible reactions.

 

This morning on the radio they said he was on the back tire...R.I.P. non the less...

 

see the spot that he wrecked at is really hard to do 100mph+, he was getting off the interstate on the roosevelt off ramp and i highly dought he did a wheelie since its a big turn exit than another small turn to line it up with roosevelt. once again the media never fails... shit next well hear that he did an endo too

 

Just as others have already stated, the degree to which he was speeding is the key factor in determining who was at fault. However, it is very difficult to say where the cutoff is at... Is 15mph over the riders fault, 20mph, 30mph? You get the point. It is all a matter of perception and almost always the car driver gets the benefit of the doubt, especially when the rider is deceased and cannot defend his actions.

In any case, this type of accident is all too common and the reality of riding on the streets. It is ultimately the rider's responsibility to ride respectfully of the bike and his/her own life as it is the rider who pays when things go wrong.

RIP and ride carefully!

 

so he was on a 600?

 

paul that guy that died on the 1 wheel was in tampa, another death.