Another New Rider Tragedy

[neJeff]

http://journalstar.com/news/local/ar...9c09a3c72.html This accident happened on a road I have ridden many, many times. I'm just sick about it. A mother of 4, 37 years old. The TV report said she got her endorsement on Sept 19 and bought the Harley the day before her crash. Why is a brand new driver on the highway? I rode nearly 6,000 miles (all in town) and most below 45 mph on my 350 when I was first learning. IMO decision making is much better the slower your going when your just getting started or even getting use to a new bike. These 3 day courses people take to get your license don't mean you can go on a cross country ride the next day. You need to build up your experience in layers. Very upset by this! RIP, thoughts and prayers

[Hmar]

Looks from the story like she was following a more experienced rider. Always a recipe for disaster. Best wishes for her family, it is a real tragedy.

[Manveru]

Very sad story...

My wife has been wanting to get her license as of late. But she will take the permit course ($250), the on the road course ($250), the License test ($49) and then ride around town for months before we ever hit the highway.

Hell, I have been riding for 30+ Years now and I still hate getting on the Highway, people just do not pay attention.

~Manny~

[mxmikie]

people just do not pay attention.

[slow mo]

all in all nobody new at an older age is a natural at riding a motorcycle !! there is so much to get used to besides the weight ,, speed and the rest of the idiots on the road that can kill you ,,please take the course/ practice in an area as safe you can find and start small displacement ,,just my 2 cents ,,ride safe ,,slow mo!

[DGXSER]

Mo, I gotta say I am with you on the displacement part. The things that get me agitated these days are the folks who talk about the "chicken strips" on the tires of a newbies bike, just eggin them to push themselves harder and faster. Peer pressure can be a fatal thing, meant as a joke or not. The other thing is all this talk lately about how anything under 1000 cc is a beginner and or ladies bike. You even see them advertised in CL ads or even commercials that way. Again, just playing to the high testosterone levels of the young ones to go big or go home. Only adding to the weight as well as the ability to get yourself into trouble.

[latexeses]

Amen to that

I put a bunch of miles on bikes less that 200cc's before I even sat on anything larger.

I don't think I missed a thing. Except maybe a bunch of road rash....

[b.walker5]

We have a graduated licence system that limits a rider to 250cc while on a learner licence for a minimum of 6 months and for at least 6 months on a restricted licence before being allowed to sit a full licence with no cc restriction.

Seems to work pretty well except nowadays some of the 250's out there are almost space rockets that can attain straight line speeds matching that of many bigger bikes. For that reason our regulators are looking at a hp restriction instead. Good Idea in my opinion. Should keep the leaners on things like a GN250, 250 Virago or Honda Rebels, and off things like VTR's and Ninja's.

[tcoop]

First off my condolences to the rider and her family. This is a tragedy and something we should all learn from.

I got a GN125 for my wife and kids to learn on. They road around on that in a parking lot for months before they were allowed to ride on the street. They then moved up to a Nighthawk 450 for a year. My wife now rides an XJ750 and my son ride an XS1100. (Daughter will soon have an XS1100...wedding present) Here they have 3 step license 49cc and under, 649cc and under then unlimited. The only problem is it has nothing to do with experience it’s just what you test on.