Speaking of things that don’t belong on the highway, this past Monday morning, Rt. 287 was closed for hours because of a 4 a.m. “motorcycle” fatality. It was later reported a 26 year-old was driving a Honda Ruckus – a motorcycle like two wheeler capable of no more than 40-45 mph. You know….a scooter to you and me. He lost control of the bike, fell and then was evidently hit by four cars. Egads. That was a bad choice that morning.
At my company, we have a full fleet safety program to educate our drivers and it starts with putting them in safe vehicles. It’s one of the critical factors that creates the short list of cars we will lease. In case you are curious, it includes the Chevy Malibu, Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion, VW Jetta (diesel) and Subaru Legacy & Outback, among some other larger vehicles as well. The vehicle itself is only part of safe driving; the rest is driver behavior. We all perceive and accept risks differently (the scooter rider had a high tolerance for risk, or he didn’t recognize it). Even in my own car, which I perceive to be safer, I’m hyper-vigilant on Rt. 78. I don’t even play music until I get on 287.
Next time you’re in your car, just take a little extra care because you remember reading this!