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Just a quick post to let everyone know,that a registered member of this forum and the web master of the American Voyager Association
Ronald Riggs was killed yesterday while riding his Voyager, as a 77 year old man driving a truck pulling a boat ,turned left in front of Ron ,throwing him from his bike...killing him instantly, Ron was wearing his riding gear and helmet as he always did ,while traveling on his Voyager 20k miles per year on a average. Such a tragic loss ...as Ron was a kind ,soft spoken man,who planned on living WAY longer than his 68 years.
Everyone out there, PLEASE ride everyday in the DEFENSIVE mode, assuming that all other modes of transport are NOT seeing you ....as the all to familiar response by the cager that just killed another rider is...." I didn't see him".....................tony

Tony that is very sad to hear !
I believe that as bikers we share a common interest and passion, and also for the vast majority, we can comprehend the sense of loss when one of us is taken: RIP Ron.

I'm sorry to hear of his loss as well.
3 weeks ago on the Friday of our long weekend a close friend of mine got tee boned in the city of Toronto by a young kid who followed a school bus through a stop sign without stopping himself to access the traffic before continuing. My friend has had 7 operations in the past 3 weeks trying to save his left leg. He also has more pins and plates in his right hand than bones and a banged up shoulder which will take a long time to heal.

While I was working I had to take a Defensive Driving course which if nothing else taught me 2 things. When approaching an intersection you must get eye to eye contact with all the drivers at the intersection. Failure to see each driver eye to eye and you can assume that you have not seen and been seen and assume that "something" may happen like an accident because you've not been seen.
The second thing I learned is when approaching an intersection with vehicles stopped waiting for traffic to clear, it's easier for your eyes and brain to "see" a vehicle start to move by watching the front wheel of the vehicle rotate rather than watching for the forward movement of the vehicle. Something about the way our brains record the different movements and which one is easier to notice and respond to.
These 2 points have saved my life more than a few times and also the life of a Harley rider who pulled out from a side street 80 ft. in front of me while I was doing 55 miles per hour. I piled on the brakes and managed to stop our Mercedes GLK (small black SUV )only feet away from tee boning him. He saw God for a few seconds I'm sure. We all stopped and I asked him what happened and he told me that "he didn't see me" So I watched later on for black vehicles and realized that black and dark gray cars blend in with the colors of the roads and nearby colorings. I got rid of the black SUV since this was not the first time someone pulled out in front of me and I figured it wouldn't be the last. I certainly don't want to kill anyone nor get hit by someone else so black vehicles will not be part of my future.

Be safe everyone

RIP Ron

A sad loss of a fellow biker whose life as been cut short. RIP Ron.