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Sharing the road with a Harley
By Rob Golub
UNION GROVE - That rumble-buzz you hear is the sound of hundreds of thousands of Harley riders, arriving for the 100th anniversary bash this weekend. Why not welcome them by avoiding them on the road?
Some Harley riders were camping out Wednesday at the Racine County Fairgrounds, waiting for the big party to start. Since accidents are all too common, they were happy to talk to a reporter about how to avoid hitting them. Here's a top-10 list of their favorite ideas: 10. Listen for the pipes.
They can be obnoxious if too loud, but they can also save a life. The sound of a Harley is a warning that one is near.
9. Don't drive through groups of Harleys.
Two years ago, Richard and Janice Foster of Des Moines, Iowa, were riding in the same lane, in a diagonal pattern, when a car sliced between them.
Richard Foster remembers it as the day he and his wife almost got killed on the highway during a Harley visit to the Racine County area.
Remember, they're smaller with fewer lights.
7. Live with your mistakes.
If you miss an exit, think happy thoughts. Please, don't put the Harley rider or anyone else at risk by swerving to or from an exit ramp.
"People don't know where they're going and they make choices at the very last second," Kelly said. "If you make a mistake, just get off the highway at the next ramp and come back."
6. Don't zip around a Harley that slows down at train tracks.
Please, if a Harley slows down before railroad tracks, don't curve around the motorcycle. Harley riders say they slow down before tracks or rough spots because one wrong bump could be a disaster.
Harleys have two wheels, not four. They've got to be careful. "There could be something in the road. I swerved around a little piece of metal today," said Linda Thomas, a Harley rider from Ocala, Fla.
Hitting the gas and swerving around a Harley only adds confusion to a situation that the motorcyclist is trying to make safer.
5. Please, get out of my seat.
Don't tailgate a Harley. If your car gets hit from behind, you could be pushed forward into the Harley. Remember, Harleys are "more exposed and less visible," Thomas said.
Doug Biehl of Cheswick, Penn., said some drivers don't seem to care: "They love tailgating. They look you right in the eyes before they pull out and try to hit you."
"On highways they tailgate you like you wouldn't believe. It's bad when you look in your mirror and see them and not even see the front bumper of their car."
4. Stop at stop signs. Really.
As we all know, people roll through stop signs. "It freaks out the motorcycle," said Patty Bieneman, a Mount Pleasant rider. "You don't know that they see you."
Biehl said he was run over six years ago near his home in Pittsburgh by a woman who blew off a stop sign. Wednesday, he hung around at the Harley camp for the day, giving his leg some of the constant rest it has needed since the accident.
3. Don't cut off Harleys with a left or right turn in front of them.
Or anybody for that matter.
2. Please, put down the burger and makeup.
"Pay attention to what you are doing," Biehl said.
1. And the number one thing you can do, according to Harley riders at the Racine County Fairgrounds, to avoid hitting them: Lose the cell phone.
Several Harley riders brought this one up in separate interviews. If you've got to have the cell, for Pete's sake, don't mix it with switching lanes and highway ramps.
Richard Foster said, "That's got to be the craziest thing that you can do."
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