Serious crash reported in North Smithfield
Published: June 26, 2009
NORTH SMITHFIELD, R.I.—A serious crash was reported Friday morning in North Smithfield.
A motorcycle appeared to be involved in the 7:30 a.m. crash where Route 146 north splits from Route 146A.
Accident reconstruction crews were called to the scene.
No additional information was immediately available.
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I am always super careful when i see motorcycles around me , but on a number of accasions i get motorcycles whizzing past me going fast and swirving in and out of traffic. so its not all the fault of automobiles either
A little bit more information on this terrible crash. It happened this morning in front of my best friends’ house on rt 146A. My friend reported to me that the motorcycle driver died in the crash. I do not know whether or not he was wearing a helmet but if I find out before it is on the news I will post it. In a response to all the comments here, I would just like to say that I agree that driver helmets should be made mandatory however the helmet does not always help. The helmets that most riders choose to wear are the thin peapod helmets and really those just help contain the contents of your head within the collision and do not protect you very much. Granted, yes any helmet is more safe than no helmet, BUT by how much? As for other drivers, it’s rediculous how many people don’t safely drive. It really makes me mad. And if it were me that had seen that driver in the white van thing… I would have pulled in front of him and slowed down in such a way that he would not have a way around me (as in help trap him behind me and other cars in other lanes) and I would definitely contact the company and even call the state police (on your cell phone you can do this by dialing *77) They take calls for reckless driving.
More often than not automobiles are not paying attention to the motorcycles out there and when stopped at a light or stop sign they are stopped way too close behind - I work in the insurance industry and more often than not here of so many rear end collisions that push one vehicle into another - imagine being rear ended while on a motorcycle…..especially if you don’t see it coming? I am a big promoter of helmets - in NH neither has to wear them…imagine that! I’m curious as to what type of motorcycle this was…usually the ones on the “race rockets” always wear helmets but usually drive the craziest. Ride safe and those in autos…..watch out for the bikers….we don’t always see you either.
I can tell you one thing Tydon… with drivers like that on the road, why in the world would anyone want to ride around on a bike? Come on, they give drivers licenses to 16 year olds! Tell me why someone would think that driving a motorcycle on the same roads is smart?
On my way to work today there was a large white box truck hastily switching lanes and riding everyones rears. I finally got the pass him and I looked over. The driver was sitting with one leg up on the console and eating a huge sandwich at the same time while driving like a nut.
What would you do? I wanted to flip him off, cut him off, and call the truck company to report him. What would you do?
Seatbelts do not save lives everytime either. But you have a much better chance of living if you wear it! Just like a helmet would make your chances of surviving much higher. If a passenger has to wear one by law in RI then why on earth would the driver not have to wear one? It makes no sense. It’s sad. I hope that this person is okay and that he/she WAS wearing a helmet since it does not say anywhere in this article that he/she was not.
hey bud ive been on motorcyles since i was a boy. helmets do save lives more often then not. you are right though most people dont check there blind spots, i always look before moving my car in mirror and turning my head, because you never know where a motorcycle could be.Yea and cellphones are garbage i dont even own one because they are a nuisance to me -) Point in case motorcycles will always be dangerous no matter what thats the risk we take, just wear your brain bucket so you head doesnt splatter like a watermelon ,life’s too short.
This is for everyone who doesn’t ride a motorcycle, helmets won’t save you every time, and the usual cause of a crash is either operator error or the driver who didn’t see the motorcyclist because they were too busy doing something else. I’ve seen people on their phones look straight at me and still try to pull out in front of me, so next time some of you hear the phone ring , just let them leave you a message if you can’t handle more than one task at once.
I absolutely agree Joyce. If we have to wear seat belts then it only makes sense that they should wear helmets.
Yet another tragic accident involving a motorcycle. Too many this year so far. We need to make helmets mandatory!!!!
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