MISSOURI: - 'Do you see me now?' motorcycle riders ask

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http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110414/NEWS01/110414020/1006/OPINIONS/?odyssey=nav%7Chead
'Do you see me now?' motorcycle riders ask

7:01 PM, Apr. 16, 2011
Written by Wes Johnson wjohnson@news-leader.com
 Ozarks News Springfield motorcyclist Michael Hanson saw the car driver look right at him — seconds before she turned into his path.
Hanson and his American Mustang motorcycle plowed squarely into the side of her car.
The impact broke two major bones in Hanson’s left arm and resulted in 23 stitches in his head.
“It shortened the bike up a couple feet, too” Hanson said. “She looked right at me but didn’t see me.”
On Sunday, Hanson plans to join more than 400 motorcyclists in the Springfield area’s fourth annual motorcycle awareness ride.
The 73-mile trip aims to remind car and truck drivers to keep an eye out for two-wheeled vehicles.
With the theme “Can you see me now,” event organizers hope their efforts will help reduce the number of accidents and fatalities involving their brethren.
Hanson is doing his part to help motorists see him.
“I’ve got six lights on the front of my bike and they’re all on, even in the daytime,” he said.
Hanson has a theory about why motorists seem unable to “see” motorcycles.
“Because they’re small, motorcycles aren’t perceived as a threat,” he said. “It’s like a gnat flying at you. They (motorists) may see you but you don’t register in their brains.”
Awareness ride organizer Larry Tuck said the event will begin at Remington’s in Springfield and last for several hours as groups of motorcyclists travel the route.
“We want to promote motorcycle awareness,” he said. “As the weather warms up, people are going to see more motorcycles on the road.”
Warm weather isn’t the only reason, though.
With gasoline prices soaring, more people might consider buying a motorcycle, which typically gets 40-80 miles per gallon or more, depending on engine size and driving style.
A driver talking on a cell phone left motorcyclist Lee Collier sitting dazed in the middle of the road.
“I had stopped at a stop light on a bike I had just bought — I hadn’t even made the first payment yet,” Collier recalled.
“The light turned green and the next thing I knew my bike is sitting in front of me on the road.”
young woman talking on the phone had plowed into the rear of Collier’s motorcycle.
“It shot the bike out from underneath me,” he said. “I’m just glad she wasn’t going fast.”
Collier said he and many of his fellow bikers try to make themselves more visible by wearing brighter clothing, installing pulsing headlights or high-intensity lights on their bikes, and riding with more awareness themselves.
“Motorcycle season is coming up,” he said. “These are the people they’re going to see. Hopefully this ride raises awareness for when they do encounter us on the road.”