At about 11pm tonight I was riding my motorcycle, as I was turning left from Jefferson Boulevard to Lafayette I was cut off by a blue Blazer that crossed into my lane. I was in the right hand left turn lane and the Blazer was in the left hand left turn lane, there is a clearly marked line that separates the two lanes through the turn. The Blazer crossed the line and forced me to swerve and hit my brakes. I laid on my horn as I swerved. The driver rolled down the passenger window and was holding up a badge and informed me that he had right of way even though he clearly crossed over into my lane. I told him that the far left lane does not cross three lanes over in the turn and is clearly marked. He simply said that he had been patrolling this area for a long time and I was wrong. Since this lane has not been this way for more than about a year, I hardly think the length of time he has been patrolling this area has much to do with it. Not to mention that I have lived here for almost forty years. If I had done this to an officer I would have gotten a ticket for it and possibly been given a sobriety test. I understand that this turn lane seems to confuse people, which is why I watch traffic carefully when I turn there. Why is it an officer that clams to patrol this area often can't follow the clearly marked lines on the road?


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Tired of getting run off the road by people on there phones.

Dear Citizen On A Bike,

I don't even know where to start in response to this post primarily because I have responded to the scene of many personal injury accidents involving motorcyclists, and I know that safety on the roadway is everyone's responsibility! It breaks my heart every single time I respond to these scenes. More often than not, the vehicle operator reports not seeing the motorcyclist.

The truth is that the motorcycle/motorcyclist will never win in a collision with a 3,000+ pound vehicle, regardless of who is behind that steering wheel. There are many - MANY - officers who themselves are avid motorcycle riders and we most definitely know the dangers associated with riding. We advocate for 'sharing the roadway', and we advocate for safe riding habits.

Thank you for the post!

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120315/BLOGS01/120319632