Charges possible after driver seen on video swerving into motorcycle

[DirtDart1319]

29. As an avid motorcyclist

I log many thousands of miles on my motorcycle every year. At least half of those miles are with my wife on the back. I wish I could ride year round but Ohio weather makes that difficult. I try my very best to follow all traffic laws and to pay as close attention as possible to drivers and road conditions around me. I don't speed, stunt, or otherwise put my/our lives at any greater risk than already there just being on a motorcycle.

With that being said, I understand that I have better acceleration, breaking, handling, and visibility than nearly any car out there. Cars and trucks have all kinds of safety features to protect you in the event of a crash. The only protection I have on my motorcycle is protective clothing, helmet, my ability to ride and my ability to avoid a crash. If need be, I will "bruise" a few traffic laws in order to put myself in the best/safest possible position on the road. If I pass you in a no passing zone while you were going the speed limit, it's not because I'm being a reckless show off. I may have noticed the driver in the car behind me texting and I don't want to be killed because they didn't see my break lights. It may seem reckless to you, but remember I have the visibility and performance to do it safely. I may take off a little fast from a light once in a while. This doesn't mean I'm trying to race you. Something just made me feel that I needed a little extra room to live at that time.

As far as this rider is concerned, I don't know why he chose to pass when he did. From the initial news reports I read, the car was going 20 mph under the limit. Perhaps he felt that he was at risk of being rear ended. Maybe he was just an impatient dumb ass. From watching the video, it appeared that he could have done it safely had the driver not tried to kill them. Did the rider put himself at increased risk by passing when he did? The non-rider would say yes. The experienced rider would say probably not. He did break the law and there is proof so he should get a ticket. But the attempted murder by the driver of the car was not warranted and he should be punished accordingly. To hear people minimize the actions of the driver because of the actions of the rider are unbelievable. This would be like me riding around on my motorcycle and shooting everyone I see texting and driving. Yeah, it's a crime but not punishable by me and certainly not punishable by death or serious bodily harm.