A 14 year old girl from Harford County was killed on September 2, 2010 in a motorcycle accident in Darlington.
According to the Baltimore Sun, the teenager from Whiteford was a passenger on her father’s Harley Davidson, when the motorcycle crashed into the rear of a 2005 Dodge van. The girl was thrown from the motorcycle and later died at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
The Maryland State Police reported that the bike was southbound on Route 136 and “failed to notice” the van as it rounded the curve. The van was stopped behind another vehicle waiting to make a left hand turn. The driver of the motorcycle, the girl’s father, survived the Maryland motorcycle accident.
The death of this young woman is a horrible tragedy. What can we learn from this? Well, the first thing that jumps out is it appears that the driver of the motorcycle was not paying attention. Obviously, keeping your eyes on the road, and especially when transporting a passenger, is of the utmost importance. What else should motorcyclists keep in mind when carrying a passenger?
According to msf-usa.org, carrying a passenger on a motorcycle puts extra weight on which affects the handling of the bike. Drivers should adjust their suspension and tire pressure to compensate for the passenger.
Some other tips from msf-usa.org regarding carrying a passenger:
- Braking is more difficult. When carrying the weight of a passenger it may take longer to stop.
- Advise passengers to always hold the driver at the hips or waist and lean forward a little bit when the motorcycle accelerates from a stop on the road.
- Passengers should also “be firmly braced against (the driver’s) waist and should lean back slightly” when braking to avoid their weight from shifting forward.
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