Motorcycle deaths are on the rise in Orange County

• 0 Stars.

Motorcyclists reflect on lane splitting after death

A Garden Grove man was killed last week while apparently riding his motorcycle between lanes on the I-405 freeway, prompting The Orange County Register to ask local motorcyclists and safety experts about the practice known as lane-splitting.

The number of motorcyclists killed in Orange County rose to 36 in 2008 from 25 a year earlier – a jump of 44 percent, according to National Traffic Safety Administration data released last month. The increase in motorcycle deaths came even as the total number of traffic fatalities in Orange County dropped to 163 last year from 194 in 2007.

Common causes of motorcycle collisions include unsafe speed, improper turning, improper passing, and unsafe lane changes, the California Highway Patrol said.

"Lane splicing is a contributing factor in many (collisions), although there are no statistics" readily available, said CHP officer Gabe Montoya.

Robert Gladden, who manages the California Motorcyclist Safety Program for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, said California is the only state that does not explicitly ban motorcycle riders from splitting or sharing lanes – driving between established lanes of traffic.

"For many motorcyclists throughout the country, from that standpoint, we're the envy of the nation," Gladden said.

Still, the Department of Motor Vehicles motorcyclist's handbook says the practice is not safe and that vehicles and motorcycles need a full lane to operate safely.

On Wednesday, Jason Richard Doerr, 31, was riding to work at a Harley-Davidson dealership in Harbor City at about 8:40 a.m. when his motorcycle collided with a silver Toyota Matrix on the transition road from the westbound 22 to the northbound 405, California Highway Patrol officers said.

Doerr tumbled off his motorcycle in front of a silver Buick sedan and was trapped beneath the car, CHP officer Jim Hetrick said.

Hetrick, the first officer to arrive at the scene, said early reports indicated that the motorcyclist was splitting lanes. The collision remains under investigation, CHP officer Ray Payton said on Friday.

Before working at the Harbor City dealership, Doerr spent about 10 years at Harley-Davidson Anaheim-Fullerton as a service parts manager.

Fred Deisley, 57, of Cerritos, was at the Fullerton dealership Thursday getting parts for his 1992 Harley Heritage. He has been riding motorcycles since the early 1970s, but said he doesn't make it a habit to split lanes.

"When you're riding a bike, man – you really have got to be on the ball," Deisley said. "You can't just cruise around, day-dreaming like they sometimes do in cars."

Deisley said when traffic's heavy, he shares lanes, but said he has had a few close calls when cars sometimes unexpectedly merge in front of him.

"When you get out of town – geez, there's nothing like it, but when you're in town, you've got to be defensive," Deisley said.

Mark Ruffalo, owner of California Harley-Davidson/Buell, where Doerr worked, believes that if done properly by experienced riders, lane sharing can be safe.

He said it's inattention by automobile drivers that tends to contribute to motorcycle-involved crashes.

Under the new state law prohibiting the use of cell phones without a hands-free device, Ruffalo, also a longtime rider, said he has noticed a drop in the number of distracted car motorists, although he still sees drivers apply makeup, even read the newspaper, while on the road on occasion.

Steven Rosenthal, 53, a rider and a full-time commercial truck driver who lives in Lakewood, drives between 1,500 and 2,000 miles a week on the job. He mostly drives in California, sometimes in other states.

"It never ceases to amaze me how people tend to drive so competitively – they tend to pinch you right off," Rosenthal said, referring to Southern California drivers in particular.

Rosenthal said he's been a motorcycle rider for more than 30 years. And, like Deisley, he said he splits lanes when traffic is really bad, but he tries not to do it all the time. He also avoids it when his wife is a passenger, he said.

Written by SERENA MARIA DANIELS, http://www.ocregister.com/articles/motorcycle-lanes-california-2529232-deisley-lane