Hardly a week goes by without some sort of a car accident to report.
In particular, as of late, there seems to be a rash of accidents involving motorcycles in Lincoln County.
Just last week a young man was injured in Waldoboro. The previous week, a rider was killed in a low speed collision in a work zone on Rt. 1 also in Waldoboro. On Monday a Harley Davidson was involved in a crash on Center St in Nobleboro.
Over the weekend, our esteemed cartoonist Glenn Chadbourne was nearly mowed down. “Nearly greased five times,” as he put it in his typically colorful fashion.
It’s rough out there.
As far as attention getters go, motorcycle accidents are near the top in that they almost always guarantee some type of injury for the rider.
However, a quick reference with local law enforcement indicates that despite our impression, the seemingly recent spike in motorcycle incidents is apparently not a spike at all.
The number and variety of crashes this year are roughly comparable to other years.
What is following the usual trend is that in the summertime, when motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians all tend to be more out and about, there is simply more traffic on the roads. Summertime is the busiest time of the year for Lincoln County crash investigators and that trend is holding true this year.
Based on our quick informal survey there appears to be no one thing that we can cite as an unusual trend this year. All the usual suspects are in play: people are driving too fast; they are not paying attention; people are unfamiliar with the roads, and of course there are the old stand-bys, alcohol and drugs that, together or alone, make any driving conditions dangerous.
The number one problem our sources cite lately is the use of texting devices and cell phones which tend to divert drivers’ attention. The best piece of advice we received this week was whatever you do, do not text while driving.
Look at it this way, 55 miles per hour is such a common speed, it may not seem like much. However, 55 miles per hour is also 80 feet per second. Take your eyes off the road for three seconds, futz with the radio, yell at the kids, check your cell phone and that’s 240 feet: nearly the length of a football field that can’t be accounted for.
A lot can happen in three seconds.
