Ten Deadly Errors  

by Richard Bennett, CA VI • SWRC Safety Officer

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At the Police Academy we taught rookies "Ten Deadly Errors" that police officers make. The students were new to police work, and we wanted them to survive in a new envi­ronment. The errors were com­piled from hundreds of officer fatalities across the United States. Studies identified com­mon mistakes that led to offic­ers being killed in the line of duty, and found that each case fell into one or more of the Ten Deadly Errors. (In case you can't remember them, they are listed at the end of this article.)

I recently attended the fu­neral of a Riverside Sheriff's Deputy who was killed while riding his motorcycle on a straight, dry road during the middle of a sunny day. It is dif­ficult to be critical of someone we know and like, especially if that person died in a motor­cycle crash. We focus on the obvious move­ments, evidence at the scene and who was determined to be most "at fault". We grieve for the lost motorcyclist and feel sadness for his fam­ily. Having said that, I think we should also consider how collisions could have been avoided, re­gardless of who was at fault.

The Riverside De­puty was new to riding and was on his new Harley David­son motorcycle, with his wife as a passen­ger. While his speed was not precisely de­termined, he was probably taking ad- vantage of the straight stretch after several miles of winding road. (Many drivers were ac­celerating or passing other ve­hicles as I visited the crash site.) He was likely traveling at a good clip southbound on highway 79, as he approached a woman who had stopped on the shoulder of the highway.

It is said the woman was the lead car of a four-car group, with car number two stopped on the shoulder behind her. Car number three was driven by the woman's husband, who, it was later learned, stopped at a store with car number four. The woman did not know about the unplanned stop, and won­dered what had happened to the other cars. She decided to turn around to go back and see. The woman was driving a van.The Riverside Deputy, ap­proaching on his Harley, had his headlight on. Visibility was unlimited for both of them, but the woman made a U-turn from the shoulder directly into the path of the motorcycle. The Deputy braked hard, leaving rear wheel skid to the point of impact with the van. The van left "displacement" skid (skid marks as it was pushed side­ways), indicating the motor­cycle was still traveling pret­ty fast at im­pact. The Dep­uty was thrown across the road and died at the scene. His wife was severely injured, but has recovered.

Flash back to a San Diego Police detective. He, too, was new to motorcycling and was on his way to work early one morning. He was riding his new Harley Davidson west on Miramar Road. A large truck was making a left turn in front of the detective, who braked hard and col­lided with the truck. He too, died at the scene.

These two ex­amples of fine young men dying unexpect­edly caused me to wonder if there are "Ten Deadly Errors That Motorcyclists Make". Both riders were new to motorcy­cling, and it is com­monly believed that the first year of riding is the most risky.

I know this is not a scientific study, but from my years of mo­torcycling, I submit these

"Ten Errors" that could cause

  deadly results:

1.     Riding while impaired. Alcohol or medication;

2.     Missing or not perceiving danger signs. Failing to

        anticipate the "worst case scenario;"

3.     Riding in "blind spots," where other drivers

        can't see you;

4.     Taking unnecessary chances.

5       Passing over double lines, weaving through traffic, etc.;

6.      Speed too fast for conditions. Fog, rain, darkness,

         curves, traffic, etc.;

7.      Failure to maintain motorcycle. Tires, tire pressure,

         brakes, cables, etc.;

8.      Inattention. Not watching the road ahead;

9.      Sleepy or fatigued. Long hours on the road without rest,

         especially overnight;

10.    Improper braking. Failing to maximize stopping ability or use

         avoidance techniques; and Riding beyond your ability. Trying

         to keep up with better riders who push their limits.

There are many other causes for collisions.   This is not an all- inclusive list of how to avoid all collisions. But who will ever know if the Riverside deputy or San Diego Police detective might have survived if these 10 Motorcycling Errors were taught them as "rookie" riders.

  "Ten Errors" Motor Officers make

   that could cause deadly results:

1.       Failure to maintain proficiency and care of weapons,

          vehicles and equipment;

2.       Improper search and use of handcuffs;

3.       Sleepy or asleep;

4.       Relaxing too soon;

5.       Missing or not perceiving danger signs;

6.       Taking a bad position;

7.       Failure to watch subject's hands;

8.       Tombstone courage;

9.       Preoccupation (worrying about other problems);

10.     Apathy