I'm not disputing that he biker was an idiot for paying more attention to "Glaring" at the kid than to the road... The fact that he went off the road is of course COMPLETELY his fault

But what bothers me is that the media spins the story to sound like the kid just made an "innocent mistake", and makes it sound like he didn't deserve to be glared at at all...

His mistake was not innocent at all, he is just lucky that he DIDN'T hit them.

Yes I have made the same mistake before, and when I got screamed and honked at by the other driver I realized I deserved that because my stupidity could have caused an accident but I was lucky that it didn't happen that way. I resolved to try to never make that same mistake again.

I'd barely call that a mistake. He went to change lanes (possibly starting to move over) saw a motorcycle in his blind spot (where it shouldn't have been in the first place) and cancelled the lane change. Tell me why this isn't what you should do in this situation?

Different news source:

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/l...shColumbiaHome

"RCMP say that a series of interactions between the motorcycle and a pick-up truck driven by a 17-year-old boy may have led to the crash. Police say that the biker become "annoyed" when the truck made a move to change into the fast lane without noticing the motorcycle on its left.

The boy and his father, who was a passenger in the vehicle, told police that the truck swerved "slightly" to the left, but then moved back into the right-hand lane after seeing the bike.
"

Kid did move over.
How much he moved over, depends on how truthful the Kid's father was.

So what? I ride and it happens all the time. People don't see me on my motorcycle cause I'm smaller than a car. When it happens I usually get on my horn, they realize mid lane, stop the lane change, and return to their lane. I pull up beside them, give them the finger and the look of death, then continue on my way with a twist of the wrist and some obnoxious loud exhaust tones for their listening pleasure. :D

I'll bet the Harley rider did the same, twisting the throttle to give the truck driver a taste of how his obnoxious loud pipes save lives. Yet in doing so he went too fast into a corner he didn't see. Ironic? :blushsmile:

Is it road rage? Sure, yet nothing worth reporting on, which I think is the crux of your argument. Wow, the media inflated a story cause it was a slow news day. :drama:

If the truck had hit the biker it would be in the news too. Most motorcycle deaths make the news, especially those wearing inadequate protection.

Does it matter whether the kid moved over or not? Sure, it may have been the event that set the biker off, but it was still the biker's choice to do what he did. Unless he's a total noob, he's probably been cut off numerous times before. Going after every d-bag that cuts you off is going to be counterproductive.

In the past, I had a bike, and learned to stay as visible as possible, and ride defensively. I've cut off many bikers because I couldn't see them hiding in my blind spot. It'll be my bad if I hit them, but they would be significant contributors to the accident.

You shoulder check -before- you start moving over.

Not to say I've been perfect either.

Seems to me this would be basic training for a biker: STAY OUT OF DRIVERS' BLIND SPOTS!