Motorcyclist dead after crashing into tow truck

@devildog, "To sum it all up the choices you make in life can alter your life span. It's a matter of not taking into consideration the consequences of your actions. If that is the point you are trying to make then I in fact understand and agree with you." you couldn't have said it better, completely agree with you. Let me just say that it was never about your uncle or bikers for that matter and apologize to you and your family if I seemed incensitive to your loss. Those were never my intentions rather, the point that you just stated. I also want to thank you for your service Marine and the sacrifices you've had to make. Stay safe and will keep you and your uncle in my prayers. May he rest in peace. Good day!

JoNoes... Did you not understand what I meant when I said that manufacturers produce vehicles to go that fast. Of course your hyundai might have 140 on the dash but the difference between your vehicle and mine is that I'll have no problem getting there. They put these vehicles on the market and what do they expect people to do with them? Drive in the slow lane and go 65 miles and hour? Anyway that's all irrelevant. To reiterate what I said before, driving that fast is stupid, I can admit that. Having done it before (on two occasions) I can say that in the moment you do not consider those factors. After living through this foolish act I took a second to think. What in the world was I doing? Regardless of my actions, I value my life then and now. In this case speeding home after a long day's work. It's two in the morning your tired, fatigue sets in and on top of that the road is slippery. These are the factors that could have led to my uncles death. Had he of been driving a reasonable speed maybe we would'nt be having this conversation. (if this is in fact the cause of the accident, as the news article say's it was expected that speed was a factor) To sum it all up the choices you make in life can alter your life span. It's a matter of not taking into consideration the consequences of your actions. If that is the point you are trying to make then I in fact understand and agree with you. To Lervia... Thank you, to you and your husband. it's always nice to hear that people are still so appreciative of the military for their service. And for your lack of negative comments. Thank you.

Why is it so hard for you to understand that the value of one's life is determined by the choices they make. That, if you act recklessly, foolishly and stupidly, you are increasing your odds and therefore, possibly cutting your life short. This, is not valuing your life because, if you stop for a minute and rethink what you are about to do just maybe, you can change your outcome.

@devildog, so do car manufacturers, my car says 140mph but, that doesn't mean I am going to speed to that level. If you plan on going to such extreme, there are race parks that you can go to get your adrenaline rush. However, when you (by your own admission) take to the highway (a public road) that is 1) not design for racing 2) it is not a controlled enviroment for racing 3) you endanger the lives of innocent people with your recklessness to me is not valuing your life and that of others. Had you stop to think of the consequences of your actions, you would not be looking for your adrenaline rush at the cost of innocent motorists. There's a place and time for that but, definitely not on the highways. I apologize if I seemed incentive to your uncle. The point that I was trying to make is precisely what you talk about in your statement. People feel the need for speed and at times foolishness sets in and you do stupid things. When you recklessly and willingly choose to drive in such a way that you put your life in danger and that of others, you are failing to value your life. What would you say to someone's family if you killed a member because, you needed to get your rush and felt the need for speed? Wouldn't you agree that at this point you would feel devastated by the sheer stupidity of such actions you chose to make and that at this time any remorse you feel is irrelevant? What puts you on top of deciding how you value your life when,you don't value those of others on the freeway with your reckless driving. It's like saying you enjoy speeding, endangering your life and others, and choosing those innocent people's fate yourself. My original posts were never about your uncle rather, it was about how any person chooses to value their life based on the choices they make. Not sure how old you are but, maybe when you mature a little, you'll realize that all those times you needed to get your rush, was probably not a good idea. Quit while you're still ahead and slow down

@devildog, my condolences and prayers to you and your family for your loss. And, my husband and I thank you for your service to us and our country. God Bless You and keep you safe.

To say that a biker does'nt value their life is insane. Most people who buy motorcylces buy them for one reason, and one reason only. That is to speed. The manufacturers know this and that's why they are produced to reach such high speeds. There have been many times that I've taken my Porsche down the highway at 140 miles an hour. Was that smart? Absoluteley not. Why did I do it? for the thrill, for the adrenaline rush. There is no better feeling. People get on here an post these outrageous comments and have no idea what they are talking about. I'm not asking you to agree with what he was doing but try and be a little more sensitive to the situation. For christ sake this is someones loved one, (my uncle). If you must know he was driving home from work, decided to follow his friend home to insure he arrived safely. That's my unlcle, thoughtful, a true family man and friend. But to add to one of your points, patriotism can not be compared to stupidity. You join to serve your country and its not guaranteed that you will die. As a Marine deployed to Afganistan (as we speak) complacency is the leading cause of death. You get in a routine of doing the same thing day in and day out, you think you know everything or you grow tired and don't feel like checking for IED's as you dismount your vehicle (things of that nature). Then the chaplin has to make a visit to your families house and explain your death. I don't know the exact cause of the collision. Maybe he was speeding maybe he doozed off. But to say that he did'nt value his life is insane.

@other, And another thing, "What we probably can't agree on is the opinion that if a biker speeds they don't value their life, because if they did value their life, they wouldn't speed" So, in your view, it's fine for a biker to speed, willingly put his life in danger and that of others? It was you that stated "Motorcyclists only have a split second to react" so, how is speeding and/or recklessness not put their life in danger if, it only takes a split second. Some logic you've got going on still, trying to figure out your theory. I guess you've never heard that speed kills or perhaps your lack of biker experience or naiveness has gotten the best of you. By the way, you seem to be all over the place to try and justify your point, Dale Earnhardt, the military, when the original point was that a person doesn't value their life due to their reckless actions. Maybe you should've compared it to a person who commits suicide, then we would have been in agreement. Let me reiterate, valuing your life has nothing to do with a biker rather, when a person "willingly" puts themselves in a situation that recklessness and stupidity can get you killed, that's when you failed to value your life.

Motorcyclists feel the need for speed.

I'd have to disagree with you. You're comparing soldiers to idiots that purposely get into trouble. Granted a soldier knows what he/she is getting into when they sign up and this is the choice they made and doesn't mean that they don't value their life however, your are confusing patriotism with someone who choses to endanger themselves and others willingly, two separate issues. Seriously, you need to rethink your "disease", you seem to think that speeding and driving recklessly seems to be fine with you and that somehow this will not get a person killed eventually, it will catch up to you. My case has been and will be that if a person, willingly endangers themselves or others knowing they can get killed or hurt others, they are not valuing their life. In your previous post, you seem to think that motorcylcists are perfect and don't do the various things you mention in it. Surely, you've never observed such behavior. Good luck to you.

I didn't think I had to spell out the correlation: Racing is racing, condoned, sanctioned, or not (and no one has any proof the biker was racing). Dale died racing, sport or not. The motorcyclist died, racing or not is irrelevant...because like I said, even if he hit it at 70 mph doing the legal speed limit, he would probably still have died. By your comments (Jo), any motorists doing even 1 mile over the speed limit is asking for trouble. Dale died in a sport...a sport he chose to participate in, that involves highly combustible fuels, motor vehicles, and vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed. Dale made a choice, and so did the motorcyclist. Dale's death was preventable; he could have not raced....How many motorcyclists run into vehicles? Hmmmm, for the sake of argument, Ill suggest far less than automobiles that run into vehicles (like the SUV that hit a parked 18-wheeler, killing the young child seated in the rear of the SUV). Bikers without helmets=legal, so why whine about it? Drivers of automobiles without seat belts=illegal. Do you understand the difference? Where did I say or contradict that "this guy put himself and others in a situation that could've had worse consequences and preventable"? Could've, should've, would've...there is no need to create hypotheticals to strengthen a series of weak points: the fact is no one else was hurt. Since we're using hypotheticals, does that work for military too? Say a soldier was told he had to go to war, he goes, and gets himself killed. Well, he had a choice, no soldier HAS to go (there are consequences for refusing as I understand it), but he went, and was killed. You probably think he didn't value his life too huh? We can agree that there are good and bad drivers of both types of vehicles. What we probably can't agree on is the opinion that if a biker speeds they don't value their life, because if they did value their life, they wouldn't speed. That type of logic is a disease...please cure yourself.