Plan B Forum

Posted: **Tue Aug 31, 2010 5:04 pm**

Dark Humor Dept:

Santa Rosa electric motorcycle entrepreneur killed

Associated Press August 31, 2010
.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
(08-31) 05:49 PDT Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP) --

A Santa Rosa entrepreneur who was working with a business in India to promote electric motorcycles in that country has died in a car-motorcycle crash near a California shopping mall.

Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Doug Schlief says 29-year-old Matthew Dieckmann was riding an electric motorcycle near the Coddingtown Mall at about 10:40 a.m. Monday when a Toyota Prius collided with the cycle.

Schlief says Dieckmann hit the car's passenger side. He died at the scene.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Dieckmann was wearing a helmet. Schlief says investigators are still trying to determine who may have been at fault.

The Prius driver, 71-year-old Gilbert Dorame of Santa Rosa, wasn't hurt.

Dieckmann was the founder of Santa Rosa-based Electric Race Bikes.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... z0yChROB36

Posted: **Tue Aug 31, 2010 8:27 pm**

That's the worst thing about electric vehicles- they're absolutely silent!

I've been walking in parking lots and nearly stepped out in front of them a few times.

Posted: **Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:44 pm**

Toyota has been toying with the idea of adding a warning noise for the Prius.

Posted: **Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:59 pm**

everyone is. fairly soon there will be a govt. mandated noise for electric and hybrid vehicles.

Posted: **Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:28 pm**

Schlief says Dieckmann hit the car's passenger side. He died at the scene.
...
Schlief says investigators are still trying to determine who may have been at fault.
The Prius driver, 71-year-old Gilbert Dorame of Santa Rosa, wasn't hurt.

Being a regular motorcycle rider I can tell you (with 98% certainty) what happend. Old man (and it happens with young and middle aged drivers too, but it seems more often with older drivers) makes left in front of bike, bike hits passengers side door, rider flies through the air breaking neck/head/internal organs upon landing and dies. Driver claims "I never saw him coming".

Not being able to hear the car (or motorcycle or both in this case) had nothing to do with. Not "seeing" had everything to do with.

And I don't believe the saying "loud pipes save lives". Most bikes you don't hear until they are right on top of you or even past you. Until the exhaust noise gets projected in front of you, OR you happen to have a bike that is so loud it's against the law, loud pipes are just annoying.

Posted: **Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:36 pm**

Hearing often gives clue to what you're not seeing. I've almost walked in front of an electric vehicle because i didn't hear it before.

Posted: **Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:40 pm**

Many associations for the blind have made that same claim.

Posted: **Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:44 pm**

So have the pedestrian vs. electric car statistics.

Posted: **Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:45 pm**

Look both ways before you step off the curb. If you are blind, ask someone to help you.

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