Beginner motorcyclists are often taught to drive defensively because the road is full of two-ton four-wheel weapons. More often than not, that two-ton car is a weapon metaphor is just that, a metaphor. But some car drivers have purposefully tried to hit motorcyclists.
Earlier this year a man in Oakland purposefully swerved his van into a group of motorcyclists and killed one of them. And last Summer, a video surfaced of a truck trying to run a motorcyclists off the road.
(Skip to the 2:20 mark to watch the incident.)
Now North Carolina has passed the Motorcycle Safety Act, which would punish drivers who put motorcyclists in danger.
According to the Greensboro.com, the new law would fine any driver who makes a motorcycle change lanes unsafely $200. If the movement causes any damage or personal injury, the fine will be increased to $500.
These fines aren't going to deter any psycho who wants to harm a motorcyclist by running them off the road. But it may cause the majority of drivers, who are not psychos, to be more careful on the road.
