Be Careful Who You Ride With
Posted on Mar 19, 2013 9:23am PDT
A Gladstone Michigan man was bound over for trial on felony charges involving a motorcycle accident that seriously injured his sister. Steven Parrett was operating a motorcycle that went out of control, going off the road on County Road 577 in Menominee, flipping several times, throwing his sister Tracie Lee Peterson, into a ditch. She sustained critical injuries, suffering from a traumatic brain injury and is unresponsive, in a nursing home and in need of total medical care 24/7.
Parrett has been charged with OUIL causing serious injury. Mr Parrett told the police he was driving, admitted drinking alcohol, and said he was the ONLY person on the motorcycle. This is while his sister is laying off in a ditch! The police discovered the sister when the State Police arrived, heard a noise, and discovered Tracie Peterson was laying face down in the ditch. When Parrett was asked if he knew the identity of the person it the ditch, the police officer testified that he said “no”.
Anyone who gets on the back of someone else’s motorcycle is at the mercy of the rider. If this person has been drinking, or if they don’t have sufficient training, or if they’ve never ridden with someone on the back, you are taking your life in your hands. Literally. If you don’t have TOTAL TRUST in the person who is in control of that motorcycle, and ultimately your life, stay off!
I was once on a motorcycle trip with some people, and one of the guys who had his wife on the back, developed a slow leak in the rear tire. He asked me if his wife could ride with me (on my Ultra Classic) until he had a chance to fix it. I said “no problem”. After riding with me for an afternoon, his wife said “could I just ride with you, because my husband scares me how he rides.” Having ridden with him many times (without his wife on the back) I could understand her concern. This guy was fairly reckless and always rode way too fast. Always in the front and always riding faster than was necessary. I never saw her on the back of his bike after that trip. I think she understood, after riding with me, that riding on a motorcycle doesn’t have to be “scary”.
Parrett has been charged with OUIL causing serious injury. Mr Parrett told the police he was driving, admitted drinking alcohol, and said he was the ONLY person on the motorcycle. This is while his sister is laying off in a ditch! The police discovered the sister when the State Police arrived, heard a noise, and discovered Tracie Peterson was laying face down in the ditch. When Parrett was asked if he knew the identity of the person it the ditch, the police officer testified that he said “no”.
Anyone who gets on the back of someone else’s motorcycle is at the mercy of the rider. If this person has been drinking, or if they don’t have sufficient training, or if they’ve never ridden with someone on the back, you are taking your life in your hands. Literally. If you don’t have TOTAL TRUST in the person who is in control of that motorcycle, and ultimately your life, stay off!
I was once on a motorcycle trip with some people, and one of the guys who had his wife on the back, developed a slow leak in the rear tire. He asked me if his wife could ride with me (on my Ultra Classic) until he had a chance to fix it. I said “no problem”. After riding with me for an afternoon, his wife said “could I just ride with you, because my husband scares me how he rides.” Having ridden with him many times (without his wife on the back) I could understand her concern. This guy was fairly reckless and always rode way too fast. Always in the front and always riding faster than was necessary. I never saw her on the back of his bike after that trip. I think she understood, after riding with me, that riding on a motorcycle doesn’t have to be “scary”.