By Kate Froehlich
Special to The Dagger
Just after 2:30 p.m. on July 11, Rudolph Glanville slowed his Chevrolet truck on Route 165 to make a turn onto Nelson Mill Road. Without warning, he felt a hit from behind that jolted the truck.
Pulling over, he saw that a man had been ejected from his Harley-Davidson, having failed to stop in time to prevent contact with Glanville’s truck.
The motorcyclist, 37-year-old William Anderson III, was airlifted to University of Maryland Shock Trauma, but succumbed to his injuries, becoming the 10th Harford resident killed while riding a motorcycle on or near county roads this year. Anderson was a 15-year veteran of the Baltimore County Police Department and a member of the Jarrettsville Volunteer Fire Company.
The number of motorcycle fatalities, including a two-fatality crash on Route 40 just outside the county line this month, is up from seven at this time last year, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and the Maryland State Police.
“The number of motorcycle fatalities is high,” said Chuck Moore, commander of the Maryland State Police’s Barrack D in Bel Air. Moore blamed the increase on “inattention and driver experience.”
“It’s not alcohol. The drivers that are experienced aren’t paying attention. Because we do have a lot of traffic around here, you need to pay attention all the time,” Moore said. “You can’t daydream and you can’t take your eyes off the front of you. When there is that moment and you make the smallest little mistake, because you don’t have that metal body around you everything is magnified.”
Added Sheriff Jesse Bane, “It’s a combination of factors [including] driver error, people taking risks, people that aren’t looking for motorcycles and then don’t see them, [and] the volume of traffic.”
The problem lies “in part with the motoring public and [also with] the failure to make new roads,” Bane said.
Prior to the most recent road construction, few major changes have been made to county roads since the 1980s despite an increase in the number of motorists countywide. Bane said, “We can’t keep bringing more vehicles designed to handle ‘60’s, ‘70’s, ‘80’s traffic and think there won’t be any problems.”
However, local body shops haven’t seen an increase in motorcycles coming in for repair said Bel Air Motorcycle owner Don Long, one indication that non-fatal accidents may not be on the rise.
Long said drivers of cars remain a bigger threat to motorcyclists than bikers themselves.
“I think the biggest problem around this area is drivers paying attention.” Long said. “I’ve witnessed two bikes get rear ended. The biggest problem with riding through Bel Air is other drivers watching for us.”
The Maryland State Police have not seen a pattern behind the cause of the incidents, Moore said.
“Believe me if there was, we would step up enforcement in those areas,” Moore said. “We will target certain roadways if we see a pattern of accidents, not just for motorcycles.”
As a result of automobile accidents in general, enforcement has been increased on Route 543, Route 40, Route 1, and Route 152 this year, according to Moore.
“Law enforcement is doing what they can,” Bane said. “We’re working as hard as we can with the limited resources that we have.”
Although he “takes exception with anyone” that says the problem is solely a law enforcement issue, “that’s not to say that law enforcement won’t come up with initiatives” to help the issue. For example, law enforcement officers “provide input when road improvements are being done as to what is gone for the flow of traffic,” Bane said.
“People are shocked. This is something fairly recent to Harford County and not something with county is accustomed to,” Bane said. “I hope this is not a forecaster for the future.”
“We just wish that they [motorcycle accidents] wouldn’t happen of course. We try to prevent people from getting hurt,” Moore said.
Bane added, “My greatest fear is that we become insensitive. This is a very serious issue.”
Sergeant Donald Gividen, head of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Safety Unit, urged specific precautions: “Always wear a Department of Transportation approved safety helmet, be properly charged on how to handle and ride a motorcycle, be certain to have a class M license, obey all traffic laws, especially those related to posted speeds, and don’t drink and drive.”
“One of the things we promote in the motorcycle safety program is a share the road awareness campaign,” said Philip Sause, Motor Vehicle Administration Motorcycle Safety Program Coordinator. Operators of cars and motorcycles have “a joint responsibility” to ensure safe driving.
He adds that motorcyclists must “understand how to stop their vehicle and how to swerve their vehicle.”
“For motorcyclists, ride to be seen, ride to be visible,” Sause said. “You can disappear from a driver’s rear view mirror. They should also have reflective gear, especially when riding at night. Think about what could possibly happen. What is the worst thing that can happen in this situation?”
(Note: The following list was assembled from several sources. If any of the names or other info is incorrect, let us know and we’ll update it.)
1. Richard V. Genna Jr., 22, Abingdon
April 4
Harford County Sheriff’s Office investigated
Singer Road near Atkinson Road, Joppa
2007 Honda CBR 6002. Karl M. Kunz, 20, Edgewood
April 23
HCSO
Joppa Farm Road at Foster Knoll Dr.
2009 Yamaha3. Michael S. Laubach, 26, addresses in both Street and Abingdon
April 30
Maryland State Police investigated
Westbound Route 40 in Abingdon
Yamaha YZF-R64. Joseph J. Morlock (or Morlok), 39, residency not reported??
May 4
MSP
Southbound Route 1 at Route 136 in Dublin
2001 Harley-Davidson Softtail (sp?)*5. George Laubach, 21, Aberdeen
May 8
MSP
Aldino Road east of Route 22
2009 Kawasaki6. Daniel M. DeVries, 21, Fallston
May 12
HCSO
Reckord Road north of Beechwood Road, Fallston
2008 Suzuki7. Henry J. Hagey Jr., 66, Baldwin
June 17
MSP
Harford Road south of Connolly Road, Baldwin
2004 Harley-Davidson Sportster8 and 9. Michael C. Deinlein, 26, Edgewood
Melissa Sobczynski, 29, Edgewood
Baltimore County Police investigated
Route 40 west of Jones Road, approx. 1 mile into Baltimore County
2004 Kawasaki Ninja10. William E. Anderson III, 37, Jarrettsville
July 11
MSP
Route 165 at Nelson Mill road in Jarrettsville
2009 Harley-Davidson
Bane – Are you kidding us – you need more resources???
You increased the Sheriff’s Budget 60% from $39.2 Million in 2005 to over $63 Million Dollars in 2010. You are one of the most irresponsible politicians I’ve ever come accross.
What else can you expect from an Obama like liberal democratic that really doesn’t have a clue other than to throw money at problems and cater to unions.
Bane – simply shameful….
Any community chicken dinner you find Bane at he will tell you that gangs, drugs, murder and rape are social issues and not law enforcement issues so why not add speeding and reckless driving?
What do you think of Rocket Scientist Bane’s comment that “part of the problem comes….with the failure to make new roads”? Does anyone other than me think this is a completely illogical and downright moronic statement for anyone to make, much less the head of the biggest law enforcement agency in Harford County? That’s like saying more people are drowning with the failure to make new beaches. Or more people are falling with the failure to make new sidewalks. It is typical Bane though–pass the blame along to anyone other than himself. Hopefully November’s headline will read: “Bane Loses Election Due to Failure to Make New Voting Booths”.
BANE AND COMMAND STAFF INCREASED BUDGET BY $24 MILLION. That Department needs a make-over. How did Bane get elected the first time?
Because everyone in the agency had enough of Howard Walter. Bane seemed like the exact opposite–fair, concerned about his staff, concerned about the county and most of all he seemed like a nice guy. Well we certainly have found out that nice guys don’t make good leaders. Let me restate that–THIS supposed nice guy doesn’t make a good leader. He can’t make decisions. The morale at the agency has never been lower. The inmates are running the asylum. You would not believe what some of the deputies are getting away with because Bane has no control. Most of the deputies are hard-working but look at the number of deputies who have left the agency due to integrity issues since Bane’s been at the helm. He is a poor judge of character, he has no clue what is happening around him. He has abolutely lost control and credibility. I will certainly be voting for someone else come November.
I think you have a problem with making a logical argument. Let’s break it down:
(crappy roads) + (increased driving population) = road accidents!
Is that clear enough for you?
Jersey Girl – Your point is valid although somewhat condescending. My point is that whenever Jesse Bane has a problem it is always someone elses fault or he doesn’t have the manpower. The facts are clear, Jesse Bane and his command staff Bodway, etc.. catered to the unions and liberals. They increased the Sheriff’s budget 60% $24 Million and haven’t shown anything for it. All part of the political machine – Maryland has it’s share of problems but we really don’t want the fiscal mess that Governor Christie is dealing with in Jersey.
Jersey: You need to re-read Bane’s quotes before chastising me. Nowhere in the article does Bane say a word about “crappy” roads. He doesn’t suggest resurfacing roads, repairing roads or upgrading roads. “The problem lies “in part with the motoring public and [also with] the failure to make new roads,” Bane said. If you find logic in that statement, please explain it to me. I hardly see how new roads correlate to fewer accidents. And please lose the holier than thou attitude.
I do new roads presumably means more roads, more roads is less congestion, less congestion is less accidents!
Before you blame Bane (and no I am not a supporter) for raising the budget, go back and look at what Craig did to that budget! Craig in an effort to form a countywide police force gave raises of 16ish% a few years ago to the deputies. The reason being he thought he could force the towns (who had parity) to have to beg for a countywide police force!
“Long said drivers of cars remain a bigger threat to motorcyclists than bikers themselves.”
This is total BS.
How many times have I had bikes inadvertently slow down to 10MPH so their buddy can catch up by driving 90MPH between moving vehicles. I love motorcycles but my sense of mortality prohibits me from driving one.
How many times have you had to quickly move your bike to the side of the road while sitting at a stop light to avoid being slammed into by a driver on their cell phone? How many times has a driver merged into your lane without looking or signaling, almost taking the front of your bike with it? Just because these things haven’t happened to you, doesn’t mean they don’t happen. There will always be irresponsible riders, but not every bike accident is the rider’s fault. I have witnessed more accidents that are the fault of the operator of the car than the operator of the bike.
Just out of curiosity, why don’t you want to own a bike? If you don’t trust yourself on one i can understand that, but if you are afraid of being injured by the motoring public, that kinda makes my point valid…
Don’t know but of the 10 fatalities this year listed above I am familiar with 7 of them and 6 are the motorcycle drivers fault!
looked them all up it appears the breakdown of the 9 accidents are as follows
1 was the cars fault (Mr. Morlock)
3 where a rest of the motor cycle driver rear ending a stopped car (Hagey, Deinlen, Anderson)
3 where the result of speeding (Genna, Kunz, DeVries)
1 was a new driver who seemed to not know how to properly drive a motorcycle (Laubach,G.)
1 was a driver who was dragracing on route 40 and rearended a driver who made multiple evasive manuevers to avoid a colision (Laubach, M.)
So of the 9 fatal accidents (1 resulting in two fatalities)
8 are the motorcycle operators fault and 1 the car operators fault.
Seems reasonable to conclude that in our county this year fatal motorcycle accidents are mostly the fault of the driver of the motorcycle!
When a motorcyclist dies, you also don’t hear their side of the story. You hear the car driver’s side who isn’t going to tell the truth to avoid a penalty! I am familiar with one of these cases. The car driver claims he didnt see the bike coming down the hill and proceeded through a stop sign. I have lived in that area my entire life and there is NO way u wouldn’t see something coming down the hill. Not to mention, alot of cars blow this particular stop sign. However, the biker died so all they have is the car driver’s story. Of course he isn’t going to be honest and say he blew the stop sign and admit he was in the wrong and killed the biker.
My husband has a bike and I love to ride with him. However, I spend half of the ride paranoid because car driver’s out there are morons who are on their phones, eating, messing with the radio, goofing off with the passenger etc, basically not paying attention. We spent one ride doing the speed limit with a woman in a car tailgating us the entire way. If my husband would have had to stop suddenly, she would have slammed right into us. I’ve been in my car, while my husband was on his bike and witnessed a ton of drivers tailing him or cutting him off. It’s very scary to be a bike on the roads these days. I totally agree with Don’s post.
Not sure which accident you refer to but if it is the Joppa Farm Rd. accident. A seperate witness observed the biker speeding down the road prior to the accident. The speed was not the liesurely 5-10 miles over that many people do but excessive and passing cars on a two lane road in a no passing zone. That is unsafe and the drivers fault. I am not being calous or cold but the data in this county supports the conclusion that motorcycle fatalities are mostly a result of motor cycle operator error.
I know there are careless car drivers and that it scares some motorcyclist but lets be real a motorcyclist does not get permission to drive 2 x’s the posted limit. If we had more data I would hypothesis that this behavior seems to be unique to a certian type of bike operator!
I am sorry this human,fire fighter,police officer,family member and friend to many,had to die. Truth is,there are too many vehicles on these roads and it is dangerous for motorcycles.Keep In mind, I was completely stopped for over 15 seconds,before Mr.Anderson hit me.More roads nor more police would not have made a difference. There were no drugs or alcohol or cell phones involved on my behalf.There were also no skid marks from the motorcycle at the scene.Please consider this in statistic research. Once again, I am sorry to all friends and family of Mr. Anderson for their loss.Please also keep in mind that I watched this man died 10 feet in front of me.And the loss of a life and public service hero is hard to swallow
I’ve been hit buy another vehicle while sitting still and also while moving. Unfortunately, motorcycles simply aren’t as safe in crashes as a car regardless of who may be at fault, if anyone (can be weather, etc.). Every driver of a car/motorcyle, I’m not expressing an opinion of fault mind you because I don’t know anything about the accident (and I’m certainly not assuming that Sheriff Bane knew anything when he made his comment) is short of perfect. People try to use good judgement and be safe on both sides of the spectrum, overall I believe, but things happen beyond the control of the same people. I’m sure it’s extremely difficult to have been in your situation, just as it is difficult for the family and friends of William Anderson III. I hope you and they alike are able to find peace in the year ahead.
Maybe I missed it, but I did not see in the story whether Mr. Anderson was wearing amotorcycle crash helmet. But whether he was or not, drivers need to be better educated to share the road more safely with motorcyclists and vice versa. I read that either DOT or NHTSA, I forget which, has stated publicly that safety education and not helmets should and will become the focus when it comes to motorcycle safety.
My heart goes out to anyone who lost a loved one and I always encourage any friends that drive bikes to carry enough life insurance to provide for those they’ll leave behind. That said, I never told them to drive an unsafe vehicle. Every time you get on it you pull the trigger and hope the chamber is empty. I’ve seen a group of 4 bikes pull out in front of the driver in front of me and the classy lady on the back gave him the finger as if he’d done something wrong… apparently we were all supposed to stop on a 50 mph highway and wait while the other 6 bikes pulled out so they could be together. This tends to thin out my sympathy supply.
Also, this latest was a policeman and fireman… and I have found the cars tagged FOP or VFD are often driven by the most aggressive drivers out there.
oh how many motorcycles have been approaching me on Rte. 1, and two abreast, the one has to ride close to the center line..why?…why play games with cars…i used to ride a Triumph loved it…but i had to give it up…because I might screw up…
today the bicyclists and motorcyclists tempt fate by not adhering to a little common sense on the highway…..keeping the headlights on is a big help…good idea…but, hey, play fair with the cars and trucks…
I know there are many responsible bikers. I am sure irresponsible car operaters give them scares etc. That said it does not help perception when crotch rockets fly down 24 at speeds in excess of 100 mph. When they get into an accident it is simple Darwinian theory. This describes most of the fatalities above!
I saw what Mr. Smigley wrote and looked it up. Hes Right like a true democrat Bane increased the budget by over 60%. What is the break down of that Department? where is the money going? I have a neighbor who retired from another county and he seems to think that the Harford Police Department is top heavy with specialized units that do nothing but having an interesting name. The county is going to crap and if crime is not already eating away at your neighborhood it will be soon, So when you vote remember your community might be next and if we dont demand that our police department shape up than we are also to blame. SO vote and i dont know for who but not Bane, he had his 4 years and did nothing with it
Dogs: Your neighbor is absolutely right. Bane is always complaining about needing more deputies–he’s 40 deputies short, he’s 80 deputies short, etc., but he has promoted way too many deputies into supervisory positions and made too many specialized units that it is no wonder there are not enough patrol deputies. He has made captains for units that only have 1 deputy working it. Other units have a 1.5 supervisor to deputy ratio. Is there really a need for a Gang Unit and a Violent Crimes Unit to be separate entities? Of course there is, so he can promote more supervisors. I guarantee you he has more deputies sitting behind desks than he has on the streets. That’s where your money is going. And if you look on Bane’s list of campaign contributors, surprise surprise, it is these high ranking supervisors whose names are on that list, along with the developers. Whoever is voted in as Sheriff will have a lot of restructuring to do.
BANE
YOU HAVE FAILED HARFORD COUNTY RESIDENTS AND IT’S TIME FOR “CHANGE”. THE CRIME,MURDER,DRUG RATE HAS BEEN AT IT’S WORST EVER. THERE’S NUMOROUS COMPLAINT’S ABOUT SPEEDING IN SEVERAL PARTS OF THE COUNTY. WITH THE MONEY AND RESOURCES YOU HAVE HAD LOOK WHERE IT’S GOT US.
Not sure how people driving their motorcycles reclessly is the fault of the sherriff. You want govt responsible for controling your actions.
CDEV – That would be part of your liberal beliefs. Conservatives generally take responsibility for themsleves and their loved ones.
The point about the Great liberal Jesse Bane is that he, like you, blames all his problems etc.. on roads and a lack of resources. When the fact of the matter is Jesse Bane has expanded the Police Budget from under $40 Million to over $60 Million
We need real leadership in the Sheriif’s Office.
I am not the one who said
“THERE’S NUMOROUS COMPLAINT’S ABOUT SPEEDING IN SEVERAL PARTS OF THE COUNTY” and believe the sheriff is at fault for people’s personal choices to break the law.
THE COMMENT WAS NOT DIRECTED TO YOUR COMMENTS. I WAS STATING A
FACT THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT SPEEDING IN
THE AREA. THERE IS NOT ENOUGH THATS BEING DONE TO CURB IT.
IF WE KEEP HEARING THAT WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES THAN
STOP ALL THE OFFICERS THAT SIT IN A PARTICULAR SPOT EVER
DAY FOR ANY AMOUNT OF TIME, AND CUT BACK ALL THE GOV.
VEHICLES THAT GO HOME EVERYDAY DAY AND THE ONES THAT LIVE OUT
OF THE COUNTY.
Bill first off do us a favor and stop typing in capitals. Second you are blaming the sherrif for a persons decision to break the law.
your right about the caps (means yelling) but i didn’t feel
like changing it, the sheriff is not at fault but he can do
more but he has no interest in doing so.If you seen him lately
He has the same personality as dave tremely of the orioles
when he was done.Tired and bored.
Number seven on the list was a long time friend of the family. He was an ex state trooper and ex military. He flew Medevac and saved numerous lives during his years of service. He was a wonderful man that you could find out a car shows most weekends. He had the experience to handle the motorcycle and it just goes to show that it only takes a moment for a tragic accident to occur. All of the people on the above list will surely be missed by family and friends.
We need more troopers. That is one thing I havent heard mentioned. Tell your representatives in the legislature we need them more than ever.