I was too quick to judge
By The Horse
@TheHorse (220289)
Walnut Creek, California
April 6, 2016 12:51pm CST
Yesterday, the freeway near my house (Interstate I-680) was shut down for hours because of a fatal motorcycle crash one exit South of me.
One of my pet peeves recently has been high-speed lane-splitters: motorcyclists who drive fast between cars, even when traffic is moving at 50 mph or above. One such lane-splitter hit my left-side mirror a few months ago. Fortunately, it did not break off.
When I saw the traffic (I took a back road to work) and heard on the radio what had happened, I immediately assumed it was one of those lane-splitters. I envisioned some young kid, showing off to himself, coming in contact with a car changing lanes, and getting thrown from his bike.
As it turns out, the motorcyclist killed killed was a 70-year-old man who couldn't avoid a van that had run into the center wall, and careened back into traffic. The man was thrown into oncoming traffic on the other side of the freeway, and eventually died from his injuries.
I fancy myself to be Sherlock Holmes-like in my ability to generate hypotheses about crimes and accidents I hear about. More often than not, my hunches are confirmed by later news reports. But in this case, I was about as wrong as possible.
Have you ever confidently generated a hypothesis about something you saw or heard about on the news, only to later be proven dead wrong?
26 people like this
28 responses
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
7 Apr 16
@TheHorse What is "confirmation bias"?
3 people like this
@TheHorse (220289)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Apr 16
Some things I was right about: Michael Brown; the clock-bomb kid, the terrorist attack in Southern California. Some things I was wrong about: Justin Bieber can't co-write a decent song (Love Yourself is cute), Bernie Sanders will get nowhere, Jeb Bush will be a viable Republican candidate.
2 people like this
@Castlerock34 (2259)
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
6 Apr 16
Personally when I see a motorcycle on the freeway I can almost predict how he is going to maneuver through traffic and I am usually right. Most of the time they drive like idiots so your first assumption would be correct on a normal day. Most of them are very careless and wear no helmets either and you wonder why they get hurt, but unfortunately the older generation is grouped into that category. Very very sad when you hear about that though
2 people like this
@Castlerock34 (2259)
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
6 Apr 16
@TheHorse Thats a good way of explaining it. It might be the law here too I am not sure but I always seem to see them without helmets, it makes me nuts cauz Ive seen an accident where they weren't wearing helmets and it was so heart breaking
2 people like this
@TheHorse (220289)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Apr 16
@Castlerock34 I like cycling (riding my bike) without a helmet, but I'm extremely cautious. Motorcycles scare me in general.
@Dena91 (16686)
• United States
6 Apr 16
Oh yes I believe we all do this quite a bit. I can understand why you went with the conclusion you came to as you just had an incident involving a lane splitter. Prayers for that gentleman's family and friends and the other involved. Have a blessed day
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137629)
• United States
9 Apr 16
Nope! I do my best not to hear the news! I don't turn on the televisions in our house but do have the radio playing in the car. If a news report comes on, I am just as likely to put in a Book on Tape as I am to flip the channel to static. (I just don't want to know!)
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137629)
• United States
10 Apr 16
@TheHorse Only what @mysdianait and vanny have told me when I made the mistake of joking about something without checking exactly what I was joking about. I vowed not to do that again!
To me, ISIS was a goddess in Egypt... I had no clue what else those letters referred to.
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
7 Apr 16
what a sad tale 'n i hope that fella didn't suffer too long :( i tend not to waste much energy generatin' a hypotheses 'bout much. not that i fear bein' proved wrong, jest aint worth my time.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
7 Apr 16
@TheHorse ya mean we're 'pposed to trust those news folks? their views seem most jaded these days...'r perhaps 'tis jest my perception. we've no local news here, so 'nless 'tis somethin' major nobody's a clue. jest all heresay.
@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
7 Apr 16
that is so sad. About 3 years ago a friend of mine was killed on her motorcycle on the highway when a semi truck fishtailed right into her. So very sad and I miss her.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220289)
• Walnut Creek, California
7 Apr 16
Yes. I see older Hell's Angels out and about, their long grey hair flowing from beneath their helmets. And riding motorcycles has become popular among some "yuppie" types as well. As well as older yuppies, whatever they're called.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
8 Apr 16
I am not good at this, I have seen a few things that make you wonder 'how in the h.... is that even possible!
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
7 Apr 16
I think that we are all guilty of jumping to those conclusions that turn out to be fiction.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220289)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Apr 16
But preconceptions are "cognitively efficient," and often right. If I see a 63-year-old grey beard in a Grass Valley Father's Day Festival t-shirt, and I ask him, "Hey, do you play an instrument?" odds are we're gonna wind up in a conversation.
1 person likes this
