Another One: Lomas and Louisiana, September 5

Albuquerque Police Department is investigating a fatal crash involving a motorcycle at Lomas and Louisiana this morning, September 5, 2026. A rider was T-boned by a sedan turning left. The rider died at UNM Hospital.

I don't know their name yet. I don't know if they were a student, if they'd been riding five years or five weeks, if they were coming home from work or heading out for coffee. What I know is that Albuquerque is tied for the highest motorcycle fatality rate in the nation, and this morning's crash is one more data point in a pattern that keeps killing people.

## The Pattern

Left-turning vehicles are the leading cause of motorcycle fatalities in intersection crashes. The driver doesn't see the motorcycle — or sees it and misjudges speed and distance — and turns directly into the rider's path. By the time either party realizes what's happening, there's no room to stop.

I've taught this scenario in every street-rider course I've run. You're approaching an intersection. There's a car in the left-turn lane, waiting. You have the right of way. The car turns anyway.

The defensive riding answer is to assume every car will turn. Slow down. Cover the brakes. Position yourself so you're visible. Make eye contact if you can. Have an escape route mapped before you enter the intersection.

And sometimes you do all of that, and the car still turns, and you still go down.

## Albuquerque's Numbers

Albuquerque is tied for the highest motorcycle fatality rate in the nation. That's not a single bad month. It's a sustained pattern, year over year. The reasons layer: distracted driving, inadequate rider training, road conditions (sand, gravel, monsoon rain), high-speed arterials with frequent intersections, and a mix of experienced riders and people who bought a bike last week and never took a safety course.

Every one of those factors is addressable. Distracted driving is enforceable. Rider training can be subsidized and promoted. Road maintenance can prioritize motorcycle-safe surfaces. Intersection design can improve sightlines.

But none of that saves the rider who died at Lomas and Louisiana this morning.

## What It Costs

I teach new riders. I know the statistics, I know the failure modes, and I know that every time I throw a leg over the bike, someone else's mistake can end me.

That's the deal. Riding is risk you accept because the freedom is worth it. But the risk is not evenly distributed. Riders bear the consequences of drivers' inattention, infrastructure designed for cars, and a culture that treats motorcycles as optional traffic.

This morning's crash is under investigation. APD will determine fault, reconstruct the sequence, and close the case. The rider's family will bury them. Albuquerque will stay tied for the highest motorcycle fatality rate in the nation.

And tomorrow, I'll get back on the bike. Because the alternative is letting someone else's failure take the one thing that still feels like mine.

Source: Albuquerque Police Department, September 5, 2026 (CABQ.gov).