Anyone who’s read any opinion piece written by yours truly before knows I’m a strong supporter of logical, skeptical thinking and usually on the lookout for a pitfall known as the “logical fallacy.”

A logical fallacy is a flaw in reasoning, and usually a flaw that is so serious or fundamental in nature it destroys or invalidates the argument you’re trying to make.

The logical fallacy we’re going to be discussing today is called “poisoning the well.” Poisoning the well is a form of the ad hominem (Latin for “against the man”), and is defined thusly: “The poisoning the well fallacy is a logical fallacy that involves presenting negative, irrelevant information about a person or group beforehand to discredit anything they might say in the future. It is a type of ad hominem attack designed to prejudice the audience against the speaker before they have a chance to make their case.”

This came to mind after reading a press release from Edmonton Police Service about a fatal collision Oct. 24 between a Triumph Daytona motorcycle and a Honda Fit SUV. According to EPS, “On Friday, Oct. 24 at approximately 8:10 p.m., a Triumph Daytona motorcycle was travelling northbound on 50 Street towards the intersection at Millwoods Road South. At the same time, a Honda Fit was turning left (onto) Millwoods Road South from 50 Street.

“The two vehicles collided. Sadly, the 43-year-old motorcyclist died on the scene. The 31-year-old driver of the Fit was uninjured.

“The EPS Major Collisions Investigation Section (MCIS) has since taken over the investigation. It is believed that speed was a factor in the collision.

“’Our officers have stood on too many roadsides where speed turned a simple mistake into something no one could take back,” says Staff Sergeant Mike Wasylyshen of the EPS Traffic Services Branch. “’The hardest part is knowing that someone’s family has lost their loved one and there’s nothing we can do to make it less painful.’”

So what we’ve got is a police officer, in essence, saying this motorcyclist was speeding, struck a vehicle crossing his path and either contributed to or caused his own death. The EPS release says nothing about the other driver’s culpability in the death.

Lets’s look a bit closer at the details, shall we? EPS notes the motorcycle was proceeding north on 50 Street, the Honda Fit was proceeding south on 50 Street, so according to police they were approaching one another from opposite directions on the same road.

The press release notes the collision occurred about 8:10 p.m., meaning at this time of year it was dark, the sun already set, so it wasn’t shining in anybody’s eyes or causing any other problem. If all vehicles involved were in good repair, and we have no reason to assume they weren’t, everybody’s headlights and other markers and reflectors should have been working. Both the Triumph motorcycle and the Honda SUV therefore should have been able to see headlights clearly ahead of them.

EPS stated the Honda Fit made a lefthand turn onto Mill Woods Road; this means the Triumph motorcycle was travelling straight on 50 Street as the Honda turned across his path. In Alberta a lefthand turn across traffic must yield the right of way to oncoming traffic. The oncoming traffic was the motorcycle, which had the right of way. The Honda Fit was making a lefthand turn, and so was legally obligated to yield the right of way.

According to the police press release, the Honda Fit SUV didn’t yield the right of way, but instead turned left into the path of the motorcycle which legally had the right of way. The motorcycle then came into collision with the Honda SUV which, according to the information provided and rules of the road, had no right to be in the motorcycle’s path.

According to the EPS release the fact an SUV made an illegal lefthand turn was ignored, and the collision’s cause was pinned on a speeding motorcyclist unable to defend himself.

The only element of the story missing is an explanation from the Honda Fit driver why he or she didn’t yield the right of way to the motorcycle.

Whether the motorcyclist was speeding or not is irrelevant and poisons the well; facts suggest the SUV shouldn’t have made a lefthand turn which resulted in it violating the motorcycle's right of way, causing the rider’s death.

Stu Salkeld is a motorcyclist with 35 years of experience who knows a logical fallacy when he sees one.