Any motorcyclist's worst nightmare

[SinCityNC]

So easy to call out his mistakes...especially watching the vid. What we don't know is the riders experience level, frame of mind, comfort level, etc... I notice his riding buddies were pulling away and that he seldom reached past 60mph on straights and 35-45 on relatively gentle twisties. Seemed pretty conservative to me. Do I endorse on public roads? No. But who among us hasn't done it?

Was it his own bike? I assume w/the gopro on board, but from the wayhe was riding, newer and less muscle memory. Target fixation is a real evil and unless you constantly condition yourself against it, it WILL take over on instinct. I feel bad that he was injured badly, but am heartened that he lives and heals to ride (or drive) another day.

Constant safety training and practice is key to everything on the roads. Not trying to preach, just saying some things only come w/ time, and practice.

-Don

 

[wildeone]

Constant safety training and practice is key to everything on the roads. Not trying to preach, just saying some things only come w/ time, and practice.

-Don

how about just common sense...
if instead of truck was riding there other biker he could be killed by this ignorant.

 

[MZ5]

I am very sorry for this rider's accident. I am glad to hear he is going to be basically 'ok' (at least that's what I think I heard on the TV this AM).

After-Action Reviews are not about dumping on the people who were in the scenario. That mindset is to be avoided. AARs are about how the rest of us can learn from circumstances we may not have directly experienced (remembering that experience is the best, if also most harshly unforgiving, teacher). So, with that in mind:

--Watch the rider's right hand, particularly the fingers. A handful of front brake is grabbed the instant before the bars get squirrely.
--It's too tough to tell for certain from a compressed YouTube (YT) video whether there's a depression in the pavement right there, but there doesn't _appear_ to be.
--The turning radius, or line, appears to me to widen immediately following these other observations.
--This all might lead a YT observer (not the best sort of observer!) to wonder whether the issue here was purely panic and target-fixation. Frankly, just the handful of brake alone might cause one to wonder about that.

Grabbing the front brake during a corner, for anyone who has (wisely) never tried it before, stands the bike up and widens your line. Or, with an even harder squeeze, dumps the front end entirely and puts you into a low-side crash.

It's TOUGH to avoid panic. It's TOUGH to overcome the natural tendency to try to stare at, and back away from, the thing that's scaring/panicking you. That's why it's TOUGH to do the correct thing in a situation like this: Push your weight further inside and forward, push the inside bar a little more, LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO, AVOID THE FRONT BRAKE if you're anywhere near the edge of adhesion or your abilities, stop opening the throttle, and ride tighter through the corner.

 

[tew47]

You look where you want to go in your lane not at the truck in the other lane. You go where you look. Press harder on the handle bars in the direction you want to go and never look at whats comming the other way.

 

[wildeone]

Grabbing the front brake during a corner, for anyone who has (wisely) never tried it before, stands the bike up and widens your line. Or, with an even harder squeeze, dumps the front end entirely and puts you into a low-side crash.

very good point, trail breaking is almost never practice at any school but racing. It's very good skill to have on street as well. Much safer is using the rear break though.

 

[skeedaddle]

He was on the wrong side of the road at least 10 times prior to the crash. Then there is the component of following the rider in front ..............even in the news segment the rider in front pulling away.

Sorry...I just don't feel bad for these idiots that ride like their doing track days on public roads! I was nearly took out this past week by a R1 dragging a knee on my side of a 2 lane 45 mph road. Some people learn the hard way.

 

[670cc]

Analyze the riding skills all you want, but this crash all started when the rider chose to ride with a sporting style on a road less than two lanes wide, with oncoming traffic, blind curves, and surface imperfections. This crash is more about taking irrational risks, which is a polite way of calling it stupidity.

The oncoming truck driver even used diligence to hug his side of the road (something this rider certainly wasn't doing). Although I feel sad for the riders injuries, OTOH the trucker should be irate that the rider crossed into his path and bent up his bumper.

 

[zirconx]

The comments from fellow bikers are almost as bad as from the non-bikers (i.e. wish he would have died to remove himself from the gene pool, etc.).

If I ever make a mistake on my motorcycle, remind me to never share the video online.

 

[670cc]

The comments from fellow bikers are almost as bad as from the non-bikers (i.e. wish he would have died to remove himself from the gene pool, etc.).

If I ever make a mistake on my motorcycle, remind me to never share the video online.

Please tell us which post has a comment like "wish he would have died to remove himself from the gene pool, etc." I reread the posts and didn't see anything remotely close to that.

 

[Deleted member 1183]

Tbh I wish such videos were not introduced on here, or any motorcycle forum for that matter. Imho they are morbid and unhelpful. The last thing I personally wish to see as a motorcyclist, is another motorcyclist getting clobbered, whether he is right or wrong. Why not introduce educational clips instead, showing how to do things properly ? I believe that would be far more constructive and indeed positive.

To those who might say "You don't have to watch it", I haven't.

 

[Agent]

Well said 670. A truck that size can only do so much, and the driver seemed to be doing everything right. Slow down, check. Move as far right as possible, check.

Also, if the fire truck had been responding to an emergency, the rider could have cost other people their lives instead of only nearly losing his own.

 

[zirconx]

The comments from fellow bikers are almost as bad as from the non-bikers (i.e. wish he would have died to remove himself from the gene pool, etc.).

If I ever make a mistake on my motorcycle, remind me to never share the video online.

Please tell us which post has a comment like "wish he would have died to remove himself from the gene pool, etc." I reread the posts and didn't see anything remotely close to that.

They weren't on this site (that's why I said they were from non-bikers). I think they were on YouTube or maybe abcnews, I don't remember I read them yesterday somewhere. Really negative stuff, basically saying he got what he deserved.

 

[Fuzzy]

Tbh I wish such videos were not introduced on here, or any motorcycle forum for that matter. Imho they are morbid and unhelpful. The last thing I personally wish to see as a motorcyclist, is another motorcyclist getting clobbered, whether he is right or wrong. Why not introduce educational clips instead, showing how to do things properly ? I believe that would be far more constructive and indeed positive.

To those who might say "You don't have to watch it", I haven't.

I respectfully disagree. This rider made a mistake and I am glad he survived. I appreciate him sharing to help others learn from his experience. I need to learn from other's mistakes because I can't afford to make them all myself.

 

[ChuteTheMall]

I'm glad the video was shared here, it's a good reminder of what can happen, and how it can happen.

Also remember that crossing the line scares the cagers, and they are voters. Don't annoy them.

You meet the nicest people on a Honda, just don't do it head-on.

Would ABS brakes have made any difference?

 

[670cc]

Would ABS brakes have made any difference?

No. ABS doesn't fix stupid.

 

[MichaelJohn]

I respectfully disagree. This rider made a mistake and I am glad he survived. I appreciate him sharing to help others learn from his experience. I need to learn from other's mistakes because I can't afford to make them all myself.

This. He had only been riding for seven months - slow the hell down on curves, get your fundamental riding skills right, baby steps, baby steps.