Reaction time matters

Alex · June 3rd, 2016, 07:58 AM

Link to original page on YouTube.

Quick, appropriate reaction saved this guy from a world of hurt. Demonstrates why braking may be the wrong choice in certain situations. Decide to swerve or brake (not both), and do either as quickly as you safely can. Everything can depend on it.

(action at 0:23 for the uber-lazy, such as myself)

CC Cowboy · June 3rd, 2016, 08:15 AM

I would have seen that coming when the car first started moving over. You get used to piss poor drivers and nothing surprises you.

allanoue · June 3rd, 2016, 08:15 AM

nice adrenalin shot
thx

jkv45 · June 3rd, 2016, 08:25 AM

Why didn't the first cycle move over? He could have easily been collected before the car ever spun.

Giving merging traffic plenty of room is always a good idea, especially when a car is behind a truck that is accelerating slowly. Assume the drive is impatient and will make an abrupt lane change to pass.

Right - braking would not have saved you.

Both riders got very lucky, that time.

Motofool · June 3rd, 2016, 10:10 AM

Those huge trucks are sometimes hard to be seen !!!

Note the rider's fingers on the brake lever way before the climax.

Alex · June 3rd, 2016, 11:19 AM

I had a very similar incident happen to me many years ago, pre-kids, with my wife on the back of the bike at the time. Erratic driver passes on the left, and actually hits the car in front of them offcenter to the right, and their minivan starts spinning, back end to the right, starting to take up the full second lane that we were traveling in. I was able to swerve with almost no space to spare, to the point that Annie had closed her eyes and was waiting for what it would feel like to hit a minivan. When we missed it, she was surprised (thankfully). Hundreds of thousands of miles underneath me at this point, I still flash back to that one pretty often, 10 years later.

SLOWn60 · June 3rd, 2016, 11:32 AM

Old racing advice: aim for the accident. It will have spun out of your way by the time you get there!

akima · June 3rd, 2016, 03:26 PM

Incredible video. How many riders would forget to steer?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLOWn60

Old racing advice: aim for the accident. It will have spun out of your way by the time you get there!

I'll take that advice with a pinch of salt!

SLOWn60 · June 3rd, 2016, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akima

I'll take that advice with a pinch of salt!

It does work best in a curve or banked track!

CC Cowboy · June 3rd, 2016, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLOWn60

It does work best in a curve or banked track!

With cars going 200mph!

cadd · June 3rd, 2016, 05:37 PM

Oh damn....that was close!

subxero · June 3rd, 2016, 06:30 PM

hard to tell but it seems like more going on than just the near collision of the second rider.

IMO it looks like the rider in front of the camera rider starts speeding up to cut off the car from merging into the center lane. It is obvious that the car does not want to get stuck behind the truck, the rider was not in the best position to speed past the upcoming conflict or at least did not do it fast enough, they made no effort to favor left to give a little more safe distance between the car while they were at it.

The obvious options to me for that rider in front of the camera was either accelerate past the potential danger as soon as it started to develop which was early, or slow in anticipate of the sketchy merge and give more space in all directions. Neither of these were the case in fact quite the opposite, rider boxing in of the car seemed deliberate. That or the rider is completely situationally ignorant. JMO Not saying this was his fault, clearly the car was in the wrong but the rider took part in the dance at the end of the day.

Second rider did good, perhaps i would have been a little further left in the lane to start.

DEFY · June 3rd, 2016, 06:36 PM

I had a similar thing happen to me in the ex-car. Guy in front of me hydroplained and I could see them side on before I moved over quickly, we were going about 75. I was thankful no one else was next to me cause I would have ran into them just trying to avoid him.

toEleven · June 3rd, 2016, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLOWn60

Old racing advice: aim for the accident. It will have spun out of your way by the time you get there!

I was pretty young at the time, so my memory is hazy, but I feel like that didn't work out so well for Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder.

alex.s · June 3rd, 2016, 08:19 PM

June 3rd, 2016, 07:58 AM	#1
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	Reaction time matters Link to original page on YouTube. Quick, appropriate reaction saved this guy from a world of hurt. Demonstrates why braking may be the wrong choice in certain situations. Decide to swerve or brake (not both), and do either as quickly as you safely can. Everything can depend on it. (action at 0:23 for the uber-lazy, such as myself) __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)
	4 out of 4 members found this post helpful.

June 3rd, 2016, 08:15 AM	#2
CC Cowboy ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Whodat Location: Ware Is.,MA Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): I pass the wind! Posts: A lot. MOTM - Mar '13, Jun '14	I would have seen that coming when the car first started moving over. You get used to piss poor drivers and nothing surprises you. __________________________________________________ If everything seems under control; you're just not going fast enough!

June 3rd, 2016, 08:15 AM	#3
allanoue ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Al Location: York, Pa Join Date: Dec 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2013 Ninja 300..............2008 Ninja 500-sold...2009 Ninja 250-Crashed Posts: Too much. MOTM - Sep '14	nice adrenalin shot thx __________________________________________________ Keep calm and ride on -Motofool Never quit on a rainy day -ally99

June 3rd, 2016, 08:25 AM	#4
jkv45 Rev Limiter Name: Jay Location: WI Join Date: Jul 2013 Motorcycle(s): '06 SV650n, '00 Derbi GPR, '64 CA77 Dream 305, '70 CL450 Scrambler, numerous dirt bikes Posts: A lot. MOTM - Jun '18, Oct '16	Why didn't the first cycle move over? He could have easily been collected before the car ever spun. Giving merging traffic plenty of room is always a good idea, especially when a car is behind a truck that is accelerating slowly. Assume the drive is impatient and will make an abrupt lane change to pass. Right - braking would not have saved you. Both riders got very lucky, that time.
	2 out of 2 members found this post helpful.

June 3rd, 2016, 10:10 AM	#5
Motofool Daily Ninjette rider Name: Hernan Location: Florida Join Date: Mar 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2007 Ninja 250 Posts: A lot. MOTY - 2016, MOTM - Dec '12, Jan '14, Jan '15, May '16	Those huge trucks are sometimes hard to be seen !!! Note the rider's fingers on the brake lever way before the climax. __________________________________________________ *Motofool* *.................................Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly* "Mankind is composed of two sorts of men — those who love and create, and those who hate and destroy. Love is the bond between men, the way to teach and the center of the world." - José Martí
	2 out of 2 members found this post helpful.

June 3rd, 2016, 11:19 AM	#6
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	I had a very similar incident happen to me many years ago, pre-kids, with my wife on the back of the bike at the time. Erratic driver passes on the left, and actually hits the car in front of them offcenter to the right, and their minivan starts spinning, back end to the right, starting to take up the full second lane that we were traveling in. I was able to swerve with almost no space to spare, to the point that Annie had closed her eyes and was waiting for what it would feel like to hit a minivan. When we missed it, she was surprised (thankfully). Hundreds of thousands of miles underneath me at this point, I still flash back to that one pretty often, 10 years later. __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)
	3 out of 3 members found this post helpful.

June 3rd, 2016, 11:32 AM	#7
SLOWn60 n00bie to wannabie Name: Bill Location: St Ives, BC (Shuswap Lake) Join Date: Sep 2015 Motorcycle(s): 2012 250R (Red), 2005 VFR800A (Red), CRF450X (Red), 2012 F800GS (Wants to be Red!) Posts: A lot. MOTM - Nov '15	Old racing advice: aim for the accident. It will have spun out of your way by the time you get there! __________________________________________________ The Smart Money: #1 - ATGATT, #2 - Training (machine skills and survival skills), #3 - The bike; whatever floats yer boat with the money you have left over
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

June 3rd, 2016, 05:37 PM	#11
cadd cadd cadd cadd Name: Cadd Location: 41°21'13.1"N, 74°41'37.4"W Join Date: Jan 2014 Motorcycle(s): 300 Posts: A lot. MOTM - May '15	Oh damn....that was close! __________________________________________________ Riding it like I financed it.

June 3rd, 2016, 06:30 PM	#12
subxero dirty boy Name: Joe Location: Johnstown, PA Join Date: Sep 2012 Motorcycle(s): I don't even know anymore?? Posts: A lot. MOTM - Apr '14	hard to tell but it seems like more going on than just the near collision of the second rider. IMO it looks like the rider in front of the camera rider starts speeding up to cut off the car from merging into the center lane. It is obvious that the car does not want to get stuck behind the truck, the rider was not in the best position to speed past the upcoming conflict or at least did not do it fast enough, they made no effort to favor left to give a little more safe distance between the car while they were at it. The obvious options to me for that rider in front of the camera was either accelerate past the potential danger as soon as it started to develop which was early, or slow in anticipate of the sketchy merge and give more space in all directions. Neither of these were the case in fact quite the opposite, rider boxing in of the car seemed deliberate. That or the rider is completely situationally ignorant. JMO Not saying this was his fault, clearly the car was in the wrong but the rider took part in the dance at the end of the day. Second rider did good, perhaps i would have been a little further left in the lane to start. __________________________________________________ I love the smell of burning pre-mix in the morning I don't think I'm a lot dumber than you thought that I think that I thought I was once. Last futzed with by subxero; June 3rd, 2016 at 07:45 PM.
	2 out of 2 members found this post helpful.

June 3rd, 2016, 06:36 PM	#13
DEFY ᗧ•••ᗣ•ᗣᗣ•••ᗣ Name: Nick Location: NY Join Date: Nov 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 250R and 2014 Triumph 675R Posts: A lot.	I had a similar thing happen to me in the ex-car. Guy in front of me hydroplained and I could see them side on before I moved over quickly, we were going about 75. I was thankful no one else was next to me cause I would have ran into them just trying to avoid him. __________________________________________________ Spoiler for topic: It might just be the [you] tag

June 3rd, 2016, 08:19 PM	#15
alex.s wat Name: wat Location: tustin/long beach Join Date: Sep 2009 Motorcycle(s): wat Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 5 MOTM - Oct '12, Feb '14	__________________________________________________

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