Speeding on public roads, there's always a risk

[subxero]

no one is above this, it's a dice roll

Link to original page on YouTube.

[NevadaWolf]

Hard to watch this. Hopefully enough road users see this that someone somewhere pays a bit more attention and sees ahead of them in time to prevent another life being lost.




Over a million views since yesterday? I like it when an important video goes viral.

[7oxSin]

anyone else have that sinking feeling. this could have been avoided on so many levels... my thoughts are with the fam and i hope people learn from this...

[akima]

That's so sad. His mum's story was so real and so heartfelt. She had me tearing up.

The accident happened about an hour's ride from where I live.

I hate those kind of roads. They're fast, (up to 60mph limits), but unlike dual-carriage ways and motorways, they have no centre margin physically dividing the two lanes. You have cars turning across your lane when it's a 60mph road. So dangerous. There's a guy at my work place who just recently had that exact same event happen to him on that exact kind of road. He didn't loose his life, but his life has been badly effected by it. His leg is now being held together using a metal-rod contraption. He doesn't know if he'll be able to walk or run again as he used to.

Strangely, not long after this guy had this happen to him, a girl at work pulled in front of someone in the exact same way. Luckily it was a car she pulled in front of, so both of them got saved by their metal, impact absorbing cars and their airbags.

If you see a car waiting up ahead, and you think they might pull out in front of you, make sure you're not going so fast that you can't stop if they start rolling. Watch the front wheels for movement, not their face for eye contact. They'll look right through you. You wont register as a car or as a hazard to their distracted mind, so they'll pull right out in front of you.

What a tragedy. RIP.

[NevadaWolf]

Whoa... 3.2 million views... It was like 1.1 million when I looked this morning.

[snot]

This is very sad.
RIP thoughts and prayers are with the family.

[csmith12]

RIP

[cadd]

4.1MM views now. I'm glad this story is going viral. Keeps us riders in check. Also drivers who watch this might be more conscious of bikes.

[Sirref]

RIP

[Finesse]

http://www.break.com/video/motorcycl...ortant-2755924

Have any of you guys seen this video that's been kinda viral on moto fb groups lately?

It's usually accompanied by a 'wow, this is such a tragedy, so horrific' etc.

The dude was going 97mph down a public road with intersections and traffic.

It IS horrific and it IS tragic. but it IS preventable. How do you feel when you see stuff like this? Of course I'm saddened by it and the driver should have looked, but how hard do you have to look before you see a bike going almost 100mph? How do you judge that speed/distance?

My point is it's totally irresponsible to drive like this and then say it's all the car's fault. And to market it as a message to car drivers only, to slow down. WE need to slow down. These 'accidents' are 100% preventable with easy solutions. I don't like to see bikers victimize all other bikers and condemn all car drivers. We aren't helpless, and we need to be responsible and not make it harder for car drivers to see us. Don't want to get killed? Then don't ride like this guy. It sounds harsher than I want it to be, but if I was on a ride with him I would wave him off into the distance and be on my merry way and hopefully home in one piece.

[algs26]

Speeding on public roads, there's always a risk
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=195383

[Finesse]

^cheers, I didnt see this

[Finesse]

Shame... I would fault the bike more than the car for this accident.

I will continue to stay far far away from people who show this level of irresponsibility and recklessness.

[cadd]

Originally Posted by Finesse

Shame... I would fault the bike more than the car for this accident.

I will continue to stay far far away from people who show this level of irresponsibility and recklessness.

+1. Sad, but I agree with your statement. He was really gambling out there. My question as I was watching the video was "what's the rush?" Where do you have to go that's so important that you can't arrive 5 mins later?

[Somchai]

RIP David.
But with respect let me make two remarks, the first from the riders view the car was turning to the left so why didn't he go to the opposite side?
And with the well known speed limit I think the driver of the car didn't (also couldn't) expect the rider to come that fast.
So please everybody out there take good care about yourself.

[algs26]

Police said the driver, who admitted not seeing Mr Holmes or the car travelling behind, was prosecuted in April.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-29064891

[Ducati999]

Bikers must realize that people judge their safety to turn by the gap in traffic based on speed. When turning you look down the road and see a vehicle 300 ft away and judge it safe for you to turn. When said vehicle turns out to be moving 2 or 3 times the speed of the surrounding traffic the turning driver does not realize the distance has to be double or triple. Add to that the fact of a motorcycles smaller size and ability to blend into the background and you can see the danger. I believe a bike needs to move faster than traffic most of the time for safety (if they dont they get forgotten and lost in blind spots) but anymore than 5-10 mph is reckless. Most everyone on a motorcycle has moments of recklessness exceeding the speed limits but we must always remember there is a time and a place. A heavily packed -high speed bi-directional highway with possible crossing traffic is a really bad place to go nearly twice the speed limit. I feel sorry for his family as they have to deal with the loss of their son/brother/friend but he made the decision to ride that way in that situation. The driver of the car shares about 10% of the blame for not properly assuring the lane was clear but i doubt most people would have seen him comming at that speed in the same situation. All riders need to understand WE ARE INVISIBLE OUT THERE!!!! The faster you ride the less time the average person (most likely distracted) has to not only see you but make the proper decision so you dont collide! Speed also limits your time to react, The car may make the mistake and pull out but why limit your ability to react. I am sorry this accident happened i just dont want others to make the same mistake. The streets are not a race track!

[snot]

Honestly, when I drive the cage I ALWAYS wait for the bike to pass. I NEVER turn in front of a bike because so much can change fast and it is a life at risk.
I do it so the car behind me doesn't try to beat the bike as well. I make sure I have plenty of room, if in doubt I don't go. Even cars are hard to judge sometimes, I would rather wait a few seconds vs risking an accident. I hope some day someone waits for me.

[corksil]

Didn't have a chance to watch the vid yet, but RIP.

From my perspective, riding a bike is a meditation. It's like going to the firing range. It is a very serious activity. That's not to say it's not highly enjoyable, but it's more lethal than anything else.

If your mind is elsewhere, if you're not focused, if you're thinking about something else, if you're tired. Don't Do IT. To me, it's that simple.

If you cannot dedicate 100% focus to controlling the lethal machine that you are holding between your hands, don't pick it up. Anyone can learn the basics of gun/bike safety -- but the bottom line is simple. If you cannot commit to 100% focus of the activity you are partaking in, don't partake in the activity. Some things allow you breathing room, like knitting. Or lawn darts. Or cooking. Some activities are forgiving, and if you mess up, you just get a poor result and it's on to the next thing.

Riding a bike is not one of those activities. YOU control the safety on the firearm, YOU control the machine, YOU decide how you handle it. Hopefully if you're lucky, you'll get one or two mix ups and not suffer the very serious consequences of having a mishap.

I think if people were to apply this same mindset to birth control, we wouldn't be living in an overpopulated world on a planet that is trying to evict us.

Be safe, everyone. Better yet, don't ride if you don't think you will be safe. It's not a contest, and it's not a race. Even if it were, the winner doesn't always get a trophy and a trophy wife. Sometimes the "winner" ends up under the wheels of a bus. I've lost two friends on bikes on the very street I live on.

[agentbad]

Maybe they will put a light there now. Being on reddit I've seen a lot worse but this still scares me because a SMIDSY can happen to anybody without warning speeding or not.

[Toly]

He was literally asking for trouble... It would have been far worse had he killed or crippled someone else with his stupidity.

[EternalNewb]

One of the things that's really striking in this video is the human element. Oftentimes, it is too easy to say "motorcyclist/driver was being stupid/overconfident/presumptuous," but here I got a sense of David being a stand-up guy who rode too quickly, and the shared responsibility of both motorbike and car drivers.

Oftentimes, when finding people to ride with, it's easy to let certain habits go if they're just really nice, fun people, but at the end of the day, this kind of reality check serves well to remind us to police our own riding habits. It's a difficult lesson, and at a high cost, but one can hope that many will take it to heart.

[akima]

Originally Posted by agentbad

Maybe they will put a light there now. Being on reddit I've seen a lot worse but this still scares me because a SMIDSY can happen to anybody without warning speeding or not.

Control freakery traffic lights aren't the solution. If they put one up for every road death/accident the roads would be more of a stop-start nightmare than they already are.

There's a greater problem in western society of adults not taking responsibility for themselves and owning their actions. Control freaks step in and try to save us from ourselves constantly. "You can't turn right there by yourself. You need a little light that tells you when it's safe so you don't have to pay-attention and decide for yourself."

There's no substitute for self-responsibility. I don't want to live in a world where everything is carefully controlled and I'm not aloud to act based on my own reasoning and judgement.

The driver shouldn't have pulled out. The rider shouldn't have been going that speed. If either one of them had been more responsible the rider would be alive and the driver wouldn't be mentally scared for life. Unfortunately they both experienced the tragic consequences of their failure to act responsibly.

[thisisbenji]

I feel it's hard to put blame on the driver in this scenario... 30 mph over the limit is pretty big. I'v had many a time when I'v pulled out from my driveway only to have have a car right on my ass. It's not that I didn't check traffic, it's that I live on a 45 mph road that people frequently do 70 mph down.

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by thisisbenji

I feel it's hard to put blame on the driver in this scenario... 30 mph over the limit is pretty big. I'v had many a time when I'v pulled out from my driveway only to have have a car right on my ass. It's not that I didn't check traffic, it's that I live on a 45 mph road that people frequently do 70 mph down.

same I live on a 50mph that people regularly do 80~ on, I straight up don't pull out unless it's clear or it's a semi-truck that I know is going slow

[subxero]

Originally Posted by Sirref

same I live on a 50mph that people regularly do 80~ on, I straight up don't pull out unless it's clear or it's a semi-truck that I know is going slow

apparently truck drivers where i live do not drive the same truck drivers where you live

[Finesse]

Originally Posted by Sirref

same I live on a 50mph that people regularly do 80~ on, I straight up don't pull out unless it's clear or it's a semi-truck that I know is going slow

Because pulling out in front of a truck is safer than pulling out in front of a car!

[Ninjinsky]

I friend of mine has lost his license for killing a biker by pulling out in his van BUT the biker was doing 110 in a 50 on a new CBR
My friend said the rider went from a quarter mile away to into his side in just the few seconds he took crossing the junction.
I know we reflexively defend the motorcyclist but there are usually two sides to things.

I haven't watched the vid yet because I have a 500 mile trip tomorrow and don't want to get spooked

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by subxero

apparently truck drivers where i live do not drive the same truck drivers where you live

pickup trucks are still moving but semi's have to slow down due to a few turns in either direction

[subxero]

i'm talking semi's and especially 20 ton coal trucks they don't stop for stop signs because they don't like to down shift and or stop completely and they do 100mph everywhere on back roads because the po po don't sit on those roads as much.

Its crazy

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by Ducati999

Bikers must realize that people judge their safety to turn by the gap in traffic based on speed. When turning you look down the road and see a vehicle 300 ft away and judge it safe for you to turn. When said vehicle turns out to be moving 2 or 3 times the speed of the surrounding traffic the turning driver does not realize the distance has to be double or triple. Add to that the fact of a motorcycles smaller size and ability to blend into the background and you can see the danger. I believe a bike needs to move faster than traffic most of the time for safety (if they dont they get forgotten and lost in blind spots) but anymore than 5-10 mph is reckless. Most everyone on a motorcycle has moments of recklessness exceeding the speed limits but we must always remember there is a time and a place. A heavily packed -high speed bi-directional highway with possible crossing traffic is a really bad place to go nearly twice the speed limit. I feel sorry for his family as they have to deal with the loss of their son/brother/friend but he made the decision to ride that way in that situation. The driver of the car shares about 10% of the blame for not properly assuring the lane was clear but i doubt most people would have seen him comming at that speed in the same situation. All riders need to understand WE ARE INVISIBLE OUT THERE!!!! The faster you ride the less time the average person (most likely distracted) has to not only see you but make the proper decision so you dont collide! Speed also limits your time to react, The car may make the mistake and pull out but why limit your ability to react. I am sorry this accident happened i just dont want others to make the same mistake. The streets are not a race track!

1.4x or so, not 2x to 3x the speed of surrounding traffic, it's a 60mph limit road so everyone moves about 60-75.

The dude ****ed up and paid the price, there was a sign advising the junction that proved his undoing, he passed it 5 Seconds before going over the bonnet of the car, in the meantime he took his hand off the bar. When he realised a crash was imminent he shouted 'no' or 'woah' a coupe of seconds before the crash but didn't do much to avoid it or minimise the damage.

I watched it probably a dozen times, I've done similar speeds on similar roads, and would rather learn from others mistakes than my own big difference is I roll off when I'm coming up to a junction. I ride one handed occasionally, but not if I'm pushing it on & have both hands on the bars when I'm approaching somewhere i sense possible trouble (that 6th sense keeps you alive) French style cocking the leg off the side works as a thanks if needs be

@akima if it's a national with a divider down the middle it's a 70 not a 60 road. Seems like enough ****ers think that they should sit at 60 in the overtaking lane on them

[agentbad]

Originally Posted by akima

Control freakery traffic lights aren't the solution. If they put one up for every road death/accident the roads would be more of a stop-start nightmare than they already are.

There's a greater problem in western society of adults not taking responsibility for themselves and owning their actions. Control freaks step in and try to save us from ourselves constantly. "You can't turn right there by yourself. You need a little light that tells you when it's safe so you don't have to pay-attention and decide for yourself."

There's no substitute for self-responsibility. I don't want to live in a world where everything is carefully controlled and I'm not aloud to act based on my own reasoning and judgement.

The driver shouldn't have pulled out. The rider shouldn't have been going that speed. If either one of them had been more responsible the rider would be alive and the driver wouldn't be mentally scared for life. Unfortunately they both experienced the tragic consequences of their failure to act responsibly.

Had there been a light there would he have died? Nothing wrong with some old school tech like a light or median to keep people safe.

[akima]

Originally Posted by agentbad

Had there been a light there would he have died?

You seriously making that argument? Had somene thrown a box of crayons at him as he left, it would have delayed him enough that he wouldn't have hit that car and he wouldn't have died.

Also: people die all the time at traffic lights; especially at intersections.

The problem was his riding and the cager's driving. They very sadly experienced the consequences of their poor decisions. Like @corksil said. They're both operating very dangerous machinery akin to a fire arm. They didn't perform the minimum necessary steps to ensure safe operation of that machinery. I wouldn't have been hit at that junction even if I passed it every day at rush hour. I make sure I'm going slow enough passing junctions like that, so I have time to stop if someone pulls out. I bring up my speed as soon as I've passed the junction.

If the control freaks put traffic lights up, all that will happen is poor drivers will kill/hurt themselves and others when they blow a red because they thought they'd make it or they didn't even notice it was red. The additional effect is that I will get higher fuel bills, stopping and starting, I'll get more frustration in my otherwise enjoyable riding and more of my time each day will be wasted.

[250rr]

Originally Posted by akima

There's a greater problem in western society of adults not taking responsibility for themselves and owning their actions. Control freaks step in and try to save us from ourselves constantly. "You can't turn right there by yourself. You need a little light that tells you when it's safe so you don't have to pay-attention and decide for yourself."

There's no substitute for self-responsibility. I don't want to live in a world where everything is carefully controlled and I'm not aloud to act based on my own reasoning and judgement.

This is the best post I have seen in a year. Way to go, Akima.

[akima]

@agentbad Sorry. I think I'm over-reacting to your light suggestion. It just seems sometimes like every tragedy becomes an excuse for politicians and the like, to restrict and control our lives. Not so long ago they made an effort in Europe to get all bikers dressed in compulsory high-viz jackets. They failed thankfully, but they never stop trying.

@250rr thanks

[agentbad]

And as always, England prevails.

[lgk]

even if he was going 45mph, it still would have been tough to swerve out of the path of the car.

The only way avoid that type of crash is if the rider increases visibility of himself by doing some weaving. If visibility or conditions are too adverse slow down and use other cars as cover or pull over.

[indomie]

man....that was hard to watch. RIP.

[NevadaWolf]

It's been six days and that video has had 12 million views. I really hope that those folks watching, whether they are on a bike or in a car/truck, are taking the right message away to be careful, pay attention, and never become complacent on the road.