Very Close Call on a Roundabout

[akima]

Link to original page on YouTube.

Always be vigilant.

There are dozy and distracted drivers everywhere literally queueing up in line to kill or maim you.

I think the rider did great considering he didn't freeze up, he reacted quickly and successfully dodged the cage. I did notice though that he used his weight to swerve and turned the bars in the direction he wanted to go. He was riding at a relatively low speed and it's a light 125 bike by the look of. A heavier bike and a bit more speed and I expect that steering technique would have had little effect at all.

I think the rider would do well to practice counter-steering as an avoidance manoeuvre. Had he counter-steered in this situation I think he could have initiated the turn sooner and turned further, thus putting more distance between himself and the cage and decreasing the chance of a collision.

Edit: I just noticed that the rider only seems cancel his turning left indicator when he's already on the roundabout. It's possible the cager saw his indicator still engaged and judge that the rider was turning left, instead of going straight. If the driver was looking left to check for oncoming cars then that would explain their slow/non-existent reaction times.

[Mountain Dew]

Looks like the driver just straight rolled through a stop sign?

[akima]

Originally Posted by Mountain Dew

Looks like the driver just straight rolled through a stop sign?

I don't think there would be a stop sign there. I don't think I've ever seen a stop sign before a roundabout in the UK. Sometimes there are traffic lights controlling access to the roundabout. The driver was supposed to give way to the right.

[CZroe]

You normally only stop if you have to yield. It's kinda the point of a round about. Anyway, despite their positions they almost entered at the same time. Was the driver trying to go the wrong way around or was he doing the to avoid a collision?

[akima]

Originally Posted by CZroe

Was the driver trying to go the wrong way around or was he doing the to avoid a collision?

Both the cager and the rider were on the correct side of the road and going the correct way around the roundabout. We drive on the left and go clockwise around roundabouts.

I've watched this video so many times now. That rider was so lucky. That could have been nasty. I'm nit picking with my steering comments; really, the guy did great.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by akima

Both the cager and the rider were on the correct side of the road and going the correct way around the roundabout. We drive on the left and go clockwise around roundabouts.

I've watched this video so many times now. That rider was so lucky. That could have been nasty. I'm nit picking with my steering comments; really, the guy did great.

I know, but when the bike is next to it the cager appears to start turning right (anti-clockwise) unless that's just an illusion caused by the fisheye lens.

Psst: we call anti-clockwise counter-clockwise here.

[akima]

Originally Posted by CZroe

Psst: we call anti-clockwise counter-clockwise here.

"Counter" sounds better. "Anti" sounds like not only do you want to do the opposite of "clockwise", but you're actually against going clockwise. Anti-gun, anti-abortion, anti-clockwise.

The Brits have it wrong!

[Mountain Dew]

You're right. Looking back at it I see the top sign is a yield. What's the bottom sign? That's the one that looked like an octagonal sign.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Mountain Dew

..........What's the bottom sign? That's the one that looked like an octagonal sign.

That roundabout looks dangerously small.
I have not seen one that small and with no central curbs here in US.

That situation seems very similar to the typical left turner blocking a motorcycle path.

And I agree with Akima, he was too slow to understand the situation and to react.

[akima]

Originally Posted by Motofool

That roundabout looks dangerously small.
I have not seen one that small and with no central curbs here in US.

That situation seems very similar to the typical left turner blocking a motorcycle path.

We call them mini roundabouts. They're special! There's a few extra advisements we're given about them. It's recommended that you don't use them to do a u-turn, however it's not illegal to do so. You're supposed to curve around it rather than take a b-line for your exit, but most people just tend to take a b-line (self-included). They don't have curbs in the centre of them - just paint (which can be a nightmare when it's wet).

Originally Posted by Motofool

And I agree with Akima, he was too slow to understand the situation and to react.

I didn't actually think the rider was slow to react. I thought he reacted quickly, just that he didn't react perfectly. It looked like he wasn't well practised at quick avoidance manoeuvres. It looked to me like, when he did notice the car rolling towards him, he used his weight and the wrong inputs to turn the bike, and thus the bike didn't move much.

Do you disagree? I'd love to hear what you think he could have done better in that whole scenario. I like to think about and learn from these crash/near-miss videos so I don't have to learn from my own mistakes.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by akima

...........I didn't actually think the rider was slow to react. I thought he reacted quickly, just that he didn't react perfectly. It looked like he wasn't well practised at quick avoidance manoeuvres. It looked to me like, when he did notice the car rolling towards him, he used his weight and the wrong inputs to turn the bike, and thus the bike didn't move much......

The response to your questions can be found here:
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/show...933#post681933