A grim topic...

A little while ago in the UK, this video was doing the rounds, posted by the police constabulary local to the incident in aid of a road safety campaign. maybe the guys in britain who use this site like me will have seen it, although I guess as the majority of you guys are in the states you will not have.

I only post this because I am curious to see what the opinion is among riders on the circumstances of the crash. The guy was wearing a helmet-cam and his family agreed to the use of the footage for the safety campaign. He was recorded as having been at 97mph at the point of crash, so although the driver in question should obviously not have turned, there was some contention about their subsequent legal conviction as a result of his death.

I have my own thoughts on this, but as I've heard a few dissenting views I thought I would see what others thought.

A word of warning before you click- It's a pretty difficult thing to see and if you're anything like me you will find it painful to watch...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq2xStb0R-c

 

This was posted some time ago and I regret having seen it.

 

^ Saw it too, :rip:

 

I know that people sometimes need a visual aid to get the point across, but this video was pretty sickening. Saw it the first time around. Never watching again.

 

I think I had my say on the original post. I do give kuddos to the family for sharing this though. It must be hard for them.

 

You ride at those speeds, and we have all done it at some stage, you know if something goes wrong, and in this case I don't believe the driver was at fault, you are going to come unstuck big time. Driver turning right has no way of expecting a motorcycle to be coming at him at that speed, at that speed he covers a massive distance in a couple of seconds

 

There is a time and place for going fast and that certainly wasn't it. The rider exercised very poor judgement riding like that on a busy motorway and he paid the ultimate price. While I feel somewhat bad for the rider and his family I am glad that he didn't kill some innocent bystander who was minding his own business completely unaware that some moron would be plowing toward him at that speed. Sorry if it sounds harsh but if you want to play be ready to pay.

 

Agreed for the most part. BUT! Before you turn across traffic, you must, MUST, do so after yielding to oncoming traffic. Regardless of their speed. Look at what is on coming. Judge whether you can cut across its path without becoming involved in a collision. If you are inable to make such judgements, then it is time to hand in your driver's licence and hang up the keys. Let someone else drive, or take transit.

 

Randy nobody can judge the speed of an on coming vehicle at that sort of speed, he hit at 97 mph, who knows what speed was he doing before he grabbed the brake, thing was probably half a mile away when the car started to make the turn, I feel for the car driver, poor bastard

 

Certainly if someone was to be prudent and look at a fast approaching bike and see it was travelling at a very high rate of speed, they would take a second look and wait . I also feel for all involved, but car driver shares fault. 1/3 of my previous career was spent traffic accident investigation roll. Though 97 mph is very fast, car driver should have seen it was fast approaching. I am not excusing the bike rider. I am saying the car driver played part.

 

Randy, you are right, by law the car driver is at fault, but I still say a missile coming at you at 150mph is not something the average driver could be expected to anticipate

 

The driver made a mistake that proved fatal for the rider, but honestly that is not a 100-MPH road.







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Seems we are not going to totally agree here. That's fine. Your opinion is respected. But if and when you visit the United Federal Republic of Randy, you are required to agree with me. Failure to do so may result in sudden drowning in 18 year old single malt.

 

The tach and speedo are both in view that will indicate the velocity of the bike. There are some missing bit to be sure. The guy was going way too fast for the conditions even at some below the ton. To lay total blame on the driver of the car is BS. What needs to be public to really know, is the actual police automotive fatality report and even that with some skepticism since they were not there either except ex post facto.

 

To be fair, the police may not have viewed the vid in regard to charges being laid, but then again as Randy says the law is the law, even if we can see it is wrong and can watch in slow motion

 

I would understand placing the blame on the motorcycle 100% but the problem the car driver had a clear line of sight for well over a quarter mile. I know the bike was going really fast but even from a quarter mile away I can tell if a bike is flying towards me and can make the decision to abort the turn.

Think of it this way, what if instead of a biker flying it was a police officer racing to an emergency? Would you then blame it all on the officer or the car driver?

 

The driver did not move across the lane with alacrity. The driver shares fault. But 100 MPH on that road? Very poor judgment!

 

Tossing numbers around that are uncertain at best to justify a "what if " scenario is BS.

The guy was on it and going way too fast for the conditions and he bought the farm. Take another look at what his mom says, therein the message to us all.

 

Way too many "what if's" in this one. Just one...If the cop was on a bike "racing to an emergency" It would be on a police bike equipped with police equipment and likely not going that fast.

Just for the sake of what if, the driver of the car was drunk or stoned or 90 years old.

 

Billy it is the "what if's" that come into play every day you ride a motorcycle on public roads, every inch of the road can have a "what if" situation, problem is with high speed the "what if's " multiply rapidly