David

Very sobering video. A tragic loss. It's easy to say "should have been going slower" but I'm sure most of us have used the throttle a tad too much in the wrong places in our motorcycling careers.

I'm attending a BikeSafe course next week, not off the back of this video, but I'm certainly looking forward to taking on board what the Police have to say and learning from some experienced motorcyclists.
 
DangerMoose said:
How far away was the car? He was overtaking them at speed and may have been far enough away that he would have been difficult to spot, when the driver began his maneuver. The car would presumably then have been even further out and likely posed no danger to them turning anyway so I'm not sure that too much should be read into them failing to spot the car as well.
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The driver has been prosecuted and hit with a fairly hefty sentence, so it seems the judiciary don't share your views.
 
Woogie said:
This looks to be the location of the accident but I may be wrong.


It is 5 seconds after he overtakes before he hits the car which at 90 odd MPH is some distance that can be covered so I am not surprised that the car was far enough away to not register or be seen.
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You can see the car going into the junction as he overtakes the last car.

If you look at the line of traffic you can just see a grey smudge sticking out, that's the car pulling into the turning part of the road. Bear in mind human eyesight is better than a gopro video on youtube. He's what, 100m from the junction? The car driver should have been able to see both bike and car.

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ElliorR said:
Do we need to watch the recent beheading videos so we don't be as stupid and behead someone?
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Yes. To remind ourselves that there are these barbatic people in this world that needs purging from existing and never allow yourself to be in a position where you can be caught, otherwords stop going to these countries where capture and death isn't just a risk, but a very high possibility.
 
One said:
You can see the car going into the junction as he overtakes the last car.

If you look at the line of traffic you can just see a grey smudge sticking out, that's the car pulling into the turning part of the road. Bear in mind human eyesight is better than a gopro video on youtube. He's what, 100m from the junction? The car driver should have been able to see both bike and car.
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Even if he saw the car or not, the car turning would had safety made the turn well before the car reached the junction but then again, the car wasn't going 100mph like the biker. :rolleyes:
 
Dogbreath said:
The driver has been prosecuted and hit with a fairly hefty sentence, so it seems the judiciary don't share your views.
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What, you mean my opinion does not shape the landscape of the British criminal justice system? The outrage! THE OUTRAGE!!!! DO THEY NOT KNOW WHO I AM?!?!?!?!?!?! :mad:

:Deep breaths:

Anyhoo, in other news, having watched it again and learnt a bit more about factors such as eyewitness accounts, I am inclined to change that view somewhat. As I said in the other thread, it does seem clear that the driver should have seen the bike at least, regardless of whether or not they should have spotted the cars further down the road. Hell, if I actually saw a bike bearing down on me at 100mph, that might just draw the eye to the exclusion of other factors anyway. But the video shows clear line of sight to the car, from he helmet cam, whilst the bike was still at quite a distance. The car did not start to move until the bike was pretty close and should have been clearly visible. So yeah, the driver screwed up. This I cannot deny.

On the other hand, I'm still inclined to blame the rider more. They wilfully rode in a reckless manner, at a silly speed for the road and circumstances. The driver had what might have been a momentary lapse in concentration, which may or may not have been typical of their driving skills. Still, I'm not sure whether or not the driver deserved their sentence but it would be hard to punish the rider any more than they already have been.
 
spoffle said:
Well that's not really comparable now is it?
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It makes as much sense as what he said. Does anyone who rides a bike need to see that video to not ride stupidly? No they don't as most people who ride bikes ride sensibly. I haven't seen it and I ride sensibly. I don't overtake near junctions or ride along at 100mph. We're all responsible for our actions and it's a shame he paid that price for his.
 
IronWarrior said:
Even if he saw the car or not, the car turning would had safety made the turn well before the car reached the junction but then again, the car wasn't going 100mph like the biker. :rolleyes:
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I'm not saying the biker shouldn't slow down, it's a shame he didn't, I'm simply saying the driver was not paying much attention. It will have been a quick glance into the distance without full concentration, he won't have seen anything big to make him take a proper look so just started to turn. Had he stopped for a second made a conscious effort to look up the road he probably would have seen the bike and waited and probably could have gestured to the biker to slow down.

Ironically though if the biker had increased his speed then he would have got past the junction before the car driver even got into the turning section.
 
Scary stuff. To think that I often do 100+ on my way to and from work ... I know the risks, I guess that's kind of why I do it. It's a thrill.

Scary.
 
One said:
I'm not saying the biker shouldn't slow down, it's a shame he didn't, I'm simply saying the driver was not paying much attention. It will have been a quick glance into the distance without full concentration, he won't have seen anything big to make him take a proper look so just started to turn. Had he stopped for a second made a conscious effort to look up the road he probably would have seen the bike and waited and probably could have gestured to the biker to slow down.

Ironically though if the biker had increased his speed then he would have got past the junction before the car driver even got into the turning section.
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I would bet the driver did look up the road for any oncoming traffic but still could had missed the biker.

Also, I don't think the biker could had slowed down enough if the driver of the car made any sort of "gesture" for him to slow down. By the time he overtook the last car and passed the "SLOW" written on the road, it was too late. If anything in hindsight, he could had turned right to try to overtake the car but he turned left as the car was turning that direction too, he could had also thrown himself off the bike but that's in hindsight too and I think the outcome would had still been the same if not worst.

Don't think we need to debate this anymore to be honest, people need to obey the speed limits, they are there for a reason.
 
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I recall doing very fast speeds (a lot more than what this guy did - I'm pretty sure a lot of bikers in here have done crazy speeds as well, so not a willy waving thing. 100mph was fairly common on an A road really) on a somewhat straight B road with various side junctions, the day before I sold my last bike in 2009. Overtaking a friend and then we kept going.

Shamed today thinking about it because I know I could easily have killed anyone who would have come out from a side junction, let alone wrecking my family's lives with my splattered body.

Anytime I think of buying a bike again, I think of that moment and catch myself on.

I feel for the biker's family. I feel for the driver of the car because they didn't expect to go out that day and for this to happen. Just one of those things they will take to their grave.

Don't know why I'm posting this - I just couldn't get this accident out of my head all day.
 
SPARC said:
Scary stuff. To think that I often do 100+ on my way to and from work ... I know the risks, I guess that's kind of why I do it. It's a thrill.

Scary.
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but do you do stupid speeds on roads like in the video, even past the junctions?
Not going to criticise his speed in general as I do stupid speeds on my bike, when I feel the roads are suited for it and always slow down near junctions etc.
The guy was 38, should have had a bit more common sense really.
 
Rossmac said:
Don't know why I'm posting this - I just couldn't get this accident out of my head all day.
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I couldn't stop thinking about it either. Even watching the video and knowing what is about to happen, I still have about the same reaction time as this fella. He had no chance at those speeds.

I've been lucky a few times and in my short 2 years riding i've never had an off. I think I might calm down a bit now and think a bit more.
 
metamorphpwner said:
but do you do stupid speeds on roads like in the video, even past the junctions?
Not going to criticise his speed in general as I do stupid speeds on my bike, when I feel the roads are suited for it and always slow down near junctions etc.
The guy was 38, should have had a bit more common sense really.
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Yes :( mostly at weekends on fun runs with my mate. Commuting, it's a few A roads and quiet streets.

I'll need to cut it out.
 
I;m not getting involved, ut he was riding too fast got caught out, he made a mistake and within a second he's dead... for that alone and the loss at least it serves us up a reminder just when we start getting silly out there... horric that and such a shame... really is...
 
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