tugglesf239
Journeyman Pro
"Sorry mate, i didn't see you"
Hard Hitting Motorbike Video
- Thread starter NorfolkShaun
- Start date
"Sorry mate, i didn't see you"
ColchesterFC
Journeyman Pro
OK cheers.
Seems a bit of a flippant comment for an incident in which someone died. But that's just my opinion.
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
It's a well known and used term amongst cyclists and motorcyclists to vent frustration at motorists who fail to take proper observation before making a manoeuvre. I was certainly not being flippant.
http://youtu.be/masAsJeyIVQ
ColchesterFC
Journeyman Pro
Ah ok. Cheers for the info. I've never been a biker and have only ever been an occasional cyclist so wasn't aware that it is a commonly used term.
Smiffy
Grand Slam Winner
I used to ride bikes a lot, up until about 3 or 4 years ago when I lost a very good friend in an accident and that finally persuaded me to give it up.
I had one of the most powerful bikes you could buy (middle aged crisis?) and certainly took liberties with it. Once or twice I came close to accidents where I took chances that maybe I wouldn't have done on my previous, lesser powerful bikes.
Terrible video to watch, and I feel for both the driver of the car and obviously the deceased rider, but he really didn't give himself much of a chance travelling at that speed on a road like that.
As for "did he have his lights on?"....he may well have done, but a combination of lack of total concentration and underestimating the closing speed of the two vehicles saw him done for.
Whenever I rode my bike, I always had coloured headlamp covers over my lights....in my case they were always purple. I took them off at night obviously.
My thinking behind this was that anybody seeing me coming towards them would see the purple lights and if it made them stop and think "what the hell is that?" then that could be the difference between them pulling out in front of me or not. When I used to go on bike rides with my mates, even in a line of 20 or so bikes, the guys in front knew exactly where "Smiffy" was as they could see me standing out from all the other bikes in their mirrors.
A possible life saver.
I had one of the most powerful bikes you could buy (middle aged crisis?) and certainly took liberties with it. Once or twice I came close to accidents where I took chances that maybe I wouldn't have done on my previous, lesser powerful bikes.
Terrible video to watch, and I feel for both the driver of the car and obviously the deceased rider, but he really didn't give himself much of a chance travelling at that speed on a road like that.
As for "did he have his lights on?"....he may well have done, but a combination of lack of total concentration and underestimating the closing speed of the two vehicles saw him done for.
Whenever I rode my bike, I always had coloured headlamp covers over my lights....in my case they were always purple. I took them off at night obviously.
My thinking behind this was that anybody seeing me coming towards them would see the purple lights and if it made them stop and think "what the hell is that?" then that could be the difference between them pulling out in front of me or not. When I used to go on bike rides with my mates, even in a line of 20 or so bikes, the guys in front knew exactly where "Smiffy" was as they could see me standing out from all the other bikes in their mirrors.
A possible life saver.
Hacker Khan
Yurt Dwelling, Yoghurt Knitter
Bad driving on both sides with tragic consequences.
May be a bit of 'there for the grace of God' on the car drivers part. I'd like to think I'd of seen the motorcyclist, but there has definitely been a couple of times where I've had to double check when doing something like that as the pillar in my car between the windscreen and the side of the car is quite wide. And it's easy to not see something if you are just giving it a split second look, especially if someone on a bike is doing nearly a 100.
May be a bit of 'there for the grace of God' on the car drivers part. I'd like to think I'd of seen the motorcyclist, but there has definitely been a couple of times where I've had to double check when doing something like that as the pillar in my car between the windscreen and the side of the car is quite wide. And it's easy to not see something if you are just giving it a split second look, especially if someone on a bike is doing nearly a 100.
anotherdouble
Journeyman Pro
If you read everything under the video it also says the driver has no recollection of seeing the car following the bike either so it may be that the speed theoretically had nothing to do with this just plain bad driving.
JustOne
Ryder Cup Winner
I have no sympathy for the rider at all. See it all too often. One less on the road.
I don't think I've ever met someone with a high powered bike who didn't consistently break the law.
Feel sorry for the car driver.
I don't think I've ever met someone with a high powered bike who didn't consistently break the law.
Feel sorry for the car driver.
Hacker Khan
Yurt Dwelling, Yoghurt Knitter
The other thing I find very strange is why would you video yourself breaking the speed limit by so much? If you get caught doing those speeds then surely it's an instant ban, so why gather evidence to convict yourself? Weird.
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
Two road users break the law and you have no sympathy for the one who died yet feel sorry for the one who lived? Perverse.
JustOne
Ryder Cup Winner
If the guy on the bike had hit a mother and pram would you feel different?
The guy was breaking the law, it's that simple, it was an accident waiting to happen. Filming himself doing it makes it even worse.
Even on a motorway 97mph is reckless, on a busy road with junctions like that it's verging on suicide.
(several of my family ride high powered bikes - all have had bad accidents, all ride like idiots, I'd feel no sympathy if it happened to them either).
The guy was breaking the law, it's that simple, it was an accident waiting to happen. Filming himself doing it makes it even worse.
Even on a motorway 97mph is reckless, on a busy road with junctions like that it's verging on suicide.
(several of my family ride high powered bikes - all have had bad accidents, all ride like idiots, I'd feel no sympathy if it happened to them either).
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FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
Not defending the biker in any way, shape or form. Just can't understand the outpouring of sympathy for a car driver who also broke the law and survived (Was he uninjured even?)
JustOne
Ryder Cup Winner
Because he's got to live with the fact that someone died across the bonnet of his car, someone that possibly wouldn't have died if they'd been doing 50 instead of 97.
This isn't a 'fender bender'....
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
Or someone that might have lived if he'd been driving with proper care and attention and taken proper observation before turning into the path of another vehicle. He needs to have that on his conscience and I hope that video makes all other car drivers take stock of how they drive but it looks like everyone is just blaming the biker whose bad riding is only a part of the story here and who paid a much higher price.
JustOne
Ryder Cup Winner
I don't see it that way. You're entitled to your opinion (of course)
Here he is overtaking at 97mph coming to the junction side by side with a car on a road with chevron seperation, the crash was 4 seconds later.
If you consider this 'visible' then that's up to you.
Kudos to the Mother for putting up the vid, if it makes only one motorcyclist think about riding a bit safer then perhaps the guys death wasn't a total waste.
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FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
I don't see it that way. You're entitled to your opinion (of course)
Here he is overtaking at 97mph coming to the junction side by side with a car on a road with chevron seperation, the crash was 4 seconds later.
If you consider this 'visible' then that's up to you.
Kudos to the Mother for putting up the vid, if it makes only one motorcyclist think about riding a bit safer then perhaps the guys death wasn't a total waste.
It's not an opinion, it was the decision of a court.
Agree about hoping the video changes motorcyclists behaviour but, as I said, that is only part of the story and only part of the reason to release the video. A shame you and other car drivers aren't prepared to take it on board.
JustOne
Ryder Cup Winner
My sympathy is with the driver of the car, his proportion of guilt as determined by a court isn't my concern, although that said I believe him to have been hard done by.
D
Deleted member 18588
Guest
FD,
You must appreciate that many on this forum think that car drivers can do no wrong and some even believe it is OK to text whilst driving.
Speaking as an ex-biker I can only agree that the rider was a complete idiot, we've all seen them round here being close to both Mallory Park & Donington, and contributed greatly to the accident.
But for God's sake this car driver, by his own admission, also failed to see the car shown in the video being overtaken by the bike.
With that level of attention deficit the car driver was, just like the biker, a terrible accident waiting to happen and was rightly convicted.
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
Thanks MM - that is exactly my point.
I have had too many near misses of this nature that were only avoided by my own awareness, anticipation and skill. Find it hard to believe anyone can condone such poor driving.
I have had too many near misses of this nature that were only avoided by my own awareness, anticipation and skill. Find it hard to believe anyone can condone such poor driving.
JustOne
Ryder Cup Winner
I don't think you even NEED to see the car, you look up and there is enough clear road for you to make your manoeuvre, and you do so. I've made countless journeys where I can't directly remember how I got to my destination.
That aside, if a biker stoved into my bonnet I doubt I'd remember what my middle name is!
Only a biker would think that the car driver was mostly to blame, even at 97mph so it seems.
