Whoa!!! Motorcycle accident on camera

[slotter]

Incredible video of a lady who was experimenting with a helmet camera and was involved in an accident and was able to record the entire event. As a rider myself, this sort of thing is very instructional.

Here is the video: http://www.aron.org/Accident20060210.wmv

And, here is her website and thread where she is the Administrator of the forum. What a cool woman! Fascinating and very informative and interesting (for sure for anyone who rides) to read through this thread.

http://socalsportbikes.info/xmb/view...d=34948&page=1

[luckydog]

The guy jammed on his brakes for no reason and slid into her lane and said she hit him

That's one reason I quit riding

[slotter]

I've ridden for many years and there is risk in all we do. She did her best, but there was really no exit route in this case. Some said she should have gone to the left, but she had a mere 2 seconds from the time it developed until she hit. The car to her right pinned her in. If that car had kept going forward, she could have missed it by veering to the right and sliding by. She has 200,000 miles riding and is a smart and tough lady. She wore top notch equipment, and that helped to save her, along with her excellent riding skills.

Believe or not, that guy who caused this claimed SHE was the one that veered into him -- until he found out that she had it all recorded.

[chrisg]

Seconds 30 through 33 were particularly informative.

[johntofva]

I am sorry guys.....I am having trouble with this one. The car on the left purposely performed that move. I don't see it as an accident. Why he did it is up to the courts. But after watching it 10 times, I truly believe he meant to do it.

Seconds 30 through 33 were particularly informative.

LOL......Now how did I miss that..................

[dattia]

Do you think the whole thing was staged?

[slotter]

Absolutely not staged, Dawn. The woman who had the camera is a big time rider and if you go to her forums, you'll see it was legit. It was a coincidence that she happened to even have the camera when this occurred.

[Tulsa]

Damn nice cleavage. I have got to get one of those cameras!

[dattia]

I don't think so either, I was wondering if that was John's take on it as he is convinced that the driver of the car did that intentionally...that would change the dynamic of the whole incident. Scary stuff, just reinforced why I have a fit every time my husband mentions getting a bike.

[Lazarus]

The cleavage would have been better if the footage wasn't getting underexposed from the sun!

[clau]

Thanks for sharing this video. I can't count how many times I have had to perform an evasive maneuver to avoid being hit by a car or truck that either didn't see me or didn't care that I was there. I swear that some 4-wheel drivers think it's funny to "play" with motorcycles. This video also confirms the advice we all hear "wear proper gear when riding".

Thanks again!

[johntofva]

She may not be in on it.....But I truly believe that the guy in the car purposely performed that move. There is no other reason for the timing of his stunt. He wasn't that close to the car in front of him.

[Tulsa]

I have to agree. There was no reason for that car to hit it's breaks and turn right into her like that. Nothing else was happening, pavement was dry, sunny day, yeah this was staged.

[slotter]

The guy in front of him hit his brakes first. He was probably on a cell phone (read the site) and looked up and likely panicked and slammed on his brakes because he wasn't paying attention. That is what caused his car to lose it and start to spin, trapping the motorcyclist.

No, this wasn't staged. If you take the time to go read the site of the person involved, you will see that. This certainly was not staged. Law enforcement and much more are involved. If you think it staged read the site linked above and you'll change your mind.

Read through this: http://socalsportbikes.info/xmb/view...d=34948&page=1

[Tulsa]

That car in front did not break when the back car hit it's breaks.

[luckydog]

Tulsa is right the car was well in front when the second car hit the brakes.

There was no reason to hit the brakes.

[slotter]

A couple of posts from the rider:

Thank you everyone

I think I did good in this incident. Considering that usually when you hear about a car losing control on the freeway like this and striking a motorcyclist - the motorcyclist dies.

The people that say I didn't react don't bother me because they can't even interpret a video clearing presenting the evidence. All you have to do is expand the video to full screen and watch my shadow and lane position to see that I did exactly what I've outlined in this thread that I did. I swerved and at the last moment, I stood the bike back up and braked hard. It's all there on tape.

Those who say I didn't react properly...well, until they have video proof that they can go through what I've gone through and come out of it as well as I have...I don't think they have much grounds upon which to talk. Yeah...we all wish we could do better...but when you're actually in it - that's the true test...and I've seen that those who have the biggest mouths usually fail most miserably. I came out of this better than most people would have, so I don't know what their judgement is based off of.

Everyone can agree that this incident ocurred very quickly, very unpredictably, and could have been fatal. Yet I came out of this better than anyone would have ever hoped and with video proof of my innocence. Everything that I *could* have controlled in this case - I did control. And that's why this is not a thread about "Honda loses control and kills motorcyclist on freeway", or a thread about me whining about how the guy is lying, I have no proof, he has no insurance, and now I'm gonna get screwed...oh bwawawaa...life is so unfair.

And I think I've addressed the whole "Lucky" issue.... Shiet...I'm not lucky. I've been put through more hardships and tests than anyone else I know. I'm not special in any way, I'm just the average person - and I'm definitely not lucky! I just try to learn from my mistakes - mistakes that I make plenty of...and be prepared to never make them again. Like I said before - Luck is what happens when Preparation Meets Opportunity. It wasn't luck that I was wearing all my gear. It wasn't luck that I have video proof. It wasn't luck that I'm not dead or maimed. A lot of hard work was put into making all of this possible...and if it can work for me, it can work for anyone.


I posted this vid to hopefully shed some light to fellow motorcyclists and motorists of the very real dangers out there on the road. It is said that smart people learn from their mistakes, wise ones learn from others mistakes. I hope to pass my mistake along to others in hopes that you all can learn from it without ever having to face a situation like this yourselves...but if you do...maybe this experience shares will enable you to fare better than I.

In all my experience - I've never had a car lose control like this and place me in this kind of danger. I was inexperienced in this area and this led to some mistakes - I'll share my thoughts in hopes it will help others.

I think my biggest mistake was thinking that I could "watch to see what the car would do and then react accordingly". This is my typical response in a dangerous situation - I analyze the situation and make a decision accordingly. In this case, I think now, I should have just gotten the hell out of there. Once the situation proved to be VERY bad - I didn't have enough time to make it to my exit. Some people criticize that I didn't give myself enough exits - bull****. Take another look at the vid - I had plenty of room between myself and everyone else around me. I had plenty of exits - but when the Sheit hit the fan, those exits were taken away faster than I thought they would be.

Some criticize that I was not aware of my surroundings...take another look at the vid - I backed off the throttle BEFORE anything ever happened that could be seen. This is due to "instinct" or a "feeling of forewarning"...whatever it was - I recognized it for what it was and listened.

Some say that I *obviously* should have gone Left instead of Right. I'd say ask yourself these questions:
Did you know which way the car was going to go? And once it was apparent the car was going to the right, did you KNOW the car would not be going Left again? Did you know exactly the rate at which he'd be spinning his car around? Do you really want direct your momentum towards the center median of a freeway with the chance that you could get hit and thrown onto the other side of the freeway - to be hit by oncoming freeway traffic travelling at full speed? When danger is identified - do you automatically think to go towards the danger or away from it?

If after answering all these questions - your answer is still "I'd have gone Left" - then ok...now I'll know the answer to the question- "Why'd that rider turn left right into the car going out of control?!!"

Some say that I obviously should have just braked hard and come to a stop - I have an R1 that has incredible braking power - why didn't I use it?

Yes, the R1 has incredible braking power - and I have the experience to use it...but I knew I was only about 10 carlengths in front of the cars behind me. At the beginning of the vid, you hear me accelerate - this is because I had just broken away from a pack of stop-n-go traffic and had hit a little clearing. I was accelerating to put space between me and the pack behind me, but I knew that whole pack would be accelerating as well as soon as they hit that clearing as well. Now. Considering the skill level of the average driver and the average car out there - how much do you want to bet that if I had used the full braking power of my R1 - that the pack of cars behind me would have been able to stop in time as well and not just run me over? Also - when does it become apparent to you that you need to STOP on the freeway? Just because a car locks up his brakes does not necessarily mean it's going to spin 180 in your lane. I've seen MANY cars lock up their brakes - and usually, they just skid in their own lane. No big deal - and everyone else just keeps going. If that was the case and you had chosen to immediately STOP - you could very well be the only one - and probably get run over too for your trouble.

I swerved and scrubbed off speed, heading to the right, away from the danger. I saw an opening and went for it - and got t-boned for my effort. I think if my immediate reaction would have been to just get away for no other reason that what I now know *could* happen, I would have fared better. Instead, I tried to remain calm and analyze the situation rationally. Next time, I'll still remain calm and rational - I always am - but I just won't try to analyze and predict a situation that I now know could very possibly be one that is so out of control to be impossible to analyze and predict.

Well, those are my thoughts on what I've learnt from this experience. Please feel free to comment as you will. I do want others to learn from all this. I do want everyone out there to be as safe as possible...and I hope this helps.<!--Begin Template: viewthread_post_sig -->

[johntofva]

Thanks for posting that Don. I had read a lot of her comments on her forum page. I am really not questioning her motive. Only the motive of the person driving the car.........

[slotter]

Heck, I have no clue what the fool did in front of her and that really isn't the relevant thing here. Someone did say that he might have been braking because someone in front of him was doing so. Perhaps, the idiot was on drugs and just thought it might be fun to slam on his brakes and see what would happen? Maybe, he thought he could get in an accident and make some money by suing? He DID get out of his car and talk on a cell phone before checking to see if he killed the girl, and that was verified by people on the scene. And, he did claim SHE swerved into him to the cops at the scene. (Uh, too bad she happened to be recording, so that will not fly...)

I guess we can all make our own conclusions.

I salute this woman. I like her attitude and I like her moxie. And anyhow, I like the lessons that can be learned by the rest of us from her experience.

And, it wasn't staged.

[luckydog]

If you review the video, his front wheels are turned to the right, iyou should turn in the opposite direction of your skid. not turn into it.