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Its all YOUR fault,.........first.

Very very lucky timing on that one. All and strictly the car driver's fault? Sure, but again, consider what the rider did just before the issue that got the bike that close to the car.

Here may be a case where, if the rider saw anything odd developing ahead, even two lanes over to the right. Prepare, and quite often the best option is to slow way down and let things develop ahead. Very lucky on this one that the car bike timing was a success. Looked to me though like the brake light was still on the bike as it moved past the car bumper. Lots of luck on that video!

I'm not saying it's possible to foresee everything and, but I stress its about the attitude of awareness and readiness, rather than "some things you can't do anything about" and taking whatever comes your way. Simply because of our exposure, we HAVE to be so much more aware and capable at all times.
 
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Thanks for bringing this up as the new rididng season starts Andy and others.
I have been out a few times amongst the rain and wind storms and noticed myself noticing how fast 100 kmh seems.
Good clue that my situational twitch has atrophied some.
 
I almost spewed my Manhattan last night watching the late shows. In Wisconsin we have a local law firm, Hupey and Abraham, which feature people/clients claiming how Hupey helped them get a huge settlement on their injury claims. I'm all for good legal representation, especially when I know I have been unjustly wronged. But this goes to my attitude of me doing all I can to ride my best always.

These ambulance chasers also feature many commerials claiming to support "the rights of bikers" in accident claims. ALL of their commercials show people on Harleys and similar bikes, all leather clad in some form, never shown wearing helmets, often long haired (nothing wrong with that itself), and making claims how Hupey got them million dollar settlements for their crashes with cars.

What made me nearly spew good whiskey, was the first "rider", a long haired rough looking dude who claimed, "I had to lay the bike down."

So, the myth continues. The non-riding public sees this guy, who quite honestly looks like the long hair types we expect hanging out in bars all the time. Riding his cruiser/whatever, then crashes it claiming "I hadda lay the bike down." The public figures this is what riding is about. Also, I bet that rider never really looked back at what happened to determine what put him in that place and time, to determine what we could change/improve to make sure it doesn't happen again. No, I'd bet he claims "somethings you can't do anything about." His attitude is its "all the car's fault and I had nothing to do with it." A better attitude is, "what did I do to cause that crash, what could/should I have done different to avoid that crash." Don't just accept it, change it!

I bet if I had a chance to talk to Mr. Layerdown, if I asked "what did you do wrong in this crash scenario" he would likely say, "absolutely nothing, it was ALL the car driver's fault!" Which I am sure is what he was coached to say by his lawyer in court. Because the lawyer only has to make the jury believe there was nothing done at fault by his client. But I also bet the rider does knows inside what he did before the crash that impacted the results.
 
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As a post-script to the previous discussions on this subject, I am a firm believer that in most cases, the rider has a lot more influence on the crash cause and outcome than most riders are willing to admit. Or to also learn from.

And I fully appreciate the comments that some make for instances well beyond the control of the rider. True, some things we simply cannot be ready for, adjust for, correct for. There is truth in saying, "when you're time is up,....well,..that's it."

But my arguement for rider attitude adjustment, that of taking on all the responsibility of our riding FIRST and FOREMOST on ourselves, is about all those instances which are not the "you're time is up" scenario. Aside from those moments, which I think are fairly low percentage of our riding, I feel a very high percentage of all the instances of riding issues ARE well within the control of the rider. And that is where my attitude about my riding is centered, doing whatever I can, every ride, to insure I myself am not the cause of a crash, or even a close call.
 
Personal responsibilty matched with experience is certainly the top line but there are situations where no amount of that matters and you're basically down to luck.

A couple days ago a rider was killed near where I live when an older women simply veered sharply across the center line at him where they had a combined closing speed north of 100 mph. His friend following had just enough time to hit the ditch and not get killed but the lead rider did not and died instantly. Haven't heard yet whether she had a medical (fat diabetics are as common as leaves around here- we had fainters in our manufacturing plant every day), a blown tire (unlikely), was on a phone (which might have been seen with truly sharp vision and decent lighting), or just took a gander at the scenery (which perhaps could have been seen also). All cops have said so far is no booze or drugs involved.

A few years ago a women in car was killed here when a 5 lb rock flew off a truck going the other way and came through her windshield. Not likely you'd have time to to react and live through that on a bike either.

No excuses for getting hit with a retread flying off an 18 wheeler though. They litter the roads around here so it ought to be obvious that following one can be bad for your health. However, trucking enforcement has gone way up in the past year so perhaps the regular citations are causing more attention to basic maintenance.
 
Right, some of those instances you report are in the realm of "this is your moment, and its up". Life is like that, falling off a ladder, slipping in the shower. Life itself will kill us all. Unfortunately, some go much earlier.

But even those instances mentioned, I feel, fall into the small percentage of riding situations out of control of the rider. But a high percentage of the normal instances we deal with as riders I feel are greatly influenced by the rider.
 
It's up to us as riders to be as proactive as we can.

I take some type of refresher professional training every couple of years, if for no other reason than to spot the bad habits i have picked up again.

We can do little to protect ourselves from a larger object in a bad situation .
Good gear helps, but riding skill will triumph over gear in most cases.

Stay alert and stay alive
 
It came out of nowhere

I spent 10 years as an insurance adjuster (hey, I was young and I needed the money) and one universal observation I can make is that in almost all the intersection accidents I handled when I asked where the other vehicle came from the response i got was "It came out of nowhere."

Nothing comes out of nowhere. There are cross streets, driveways, columns of stopped cars going the other direction that some idiot will jump out of to make a U turn, etc. Even that CNN video - cars don't just slide sideways. Something happened that caused a 2000 pound vehicle to overcome the inertia was that was pushing it forward. That something was probably observable.

And - if you don't know where the thing that hit you came from then you weren't paying attention.

You have to be looking for things that CAN hit you. Most people only look for things that are ABOUT to hit them.
 
If you got up this morning knowing that your bike would be hit by a car today would you do anything different? Put on the leathers that have been hanging in your closet for the past 2 years? Don a full face helmet, maybe? I am sure you would ride different.

Take the attitude that every car driver is out to get you, all of the time, and see what you change.
 
If you got up this morning knowing that your bike would be hit by a car today would you do anything different? Put on the leathers that have been hanging in your closet for the past 2 years? Don a full face helmet, maybe? I am sure you would ride different.

Take the attitude that every car driver is out to get you, all of the time, and see what you change.

really, that is what you'd do?

see, if I knew that i would be hit by a car today while on my bike... i would leave the bike in the garage and take the car ferchissakes!!!

but since i don't know that, i ride ATGATT, jsut in case today is the day i get hit.
 
I have a white full-face helmet to make myself more easily seen by motorists. I also have a hi-viz mesh jacket (BMW Airshell) and an assortment of vests in hi-viz yellow that I probably should wear more often. I will put on a hi-viz vest if there is any chance of fog, if I am on a serious road trip, or if I will or might go through road construction work zones.

It's not enough to complain about left-turners and then not doing something about it.

Harry
 
The false-hood of loud pipes, the extra visibility of hi-vis gear, white helmets, extra lights, bright (obnoxious lights) lights, can all be classified as methods that passify us into feeling we are doing something to reduce our risks of riding.

Some riders even claim that, wearing ATGATT, wearing a full face helmet, perhaps even taking a riding course, can cause a rider to ride more aggressivley (to that I say "bull") or feel they are not as likely to suffer a crash.

Perhaps, but I don't agree. I prefer to ride proactively rather than reactively. The measures listed above (aside from loud pipes) improve your likelyhood to reduce traffic issues, so why not take advantage of them. But still, the rider attitude does more to reduce the likelyhood of crashes than anything else. I like these comments offerred by others:

"You have to be looking for things that CAN hit you. Most people only look for things that are ABOUT to hit them."

This speaks to attitude about riding proactively and avoid the situations you put yourself into, moreso than most riders do.

"Take the attitude that every car driver is out to get you, all of the time, and see what you change."

This speaks to attitude that myself as the rider is the one to change things to reduce the risks, learn from your ride, make real changes. It worked for me decades ago and continues to work for me on every ride.
 
A Two-Up Sidenote...

This has been a very useful and interesting read. I thought about what ANDYVH wrote: "You have to be looking for things that CAN hit you. Most people only look for things that are ABOUT to hit them." That led me to thinking about my wife Mary riding with me in what we always refer to as a Co Pilot position behind me. After ten years of riding together we have come to ride as a team and this very question of CAN and ABOUT is often what we "chat" about as we ride. Two sets of eyes are riding the same bike.... not a sleepy passenger bonking in the back. She has her own GPS (a great navigational assist at times) and continually applies Situational Awareness similar to my own. Having a good communication system on board has helped tremendously as well.

She has also been an enthusiastic 'attitude adjuster' for me :laugh - Bob
 
A Two-Up Sidenote...

I have to agree with Bob that 2 eyes are better than one!
My wife Terry & I have been riding together for 26 years on my 1977 RS.
She is the route planner and is always an alert riding passenger. She has seen things that I have missed and always looks over my shoulder as we ride.
We don't have communicators but have a code for certain important things like food, drink and having to pee!;) as well as where to look when I need to see something!

We have ridden over 440,000 miles one one bike and hope to do a few more!
 
"You have to be looking for things that CAN hit you. Most people only look for things that are ABOUT to hit them."

I would add to that statement that you have to look for situations that produce accidents, the biggest category being obstructed vision. Look for situations where another motorist's vision is obstructed by an object, often another vehicle. People will go when they can't see. Spot those situations, slow down, and be prepared to act.

Harry
 
We have both logged many miles riding solo or within eyesight of each other.We communicate with radios on longer trips...sometimes that is a 'WATCH OUT for the green Prius on the smartphone" sometimes it's only a point to a nice cabin along the road.
Both have had suburban and a minimal rural encounters with inattentive drivers.

We however do not ride like someone is out to hit us as a constant mantra...sure is a downer to always have that kind of mindset ...for us anyways.If that's your deal,fine. It just is too negative for me.

I admit I don't always "cover my brakes" among other things, do not wear Hi-viz, and a few of my helmets may be on the darker side. Have read most of the reports ...I'll make my decisions that make me enjoy the ride.

I do situational awareness at various intensities as it warrants. In the city it is different than in the open spaces...different potential & real hazards.
I control the things within my control and avoid certain hours and places when I choose to ride through them.

Now when I have to buy that lime green three wheeler and gear or ride in a sidecar piloted by Helen...I may decide to do it differently.:laugh
 
These most recent responses are what I am emphasizing about attitude. It makes a HUGE difference in your riding if YOU first accept ALL responsibility for your riding before you expect anyone to do anything for you.

I'm not saying ALL crashes can be avoided. I still maintain there are very few "accidents". I do believe that MOST riders get them themselves in situations that cause them to be reactive-riders instead of proactive-riders. So I firmly believe if more riders took on this "Me first" attitude I think we'd really see some reductions in crashes.

"Watch for Motorcycles" to me, is WAY too passive an approach to motorcycle awareness and crash reduction. In fact, I feel it is one of the most lame and passe' public announcements. WE ALL HAVE TO BE BETTER RIDERS FIRST.
 
The safest thing you can do is park your bike in your garage and never ride it. To do anything else is to accept a certain level of risk. Each of us arrive at what level of risk we accept on our own.

I spent 6 weeks after my wreck going over what happened while I was confined to the bed or the sofa. I've spent hours sitting at the crash site looking at the police report and the pictures of the aftermath. In 36 years of riding, tons of training and practice, I feel confident that there was literally nothing I could have done differently that day, short of choosing not to ride (long story short, the car in front of me turned right, stood on the gas, and pulled a u-turn, coming back to broadside me; I had plenty of following distance and was going all of 35mph).

Being a proactive rider is key, but sometimes there's nothing you can do when someone else doesn't care about your safety or life.
 
A week ago I took the bike on a 350 mile ride to spend four days fishing with my oldest and dearest friend - flyrod cases extending out the back with a red handkerchief duct-taped to the end.

On one of our fishing trips (in his SUV) we passed a sign: "Share the road with motorcyclists." "What does that mean," he asked me. "Of course motorcycles are legal vehicles, so of course I'm going to share the road with them. I'm also going to share it with bicycle riders and any deer and elk that wish to cross it." (Driving at dusk or night, he set the cruise control at 80 kph on roads posted at 100 kph and got passed by everybody, despite the bloody spots on the road indicating recent collisions with animals.)

Anyway, I told him I thought the sign was lame going on worthless, but it was true that many motorists actually didn't notice motorcycles because they were much smaller than cars and thus didn't seem to pose a threat. Told him I had added additional lighting in front and a flashing brake light that MIGHT get someones attention. But I completely agree that it is UP TO US to do our best to anticipate danger and act accordingly.

Like the last poster, I was in a position where that was not enough. If you ride, you can minimize but not eliminate the possibility of a crash.
 
From a previous response on this subject, "long story short, the car in front of me turned right, stood on the gas, and pulled a u-turn, coming back to broadside me."

Again, I am not saying ALL crashes can be avoided. An instance as described above is rare indeed and unique in the way it happened. I applaud that he spent time studying what happened and what cause factors he brought to the incident. I think few riders really do that, just blame the cager or assume " there was nothing I could do." We have to learn from every close call, incident and crash, or we are doomed to repeat it.
 
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