The Blame Game II: From Russia with Negligence

[The Dude]

My observations...
-The rider is splitting lanes. I don't know if that's legal in Russia, but at least he's using his flash to pass button. You wonder why he was even splitting lanes when it looks like the rightmost lane is empty.
-The driver fails to signal their lane change. And despite the driver's window being cracked and the motorcyclist flashing his high-beams, they don't have a clue he's there.
-The guard rail is designed to kill riders and protect cars. It did its job.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBAgw7gk1Dc]Crash.wmv[/ame]


Takeaways...
-It seems like everyone in Russia has cameras mounted in their cars. It's awesome and I hope it happens in the US.
-This video illustrates the dangers of being side-swiped. Even if you're not splitting lanes, it should make you think about the space around your bike on a highway.
-Guard rails are scary, and they're everywhere.

 

[McLovin]

You might wanna put a warning on this. I wasnt expecting to see the rider afterwards.

It is definitely sobering though. I'll be thinking about this on way back today.

 

[ChevyFazer]

Man thats scary defently makes you think about your surroundings

Sent from my R800x using Tapatalk

 

[lomax]

I could not really vote as I can't see exactly what happened.

I would have to say that it was the riders fault as the person overtaking always has to make sure the pass can be made safely.

It sure did look like the car driver came over two lanes at a fairly good clip but I just can't tell from the vid.

At any rate it is a shame when anyone get hurt.

Marc

 

[Motogiro]

One thing I noticed was there was the possibility of a lot of glare with the sun that low. Your pupils dilated with glare on a dirty windshield could spell a lot less visual information.

The other interesting thing is we saw a rear cam and a front cam. I thought it was the VW that came over and got him but it looked like the VW was parked on the right side of the road behind the camera vehicle. Where did the car that hit him come from? It was faster than he was!

Sad to see something that could possibly have been avoided.

Hominids Driving after all!!!!

 

[Erci]

Painful to watch and always sad to see someone get killed, but this was 100% rider's fault. Can't expect cagers to see you.. plain and simple. He was going way too fast and wasn't asking "what if".

 

[GTPAddict]

That was hard to watch. The driver and rider were both kind of to blame, but more the rider by far. In the rear view, you can see the car that hits him as he's passing the camera car. It looks like they were both going to try to get over in front of the camera car as there was another car in the center lane they were both gaining on pretty quickly. The car driver obviously didn't see the bike, but in all honesty could he have? The bike would have been between the two cars when the driver would have looked back, a place a bike should never be in the first place. Also, the bike was in the cars blind spot for just about all of the front view/crash.

I hate it for the everyone involved. it shouldn't have happened either way.

 

[CoolATIGuy]

As much as I like to take the side of a non-squiddy rider, I have to side with the cage at least 80% on this one. Granted, both driver and rider shouldn't have been switching lanes so quickly especially after passing, but if I'm driving a cage and I pass a vehicle I'm not expecting another to appear out of thin air in front of the one I just passed.

I had to watch over and over like a crime scene investigator to figure out where the cameras were placed and which vehicle was which, but that traffic seemed thin enough and moving quick enough that splitting wasn't really necessary or safe in the first place.

Granted, if you watch earlier in the video, that same car starts moving over into the first bike that passed...

Gnarly seeing that rider too, twisted up like a pretzel! I can't really blame the guardrail, it's there for a reason and there are way more cages than motorcycles out on the road. Definitely sobering and makes you think twice about riding carelessly or too quick or squiddly or unsafely.

 

[callmegandhi]

I don't know that you can call the driver "inattentive". He could have looked at his blind spot and checked his mirrors, but at the rate of speed the motorcycle closed on that car he might have never been able to see him.

 

[The Dude]

You might wanna put a warning on this. I wasnt expecting to see the rider afterwards.

It is definitely sobering though. I'll be thinking about this on way back today.

Sorry. I figured it wasn't too bad since you don't see any gore or disfigurement. I wasn't expecting to see it either. I just assumed since it was on YouTube (I saw it browsing most viewed in Auto) that it wasn't too bad.

I though it was the VW that came over and got him but it looked like the VW was parked on the right side of the road behind the camera vehicle. Where did the car that hit him come from? It was faster than he was!

It was the S500, and yes, it was moving as fast as he was. It stopped in the leftmost lane, then reversed back toward the wreckage. It's captured by the forward-facing camera.

I don't know that you can call the driver "inattentive". He could have looked at his blind spot and checked his mirrors, but at the rate of speed the motorcycle closed on that car he might have never been able to see him.

I think the driver was as reckless as the rider. He was going approximately the same speed and was essentially splitting lanes at the time of impact. He was squeezing into the hammer lane to pass a slower vehicle in the center lane. Even if there wasn't a motorcycle present, I think that would have been an aggressive move.

The reason I said inattentive was because he hit the bike with the driver's door while the window was down. Even if he didn't take time to use his mirrors or signal, you would think he would notice the roar of the engine at that speed. The driver nearly struck the first motorcycle when they both changed into the center lane w/o signaling. The second motorcycle was behind him flashing his high-beam for 7-8 seconds before he reached him. I don't know how you could side-swipe the guy unless you weren't paying attention. To me, he looked like your classic aggressive driver.

 

[Black_Cirrus]

I dare say a lot of blame should be on the camera car and the cars in that lane , My knowledge off Europe driving and US says they should be yielding that lane to faster vehicles both car and bikeS went around the bus. if the cars in left lane were going around the bus and back to center lane then the left lane would be open for passing. IE why its called a passing lane or the fast lane.
The car that hit the bike Is a reckles & aggresive driver. As I like to say doesn't matter whose fault biker almost always looses.

 

[Nelly]

I could not really vote as I can't see exactly what happened.

I would have to say that it was the riders fault as the person overtaking always has to make sure the pass can be made safely.

It sure did look like the car driver came over two lanes at a fairly good clip but I just can't tell from the vid.

At any rate it is a shame when anyone get hurt.

Marc

I agree with your take on it. The bike is to close to the blind spot to be seen.

Nelly

 

[Nelly]

One thing I noticed was there was the possibility of a lot of glare with the sun that low. Your pupils dilated with glare

Do you mean constrict?

Nelly

 

[GTPAddict]

I dare say a lot of blame should be on the camera car and the cars in that lane , My knowledge off Europe driving and US says they should be yielding that lane to faster vehicles both car and bikeS went around the bus. if the cars in left lane were going around the bus and back to center lane then the left lane would be open for passing. IE why its called a passing lane or the fast lane.
The car that hit the bike Is a reckles & aggresive driver. As I like to say doesn't matter whose fault biker almost always looses.

See, I can't agree with that. The camera car was gaining/passing the vehicle in the center lane, that's why the bike and crash car came over so fast (they were gaining on the center lane car was well, but a good bit faster). The camera car was where he was suppose to be, otherwise he'd be weaving in and out of the center lane to pass the slower cars there.

I agree about the car that hit the bike though, he was being an aggressive driver (if that's what you mean by him buzzing around the camera car), but the bike was far more aggressive. People drive like this all the time in Atlanta (we have the 2nd worst drivers in the US), it seems it's common practice around here to cut in any gap you can find.

 

[Erci]

I think the driver was as reckless as the rider. He was going approximately the same speed and was essentially splitting lanes at the time of impact. He was squeezing into the hammer lane to pass a slower vehicle in the center lane. Even if there wasn't a motorcycle present, I think that would have been an aggressive move.

I guess I'm reading your original post wrong. Whenever I analyze this kind of video, the #1 thing I look for is this: did the rider have to crash (regardless of what everyone around him was doing)? In my opinion, the answer in this case is clearly "no".
There will always be a-hole cagers out there.. as well as perfectly nice cagers who just suck at driving and paying attention. While everyone should be responsible for safety, it's our job to keep ourselves out of crashes.
Accident investigator may (and likely will) put some of the blame on the car driver, but does it matter at this point to the dead rider?

 

[shuckle]

See, I can't agree with that. The camera car was gaining/passing the vehicle in the center lane, that's why the bike and crash car came over so fast (they were gaining on the center lane car was well, but a good bit faster). The camera car was where he was suppose to be, otherwise he'd be weaving in and out of the center lane to pass the slower cars there.

I agree about the car that hit the bike though, he was being an aggressive driver (if that's what you mean by him buzzing around the camera car), but the bike was far more aggressive. People drive like this all the time in Atlanta (we have the 2nd worst drivers in the US), it seems it's common practice around here to cut in any gap you can find.

I disagree with that. The camera car passed the bus then the centre lane was free, he should have moved to the centre lane. the car that hit the bike wouldn't have been passing the bus in the far right lane if everyone in the left lane had moved back over when they were supposed to.

It's still the rider's fault, in my opinion, but a lot of the aggressive driving could be eliminated if people just did what they were supposed to.

 

[Nelly]

Sorry. I figured it wasn't too bad since you don't see any gore or disfigurement. I wasn't expecting to see it either. I just assumed since it was on YouTube (I saw it browsing most viewed in Auto) that it wasn't too bad.



It was the S500, and yes, it was moving as fast as he was. It stopped in the leftmost lane, then reversed back toward the wreckage. It's captured by the forward-facing camera.



I think the driver was as reckless as the rider. He was going approximately the same speed and was essentially splitting lanes at the time of impact. He was squeezing into the hammer lane to pass a slower vehicle in the center lane. Even if there wasn't a motorcycle present, I think that would have been an aggressive move.

The reason I said inattentive was because he hit the bike with the driver's door while the window was down. Even if he didn't take time to use his mirrors or signal, you would think he would notice the roar of the engine at that speed. The driver nearly struck the first motorcycle when they both changed into the center lane w/o signaling. The second motorcycle was behind him flashing his high-beam for 7-8 seconds before he reached him. I don't know how you could side-swipe the guy unless you weren't paying attention. To me, he looked like your classic aggressive driver.

Good observation, Both bikes were shifting at a pretty quick speed. The car was really hauling.

Nelly