Rider down in Isabella Plains

Captain RAAF said :

Mysteryman said :

It seems pretty obvious that none of you have ridden a motorcycle for any considerable period of time. There are a lot of stupid riders out there – it’s the nature of the vehicle that attracts risk takers and thrill seekers – so I won’t defend them, but I will say that the largest danger for a sensible rider is people driving cars. I’ve had 4 or 5 close calls in the last 8 months, and all of them have been because someone driving a car has pulled out in front of me without looking, has tried to change lanes into me without looking, or performed some other manoeuvre without bothering to pay attention to what’s going on around them. Every time I have been travelling within the speed limit, and every time the only reason a serious incident was avoided was because I took the action necessary to avoid it.

There are a lot of poor road users out there operating both cars and motorcycles. Let’s not judge this poor fellow without knowing any of the details.

Mate, thats like a bullfighter complaining that the only things that have come close to killing him are bulls! They are erratic, they change their minds at a whim, you never know what they are going to do, they have pointy things on their heads that disagree with his abdomen, chest, balls etc.

You are not in a shared environment, no matter how much you think it is or should be, you are riding your motorcycles in the bull’s environment and whatever happens, no mater how much at fault the bull or car is, you bloody well know the risks before you even set out, so accept it as your fate, to die under the wheels of a car, probably driven by some old bloke on his way to lawn bowls.

Of course, you can change what fate has planned for you……..

That has got to be one of the worst excuses for poor driving I’ve ever heard. Drivers/riders are required to have a certain level of competency to use a motor vehicle on public roads. Situational awareness and due care are are part of that competency. If they are unable to do so then they shouldn’t be driving. It’s that simple.

Another one down.
Good show
How many more to go?

dazzab said :

Captain RAAF said :

enter the roundabout on my bike, notice very high speed moving car coming in to roundabout on right (mind you I have the right of way at this point).

Oops, that should say …in to roundabout on left.

Makes no difference mate, cars out number you a gazillion to one, the odds are stacked against you, you don’t have a chance, you are going to get hit at some stage, it matters not how attentive you are, because there are a thousand inattentive car drivers all lined up to kill you while you apply your advance driving skils or skills honed to a sharp edge from years of riding.

Asking all the crap car drivers to get off the road is as logical as asking all the whores with an STD to stop screwing, aint gonna happen.

I have never hit an motorcyclist or been in any kind of accident with one so it’s not like I have an axe to grind against them, it’s just the law of probability, you are in a nice tight fitting costume in a place from which there is no quick escape and there are bulls everywhere, good luck with it!

Captain RAAF said :

enter the roundabout on my bike, notice very high speed moving car coming in to roundabout on right (mind you I have the right of way at this point).

Oops, that should say …in to roundabout on left.

Captain RAAF said :

Mate, thats like a bullfighter complaining that the only things that have come close to killing him are bulls! They are erratic, they change their minds at a whim, you never know what they are going to do, they have pointy things on their heads that disagree with his abdomen, chest, balls etc.

What a silly comparison. A bull is not under any constraints at all, drivers on the other hand are required to follow rules/laws.

Just this morning going through the first roundabout on my way to work makes for a better example. I enter the roundabout on my bike, notice very high speed moving car coming in to roundabout on right (mind you I have the right of way at this point). Driver stares right at me and guns it cutting me off in the process. Now, had I been a less experienced rider it’s very likely I would have gone right in to that car. And you imply that I get what I deserve because I choose to ride a motorcycle?

All riders know what the risks are and we train to mitigate those risks to the best of our ability. Drivers should have the same level of responsibility. They are not free to change their minds and drive as you have mentioned in an erratic style just because they are in a car. It’s that very attitude that makes the roads a hazard to everyone which includes trucks, bikes, motorcycles, road workers, pedestrians etc.

Accept the proper level of responsibility or get off the road.

Mysteryman said :

It seems pretty obvious that none of you have ridden a motorcycle for any considerable period of time.
Let’s not judge this poor fellow without knowing any of the details.

Fail. So you’re judging the rest of us before knowing any details.

Let’s see, you’ve obviously done numerous advanced riding skills courses and have competed Australia wide at a national level in supersport and superbikes and have also ridden/toured the US, UK and Europe and have been involved with motorcycles for 30 odd years, oops sorry, I was assuming everyone had done this, not just me.

I passed it shortly after it happened. The bike wasn’t too far from where the impacted car was, laying on its side, it didn’t look too bad actually. The damage to the car was quite significant, one corner at the front caved in. Obviously some speed involved and from the looks of it, the motorbike had tried to cross Drakeford from Bonython. It’s a common thing along there, drivers crossing misjudge the distance and get T-boned.

Kudos though to all the drivers who kept left and allowed the ambulance carrying the rider get through okay for the most part. It was driving like ambulances very rarely do at quite a bit of hazard to themselves I would add. A pity though that at the traffic lights lights to Oxley, the ACT Urban Services truck decided to block the turning lane and despite the ambulance sitting on the horn and traffic stopping, decided to block its path for quite some time. Then turned in and continued blocking the ambulance until the ambulance gunned it. Those few seconds could have made a difference… you never know. Idiot could have turned left sharply and allowed the ambulance to pass with no hazard to himself. But no, just sat there despite sirens and the horn. Idiot.

Mysteryman said :

It seems pretty obvious that none of you have ridden a motorcycle for any considerable period of time. There are a lot of stupid riders out there – it’s the nature of the vehicle that attracts risk takers and thrill seekers – so I won’t defend them, but I will say that the largest danger for a sensible rider is people driving cars. I’ve had 4 or 5 close calls in the last 8 months, and all of them have been because someone driving a car has pulled out in front of me without looking, has tried to change lanes into me without looking, or performed some other manoeuvre without bothering to pay attention to what’s going on around them. Every time I have been travelling within the speed limit, and every time the only reason a serious incident was avoided was because I took the action necessary to avoid it.

There are a lot of poor road users out there operating both cars and motorcycles. Let’s not judge this poor fellow without knowing any of the details.

Mate, thats like a bullfighter complaining that the only things that have come close to killing him are bulls! They are erratic, they change their minds at a whim, you never know what they are going to do, they have pointy things on their heads that disagree with his abdomen, chest, balls etc.

You are not in a shared environment, no matter how much you think it is or should be, you are riding your motorcycles in the bull’s environment and whatever happens, no mater how much at fault the bull or car is, you bloody well know the risks before you even set out, so accept it as your fate, to die under the wheels of a car, probably driven by some old bloke on his way to lawn bowls.

Of course, you can change what fate has planned for you……..

It seems pretty obvious that none of you have ridden a motorcycle for any considerable period of time. There are a lot of stupid riders out there – it’s the nature of the vehicle that attracts risk takers and thrill seekers – so I won’t defend them, but I will say that the largest danger for a sensible rider is people driving cars. I’ve had 4 or 5 close calls in the last 8 months, and all of them have been because someone driving a car has pulled out in front of me without looking, has tried to change lanes into me without looking, or performed some other manoeuvre without bothering to pay attention to what’s going on around them. Every time I have been travelling within the speed limit, and every time the only reason a serious incident was avoided was because I took the action necessary to avoid it.

There are a lot of poor road users out there operating both cars and motorcycles. Let’s not judge this poor fellow without knowing any of the details.

I agree, lets blame the bad drivers and not the innocent bike rider. My condolences to the young rider’s family but this must be a reminder to all how dangerous bikes are. You can’t blame everyone else for ever.

To be fair the first two motorcycle deaths were single vehicle accidents where a tree or fence jumped out and was the enemy of the rider. This one, is on a notoriously bad intersection where all vehicles try and duck across Drakeford to beat oncoming traffic. Will be interesting to see the police report.

Captain RAAF said :

The Frots said :

If my memory serves me correctly, hasn’t every fatal accident this year involved a motor cycle……?

Yeah, but remember that all accidents involving motorcycles are caused by inattentive car drivers, inattentive tree planting car drivers, inattentive telephone pole placing car drivers, inattentive fence building car drivers, inattentive bridge closing car drivers, inattentive rain dancing car drivers and inattentive motorcycle riding car drivers.

You forgot alcohol in there somewhere……………………………but covered everything else!

The Frots said :

If my memory serves me correctly, hasn’t every fatal accident this year involved a motor cycle……?

No – there have been 6 fatal accidents in the ACT so far this year; three where motorcyclists were killed; but there don’t appear to have been motorcyclists involved in the other three (one on the Kings Highway, one out at Mugga Lane, and the one a couple of weeks ago in Franklin.)

The Frots said :

If my memory serves me correctly, hasn’t every fatal accident this year involved a motor cycle……?

Yeah, but remember that all accidents involving motorcycles are caused by inattentive car drivers, inattentive tree planting car drivers, inattentive telephone pole placing car drivers, inattentive fence building car drivers, inattentive bridge closing car drivers, inattentive rain dancing car drivers and inattentive motorcycle riding car drivers.

If my memory serves me correctly, hasn’t every fatal accident this year involved a motor cycle……?