Foam pad 1, motocycle 0

[skyking]

I'm marking this as 85% blame on the fucktard boat guy who dropped his shit on the highway and 15% on the rookie motorcycle rider who put himself in a questionable situation and did little to make an escape.

Boat guy should be ticketed, pay for all damages, and pay a $10K punitive fee.

Motorcycle guy should be ticketed and be required to pass a comprehensive motorcycle training program before returning to the roads.

*might* save his life.

 

[Carson Dyle]

He zigged when he should have zagged.

Had his initial reaction been to swerve left, he'd have probably easily cleared the obstacle. But the thing that strikes me is that it didn't look like he tried very hard to avoid it at all. I'm guessing he was a fairly inexperienced rider who didn't feel confident that he could swerve more radically.

(And what's with the driver of the videoing car doing stopping in the middle of a six-lane freeway?)

 

[Eli]

(And what's with the driver of the videoing car doing stopping in the middle of a six-lane freeway?)

You mean like the folks in the left lane presumably did, since the guy didn't get run over? lol

Pretty normal to brake/stop when you're behind an accident.

I'm marking this as 85% blame on the fucktard boat guy who dropped his shit on the highway and 15% on the rookie motorcycle rider who put himself in a questionable situation and did little to make an escape.

Boat guy should be ticketed, pay for all damages, and pay a $10K punitive fee.

Motorcycle guy should be ticketed and be required to pass a comprehensive motorcycle training program before returning to the roads.

What exactly would you ticket the motorcycle guy with??? "Being inexperienced"? I don't think he did anything wrong. Was he really following too close? I guess you could argue he was by default, since he wasn't able to appropriately deal with the obstacle presented to him. But I don't think it is reasonable to need to suspect that every car in front of you is going to be dropping shit into the road either...

Edit: I just watched the video again. Unless he sped up in the seconds after both vehicles passed on the left, he was following at an appropriate distance - he's got the length of the SUV+trailer between them. He just reacted glacier slow to the situation.

 

[Carson Dyle]

You mean like the folks in the left lane presumably did, since the guy didn't get run over? lol

Pretty normal to brake/stop when you're behind an accident.

You didn't hear the car door open and someone get out in the middle of the highway? I think it's safe to assume nobody was bearing down on them at 75 MPH, but why not pull 15 feet to the right and get off the damned interstate?

 

[Eli]

You didn't hear the car door open and someone get out in the middle of the highway? I think it's safe to assume nobody was bearing down on them at 75 MPH, but why not pull 15 feet to the right and get off the damned interstate?

Ah, I had the volume most of the way down.

I dunno. They had very good presence of mind, IMO. They knew he was fucked, were already braking, and were ready and willing to help immediately.

Hard to fault them... Rendering immediate aid to the guy is more important than keeping the highway open. If I were that guy, I'd take them over people driving around me as I lay on the pavement any day.

I do agree on some level, it would have been best to pull over, probably more due to their safety than anything.. but in a situation like this.. really no big deal... I'm sure the police investigation aftermath stopped up the highway far more than they did.

 

[edro]

Motorcyclist should have went around that left lane hog before the foam dropped.
That's what he gets for being a patient n00b.

 

[pauldun170]

Noob
Pro rider would have jumped off the bike and then surfed the foam pad.
Olympic level rider would have unrolled and Alladin'd that bitch right up the Escalade drivers window to punch him in the face.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Haha, this was in Minnesota too.

Poor guy, I read it was his second week on a motorcycle too...someone never taught him to gear up.

 

[RPD]

Good Samaritan laws vary widely by jurisdiction. In some areas you're covered for anything short of killing a victim by performing an emergency appendectomy with a chain saw and in some areas you can get sued if you stop to help and give the victim a cold by coughing on him. Unless you're sure of where you are and what the laws are there, you're better off calling the professionals.

Ugh, giving honest attempts to help shouldn't be punished

 

[JulesMaximus]

A) The motorcyclist didn't appear to be speeding, he was going almost the same speed as everyone else around him.
B) He should have been able to avoid hitting that pad, I know I could have in that situation. This is inexperience and does not deserve a ticket IMO.
C) The idiot with the boat should be cited for causing an accident and be 100% responsible for the injuries to the motorcyclist and the damage to his bike.

This is why I don't like following pickup trucks when I'm on the bike because the idiots who own them are notoriously bad at securing the crap they put in them.

 

[VtPC83]

Some new information for you folks;

He was a brand new rider, 2 weeks in. He had ordered his pants and other riding gear but hadn't gotten them yet (shouldn't have ridden without them but eh)

He was on an R3 which is a beginner's motorcycle and a pretty light bike.

He wasn't excessively speeding and had plenty of space between him and the trailer in front.

He tried to avoid the foam roll but when it adjusted to the right to intersect his evasion he target fixated on it and then when realized he was going to hit it he straightened up like instructed in the MSF to try to get over it. Unfortunately it bounced.

Driver of the trailer should be seriously fined and probably sued. Motorcyclist did NOTHING wrong, he was just inexperienced.

 

[Linux23]

good luck catching that driver.

 

[Humpy]

What exactly would you ticket the motorcycle guy with??? "Being inexperienced"? I don't think he did anything wrong. Was he really following too close? I guess you could argue he was by default, since he wasn't able to appropriately deal with the obstacle presented to him. But I don't think it is reasonable to need to suspect that every car in front of you is going to be dropping shit into the road either...

Edit: I just watched the video again. Unless he sped up in the seconds after both vehicles passed on the left, he was following at an appropriate distance - he's got the length of the SUV+trailer between them. He just reacted glacier slow to the situation.

A ticket for something simple like "failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident" seems appropriate. I think it's fair the rider should be prepared for the possibility of an accident or debris occurring in front of him.

This is another one of those unlikely events where two strangers meet up and each contribute to an accident. What are the odds your cargo falls off in front of an inexperienced motorcycle rider? Any other vehicle could have hit it and been fine (if the driver didn't wig out). What are the odds a big foam roll falls off a boat in front of you on one of your first motorcycle rides? A few more weeks of practice and he might have steered right around it.

 

[MixMasterTang]

A ticket for something simple like "failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident" seems appropriate. I think it's fair the rider should be prepared for the possibility of an accident or debris occurring in front of him.

This is another one of those unlikely events where two strangers meet up and each contribute to an accident. What are the odds your cargo falls off in front of an inexperienced motorcycle rider? Any other vehicle could have hit it and been fine (if the driver didn't wig out). What are the odds a big foam roll falls off a boat in front of you on one of your first motorcycle rides? A few more weeks of practice and he might have steered right around it.

How would you suggest he get more practice before riding on an actual road? So if a boulder falls 5 feet in front of you and you hit it would you accept a ticket for "failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident"? If there was an accident in front of him, or the car/truck slammed on their brakes then "failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident" comes into play but I would not say this is one of those scenarios.

 

[Humpy]

How would you suggest he get more practice before riding on an actual road? So if a boulder falls 5 feet in front of you and you hit it would you accept a ticket for "failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident"? If there was an accident in front of him, or the car/truck slammed on their brakes then "failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident" comes into play but I would not say this is one of those scenarios.

I think a lot of riders stick to less populated roads on the weekends for a while when they first start.

It's fine if you or others don't think the rider should get a ticket. I think all drivers should be aware enough to anticipate something falling off a trailer in front of them, or any of the dozens of other things a driver need to be prepared for. This guy failed to act appropriately when tested and lost control of his vehicle. Losing control of your vehicle on a shared roadway should be ticket-able IMO.

 

[Ns1]

This guy failed to act appropriately when tested and lost control of his vehicle. Losing control of your vehicle on a shared roadway should be ticket-able IMO.

uhm, he only lost control of his vehicle when that mother fucking thing fell off the back of a boat into his path.

as someone said, he zigged when he should've zagged.

 

[Humpy]

uhm, he only lost control of his vehicle when that mother fucking thing fell off the back of a boat into his path.

as someone said, he zigged when he should've zagged.

I don't disagree. There are a ton of reasons why a person might lose control though. When you see ice on the road, or come up to a blind corner, or see a big foam pad strapped to a boat being pulled on a trailer, you're supposed to contemplate the possibilities and make preparations.

 

[foghorn67]

Wait. He got a ticket?

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Ugh, giving honest attempts to help shouldn't be punished

Agreed.

But if your honest attempt to help is pouring a gallon of epoxy into a chest wound to stop the bleeding maybe you should just wait for the professionals to arrive. That's the fear that prevents Good Samaritan laws to be universal. While most people would hopefully have the sense to apply tourniquets or get the victim clear of a fuel leak before it catches fire, some might honestly think that amputating a leg with a case cutter would be a good way to free somebody with their foot trapped under the dashboard. The Hippocractic Oath contains "first do no harm" and it's not unreasonable to expect that apply to civilians too.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Some follow-up. Interview with the rider. He bought his riding jacket 30 minutes(!) before the accident.

http://kstp.com/news/motorcyclist-h...dan-jankowski-minnesota-state-patrol/4183598/

 

[Capt Caveman]

A ticket for something simple like "failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident" seems appropriate. I think it's fair the rider should be prepared for the possibility of an accident or debris occurring in front of him.

This is another one of those unlikely events where two strangers meet up and each contribute to an accident. What are the odds your cargo falls off in front of an inexperienced motorcycle rider? Any other vehicle could have hit it and been fine (if the driver didn't wig out). What are the odds a big foam roll falls off a boat in front of you on one of your first motorcycle rides? A few more weeks of practice and he might have steered right around it.

Thanks for the laugh!

 

[rh71]

Because unfortunately our court system is fucked up and you can be sued for helping nowadays. If our court/legal system encouraged good samaritans, there would be more of them.

This is one of the things we learned as coaches for hockey - do not help the kids up yourself... you can be sued for any additional damage you may do.

As for this rider... forget speeding, it was more his decision-making. The first thing he thought of doing when he saw it fall was to continue accelerating and get into the next lane... then he decided the angle was no good and tried to brake. WHAT??? Your angle would've been much better if you didn't charge it first genius!

 

[Humpy]

Thanks for the laugh!

 

[JulesMaximus]

I don't disagree. There are a ton of reasons why a person might lose control though. When you see ice on the road, or come up to a blind corner, or see a big foam pad strapped to a boat being pulled on a trailer, you're supposed to contemplate the possibilities and make preparations.

Shit happens. Cops didn't see fit to ticket the guy and I think that was the right call. The purpose of a traffic ticket is to discourage breaking the law. Trust me, the last thing you want to do on a motorcycle is lose control of it and go down.

Ticketing the guy at that point serves no purpose, it's just adding insult to injury.

 

[Ns1]

Some follow-up. Interview with the rider. He bought his riding jacket 30 minutes(!) before the accident.

http://kstp.com/news/motorcyclist-h...dan-jankowski-minnesota-state-patrol/4183598/

pretty incredible it wasn't much worse:

He suffered a bit of road rash on his hands and legs and he's a bit stiff.