"Had to Lay it Down"

[RossKean]

Voni Glaves is nearing 1.1 million miles and hasn't had an accident. It can be done. Artis Kellerman had over a million accident free miles when she was hit and killed by someone driving on the wrong side of the road. So a long history of accident free miles offers no protection during your next mile.

I agree. In terms of stuff that is truly unavoidable, there is as much chance of it happening tomorrow as yesterday, last week or last year. I read about Artis' tragic demise and while it was clearly not her fault, it might have been avoided with the foregone assumption that someone was out to kill her. However, if one takes vigilance to the max, you will never get to go anywhere! Unfortunately, even a millisecond's lapse of attention at the wrong moment can prove to be fatal; whether it is your fault or otherwise.

Whose fault is it if you hit gravel on a sharp turn and wipe out or if you encounter farm equipment coming over a blind hill? It is the rider's fault, without question, although many are apt to say otherwise. Perhaps not entirely avoidable in everyday situations but it still comes down to riding too fast or with undue care and attention for the prevailing conditions. In addition to using good judgement with respect to riding speed, the rider's skill in emergency braking and steering to avoid an accident plays a big role in whether he rides home on his bike or to the hospital (or morgue) in an ambulance. I doubt that there are any of us who have not pushed the safety envelope at one time or other. You take a risk each time you throw a leg over the bike and everybody has a different level of risk tolerance. Isn't as much fun if you don't push things at least a little - adrenaline is a great kick.

An event such as a deer jumping onto the road may be a random circumstance that you couldn't possibly avoid (short of riding at 20 mph all the time) but the outcome (fatal collision, successful avoidance or minimizing damage while maintaining control after a reduced hit) can be affected by a rider's ability to react appropriately and instinctively when the **** hits the fan.

Remember that a bug's ******* is the last thing to go through its mind when he hits your windshield at 100 mph! (substitute rider for bug and semi-truck for windshield)

 

[Fred W]

Voni Glaves is nearing 1.1 million miles and hasn't had an accident. It can be done. Artis Kellerman had over a million accident free miles when she was hit and killed by someone driving on the wrong side of the road. So a long history of accident free miles offers no protection during your next mile.

You probably all know this often quoted example of the laws of random probability:

If you you flip a coin and it lands heads 5 times in a row, what is the odds it will land heads again the next time?

Spoiler

Answer is it's still 50/50

.

So that random probability would be true of the truly unavoidable crash situations, which are actually few and far between.

But most "accidents" are not accidental, but rather are the result of, (or a series of) bad decisions.

In the video the guy did sit down at 00:10, which was the point where he first recognized the hazard of the truck and began to take action. When he passed the car with the camera you could see it was some sort of a small dual sport bike, which explains why he was standing. Anyone who has sat on the 2x4 seat of a dual sport bike for more than 1/2 hour would understand. I doubt he was showing off, probably just resting his sore butt.

He was seated again before he hit the brakes, and the front end still locked up twice. The dual sport tires on that bike probably didn't help that much, and of course there was no ABS. He'd have had a better chance of missing the truck if he had just swerved to the right with less braking. Hitting the brakes is not always the best thing to do in an emergency. In all likelihood, he was not a very experienced rider.

 

[El Toro]

I think he was a novice on a test ride. Probably no license or insurance. Russia is not as litigious as the US. Probably no benefit to hang around after the wreck.

Any wreck you can ride away from is a "good wreck."

 

[Enn]

In Russia nobody wants to meet with a police after a crash, because the outcome of it has nothing to do with whos' fault it was. It's just about who has more money to pay them. I am sure the mc rider suspected, and rigthly so, that the truck driver has somewhat thicker wallet.

 

[Old Guy]

Voni Glaves is nearing 1.1 million miles and hasn't had an accident. It can be done. Artis Kellerman had over a million accident free miles when she was hit and killed by someone driving on the wrong side of the road. So a long history of accident free miles offers no protection during your next mile.

With that kind of record, it's obvious that both Voni and Artis are doing a lot of stuff right and very little wrong. Of course there's no guarantee, but I'd say either of them is far less likely to crash and burn in the next mile than most riders. If I were placing bets on either of them or most of us, my money's on them.

If you stop action during the video in the opening post you'll see that the truck begins moving while he's standing, and he loses valuable time sitting. Then he leans the bike as if to swerve and hits the brakes while trying to turn and loses more time trying to get it straight again. He finally appears to crash while trying to turn and stop at the same time. But again, Monday morning quarterbacking is always easy; on the field and in the game it's a different deal.

Maybe if he'd been in the saddle ready for action at the intersection he could have more effectively braked or swerved. For whatever reason he was standing, and at that intersection was the wrong place. Even if there was a section of rough pavement, he could have just bent his knees and placed his weight on the pegs; no need to stand at attention. If his butt hurts and his knees are getting stiff wait three or four seconds and stand AFTER he's passed the hazard of that big ash truck. (Hey, he could have been hauling ash

) Lots of ifs, but maybe he learned something. And maybe not. If placed in the same situation, he might do exactly the same thing again and not be so lucky next time.