This did not need to happen

[Norton Margie]

A motorcyclist on a Suzuki died last week in Alameda. There was a lot of discussion on line of the incident, which took place on Lincoln Ave and 9th Street. Lincoln Ave is a broad thoroughfare, but it is residential in many places, and is intersected by many residential std/reets, Most of the intersections have no stop lights, which allows people to easily go over the speed limit, which is 25 mph.

A car pulled out from a side street and turned in from of the MC. He attempted to brake (black marks on road) but still hit the car so hard as to spin it around and deploy the air bags. Dents were on the rear of the car.

My take aways from this unhappy and upsetting incident:

(1) Whatever your opinion of the speed limit, don't ride so fast that you can't avoid cars turning in front of you from side streets. As pointed out, Lincoln Ave has a lot of side streets.

(2) Stay aware. The car owner's seeing-eye dog may be off duty. You are the one who is going to be hurt, so watch for blind intersections and/or car drivers.

My condolences to family and friends.

P. S. The next weekend, the Alameda Police department was handing out tickets to anyone driving/riding more than 27 mph

 

[N4teTheGreat]

RIP to the rider... I always try to remind myself that cars aren't going to expect my speed if I'm well over the limit, even driving the speed limit, in my car (so very visible) I've had idiots pull out right in front of me resulting in some close calls, so it's always a risk, speed just ups the risk of a bad outcome.

 

[berth]

RIP rider.

Slow down, folks.

When I was a kid, my Mom backed out of the driveway and a motorcyclist hit us.

It was just one of the congruences of bad circumstance.

We were going to a movie with a friend. The friend called out "Watch out for the motorcycle". My Mom looked back, and saw a motorcycle, and figured the margin was good, and backed out.

What she didn't see was the OTHER, closer motorcycle, blocked by a car on the street, and she just backed right in front of him.

If one was not coming over the hill, maybe she would have waited, or looked harder for the motorcycle. But since she saw the one farther off, that checked the box, and off she went.

Be careful out there!

 

[budman]

Classic crash.

Eyes up and scanning, anticipation and making sure you get home safe shit.

Our eyes and experience in what could kill us is the deal.
Your cage eyes don’t work because at 25 mph in a cage you are not going to die. On a moto you could.

Extra attention. Extra vigilance etc.

 

[Holeshot]

+1000 Bud.

 

[afm199]

The only sane attitude for riding on the street is to treat every other vehicle there as being driven by a psychotic murderer, waiting for you to not pay attention for one second.

 

[Enchanter]

A car pulled out from a side street and turned in from of the MC. He attempted to brake (black marks on road) but still hit the car so hard as to spin it around and deploy the air bags. Dents were on the rear of the car.

There are clues in the above paragraph.

Skid marks indicate over application of the rear brake. The car being spun around would indicate that the motorcycle was likely significantly above the 25mph speed limit of Alameda.

When faced with these types of situations it’s difficult to avoid panic reactions. When we panic, we fall back to our training and habits. Obviously this rider over used the rear brake, but it’s also very likely they under used the front brake, most riders under apply the front brake. Another way to look at it is: if you’re inspired to apply more rear brake there’s a damn good chance you’re not using enough front brake.

It appears that the rider was going too fast (for their skill level).

I also suggest that the rider may not have even considered attempting to swerve around the (back of) the car. Again, training. Mental and physical training. Mental in knowing that swerving is an option, and having the confidence (and experience) of doing it. Physical of actually practicing it.

Both parties bear some responsibility in this crash. We can’t ‘fix’ the car drivers but we sure as shit can strengthen our own skills in prevention and avoidance.

 

[ctwo]

Both parties bear some responsibility in this crash. We can’t ‘fix’ the car drivers but we sure as shit can strengthen our own skills in prevention and avoidance.

How fast would a MC need to be going to leave skid marks and still have enough momentum to hit and spin a car around? If the MC is going 70+ in a 25, how much is it really the car driver's fault?

 

[GPzPop]

AlamedaPD has always been pretty strict on speed enforcement. for the moto rider, perhaps not soon enough

 

[bojangle]

There are clues in the above paragraph.

Skid marks indicate over application of the rear brake. The car being spun around would indicate that the motorcycle was likely significantly above the 25mph speed limit of Alameda.

When faced with these types of situations it’s difficult to avoid panic reactions. When we panic, we fall back to our training and habits. Obviously this rider over used the rear brake, but it’s also very likely they under used the front brake, most riders under apply the front brake. Another way to look at it is: if you’re inspired to apply more rear brake there’s a damn good chance you’re not using enough front brake.

It appears that the rider was going too fast (for their skill level).

I also suggest that the rider may not have even considered attempting to swerve around the (back of) the car. Again, training. Mental and physical training. Mental in knowing that swerving is an option, and having the confidence (and experience) of doing it. Physical of actually practicing it.

Both parties bear some responsibility in this crash. We can’t ‘fix’ the car drivers but we sure as shit can strengthen our own skills in prevention and avoidance.

Pretty much all of this, though I'm not sure, in this case, the the car driver bears any fault here. See below.

It is very easy to apply too much rear brake. I'm a believer in practicing threshold braking and swerving, but also a believer in ABS. ABS might just help save you if you screw up in a panic situation.

How fast would a MC need to be going to leave skid marks and still have enough momentum to hit and spin a car around? If the MC is going 70+ in a 25, how much is it really the car driver's fault?

Most of the time, when determining the cause of a collision like this, the one who pulled out of a side street/driveway/stop sign will be at fault, or at least primarily at fault. However, in cases of extreme excessive speed, I'd find the speeder caused the collision. If the speed is so extreme where a reasonable driver would not even see the approaching vehicle, or it wouldn't be reasonable to register the quick rate of approach, that is where I won't find the other driver as having caused the collision.

From the description in this case, it would seem to support a motorcycle speed far excessively exceeding the 25 MPH speed limit to the point where it's doubtful the other drive bears any fault.