There should be airbags on motorcycles!

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I seen that video yesterday on facebook. Don't know who started that mess, but the biker kept going.
But I agree with you. A big fat air bag covering the handle bars would be nice.
Many a year ago, a guy hit me head on, on his new bike. He was looking behind him to see how big his rooster tail was.
He turned around just in time to see I was stopped right in front of him. (Back road, narrow, gravel).
Had a 65 impala. The bike shoved the front end in, leaving the hood sticking out. He tore the front of his left leg off and shattered the bone.
He never walked right after that. Air bag would have saved him a lot of damage in that case.
 
There is a jacket that inflates if you get thrown from the bike. I don't think the handlebar bag would do much, most injuries are from flying off the bike.

No matter how it started, the biker ran. That's not ok. And I'm a rider.
 
OMG!!! Airbags are not the issue here; two morons on the highway is the issue. I assume the car cutoff the motorcycle (not seen in the video) and that is why the motorcyclist kicked the car. That was a dumb thing to do, but the car swerving toward the motorcycle (in retaliation??? or did they lose control???) could have been horrific!

Neither of these people should be on the road.
 
I'm a rider, and I've had an occasional "rage" over the stupidity/ignorance/ineptitude/and shear apathy of licensed drivers, though I've never attempted to kick or otherwise strike a vehicle while I am riding. It's clear to me that the cager - the name we give to persons driving a 4 wheel, enclosed vehicle, or a "cage" - retaliated and swerved into the bike, though we don't see the incident prior to that which started it all. Distracted/inept driving is an epidemic in this country and I don't think auto manufacturers help that with all the automation they keep adding to vehicles. The more creature comfort and automation that gets introduced, the more drivers zone out, IMO.

Air bags on a bike? No thanks Man! Riding a motorcycle isn't dangerous, it's the other idiots on the road that are dangerous!
 
Maybe the car did something to him to cause him to kick the door. Cut him off or something. Every one I ever knew that rode bikes crashed, it is not a question of if, but when. Some things you can't control, like water, antifreeze, sand, gravel on the road.

Being endoskeleton creatures, we always lose when hitting something.

We have these "Star Boys" around here, like to do wheelies at 100mph on the freeway. One was doing tricks a year ago and slammed broadside into a van and got killed.

I gave up my Kawasaki 650 a long time ago, because I knew one day my # would be up. Do like MC's, though.

The airbag system might look like this when deployed:
michelin man.jpg
 
I absolutely cannot wait for complete self-driving. That's 5-10 hours every week I can read or sleep instead of watching poorly maintained vehicles demonstrate their drivers' lack of attention.
 
I try not to trust computers with my life. They say it will be so big that people won't buy cars anymore, just call Robo-Drive for a lift. Imagine that on an MC. Too many variables. No place to mount the sensor head, or processor junk.

It already killed a guy in a Tesla. Could not see a white truck against a white sky. Using only cameras was dumb. You need also radar or laser. The marketing guys have their dreams, but if it really eliminates a lot of taxi/truck driver jobs, that will dump millions more into the unemployment line. If it was up to me, I would trade some automation in factories for additional jobs, even if low wage. But profit is #1 to corps. Maybe one day there will be no people in factories.

Notice when the first car hit the wall, it is about 5 feet in front of the bike. Looks like he brakes, and steers around some debris. I hope he does not go around doing this for fun!

car.jpg
 
Do I trust grandpa, who regularly hops curbs in his caddy? Do I trust junior, who rolls coal and texts with his lights off? Drunkle Steve?

I don't for a second think any of these people will give up their 'freedom' to lane change without signalling. But I certainly trust an enormous network of sensors to be faster than me.

And the Tesla story: guy was watching a DVD instead of driving. I mean holy carp.

+1 on the mechanics, tire shops, road taxes, parking garages, used car salespeople, oil changes, taxi drivers, public buses, etc. I hope we learn to help people whose jobs go away, not just dump them like the factories did.
 
As a rider, I gotta say.......the guy on the bike has some mad handling skills - pretty impressive bit of not-going-down there.

And, as a rider, I gotta say.....he's also a complete a-hole! Yes, so was the driver in the car (totally). A pox on both their houses! Don't care who "started it", but both of these idiots should be kept off the road, and away from behind-the-wheel/bars, forever. And riding away afterward (if that is indeed what the moto guy did) is simply unacceptable. Sheesh.

Ya know, while I'm at it.....a third pox on the house of the guy filming this! Seems to me he's filming things with his phone while driving on the freeway. I guess it could be a passenger (and if so I humbly recant this curse), but it looks like it's the driver doing the filming. If so...another idiot that should be kept off the road. Sheesh again.

s6
 
The late model Honda Gold Wings do have an airbag, and have had for a few years now. Amazingly enough, they do work, and have saved a few lives.

As far as the other comments on the riders/drivers involved, I completely agree. They should have the licenses revoked, and replaced with a bus pass.

Phil L.
 
Ya know, while I'm at it.....a third pox on the house of the guy filming this! Seems to me he's filming things with his phone while driving on the freeway. I guess it could be a passenger (and if so I humbly recant this curse), but it looks like it's the driver doing the filming. If so...another idiot that should be kept off the road. Sheesh again.

s6

If you carefully watch the first second of the video it appears that the passenger is shooting the video. The camera zooms in as the video starts and it looks like it zooms from the passenger seat. Also, the video looks off center to the right; again implying the passenger shot it.

Since this is California, is that a high passenger lane that they are both in? I only see one person in the car which implies he went into the lane just to use it or intentionally to go after the motorcycle.
 
Interesting dashcams. I was using an MD-80 for awhile, one of the few thumb sized cams that works well.

That crash reminds me of something out of a FINAL DESTINATION movie! Would fit right it, if you have ever seen them.
fd.jpg
 
The late model Honda Gold Wings do have an airbag, and have had for a few years now. Amazingly enough, they do work, and have saved a few lives.

As far as the other comments on the riders/drivers involved, I completely agree. They should have the licenses revoked, and replaced with a bus pass.

Phil L.

goldwings aren't motorcycles. They're RVs someone forgot to put two more tires on
 
Could be, here it is:

[video=youtube;ApYPzyPnFOs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApYPzyPnFOs[/video]

Interesting, but I think the rider will just bounce off and go over the car. Might actually help.

Problem is if you get hit from the side.

Perhaps an ejection seat would be better. Just inhibit under bridges and in tunnels!

This is cooler, encapsulates the rider as ejected:

[video=youtube;g-_30-ueFok]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-_30-ueFok[/video]
 
What I see in the video is the MC rider kicking the car, the car driver doing a knee-jerk response toward an unexpected disturbance, then a lot of overcorrection and eventual crash.

I don't see a driver retaliating against the MC rider. I believe there would have been more of a delay between the kicking and the retaliation. Instead, what we see is an almost immediate swerve, consistent with a surprised driver.

One of the things I learned is that drivers instinctively point their cars towards whatever has their attention. It's happened to me, with nearly tragic results in the past. I was driving my '76 Caprice Estate station wagon on city streets at relatively slow speeds between stoplights, and a bicyclist passed me in my lane on my left, and bumped my driver side view mirror. No damage or anything, but I had no idea the cyclist was there, in an unexpected situation, and the shock of the unexpected situation resulted in a swerve to the left. The cyclist interpreted it as an attack and started banging on my car. I kept dead straight, no retaliation at all. Turns out a cop was a few cars behind us, pulled us both over. The cyclist was frothing at the mouth about how I tried to hit him. I was calm and said I was surprised when he clipped my mirror in a dangerous maneuver but then tried my best not to hit him as he smacked my car repeatedly. The cop told me to have a nice day, drive carefully. He was having a chat with the cyclist as I drove off...

That all said, the fact that somebody was filming the situation in this way suggests there was prologue, to which we are not yet privy.

Marc
 
What I see in the video is the MC rider kicking the car, the car driver doing a knee-jerk response toward an unexpected disturbance, then a lot of overcorrection and eventual crash.

I don't see a driver retaliating against the MC rider. I believe there would have been more of a delay between the kicking and the retaliation. Instead, what we see is an almost immediate swerve, consistent with a surprised driver.

One of the things I learned is that drivers instinctively point their cars towards whatever has their attention. It's happened to me, with nearly tragic results in the past. I was driving my '76 Caprice Estate station wagon on city streets at relatively slow speeds between stoplights, and a bicyclist passed me in my lane on my left, and bumped my driver side view mirror. No damage or anything, but I had no idea the cyclist was there, in an unexpected situation, and the shock of the unexpected situation resulted in a swerve to the left. The cyclist interpreted it as an attack and started banging on my car. I kept dead straight, no retaliation at all. Turns out a cop was a few cars behind us, pulled us both over. The cyclist was frothing at the mouth about how I tried to hit him. I was calm and said I was surprised when he clipped my mirror in a dangerous maneuver but then tried my best not to hit him as he smacked my car repeatedly. The cop told me to have a nice day, drive carefully. He was having a chat with the cyclist as I drove off...

That all said, the fact that somebody was filming the situation in this way suggests there was prologue, to which we are not yet privy.

Marc

Glad to hear nobody got hurt.

I used to ride a bicycle on the road quite often. We lived 6 miles from a bike trail and would ride out to it, ride on the trail and then back home. We took back roads that were not heavily travelled, but the cars were going 45 to 55 mph. We always tried to be respectful and not get in the car's way, but we still had jerks who didn't want you on the road. The few times we were in town we didn't weave in and out of traffic like the guy you mentioned. Anyway, since we moved we load the bikes up on our car and drive 2 miles to a parking area on the bike trail. No way will I ride on the roads near my new house.
 
That all said, the fact that somebody was filming the situation in this way suggests there was prologue, to which we are not yet privy.

I thought the film was from someone's dashboard camera but after re-watching it does look like the camera is handheld.
 
The person who took the video, the passenger in the following car, gave an interview which directly refutes your statement.

What I see in the video is the MC rider kicking the car, the car driver doing a knee-jerk response toward an unexpected disturbance, then a lot of overcorrection and eventual crash.

I don't see a driver retaliating against the MC rider. I believe there would have been more of a delay between the kicking and the retaliation. Instead, what we see is an almost immediate swerve, consistent with a surprised driver.

One of the things I learned is that drivers instinctively point their cars towards whatever has their attention. It's happened to me, with nearly tragic results in the past. I was driving my '76 Caprice Estate station wagon on city streets at relatively slow speeds between stoplights, and a bicyclist passed me in my lane on my left, and bumped my driver side view mirror. No damage or anything, but I had no idea the cyclist was there, in an unexpected situation, and the shock of the unexpected situation resulted in a swerve to the left. The cyclist interpreted it as an attack and started banging on my car. I kept dead straight, no retaliation at all. Turns out a cop was a few cars behind us, pulled us both over. The cyclist was frothing at the mouth about how I tried to hit him. I was calm and said I was surprised when he clipped my mirror in a dangerous maneuver but then tried my best not to hit him as he smacked my car repeatedly. The cop told me to have a nice day, drive carefully. He was having a chat with the cyclist as I drove off...

That all said, the fact that somebody was filming the situation in this way suggests there was prologue, to which we are not yet privy.

Marc
 
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