Dead Roman

Dont get butthurt because you came on a thread and bleated you're ignorance and then got immediately sat down when given 1000+ examples of the phenomena discussed.

Carbonfiberboy 

IMO the motorcyclist didn't see the cyclists until the last instant when he straightens up and takes his bike outside them, which was a very good thing to do. He was looking way up the road when he was in the corner.

I was on a group ride last year when we were buzzed by a moto going very fast on a local winding, hilly road much beloved by all sporting user groups. We went around a turn about a mile later and found a cop car stuffed into the oncoming lane hillside on the outside of the corner, the moto about 40' down the hillside on the inside. The rider was down by his bike on his cell and the cop sitting on his hood looking really POed. We didn't hang around.

truckstop

Yep. This is motorcycling 101 and is every teaching curriculum, from basic MSF training all the way up to racing clinics. Target fixation is a real thing. You go where you look, and that guy had plenty of room to get through that turn safely and even take last minute evasive action, but fixated on the cyclists and ran right into them.

As for the suspicion about the camera being there at the right time, did you see how many photographers were there? Shooting popular roads is a money making business. Not just Mullholland, but all over the country. Photogs sit out every day and shoot everything that goes by and then sell the shots online. For example: https://shop.rockstorephotos.com/f297562463

Anyway, glad it looks like the cyclists were ok.

WhyFi

That's it? There were 9,440,000 returned search results for me...

merlinextraligh

There are two basic factors in determining the severity of an impact: change in velocity (delta v), and the time over which thechange in velocity occurs (delta T)

Here the change in velocity is significant; the motorcycle is goining faster than the bike, and the impact accelerates the cyclist up towards the velocity of the motorcylce (Delta V). The time over which it occurs is the delta T.

Millisecodns difference in Delta T are the difference between walking away and severe injury. Elongating the delta T decrease injury. Hence, the difference between hitting a foam barrior, or a brick wall, and the reason air bags and crumple zones decrease injury.

Here, the motorcyclist asorbed some of the impact elongating the delta T.

Not a Biomechanist, but I work with a lot of them.

Tel0004

There is another video on youtube of the same crash. This one is from a motorcycle directly behind the motorcycle that crashed. Within 30 seconds of the crash, the bikes passed 3 cyclist, so the motorcycle should have anticipated more.

caloso

One consolation is that there will be plenty of video evidence for the plaintiff's attorney.

merlinextraligh

Is he already rep'd? he can always PM me!

merlinextraligh

The second video with the motorcyclist passing several bikes could be the basis for punitive damages; i.e. continuing to ride like that knowing cyclists are present could show conscious disregard for the safety of others. Unfortuantely, IIRC, punitives aren't insurable in California, so it would only matter if the motorcyclist had substantial assets.

caloso

I wouldn't be surprised if the defendant's only asset got carted away on that flatbed.

eja_ bottecchia

Yep! A friend of mine got hit by a car while riding his motorcycle. The yahoo had minimum coverage and my friend did not have underinsured motorist coverage on his policy.

In California you need both uninsured motorist coverage AND underinsured motorist coverage.

Here is a pretty good write-up on the crash. I apologize if it has already been posted elsewhere.

https://bikinginla.wordpress.com/

Tycho Brahe 

You can see in the newly posted second video that the motorcycle did lean very much going into the curve, but straightened up afterwards.

Despite what the blogpost, I don't think criminality is involved. Wrong place at the wrong time. Poor driving on the motorcyclist's part. Very lucky that rider was not seriously hurt.

Beaker

That second video seems much more damning, the guy on the moto clearly buzzes two other cyclists before he eventually hits one.

Makel

Wow! looks like he was buzzing cyclists on purpose to me.

coasting 

I hope he goes to jail. Other than civil case, would the authorities even get involved? After all, it's only cyclists. That's the usual attitude isn't it?

531Aussie

kjhlkhl edit....oooooops. Hang on

531Aussie

Ok,...this guy makes crashing on that corner look 'easy', so maybe it's harder to negotiate than it looks.

If there are kiddies around: he drops a very loud "f-bomb"

531Aussie

Is this same spot? WTF?

531Aussie

Yeah, don't get me started!! It's the same in Australia. No joke, you could deliberately run down and murder a cyclist here with ya car, and get away with it by saying they swerved in front of you. Totally different story if it was a pedestrian, I guess because they're less likely to be on the road.

merlinextraligh

I think you can make a pretty good case for that being criminal negligence (which is a higher standard than criminal negligence) [Edit, I meant to say "civil" in place of the second "criminal ]

Here you have willful disregard for the safety of others. It's common knowledge that there are lots of cyclists on the road; he has actual knowledge of that, seeing the cyclists before the one he hits; yet he continues to drive at a rapid rate of speed into a corner where he can't see the exit.

He's lucky he didn't kill the guy, or he would be looking at manslaughter (or vehicular homicide,or similar, depending on how California characterizes this offense.)

As for wrong place wrong time, the motorcyclist knew it was the wrong place and time to go blindly through that corner, and chose to do so.

merlinextraligh

Reportedly, the cyclist didn't have significant injuries. Treated and released at the hospital. So you're looking at several grand for the bike, a few grand in medical bills, and some pain and suffering on the civil side. Fortunately not a huge deal.

As for criminal charges, it's likely not to get much traction, not because it's a cyclist, but due to the lack of injuries. Thus, I'd expect a reckless driving ticket.

Only way it gets more serious charges is 1) the video going viral as it has, and 2) whether the police want to make a point of this to control the situation on that road.

coasting 

time to send the vid to many friends.

antmeeks

Looks like the second vid has been pulled...

spectastic

reminds me of my first time on the road

coasting 

his mate is covering his ass.