Spot the motorbike

View the pictures then read the text.







A picture is worth a thousand words.
The Honda rider was traveling at such a "very high speed", his reaction time was not sufficient enough to avoid this accident. Swedish Police estimate a speed of ~250 KM/h (155mph) before the bike hit the slow moving car side-on at an intersection. At that speed, they predicted that the rider's reaction time (once the vehicle came into view) wasn't sufficient enough for him to even apply the brakes. The car had two passengers and the bike rider was found INSIDE the car with them. The Volkswagen actually flipped over from the force of impact and landed 10 feet from where the collision took place.

All three involved (two in car and rider) were killed instantly. This graphic demonstration was placed at the Stockholm Motorcycle Fair by the Swedish Police and Road Safety Department. The sign above the display also noted that the rider had only recently obtained his license.
At 250 KM (155 mph) the operator is traveling at 227 feet per second. With normal reaction time to SEE-DECIDE-REACT of 1.6 seconds the above operator would have traveled over 363 feet while making a decision on what actions to take. In this incident the Swedish police indicate that no actions were taken.

I'm sure I've seen this before somewhere, and I'm pretty sure it was staged...

I may cause controversy for saying this, but this is why I don't believe in direct access, even at 21 or whatever age. I think all vehicles, cars included should be restricted for at least a year, so people can learn how to control them before they push them to their limits and cause such accidents as this, it may have been staged, it may not, but I'm sick of people passing their tests... getting the most powerful thing they can, and crashing it bumping up my insurance. (saying that, I'm no angel myself)

[northwind]

Originally Posted by WRCSixtyThree

I'm sure I've seen this before somewhere, and I'm pretty sure it was staged...

It's kind of a setup- it was reconstructed after the fact. But IIRC the actual incident was real. I don't remember hearing about the speeds, reaction times etc before though.

Staged, accurate or not, these things go round the email and I thought I'd share it.

I do agree about the direct access though. You are not ready to be flung onto the road on a powerful bike after 3 days training. I did direct access myself on returning to biking this year, (older and wiser and decided I needed the proper license!) and after having experienced it, I thought it was a bad idea.

IMO a 16 year old on a moped (as I once was myself) is an accident waiting to happen, and IMO it actually needs to happen for the rider to learn from the experience (see my signature below!).

At least on a moped the accident happens at 30mph and the rider usually has a chance to get up and lick his wounds. The 125 gets more dangerous, but at least the rider has another year or so to learn about road conditions and cagers, with less risk of hitting the deck due to clumsy use of the throttle.

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

Staged, accurate or not, these things go round the email and I thought I'd share it.

I do agree about the direct access though. You are not ready to be flung onto the road on a powerful bike after 3 days training. I did direct access myself on returning to biking this year, (older and wiser and decided I needed the proper license!) and after having experienced it, I thought it was a bad idea.

IMO a 16 year old on a moped (as I once was myself) is an accident waiting to happen, and IMO it actually needs to happen for the rider to learn from the experience (see my signature below!).

At least on a moped the accident happens at 30mph and the rider usually has a chance to get up and lick his wounds. The 125 gets more dangerous, but at least the rider has another year or so to learn about road conditions and cagers, with less risk of hitting the deck due to clumsy use of the throttle.

Exactly my thoughts, an thats from a 19 yr old desperate for a sports 600, but I know i'd kill myself. I'l stick to the sv for a few more years.

[northwind]

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

I do agree about the direct access though. You are not ready to be flung onto the road on a powerful bike after 3 days training. I did direct access myself on returning to biking this year, (older and wiser and decided I needed the proper license!) and after having experienced it, I thought it was a bad idea.

I agree... Then, I reckon CBT's a joke as well. One of the guys who passed the DAS on the same day as me was a liability, even he admitted that if he'd ridden on the test like he rode in the training they'd only have needed the red pen The CSM guys basically bullied him into extra training, he just shouldn't have been riding really...

But then, I had about 10000 miles on a rubbish 125 by the time I did my DAS, in all conditions and on all sorts of roads, so it's only natural I should hate people who went straight to a proper bike

Some people are fine after DAS, mind.

Originally Posted by northwind

Some people are fine after DAS, mind.

Yeah - just look at me! I'm a complete speed freak

i think it has to be down to the individual though. i'm 21 just got my sv riding experience of maybe about 20hours or something in total. and i know i am no-where near experienced enough to go trying to push the bike.

on the point of the cbt though, when i passed my test a younger lad (16) was in having sat his cbt but had to be failed as he hadnt even bothered to read any of the highway code ect. he went out on the ride and didnt even understand basic road signs. was tryingt o enter streets/junctions with no- enter signs! the instructor was going mental at him! he just didnt understand basic road rules!!!

Originally Posted by on yer bike

I may cause controversy for saying this, but this is why I don't believe in direct access, even at 21 or whatever age. I think all vehicles, cars included should be restricted for at least a year, so people can learn how to control them before they push them to their limits and cause such accidents as this, it may have been staged, it may not, but I'm sick of people passing their tests... getting the most powerful thing they can, and crashing it bumping up my insurance. (saying that, I'm no angel myself)

DAS worked for me. I probably wouldnt have got into bikes if it wasnt for DAS. Nevever really had the time or patience to go through the rigmarole of biding my riding time for a year. I think the system still needs tweaking though. Maybe compulsory IAM training or another form of advanced follow up riding???