Ghoulish?

[Guest]

I did not know him but feel a little shocked just now. A 56 year old (about my age and a few of you i suspect) lost his life on the Great Alpine Road yesterday afternoon. Number 13 in the holiday toll (for Victoria, Australia). Last week it was a 32 year old with 3 kids but at least he was responsible for what befell him. This one yesterday was just a rider on a cbr600 heading to Bairnsdale fom Omeo when for unknown reasons a vehicle coming the other way hit him headon. The fireball that resulted hit another (female) biker behind the victim and burned her hair off (outside helmet).I had a look at the bike in the trailer at Omeo today and looked at the site of the accident. This is the bike
[attachment=o1726]
The site was a left hand gentle bend and the roadcrew had worked to repair the damage but the signs are still clear. The bike has been on the inside of the left lane and looks to me as if he was trying to get as far over as possible. The car has been not just on the wrong side of the road but totally in the wrong lane. A remark was made that it was an American driver (not confirmed) and that may explain the right hand lane "error". Ghoulish? am told that taking the photo of the burned bike was ghoulish and to put it on the web would be worse. Its at times like this that i think i should just drive a car and stand a slightly better chance of surviving an accident given that no matter what you do its always a possibility. But of course that will pass and riding will continue but this sort of thing makes me a bit more watchful and careful and thats not a bad thing and the very least that this senseless loss of life deserves.
And so, expect the unexpected and take even more care!
Graeme

[Snigdog]

Its not nice to hear of the death of any motorcyclist and especially when it was through not fault of their own.
In this case it does sound as if had the rider been in a car at the exact same moment the result would have been bad although not necessarily fatal.
Safety on the bike is something I think about a lot and have my own list of things I do on the road to try stay out of trouble. But some things are just in the hands of the Gods !

I work with a great bloke called Henning. Hes in his mid fifties and has a BMW R75 which he bought about 20ish years ago with 30k <i>miles</i> on the clock. It has now done (or nearly done) 500k <i>miles</i>. He doesnt have a car and uses the bike to go everywhere in all conditions. He often packs his swag and heads off for trips around Victoria or much further afield. He's shown me pictures from some of them and talks about the freedom of just heading off, camping by the side of the road where ever he feels like it. He's been in a few scrapes but has managed to survive. I like to think about his story when I hear of motorcycle accidents or am feeling a bit nervous about going on a particular ride.

Best of British, Australian and all other nationalies of luck to all of you in 2010 !
Rick [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

This post was last modified: 29-12-2009, 09:41 PM by Snigdog.

[tdm850rider]

I don't think it's goulish at all.
Actually I think it should be done poster size and hung in every driver's license exam room in the world.

Let em think while they wait in que/line.

[Jankers]

It's this sort of accident which makes me very wary when using "scenic routes", one foreign numberplate and all the enjoyment goes out of the ride.

An friend on another site had a similar experience in Wales some years ago, he got off with 'only' a six week hospital stay but it was months before he could ride again. in his case
it was a German driver on the wrong side of the road, but at least he managed to avoid a head-on collision.

J.

[colinellis]

<!--quoteo(post=145473:date=Tue 29th Dec 2009, 01:53 PM:name=graeme)-->QUOTE(graeme @ Tue 29th Dec 2009, 01:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I did not know him but feel a little shocked just now. A 56 year old (about my age and a few of you i suspect) lost his life on the Great Alpine Road yesterday afternoon. Number 13 in the holiday toll (for Victoria, Australia). Last week it was a 32 year old with 3 kids but at least he was responsible for what befell him. This one yesterday was just a rider on a cbr600 heading to Bairnsdale fom Omeo when for unknown reasons a vehicle coming the other way hit him headon. The fireball that resulted hit another (female) biker behind the victim and burned her hair off (outside helmet).I had a look at the bike in the trailer at Omeo today and looked at the site of the accident. This is the bike
[attachment=o1726]
The site was a left hand gentle bend and the roadcrew had worked to repair the damage but the signs are still clear. The bike has been on the inside of the left lane and looks to me as if he was trying to get as far over as possible. The car has been not just on the wrong side of the road but totally in the wrong lane. A remark was made that it was an American driver (not confirmed) and that may explain the right hand lane "error". Ghoulish? am told that taking the photo of the burned bike was ghoulish and to put it on the web would be worse. Its at times like this that i think i should just drive a car and stand a slightly better chance of surviving an accident given that no matter what you do its always a possibility. But of course that will pass and riding will continue but this sort of thing makes me a bit more watchful and careful and thats not a bad thing and the very least that this senseless loss of life deserves.
And so, expect the unexpected and take even more care!
Graeme<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Hiya Graeme,

Not Ghoulish at all. People should understand how potentially dangerous it is to be a biker. The only problem is, that your posting should be on a website for car drivers, not for bikers. We already know!!!! We all have lost friends to Knobheads driving cars. We understand how falible and fragile we are when riding. I suspect that if all cars were designed with the driver sitting 3 feet in front of the bumper in a glass case, then he might be a little more careful how he drives. All motorways should have the central barriers removed, and just double white lines seperating the opposing lines of traffic. Then, maybe, they would be a little more careful, and less agressive.
Rant over,

A Happy and safe New Year to you.


Colin ( The fatchap)

[marko67]

I've been in the same dilemma posting on accidents. I guess it keeps safety first at the forefront of your mind seeing the aftermath of an accident. It feels like bikes are being swatted like flys over here now that we are in summer/silly season.
I had a close one on boxing day, my own fault, a little tired, to hot to sit behind a queue of cars & trying to make progress. Saw an overtaking opportunity & committed myself to the manoeuvre with clear road ahead when as if by magic two cars popped up out of a dip, just enough to hide them as I made a quick decision looking ahead. Very sobering aiming for the gap....
Be safe all.

[Galilee]

Ghoulish would be if someone posted pictures of crash victims.

Pictures of wrecked vehicles just serves as warning, and also demonstrates the forces involved in a crash.

[coolbox]

Its not goulish m8... its good to be reminded of the fickleness of fate. I keep a reminder on my desk. A friend was killed a couple of months ago and I have his funeral service comemoration program on display.