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news
Mulholland Highway motorbike and cyclist collision (source Rnickeymouse, YouTube)Video: British cyclist rear-ended by motorbike in California... amazingly, no bones broken...
A video posted to YouTube has captured the moment a motorbike ploughed into the back of a cyclist in California, sending him crashing to the ground head-first, before going on to knock his riding companion off his bike, too. Amazingly, the first cyclist – reported to be British – is said to have emerged from the incident with no broken bones. It has been reported overnight that it was a doctor, taking part on a group ride including George Hincapie, who adminsitered first aid, and there are suggestions that the motorcyclist may have been looking for a photographer rather than focusing on the road.
The video, shot on the Mulholland Highway near Los Angeles and with more than 600,000 views on YouTube, was uploaded by the site’s user Rnickeymouse, clearly a regular visitor to the road and himself a motorcyclist, who insisted: “The rider was not speeding & riding fine until he hit his foot and stood the bike up causing the bike to go wide. He then target fixated on the cyclist.
“It is a very common type of crash on this turn,” he added. “Just usually no one is there and the rider falls alone. It is very unfortunate, and a rare case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We wish the cyclists a speedy recovery.”
According to a comment made to the video on YouTube, the first rider who was struck – wearing a black, white and red Brioches La Boulengère jersey dating from around a decade ago – is from the UK and somehow escaped without serious injury.
“This was my friend visiting from England who was struck first,” said the commenter, who went on: “(I was further back on the hill when the accident happened and am one of the guys who comes in the picture to his assistance). He's doing ok today, was discharged from the hospital yesterday with no broken bones. Miraculously..."
In one of the other comments to the video, another motorcyclist argues with Rnickeymouse’s interpretation, saying: “This is 100% the motorcyclists fault. If he is "afraid to lean more" then he is going to fast for the road conditions, end of story.
“It isn't a race track,” the commenter adds. “You don't need to drag knee on public roads. He lost control, most likely target fixated and plowed into the cyclist who was 100% within his rights to share the road.”
The Biking In LA blog has now provided some more background on the incident in an article published last night.
It says that the incident took place on a 270-degree hairpin bend called Deadman's Turn, on a section of the Mulholland Highway known to motorcyclists as the Snake and to cyclists as the Rock Store Climb, and it's a popular spot for people to shoot photos and video.
The blog flagged up a second video - since taken down from YouTube by whoever posted it, possibly for legal reasons - and which showed point-of-view footage from a motorcyclist following the one involved in the collision.
Biking In LA says that according to Byron of the Bike Hugger blog, that footage suggests either that the motorcyclist who struck the cyclist had been looking round for the camera, or that his vision had been impaired by a camera flashgun.
It adds that one of the cyclists involved in the incident is believed to have been among 20 to 25 riders taking part in an informal group ride which included George Hincapie, who is said to have been further up the climb and unaware of what had happened.
The other cyclist - the one hit first and more seriously hurt, and reported to be from the UK - was not on that ride, but "happened to fall in with the other riders at the wrong place and time," says Biking In LA.
Luckily for him, one member of that group ride was the chief medical officer for the Amgen Tour of Caliornia, riding behind and picked up by the Highway Patrol car that was heading to the scene, and who was able to administer first aid.
As yet there is no news of any charges being brought against the motorcyclist involved, but the incident, and the video of it, has reportedly been investigated.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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Oh god is he still here? Still not found a publisher for his stories?
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34 comments
'There is a huge demand for glasses, contact lenses and corrective eye surgery and the like but everyone's hindsight is always 20/20....'
Visual acuity can of course be better than 20/20 (or 6/6, if you're in the UK). Surely the point is that hindsight is always perfect...? In which case, yer reference needs updating
Looks to me like he hit the bend too fast - even at 30mph - shat it, braked, stood the bike up, ran wide and fecked over the cyclists.
As has been mentioned, it's quite typical of RUBs and summer-use-only motorcyclists, but most of the time the first tight bends of the season simply see a rapid learning process that stops at the shitting oneself and running wide stage.
This is probably because the motor cyclist having set his speed and line for the bend was unable to pull round the cyclists in which case wasn't driving to what he could see to be clear.
But it also demonstrates, what cyclists hate me saying, that they are absolutely exposed to every Tom Dick & Harry coming at them from behind in total blind faith and the belief that their right not to be struck is somehow enough to prevent it actually happening. This shows in graphic detail why road cycling is so risky & taking one's life in one's hands.
The biker had the time and the space to go on the outside but he didn't want to get his tires dirty.
There is a huge demand for glasses, contact lenses and corrective eye surgery and the like but everyone's hindsight is always 20/20....
Gosh, get a life people!
The motorcyclist was at fault. It looks like a case where he was careless (I don't believe he was looking in the right place and so rode into the cyclist as a result). But that doesn't mean it wasn't an accident. Accidents happen when people are careless. He doesn't look like he meant to ride his bike into someone, knock himself off his bike, destroy a bicycle, damage his own bike and hit someone else......so it was an accident.
He doesn't look like he was speeding either, I would refute the charge of him not being in control, he cornered well enough. From the looks of when he puts his foot down it appears as if he belatedly sees the cyclist, rather than him not being able to corner.
The motorcyclist appeared to be riding without any control so it could be argued it is careless / reckless, thus it could be argued it wasn't a accident, possibly an accident / collision waiting to happen.
The motorcyclist was doing 30 mph max and did target fixate like a moth to a light he ran wide way after he stops accelerating everyone is an expert nowadays
I feel some degree of common sense needs to be applied here...everyone blaming the m/cyclist..fair do's he was totally the ONLY reason the accident happened, but come on people..who on here hasn't at some point on a bike, in a car made a monumental mistake that has thankfully not ended up like that one??
I think the m/cycle rider just totally misjudged everything...it's no reason to slam him...I bet he felt shit as it was!!! And, will feel a lot "shitter" when his insurance company find out!!!
If you look at the youtube clip one of the posters refers to of a cyclist doing a speedway slide in the WRONG lane it proves my point...we can all make mistakes!!
Thankfully the m/cyclist did not hurt the cyclists too bad.
People will kick off about anything just to went other issues.
@Pepita - thumbs up for getting back on the bike, hope you recover fully.
The clip almost makes me think about finally starting to wear a helmet.
But then again.............
....what are the chances of getting rear ended by a motorbike eh?
That guy must be so glad he was wearing a helmet or his brain would be a smoothie. I don't care what you say, but if you look at the slow-mo the helmet certainly takes and disperses some Newtons!
I don't want to get shot, but I do feel a bit bad for the Ducati rider. Yes, he should have been a lot more cautious, but I am sure he didn't wake up in the morning wanting to ram a few cyclists. Respect is a two way street, lads.
And for those who say its not an accident? I don't know, I have never ridden a motorbike, but I have heard target-fixation is quite common in MotoGP, and those are professionals.
I'm a cyclist and motorcyclist and I've also cycled up Mulholland Highway. I can tell you that while, yes, the motorcyclist fucked up and is 100% in the wrong that is a nasty corner. Negative camber, variable radius. It catches many people out. This section, "The Snake" also catches us lycra types out too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=36R8nL2x0D4 It definitely looks like target fixation once the bike had sat up. That's a reason though, not an excuse. If he couldn't handle it he shouldn't have been riding that road. Unfortunately this is what happens when people with less skill than balls get their vehicles out of the grid system city into a world of corners.
Moral of the story - don't go beyond your skill level regardless of what type of transportation you're on.
I've been replaying the video with morbid curiosity. Looking at how the first cyclist went up and over and trying to figure out how I was hurt when a drunk driver crashed into myself and another cyclist. In my case, I was the second cyclist. I have never been sure if I was hit by the truck or by the other cyclist's body and bike being propelled into me. Watching this video makes me think that it wasn't the latter. But, my crash was with American pickup truck and not a motor bike so lots of fender and grill to push forward.
Crikey, that sounds rough. Is that why your sig refers to you riding 'again' - due to time off for injury?
Notfastenough: It does indeed! I'm still injured but I love cycling.
The motorcyclist is clearly not fit to be riding on a public highway. Had he been he would have been able to avoid the cyclists, or indeed lay down his bike off-road to avoid hitting them.
I ride cycles and motorbikes; this guy just froze and basically panicked. I hope it costs him dearly, with the present state of things that's about the only thing that will make him give up biking; which he clearly should.
[Written as a former sportbike owner, and friend/relative of several motorcyclists]
Fucking sportbike motorcyclists. That the gathered cyclists weren't pummeling this guy into a leather-clad pulp shows amazing self-control. Had it been a car plowing deliberately into a few bikers the vibe would have been very different.
Here on the Hampshire/Wiltshire border it's idiot season again, as they all come out of their nice dry winter garages now the sun is out and think it's OK to do 100MPH over the Salisbury Plains. And past my house in a 30 zone, on a blind corner, at >60MPH. Like last summer, where on a nice weekend at least one an hour would do so.
Yes, it's a generalisation. But here's the thing: It's true that a significant majority of fair-weather sportbike riders ride like c*nts, treating the public highway as their own private racetrack. The % is far, far higher than any other road user - 4x4 owners, BMW/Audi drivers, etc etc. This time of year around here, easily half the motorbike riders are greatly exceeding the limit, overtaking on blind corners, forcing other road users to avoid them.
What can we do about it? nothing. Nothing at all. Swerve violently to avoid them, hoping like hell that the car's traction system keeps it on the road and out of the trees / oncoming traffic and that the kids/wife won't die because some leathered-up accountant wanted to crack the ton. I feel absolutely no remorse or sympathy when one dies behaving like a selfish fool.
Ranty? yes. No apologies for that. Calculated, deliberate, repeated endangering of other road users puts you just above pond scum and below EDL members on the totem pole.
Not sure what your rant has to do with the posted video of an accident where the motorbike is not speeding ? He makes a mistake and target fixates. That's it.
...not sure why you are saying it's an 'accident'? What about this was 'accidental' - his twisting of the throttle or turning of the handlebar?
'Target fixation' is a load of BS to excuse stupid riding. If you are going so fast that something in the road - like a cyclist - panics you so much you cannot avoid hitting it, you are ***going_too_fast***. That is not an 'accident'. 'Speeding' is relative to the road and road conditions. In most countries you can be prosecuted for driving well under the speed limit, if you cause a crash and your speed was excessive for the conditions.
I used to race DH MTB. I know all about 'look where you want to go, not at things you want to avoid'. However on an MTB trail it's only myself I'll hurt. Motorcyclists applying the Target Fixation excuse to things ('people') using the public highway is inexcusable, IMHO.
Hear, hear!
This "accident" stuff is BOLLOCKS.
The collision was a result of DECISIONS.
People who fail to control Heavy Machinery in public places need to be deprived of the right to use said Heavy Machinery.
Definition: An accident or mishap is an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance, often with lack of intention or necessity. It usually implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its occurrence.
Sounds like an accident to me. Are you seriously saying anyone who has a car accident should be deprived of their driving licence? Yes, the motorcyclist messed up and should be charged if he broke the law but unless you are perfect in every way I think we should stop throwing stones. I'd say that direct road rage/aggression against cyclists that I see every day in London is much worse than this.
If it's the result of deliberate excess speed it is not an 'accident'. So yes.
An 'accident' is genuinely unforeseen, like a tree branch or deer or rock hitting your car. I think you'll find experienced police crash investigators hardly ever use the word, as they can almost always see where a person made a deliberate choice to do or not do something - speed up, slow down, give way etc etc.
No-one wakes up and thinks 'let's go prang a £10k bike into a cyclist'. That's a totally spurious argument made above. But that guy DID think 'I want to go fast, and other road users' safety takes second place'. '
Just because he wasn't speeding, does not mean he wasn't driving dangerously.
That lady's trousers at 50 - 53 seconds are quite something too. She must have accidentally worn her daughter's.
damn, guess it's a lot trickier than it looks after watching gkam's compilation
The guy who did the YouTube film is a motorcyclist who regularly films in the area.
No sportive or anything AFAIK, just somewhere that's popular with cyclists and motorcyclists... as I said to Tony, it seems a bit like the Cat & Fiddle with better weather...
WOW, if you go onto this guy's youtube channel, it makes me NEVER want to cycle that stretch of road.
CARS.... http://youtu.be/n1_FaZqW5pw
MOTORBIKES.... http://youtu.be/tNcZyDSM6GI
Nice place to watch some unique cars, I see why the camera crew are there all the time http://youtu.be/ChFHsSna_w8
I could sit and watch some of these idiots all day.....69 crash videos of THAT corner alone.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBgrVI0Dyto&feature=share&list=SP467A2492...
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