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Bike crash video a timely lesson

This crash video of a Sydney rider hitting a van that suddenly appears out of a line of slow-moving traffic is similar to the recent double motorcycle crash in Melbourne in the video below.

(Fast forward the top crash video to the two-minute mark.)

It is a timely lesson to both riders and other motorists in heavy traffic to never assume the road is clear.

For riders, a gap in the long line of slow-moving traffic to their right represents a possibility that a vehicle may emerge.

For drivers, a gap in a long line of traffic is not an open invitation to boldly accelerate through.

In both cases, the riders are not speeding or doing anything wrong. However, a good dose of scepticism about driver behaviour is advisable.

In the Sydney case, the rider was not badly injured, but his Kawasaki ZX-14 is a write-off.

The riders in the Melbourne crash video not only wrote off their bikes, but are still in hospital almost six weeks later … and still police investigations are ongoing and no charges laid against the female driver, 23, who failed to give way.

The injured riders are Steve Caruana, 42, on a Yamaha R1 and Marc Logan, 37, on a Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Double crash Steve and Mark
Steve and Marc

Steve suffered leg injuries and lost a testicle. Marc is also still unable to walk with one leg in plaster and the other with a rod inserted. His right hand is now in a splint after an operation on his knuckles. Their bikes were written off.

Double crash the bike in better times
Their bikes in better times

“l believe that the driver should be charged and also should be made to take some type of driving course,” Steve says.

“The way she just pulled out was just insane and also could have killed two innocent people.”

Victoria Police say they will contact us as soon as the investigation is completed.

Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party candidate at the last election, Judith Kuerschner, doesn’t hold out much hope of the driver being charged.

AMEP candidate Judith Kuerschner with her partner's 2015 BMW 1200 GSA
Judith

Judith was riding behind her husband when he was killed by a driver turning in front of him without indicating. The driver was never charged.

“Considering the woman who killed my motorcycle-riding husband admitted to not even looking before making a right hand turn was never charged with even so much as a traffic fine, I doubt even video footage and social media outrage will have much impact here,” Judith says.

Police injustice
Husband Mick and Judith on their wedding day

“I hope I am wrong, but experience has proven the hard lesson to the contrary when it comes to the skills of investigators regarding motorcycle crashes.

“Since the recommendation made a number of years ago (I believe by the Motorcycle Council of ACT) to have motorcycle crash experts assist police investigations where motorcycles are involved has never been enacted, motorcyclists will always be at a disadvantage during an investigation of an incident between a car and a motorcycle.”

Anyone with any information about the incident can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential online report.

 

  1. I find it hard to believe the guy in the first video wasn’t speeding by a fair margin. Certainly looks that way in the video.

    1. The wide angle lens and the low positioning of the camera make it appear that he’s going faster than the limit. I very much DOUBT he was over the limit anyways. And both are instances of people in cars NOT FOLLOWING THE ROAD RULES AND PUTTING OTHERS IN DANGER.

  2. I feel sorry for the riders in both instances, and it’s easy to say in hindsight, but I believe they were not taking enough care. We have to take the attitude that we are invisible and that something like these incidents can and does happen. Whether the Sydney rider was actually travelling above the speed limit or not, I believe he was travelling too fast for the conditions and it looks as if he missed spotting the van early. In both cases the riders should have afforded themselves reaction time by travelling in the left lane and slower.

    1. How much care should we be taking? Should we push our bikes along the footpath? No amount of care from the riders could have stopped those drivers pulling out into oncoming traffic and collecting them.

        1. She should be banned from driving for life and serve a good jail term .
          We have the same issues in
          Nz . 2003 a retard turned right
          From left lane on a one way no indication didn’t look wrote
          My 7month old rsv Aprilia off shattered my clavical and ten broken ribs . The guy got out of his ute and ran into a restrant and hid leaving me on the road with the bike on top of me convalescing from the impact . A witness said she heard the utes tyres sweating as he turned abruptly from left lane on a two lane one way no indication and he didn’t look .
          He got a $600 fine and six months loss of licence . One week later he had a work licence what a joke .
          I had a construction biz lost my biz my home and was 9 months before they reconstructed my clavical with a titanium rod and bone graft .
          How is this fair?
          In fifteen years since I refuse to rego my bikes run number plates or stop for police.
          Why would we pay for that to get treated like second class citizens

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