Mother allows release of hard-hitting video of son's death

[AndyW]

Video: Mother allows release of hard-hitting footage of her son’s motorcycle death

There's a LOT to be learned from this video about defensive riding, observation, appropriate use of speed, overtaking etc. it's tough to watch but if it saves someone else from making the same mistakes (and there are a few) then his brave, brave Mum won't have released this in vain.
For car drivers........please look......and look again! Think BIKE!!

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[TLS-Moose]

Yep, this ones all over "social media" at the moment ....

Fair enough he wasn't hanging around, but when questioned the car driver said he saw neither the motorcycle or the car behind him, despite many other witnesses (other drivers) saying they clearly saw both before the car made the manouvre .......

I think the saddest thing was a comment by his mother that what upset her the most was knowing that he felt fear immediately prior to his death. The oft quoted phrase is "well he/she died doing what they loved most ..." and whilst that may be the case, it doesn't take away from the mothers comment

[layne]

Looks like they have certainly got the message out. Over 1 million views within a day of being uploaded. Don't know if its viewed by the right people though?

Also he shouldn't have to die doing what he enjoyed.

[dchurch1604]

A very hard video to watch, but it makes you think about how you ride and what "may happen.

Very brave of the family to allow this to be viewed, from the lead up to the videa, it looks as though the chap enjoyed life and lived it to the full.....Very sad.

I'm also glad to see they have disabled coments on the video as you know the sort of response they would get about speed and where the blame lies, when that isn't the reason its posted.

Darren

[Red5]

Note to all there.... Doesn't matter how good you are or think you are on a bike.
Also, yes the driver didn't see him or the car behind, shock and trauma does strange things to the memory. He may well of seen the car and the bike, but their mind may have blanked the whole episode. Now, just to quiz our selves, with all those cars around, the bike was over taking, quite safely, approaching a junction, still seemingly safely, in control, could the driver necessarily of seen the narrow profile of a bike against a very dynamic back ground even with his head light on...? Now the thing to mentally note is... It's been estimated by police, who no matter what people sometimes say, are not stupid, that he was riding at 97mph....
ITN news have a video report of it.
Not saying that the driver has an excuse, but we all have to bare that in mind when we, which a lot of us do, may not all the time, ride on the roads, pass junctions etc at similar sorts of speeds.

It takes a lot of guts and bravery for the mans family to allow this video to be put out there so lets all repay that courage by learning what we can from it.

RIP stranger

[MellowYellow]

For car drivers........please look......and look again! Think BIKE!!

That bike was doing 100 mph. That is a closing speed of 50 yds per second !!
So from 1/4 mile, the car driver has 4 secs or so even if he could see a head-on bike that far away.

You can't expect...1...spec on horizon...2...yeah I'm safe to go...3...release clutch and turn wheel.....BANG.

[cornishredbaron]

If this video makes us all think about how we ride then that's a good thing done and the bikers unfortunate death will not be in vein RIP

[Dailaughing]

Obviously my sympathy is always with the biker as they normally pay the higher price. We have to admit though that sometimes we do things which a driver whose snug and warm and on their way to somewhere nice just cannot react to in time. Always have an escape route if the worst happens. On a track they include escape areas so you don't need to hold back but on a road...

I ride a bike because I love the need to focus 100% most of the time. That feeling of being aware. I take a lot of that to my car driving but not always and not all of it. I miss a lot more things in a car than on a bike. I am not saying there is always fault on both sides because that is crap. Sometimes it is completely one sided. Often though the rider could have allowed a bit extra.

Disclaimer: I didn't watch the video as riding scares me enough already after half a dozen no-fault bike crashes in my life so the above has nothing to do with this specific situation.

[badgerKDD]

After watching it I don't know what to say. Yes,the car driver should have been more observant but also the rider was caning it up towards a junction with a lot of traffic and a car waiting to turn right. Unfortunately not every bike accident is the other road users fault, sometimes we have to acknowledge our own failings. This is maybe one of those times where both are at fault.
Treat every other road user as if they haven't seen you is usually how I ride, if the roads are clear or at least flowing well then you can 'make progress' , but around junctions calm it down and up your awareness levels.

[Jewell]

I feel for the mum, I genuinely do but the biker, nope.

I may ride like a plum and I certainly don't go at a snails pace but how stupid do you have to be to do 100mph across a big junction like that, what an absolute idiot. If any of us rode like him every time we went out, we'd all be dead eventually.

I feel for his mum, the car driver who was partly to blame but certainly not a big percentage, the police officers who arrived on scene, the ambulance crew, the Police Family liaison officer and all the other witnesses, all because he was speeding for no good reason other than he could.

Zero sympathy for him.

[billinom8s]

I feel for the mum, I genuinely do but the biker, nope.

I may ride like a plum and I certainly don't go at a snails pace but how stupid do you have to be to do 100mph across a big junction like that, what an absolute idiot. If any of us rode like him every time we went out, we'd all be dead eventually.

I feel for his mum, the car driver who was partly to blame but certainly not a big percentage, the police officers who arrived on scene, the ambulance crew, the Police Family liaison officer and all the other witnesses, all because he was speeding for no good reason other than he could.

Zero sympathy for him.

For once I agree with jewel on this.

[Dailaughing]

I wouldn't say "zero" because we have all been idiots at least once in our lives so I have some sympathy but yes, that's a situation where I am most alert, slow down and do not overtake or queue jump. I guess getting older helps (if you make it that far).