Guy getting hit while lane splitting

Discussion in 'Cars' started by BigEddie, Jul 5, 2009.

  1. BigEddie

    BigEddie New Member

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    150
    I was watching this video of this guy in California ( I think near me in San Francisco) and anyways, he was going a tad fast while traffic was at a standstill and this guy in a minivan crossed the double yellow lines (at 0:10) to the right and totally hit the motorcyclist and caused him to crash. From what he said, he just got a busted collarbone and a bruise, but get this:

    He settled with the insurance from the guy in the minivan and he didnt want to say exactly how much he got, but he said he was able to buy a house (in California, so you know its worth quite a bit) and two new motorcycles. Best part, he was able to show the video of this and they couldnt even put together a reasonable defense because the guy in the minivan totally crossed the double yellow lines.


    What I thought was dumb is why in the hell did that guy even feel a need to switch lanes when traffic wasnt even moving at all? I hate people who switch lanes and you like eventually get near them again, so them switching was totally pointless. I dunno, guess I'm just happy that a rare instance of a motorcyclist not being blamed for an accident and having concrete proof.
     
  2. Joeslogic

    Joeslogic Active Member

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    8,426
    I don't get it the van crossed the double lines then the bike was where? Riding on the double lines?
     
  3. BigEddie

    BigEddie New Member

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    150
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2009
  4. Joeslogic

    Joeslogic Active Member

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    8,426
    Maybe the guy in the van should have took off instead of doing the honest thing. Saved everyone a lot of money.

    Is lane splitting legal there in California?

    On the flip side I cannot help but wonder if the van turned into the cycle on purpose. But then he was Asian and those Asians are terrible drivers so it could have been an honest mistake.

    I'm on the fence I see a settlement like just enough to repair or fix the bike. Oh yeah and the collar bone. Beyond that is bullshit.
     
  5. BigEddie

    BigEddie New Member

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    Well, from what my MSF instructor told me when I took the class, he said that there is nothing in the laws here in CA that says its illegal, but many people even do it in front of the highway patrol and they dont even do it.



    From Wiki:Another consideration is that lane splitting in the USA, even where legal, can possibly leave the rider legally responsible, as "Even in California, it is legal only if done safely. And 'safely' is always very much a judgment call

    Only thing that sucks is that most of the time in these types of accidents, its almost always the cyclist's fault unless there is definite proof as in this case. I rode with a friend once while he was splitting and a cop on a motorycle in front us even waved us to go past him since he was going a bit slower. I just think it was a crappy driver because even if you wanted to hit a cyclist, are you stupid enough to cross double yellow lines? I know there are sick fucks out there that would do this, but in this case I just think it was a bad Asian driver.

    Settlement might be bull, but I wouldnt complain about getting too much. :)
     
  6. Joeslogic

    Joeslogic Active Member

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    8,426
    Well if there was no law against lane splitting then there is no doubt the van was legally in the wrong. Lucky they had video.
     
  7. Nauseous

    Nauseous Active Member

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    Was the guy not allowed to change lanes or something? I don't get it. We don't have double yellow lines around here when two lanes of traffic are going the same way. That doesn't even make sense to me.

    And if you can't change lanes, how can you drive down the double yellow line? That would defeat the whole purpose of keeping people in their respective lanes.

    I would have been so pissed if some asshole on a motorcycle hit the side of my car when I was changing lanes. I would be livid.

    Why was the stupid asshole recording it? Thinking he was cool passing people and driving like a cocksucker or was he baiting someone for a lawsuit? Hmm....
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2009
  8. Joeslogic

    Joeslogic Active Member

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    8,426
    Looked like the van was in the .... damn it I cannot think of the name. The car pool lane where you have to have more then one person. But there is another name and you get off before an exit it goes to a striped lane.

    Out here there is always some asshole that rides in that lane slowly making it not worth car pooling cause you cannot pass the moron.
     
  9. Joeslogic

    Joeslogic Active Member

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    8,426
    HOV lane
     
  10. BigEddie

    BigEddie New Member

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    Lotta people record the rides, look it up on youtube, nothing new. Sheesh, not everyone that wants to record their trips is looking to get hit, that kinda shit scares the fuck out of you.


    Like Im sure people are willing to risk their lives for that. /end sarcasm/
     
  11. Nauseous

    Nauseous Active Member

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    10,885
    For a house and two motorcycles, I'm sure there are some people out there willing to risk their lives. People stage accidents all of the time to collect insurance money and risk innocent lives to do it.

    He didn't get hit. He hit someone because he was driving like an asshole. He deserves nothing. To me, both parties were at fault and the motorcyclist didn't deserve shit, except for his injuries.
     
  12. BigEddie

    BigEddie New Member

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    150
    He didnt derserve anything? A jury of his peers and a judge felt otherwise. If you are going to say that the motorcyclist was at fault too as well as the minivan guy, might as well use the applicable laws to determine who was really at fault. Not that hard:

    Its illegal to cross double yellow lines like the Asian guy did.

    Its NOT illegal to split lanes, so long as you ride safely and from the looks of it he was going a bit fast, but cameras do deceive the eyes, even going like 15mph looks fast when you see it from a standstill.

    So with these two facts combined, its pretty easy to determine that the minivan is at fault here, end of story and I even asked him if the insurance even put up a fight, and they even admitted it was like an open and shut case, all the minivan's fault and they knew it.

    Im sure maybe you just didnt know a lot of rides record themselves. Its fun, I may do it when the cameras go down in price too. Its really fun to look at the video and watch them with friends and stuff. A big reason a lot of people use them though is for stuff just like this. 90% of the time when a motorcylist goes down at fault or not the rider will almost always be blamed because often the driver will say something like, "oh I didnt see him coming he must have been going fast and moreso than not a lot of the time the riders have to be taken to the hospital, and BOOM! Its automatically their fault. Well haveing definite proof like this helps.

    Just so you know, 75% of motorcycle accidents are from hitting a passnger vehicle (car) and 66% of the crashes are not the motorcyclist fault.

    The statistics pretty much show that a majority of the accidents aren't even caused by motorcylists, but the people not paying attnetion around them. Driving is a privlidge, not a right. I guess some people just think its all fun and games driving a half ton machine and that being aware of different motorized vehuicles doesnt apply to them. and it sucks, people die when that happens. I can only pray that something extreme doesnt ever happen to me.

    Reagrdless, splitting lanes is motherfucking fun and I love it. Albeit, I wont go as fast as this guy, I do love not having to idle slower than a fucking turtle.
     
  13. phatboy

    phatboy New Member

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    6,956
    Im not sure if its the same in all areas, but in my area, motorcyclist (myself included) speed 90% of the time. Hence breaking the "letter" of the law. I generally speed to get away from cars, to get as much seperation as possible. I avoid putting myself in situations like the one above by riding smart, even if splitting the double line is 'legal' it is still 'stupid'. If there isnt another lane for you to pass in why would you want to put yourself 3ft from getting killed? Seems retarded.

    Rider safety is just as important as driver safety. Being 'right' when you are dead is no consolation. They call them accidents for a reason.
     
  14. BigEddie

    BigEddie New Member

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    Its not stupid when traffic is basically at a standstill. You dont expect to have some dumbass 1) cross the double yellow lines, and 2) change lanes when it will cause no significant benefit. Even going like 5mph while splitting can get you pretty far. As I said, "safe" is relative to the rider and how experienced they are because a good rider can stop at a good distance at that speed, but that kind of driving and quick lane change is stupid too.

    Yes, Im sure most people on bikes speed (me doing it maybe 20% of the time when there is light traffic, but still people speed in their cars too, so how is that any different?

    Crashes over 70 mph are greatly overreported and lead to the false notion that people riding fast crash more often when in reality its a one in a thousand and the median pre-speed crash was 29mph(actual speed crash 21mph), not that fast.

    As most accidents are, they are a combination of multiiple variables and you are (if you take the MSF class) taught to minimize these factors so that you arent caught off guard by something like this, and yes, he could/should have been going slower. I honestly dont see splitting as a dangerous thing if done correctly and you are always aware of things that can happen like this, and is why I am always ready to brake and trying to look ahead and near to be prepared for something like this.
     
  15. Joeslogic

    Joeslogic Active Member

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    8,426
    I think there should be a biker lane I would say just get on the shoulder and ride but there always seems to be some trash there to get a flat tire. Especially in CA the last time I was there the traffic shoulders were littered with trash. Not at all the same place I remembered from the late 80's.

    I think the law should in all fairness be to let the bikes lane split to get around a situation but not to simply ride in the lane all the way home. The irony is that the Van guy seemed to get in the HOV lane thinking he could make some time and the HOV lane was moving slower then the rest of traffic going by the video.

    I get annoyed by bikes with loud pipes but you got to wonder if this guy had super loud pipes would he have been in the wreak?

    Well its time to go back to work later.
     
  16. phatboy

    phatboy New Member

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    6,956
    1) and 2) - uh how long have you been driving? I see idiots dart back and forth between lanes everyday here, and we arent even a town over 250k people.

    "safe" is a very relative term in this instance. If no cars are moving then safe might be higher, if traffic is moving, even a little, then the 'safe' speed would have to go down due to the likelihood of the aforementioned idiot.

    If traffic is at a stand-still or slow moving why not just hit the shoulder or median? I think that would be a much safer place than lane splitting (relatively speaking).

    Inexperienced rider get involved in slow speed crashes, the majority of the time. The ones I have seen torn in half by guard rails or stop signs are the 'experienced' ones that think they know everything.

    And Joe, I agree with the bike lane, it wouldnt even have to be that wide.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2009
  17. Joeslogic

    Joeslogic Active Member

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    8,426
    I'm sure the state of California could afford it they spend more then the cost of that on senseless bullshit every day. I'm sure that 1.5 bazzilion stimulus money Obama borrowed can pay for it would be mere pocket change and put some people to work.

    Hold on....

    Whats that? ......

    THEY ARE OUT OF MONEY? :confused:
     
  18. BigEddie

    BigEddie New Member

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    150
    The point Im trying to make is that motorcyclists are often given a bad rep when riding as to be at fault when a majority of the time its actually the car's fault. Just felt good to see one of these examples recorded.

    Ugh, Joe dont even get me started about our budget, it fucking sucks. Since the Dems control this state, I wonder who they blame...... Arnold is a fucking wolf in sheep's clothing, Republican my ass.

    I hear there is a stupid bill floating around to fine motorcyclists who have too loud tailpipes, fucking ridiculous. I swear they want to nickel and dime us to hell here.
     
  19. Joeslogic

    Joeslogic Active Member

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    8,426
    Yeah I lived there late eighties to early nineties and thank god I got to register my car out of state. :)

    Back then they kept the 5 fwy clean then I went back in maybe 2004, Gov Gray was ending his term it was like night and day from Anaheim to San Diego you could fill a big trash bag with the crap on the side of the road if you walked just 100 yards down the shoulder. My in-laws told me the Gov. was not sending out the road cleanup crews anymore said there was not enough money in the budget. I was thinking WTF? That was right before the Terminator took charge.

    BTW I'm not trying to dog the state either I liked California and was pissed to see them let it get that way.
     
  20. Lomotil

    Lomotil Active Member

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    10,267
    Being of sound mind, and acknowledging the existence of riders, makes this a sound statement. Add in the wild card of inexperienced drivers, and an infrastructure designed for 6-ft wide vehicles that weigh at least a ton, and t here is an argument for the 'I didn't see them there' excuse.

    Personally, I would recommend loud pipes and bright lights, for anyone on a bike. I don't have faith in the average driver to anticipate the odd occurrence of a bike passing through the gaps between cars, and maybe that's just because they're not all that common here. Sure, double lines are common - but in the same direction? Unheard of, in my city. Even stranger still, to someone not from here perhaps, but for as many years as I've been driving, and as many hours as I've been stuck in traffic, I've NEVER had a bike pass me by driving between the lanes. Not to say that I didn't wish I were on one in any of those instances, but I can honestly never recall one actually passing me up while I was stuck in a lane.

    Can't help but think of this movie intro, too:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsqlDQKaMAU
     

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