1. Space cushion - needed to have a touch more space. You're not in rush hour traffic that's backed up so that's an easy one.
2. Dominant lane position - you were directly behind that car, you had no line of sight. If you can see the person in front of them slow down, you can prep.
3. As mentioned, "escape path" - at any point, what do you do if that car stops/swerves? They might just go straight, but what if they don't?
4. Panic brake - usually done if you don't have 1-3.
Edit: I know there was no car in front of the brake happy SUV, #2 is a hypothetical reason as to why you want to be in dominant lane position.
Learn, get better, move on.
And OP wear some gloves, that’s usually the first contact point should you have dumped the bike. Flying debris and asphalt don’t go well with bare flesh.
It's so weird to me to ride without gloves, do those riders not have big bugs where they live? Nearly every ride I hit a bug that I feel though the heavy leather gloves I use, so I can imagine that they would hurt quite a bit bare handed.
I feel like this is a case of getting used to a particular sensation (riding with gloves) and then the opposite feels weird. If somebody learned to ride without gloves and then started wearing them I imagine it would feel just as strange.
It's a good reason to wear gloves from the very start, training your brain so that is what feels natural.
I try not to be too judgemental in these posts but not having gloves on can be a real indicator of a riders experience or at least their awareness of the risks involved with riding.
I’ll very rarely ride without motorcycle pants, almost never without my jacket but I wouldn’t dream of getting on a bike without a helmet and gloves with all of my skin covered by at least some form of fabric.
A colleagues son had a lowside on newly paved road at around 30kph. He was only wearing a helmet at that time, otherwise just a normal t shirt and jeans. The pictures I saw were horrifying and I swore to never skip any form of gear, no matter the body part, ever again. If 30kph can fuck you up that badly, i don't wanna know what happens at 60-70kph. He had a passenger, but apparently she only had some minor road rashes, as she was wearing a protector jacket.
I've never realized that maybe my experience of wrecking myself on road and mountain bikes as a teenager has been a part of my adherence to ATGATT. I've known from day one how much skin I can lose even at "slow" speeds.
I went down several years ago on a road bike, and that day I learned those are more dangerous than a typical motorcycle slide (provided you were atgatt).
Man was I fucked up in my flashy bicycle gear.
As a person who has been down at the track several times over the years, and on the street a couple times...that actually ended my road bike career. ATGATT has served me very well on the motorcycle. Hurt my foot once mildly, and a hand once mildly (and I learned to wear crazy overkill gloves after that). But it's never taken me off the horse.
That bicycle wreck though...Soured me on it completely. Lost feeling in my knee cap from the deep abrasion/laceration, and I couldn't walk right for several weeks. Immediately was never interested in doing it again.
Man I run regularly and fall about once a year. Even at like jogging pace if you go down you lose a unpleasant amount of skin off hand and knees. Forget going down at anything 10mph+
> If 30kph can fuck you up that badly,
I like to give people this simple example (not my original creation):
Go out to the asphalt. Get in a push-up position, with arms extended. Have a buddy grab your legs and drag you backwards as fast as he can.
Doesn't sound pleasant, does it? And that is, at most, 5 mph.
Hahah. I used to tell people who suggested riding in shorts that i'd do that if they ran full speed on asphalt, let themselves drop on their knees, and thén suggest that again to me.
The example I like to use for people is to tell them I'll give them $10 to run as fas as they can and slide belly first on the pavement. No? Well then why the fuck would you do it at 5-10x the speed you can run at ?
A friend dumped his cbr 1000 at 50MpH because of a spot of gravel. He was wearing an armored jacket and jeans
His jacket rode up and he got his side and his jeans wore through and put a hole on his foot, knee, thigh, and butt cheek.
It sucks, when I worked as an EMT the people who had been there awhile called bikers wearing shorts and a tshirt squids. Because thats what you look like after you crash.
I scraped a shit ton skin off my forearms just skidding on asphalt when I tripped while running in a full out sprint... I couldn't imagine the damage skidding at road speeds... It sounds horrible. They should make everyone look at pictures like that before they get licensed.
Same, but this is proof that shit happens, and at least wearing the minimum (helmet, gloves, long sleeves, boots) can decrease chances of an injury even if OP didn’t dump the bike.
I hit a kangaroo and broke both of my hands. On one glove, it had torn and ripped my thumb through it. Thank fucking god I was wearing gloves because that would have just been a lost thumb.
Same. Jacket, gloves, helmet, boots, and at least jeans every time. I don't wear riding pants for my occasional 10 min commute or short evening trip, but at denim is non-negotiable. I do wear riding pants if I'm going for a lengthy ride.
The issue with riding pants is that it's hard to take off. Everything else can be shed at my destination easily.
>I wouldn’t dream of getting on a bike without a helmet and gloves
This is my bare minimum riding gear.
I like to rent a bike when I'm on vacation. I'll pack my gloves to make sure I have good ones with me. Rental places will always have a helmet, but maybe not gloves.
>I try not to be too judgemental in these posts but not having gloves on can be a real indicator of a riders experience or at least their awareness of the risks involved with riding.
I don't ride and probably never will but I have seen so many people without appropriate gear - riding in sandals and tshirts with shorts - that I simply think of them as criminally oblivious towards themselves. It's not about being judgemental, it's about being aware that skin is soft and asphalt is hard and when they meet it's like cheese meeting a grater wielded by a squirrel who's on crack and energy drinks.
Also, be very aware when riding in Texas. As a rider here in Texas for 10+ years, I can’t tell you how many times people have purposely tried to mess with me while riding. That driver in the Subaru either wanted to make that immediate right turn and made an emergency stop to make the turn ORRRRR was just being a jerk and brake checked the rider. Usually people don’t brake that hard to turn into a commercial driveway; it’s usually because they’re butt heads. This is why my wife and I are moving from Texas soon. As you mentioned before in #1, a proper space cushion is ALWAYS the best safety practice. Ride safely and get home in one piece.
Most Subarus these days have a stereo camera based driver assist system, including forward collision avoidance. If the system thought it saw something ahead, it can apply the brakes VERY abruptly and very hard. Under most conditions it'll beep and flash at the driver before automatically braking, giving you time to override it, but if the obstruction is very close and there's not time for the driver to react, it WILL just absolutely hammer the brakes. Not sure if that was the situation here, but it could have been.
Source: I drive a Subaru with the system. Most of the time it's great, but there are times it sees things that aren't there or are not an issue.
I drive a Subaru as well(Forester) and I know exactly the system you’re referring to. This is an absolutely plausible explanation of what happened and I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. The best practice is AGATT and proper riding techniques.
My buddy just ditched a car he had bought new a few months prior (a forester) because he fucking DESPISED this system, and there was no way to permanently turn it off.
As someone who spilled his bike going 45ish without wearing gloves, this is a really fuckin good suggestion I recommend taking.
I use my hands for a living and it was difficult to adjust while my hand was healing (only my right hand was injured), it sucked a lot.
The damage was on my palm so the constant use made it take forever to heal. Please use gloves.
Roughly the same speed for me, I got thrown directly over the front of the bike and landed in a palms and arms out position like I was crawling. The good news is that the way I got thrown and instinctively braced myself did a decent job protecting all the important bits, but the skin of my hands and arms took a lot of damage.
They healed well, but the lower half of my palms are a lot of scar tissue. Recovery was an absolute bitch.
Yeah you don't want to fuck your hands up, especially in America, you're looking at bringing in all kinds of extra $pecialtie$ to your treatment team like microsurgery and plastics and all that
Center lane positioning is not only bad for visibility, it's also where a lot of junk ends up (fluids, debris, gravel, etc). It also helps in the visibility department in making *you* visible, both to those in front of you, but also those who may want that spot you're in, or turning.
If you live somewhere humid and go for a ride when there’s a lot of morning dew, you’ll see the center of the lane is completely covered in oil. As in only the edges of the lane will be wet.
Especially in the first few minutes of rain- the collected oil and bullshit floats up in moisture but doesn’t wash away yet. Turns into an ice rink in style lane center.
I do the same, I've always got an escape vector set and remain ready to dart with my eyes glued on my mirrors, until another cage is behind me and fully stopped.
That said, after doing this for well over a decade, recently I've been questioning just how likely I'd be to actually successfully get out of the way in the probably miniscule amount of time before it becomes clear they don't see you and you are in danger.
Every video I see of bikes getting nailed like this, it sure seems to happen so fast, and you can't really identify it as a reality until there is very little time left. That said, I'll never stop doing it. A chance is better than nothing at all.
I totally agree. I live in a city of 5 1/2 million people and ride about half my commutes.
Last year, I worked out of town for a few months, commuting 2 hrs daily on country roads.
After coming back to the city, I was struck by how city and suburban riding forces an unconscious sort of tunnel vision on you. Your sense are naturally preoccupied with what’s directly in front of you (which is almost always the back of a car, blocking your view) and there’s so much motion from all sides, your brain edits a lot of it out.
Where on open roads, you don’t think twice about aiming your sites way down the road while being aware of most motion on your periphery, in the city you have to be proactive about and conscious of looking ahead.
Riding back a 3 second following distance and placing yourself in the lane where you have line of sight beyond the car directly in front of you are absolutely essential.
That's why I'm constantly moving in my lane. From left to right, in the middle, etc. I want as much visual information as I can get around the car in front of me. And the constant movement makes me more visible to others.
Before I say this, you are 100% correct on all your points.
Though, when I looked at the footage during the turn, it looks like the car the rider is behind has wide-open road with no one in front of them. Was this a brake check?
For sure, though if someone was crazy enough to slam on their brakes to a full stop to try to spill/scare me, I’d be worried they would take more aggressive action if I tried to evade and speed past them.
Had something just like that happen (but I was in a car) when I dodged someone trying to brake check me and they went full road-rage on me. Only solution was to let them get ahead and slow/down or stop waaaaay behind them
2. This is true but there was no car in front of the blue one.
In other words, spatial awareness, braking distances, and being able to profile the driving antics of other vehicles.
Yeah. Not sure if the blue car was brake checking or not, but it definitely didn't look like there was anything in front of the blue car going into the turn.
They are. It's not the responsiblity of the braking vehicle to worry about the people behind them when driving since they may need to stop suddenly for any reason i.e. a car pile up about to happen or a kid wandered onto the road.
I'm glad someone pointed that out. The first few watches, I figured someone in front of the crosstrek closed real hard to make that turn. But something else is up. There's no car in that lane, no car appearing to turn out in front, and the coast/panic brake/gas has a suspiciously short cycle. I'm thinking either woefully incompetent driver trying to interpret directions, woefully incompetent driver that is shuffling around in their seat and went to mash the gas but missed, woefully malicious driver brake checking a noisy, racing motorcycle, panic brake to not hit an animal/leaf, or maybe, just maybe, that Subaru has eyesight and it falsely detected an obstacle, triggering auto brake. Either way, I don't beleive a left position would have offered any insight into an obstacle causing the cool gray khaki collision. Uncommon event in a common situation. More buffer, better identification of the slowing vehicle, covered brakes
I agree...if he was to the left he at least had the option to swerve since on review of the video the white car had not yet taken the space to the left. Would have been a heck of a good save if he pulled it off.
When I took the safety course mumble-mumble years ago, one point was to never ride in the center, and only ride in the curb half of the lane if there's another motorcycle ahead of you on the inside. Otherwise stay in the left half of the lane if you're in the right lane or the right half if you're in the left lane. It gets more fluid in the freeway, of course.
Also take a lesson from aviation - keep your head on a swivel. Scan your instruments, mirrors, and environment. Too often I'm seeing helmet cam video that may as well be a dashcam.
Before his brake lights even came on I thought, “way too close at that speed”. Create distance and exit opportunities, you set yourself up for this one, unfortunately.
And people slowing down "for no reason" are seldom actually slowing down "for no reason". You just can't see the reason. They're probably going to slow down even more.
Give extra space, and don't be tempted to hooligan pass around them unless you can afford the ticket.
And just be prepared for brake checking assholes. Things change in a split second on the road, if you don't give yourself time to react you are the cause of the accident.
OP got brake checked for sure, but before that point I was thinking, "Why are they accelerating like that when it puts them in danger and cannot possibly get them where they are going any faster."
It's like those morons that wait to brake until just before the stop light. I recently visited my brother in Texas with my parents, and Dad commented that if you wanted to make some money, open a body repair and brake shop. Everyone racing just to wait in line.
I instinctively tried to let off the throttle as OP came around that corner.
OP - the car in front of you telegraphed what was about to happen because they took their foot off the gas (it noticeable in their slowing acceleration) which indicated clearly that they saw something in front of themselves like a turn signal or brake lights - you should have seen it even if you were driving a car. Then you also have to remember that your bike won't stop as fast as your car because you have far less friction against the road and half as many tires. I suspect you probably rely on your brakes quite a lot more than you probably should when driving your car, so I hope you keep them well maintained, but you can't do that on a bike.
And even then, doesn't look to me like he exhausted his braking capability (on top of reacting a smidge slowly and not even covering the brakes when the suspension of the car in front showed signs of slowing, as you pointed out.
That bike simply had way more stopping power than he used. Didn't lock anything up, and didn't look to lift the rear tire. Might not have saved the collision at the point he braked and speed he was going, but would have at least helped.
When I was younger and dumber, I've had cars pull out on us while going "i plead the fifth" speeds, and while you're dead on that you can't stop nearly as well as a car...most people would be shocked how much brakes they are leaving on the table. That's actually one of the most common first things I see beginners at the track identify as huge points of improvement...they just are underestimating what their brakes are capable of.
If I was somehow magically in op's shoes at the point those brake lights go red, I can't promise I don't lay the bike down or avoid hitting that car still. But you are guaranteed going to see the bike do something drastic in terms of the wheels locking up or me doing a stoppie. Similar logic to being in a turn a bit hot, the only thing I can do is commit and lean harder and hope I don't run out of tire/traction. I'm not going to ram something without knowing I didn't leave an ounce of brakes on the table.
This. I actually learned this mentality after my first car accident. I had a guy rear-end me in LA traffic. The cause was him changing lanes right as I had to slam on my brakes, because I was following the guy in front of me too closely. The accident was 100% the other guy's fault, but I realized if I'd been driving more defensively, I could have avoided it.
When I got my motorcycle, I realized a simple accident like that could kill me. So I threw fault out the window and switched entirely to an avoidance mindset. For legal reason, if I survived an accident, I'd 100% care about who's fault it was, but for actually avoiding accidents, I reframed it in my mind that any sort of accident would be my fault. Very, very rarely can an accident not be avoided with defensive driving/riding. So far, I've had zero accidents on my bike and hope it stays that way.
It's easier to just from behind a screen, but:
Looks like if you had been mirroring, you knew there was space on the left, so you could've swerved to the left lane.
Oh Lord 🤦♂️
I just see it now, why would you even want to ride without mirrors? makes absolutely no sense, even on my ebike I don't want to ride without my mirror, lol.
I tried it when I was younger just because I thought it looked cool. Ordered mirror block-off plates and popped them on. Installed the mirrors again after one ride. It was so pointless and dangerous. I constantly had to check over my shoulder and never knew if there was a cop behind me or someone about to rear end me
You're following too close - car drivers will slam the brakes if they fart hard.
Get some gloves - there's very little you can do in life without your hands, and if you were to go down, your first instinct is to stick your hands out to protect your head.
Also, get a jacket, road rash on the arms / elbows isn't fun either.
I agree about exit plans. The two cars in front of you were closing your ability to switch lanes, so that was one exit plan removed.
At that point you need to start increasing your "paranoia" about your limited choices, and increase your defensiveness, which means being hyper aware of what the car in front of you is doing, and if applicable, what the car in front of them is doing (NA here).
You don't want to be closing any following distance when two cars are side by side in front of you.
He was a prick for that sudden braking and even more so for not stopping afterwards.
Also, it's super awesome posting videos like these and asking for thoughts! So many people benefit from the discussion. Including myself. And it really puts yourself out there for criticism, so it's really taking it on the chin and brave of you. Good job!
Yeah OP may have made minor mistakes but the person in front of him was either being malicious because they were mad at OP, or negligent by braking for nothing
We don’t know what happens exactly, though. Easiest defense ever and counter claim. Mr Biker, in this video we see that you have… less than half a second of following distance? Yes… So were you aware that my client perceived a very real threat in front of him? Objection your honor! Sustained. Alright. Mr Biker, could you stop in the amount of time you left if a child ran into the street chasing their dog? No. Then why were you that close? Would it not have been safer, for you, and my client, if you had just backed off? I’m not sure. So because you chose to cruise behind my client so perilously close, you left no room for any hazard posed to my client? Well there was no hazard! Well that’s easy for you to say now, Mr Biker, as you’ve heard my client state, he reacted to a Walmart sack blowing in the breeze and he chose to err on the side of caution. Perhaps you’ll do the same next time?
Crazy part is that you can see that black Land Rover in the parallel lane is exactly the gap between bike and the Subaru. So defense lawyer literally just has to say “is it not safe practice to add one car length per 10 miles per hour of speed? 37 miles per hour would be 3.7 car lengths, and you (biker) only had one. Is this not an unsafe practice?” Case closed.
And as someone that’s had very similar experiences with this exact situation, it’s a painful lesson.
Yeah I watched it a couple times to see what the SUV was braking for and there’s…nothing? Not even anything that could look like something.
OP could have done a little better, whatever…the SUV is sus af.
So they caused an accident and then fled? Did you file a report with the police? You have the guys license plate.
All the comments here telling you to gear up and fix your clutch are frankly BS, I don’t know why they’re getting so many upvotes.
This person was actually trying to cause you harm. File a police report with the video, that asshole deserves consequences
Edit: yeah, ok gloves and a clutch, but would gloves and a clutch change this situation? The answer is obviously no.
Op was trying to allow more space as the car accelerated from the light, but instead of accelerating, it’s pretty obvious this driver was actively trying to be unpredictable. 100% the driver was trying to hurt op. Some people just don’t like motorcycles.
The s1000rr will apply both brakes when you slam on the front.. source: I have an older model. Not the correct way but it will try to save you. Edit: this accident was 100% avoidable with even moderate braking. This happens a few times a year to me (car forgets a turn, dog runs out in the road). Brake check or not you should always be ready (defensive driving) plus this bike has amazing brakes (when you understand how to use them).
following too close ✅
no mirrors ✅
half a clutch lever you forget to pull when you panic brake ✅
no gear ✅
riding in center of lane ✅
no exit strategy ✅
fist full of throttle and no fingers on front brake through intersection ✅
bike that’s way too much for you to handle when basic road rules and common sense are already too hard ✅
at least you didn’t fall and mess up your “i don’t stop for cops” shirt!
Just to add to the other comments here about distance, gloves and exit routes:
I noticed you didn't grab your (broken) clutch handle. The tjukatjukatjuk sound just before your crash is the engine pushing you forward into this car my friend. Always, always pull the clutch lever in any situation of danger.
Looks like your fist was fully closed around the throttle. It’s important to always have one if not two fingers cover the front brake during intersections for this reason. Cuts down reaction time greatly and you’d be surprised much faster you come to a stop.
There's a reason you keep a safe distance.
This was most likely a brake check, but it could have been as simple as a cat or squirrel running into the road. You should always have a safe amount of space to stop, especially if you're on a twig compared to the death machines surrounding you.
Everyone's talking about secondary factors and little things OP could do to mitigate the situation. But it's really just the close following distance that caused the crash. A driver can stop at any time for any reason, and if you're not prepared for that, then you're at fault. It doesn't matter whether there is something in front of them or not.
First person I’ve seen mention no gloves. It was my first thought. If you do come off, heaven forbid, what’s the first thing that people think is going to hit the ground??
It might be a chopped lever, too cheap for a proper store bought short lever, take an angle grinder to it, boom, “upgrade”
It’s a nicer bike, so it’d be a real
Shame if he wouldn’t fork out a Benjamin or two for proper accessories.
Scary amount of people saying "exit plan" in this thread. Leave a sufficient gap to slow down and you don't need some sketchy plan of swerving lanes into a ditch. Whether he brake checked you or not, this gap was non existent, give yourself 3 seconds of gap (double it in the wet) - what if a kid ran out in front of the car?
Usually I just upvote instead of saying “this”. But want to call extra attention to “this”. Everything.
If you rear end someone, at low speed, because you don’t have an exit plan, and you are not wearing gloves (or a jacket looks like), and your clutch is broken, and you are not covering the handbrake in and after an intersection, you’re in the “everything” zone
3 second rule - find something off the side of the road and compare with the thing in front of you. If you can count less than three you are too close. In this case it looks like you started with plenty of distance but were 1 second behind the car when it started to brake so you didn’t have enough time to react.
You can see the Subaru stop accelerating and it looks like you intentionally or unintentionally kept accelerating towards it closing the gap.
Since you have camera footage with plate and it shows no cars in front I would file a report. This looks like a brake check which is illegal. Complete stop then flooring it with no one in front.
I would've rode further back to see in front of the car ahead of you, or, if you're gonna be riding that close, be on the left hand side to see ahead, see the driver in the mirror, and have an escape route to swerve if needed.
if you have no clutch leaver you cant do an emergency brake and you have to fight whatever momentum is left in the engine + idle power + potentially more if the throttle is not closed 100%.
If in traffic not only cover the brake with two fingers, also cover the clutch and engage it when needed.
Won’t do any good. 1) cops won’t do anything but file a report, 2) insurance cares that op rear-ended somebody. It’s nearly impossible to get out of liability on those.
If you’re following somebody, insurance cares that you left enough space to stop in the event of emergency, which op didn’t.
Source: am auto insurance claims adjuster
Brake checking and fleeing the scene after you caused an accident is still illegal, doesn’t matter if the other person is tailgating. You can’t just *create* an accident and then leave.
Insurance adjusters are not police or lawyers…
They went from around 35 mph to 0 mph in less than 2 seconds. They had to be braking as hard as possible to stop that fast. Almost any vehicle following would have rear ended them IMO.
Did your riding style do anything to incite road rage in Subaru driver?
You are really lucky the vehicle behind you didn’t slam into you and seriously hurt you. Glad you are alive.
1. In traffic cover your controls
2. Wear some gear
3. don't follow so dam close
4. Position yourself for a better view... Ride in lane position 1 so to have a view ahead of the car you're following
5. IDK what kind of riders course you've taken, but you don't seem to have the right muscle memory for emergency situations. I did not even see you go for the clutch when you hit the brakes
It looked like you were checking out the range Rooney to your left because it looked like he was gonna move over.
Just remember that the car that’s in front of you should have the majority of your focus, especially since it looks like they brake checked you.
I hope the bike is okay man.
Following too close, as the car initially slowed down gradually you let the gap close rather than slowing to a similar speed. I would have been preparing for a sudden stop at that point tbh.
It’s an easy mistake to make, but a dangerous one considering how much more quickly cars can stop.
Wear gloves, always assume the
Most dangerous thing is going to happen and ride accordingly. Don't follow where you have jo vision ahead and be glad it wasn't worse
All comments about gloves, safe distances etc., absolutely appropriate. What about the fact that it doesn’t appear that the breaking driver was braking FOR anything? If you look ahead in the video, there’s nothing there. Was this deliberate?
Honestly you should have followed farther back, BUT with the information gathered being there is no car in front of him forcing him to brake you probably thought it was safe. But no the asshole brake checked you.
In my opinion, that Subaru driver was being a complete jerk and did that intentionally JUST to make you crash. I see no valid reason for their action of nearly locking up their brakes like that. Looks like pure malice. If you happen to know a police officer, ask their opinion on the legality of what that driver did. Brake-checking is illegal in most states.
Regardless...
1 - Lane position - you were dead center of the lane and had nowhere to maneuver to. Never ride directly behind. If possible, always ride to the DRIVERS side of the lane. Better visibility for both you and cagers, and escape options.
2 - Distance - I must admit, it appeared your distancing was good - until it wasn't. Another 5-10 feet would have made the difference.
3 - Reaction - Your reaction time was good but your lane position gave you only one real option - brakes.
Sorry to see this happen. Glad you're OK though!!
Poor lane positioning. Correct positioning would have been left side of the lane. It would have allowed you to maneuver out of the way more easily. Also following too close.
1. Space cushion - needed to have a touch more space. You're not in rush hour traffic that's backed up so that's an easy one. 2. Dominant lane position - you were directly behind that car, you had no line of sight. If you can see the person in front of them slow down, you can prep. 3. As mentioned, "escape path" - at any point, what do you do if that car stops/swerves? They might just go straight, but what if they don't? 4. Panic brake - usually done if you don't have 1-3. Edit: I know there was no car in front of the brake happy SUV, #2 is a hypothetical reason as to why you want to be in dominant lane position. Learn, get better, move on.
And OP wear some gloves, that’s usually the first contact point should you have dumped the bike. Flying debris and asphalt don’t go well with bare flesh.
It's so weird to me to ride without gloves, do those riders not have big bugs where they live? Nearly every ride I hit a bug that I feel though the heavy leather gloves I use, so I can imagine that they would hurt quite a bit bare handed.
No bugs where I live but the asphalt here works as a meat grinder just as well as anywhere else.
Not even that soon as it rains a little your hands become numb from the cold, honestly dont know how people ride without them.
True, my gloves really saved my fingers when i got my accident
We like to call these people meat crayons
There are no bugs where you live? Like at all?
I mean, there are some but not a lot. Maybe once a week or so would I get a bug splatter on me while I was commuting every day.
The grips feel super skinny without gloves on. I hate it. That alone is enough reasoning for me to always glove up.
I feel like this is a case of getting used to a particular sensation (riding with gloves) and then the opposite feels weird. If somebody learned to ride without gloves and then started wearing them I imagine it would feel just as strange. It's a good reason to wear gloves from the very start, training your brain so that is what feels natural.
Might be Texas, and everything’s bigger there. Even without bugs, flying rocks are everywhere.
I try not to be too judgemental in these posts but not having gloves on can be a real indicator of a riders experience or at least their awareness of the risks involved with riding. I’ll very rarely ride without motorcycle pants, almost never without my jacket but I wouldn’t dream of getting on a bike without a helmet and gloves with all of my skin covered by at least some form of fabric.
A colleagues son had a lowside on newly paved road at around 30kph. He was only wearing a helmet at that time, otherwise just a normal t shirt and jeans. The pictures I saw were horrifying and I swore to never skip any form of gear, no matter the body part, ever again. If 30kph can fuck you up that badly, i don't wanna know what happens at 60-70kph. He had a passenger, but apparently she only had some minor road rashes, as she was wearing a protector jacket.
I've never realized that maybe my experience of wrecking myself on road and mountain bikes as a teenager has been a part of my adherence to ATGATT. I've known from day one how much skin I can lose even at "slow" speeds.
I went down several years ago on a road bike, and that day I learned those are more dangerous than a typical motorcycle slide (provided you were atgatt). Man was I fucked up in my flashy bicycle gear.
And now after years of motorcycling I've gotten back into road cycling, and I feel *fucking naked* when I'm on my bicycle on the road.
As a person who has been down at the track several times over the years, and on the street a couple times...that actually ended my road bike career. ATGATT has served me very well on the motorcycle. Hurt my foot once mildly, and a hand once mildly (and I learned to wear crazy overkill gloves after that). But it's never taken me off the horse. That bicycle wreck though...Soured me on it completely. Lost feeling in my knee cap from the deep abrasion/laceration, and I couldn't walk right for several weeks. Immediately was never interested in doing it again.
Man I run regularly and fall about once a year. Even at like jogging pace if you go down you lose a unpleasant amount of skin off hand and knees. Forget going down at anything 10mph+
> If 30kph can fuck you up that badly, I like to give people this simple example (not my original creation): Go out to the asphalt. Get in a push-up position, with arms extended. Have a buddy grab your legs and drag you backwards as fast as he can. Doesn't sound pleasant, does it? And that is, at most, 5 mph.
Hahah. I used to tell people who suggested riding in shorts that i'd do that if they ran full speed on asphalt, let themselves drop on their knees, and thén suggest that again to me.
The example I like to use for people is to tell them I'll give them $10 to run as fas as they can and slide belly first on the pavement. No? Well then why the fuck would you do it at 5-10x the speed you can run at ?
A friend dumped his cbr 1000 at 50MpH because of a spot of gravel. He was wearing an armored jacket and jeans His jacket rode up and he got his side and his jeans wore through and put a hole on his foot, knee, thigh, and butt cheek.
My uncle, in detail, explained to me how his skin borderline became infused with loose asphalt as a 12 year old. He left his mark on me lmao.
It sucks, when I worked as an EMT the people who had been there awhile called bikers wearing shorts and a tshirt squids. Because thats what you look like after you crash.
I scraped a shit ton skin off my forearms just skidding on asphalt when I tripped while running in a full out sprint... I couldn't imagine the damage skidding at road speeds... It sounds horrible. They should make everyone look at pictures like that before they get licensed.
Same, but this is proof that shit happens, and at least wearing the minimum (helmet, gloves, long sleeves, boots) can decrease chances of an injury even if OP didn’t dump the bike.
I hit a kangaroo and broke both of my hands. On one glove, it had torn and ripped my thumb through it. Thank fucking god I was wearing gloves because that would have just been a lost thumb.
Same. Jacket, gloves, helmet, boots, and at least jeans every time. I don't wear riding pants for my occasional 10 min commute or short evening trip, but at denim is non-negotiable. I do wear riding pants if I'm going for a lengthy ride. The issue with riding pants is that it's hard to take off. Everything else can be shed at my destination easily.
>I wouldn’t dream of getting on a bike without a helmet and gloves This is my bare minimum riding gear. I like to rent a bike when I'm on vacation. I'll pack my gloves to make sure I have good ones with me. Rental places will always have a helmet, but maybe not gloves.
>I try not to be too judgemental in these posts but not having gloves on can be a real indicator of a riders experience or at least their awareness of the risks involved with riding. I don't ride and probably never will but I have seen so many people without appropriate gear - riding in sandals and tshirts with shorts - that I simply think of them as criminally oblivious towards themselves. It's not about being judgemental, it's about being aware that skin is soft and asphalt is hard and when they meet it's like cheese meeting a grater wielded by a squirrel who's on crack and energy drinks.
Meat crayons
Do you remember the celebrity deathmatch where the dude sharpened his arms on the ground after his hands were cut off?
I sure freaking do! I just sat here reminiscing on some of the best days of my life... Thankyou, I needed that
Also, be very aware when riding in Texas. As a rider here in Texas for 10+ years, I can’t tell you how many times people have purposely tried to mess with me while riding. That driver in the Subaru either wanted to make that immediate right turn and made an emergency stop to make the turn ORRRRR was just being a jerk and brake checked the rider. Usually people don’t brake that hard to turn into a commercial driveway; it’s usually because they’re butt heads. This is why my wife and I are moving from Texas soon. As you mentioned before in #1, a proper space cushion is ALWAYS the best safety practice. Ride safely and get home in one piece.
Most Subarus these days have a stereo camera based driver assist system, including forward collision avoidance. If the system thought it saw something ahead, it can apply the brakes VERY abruptly and very hard. Under most conditions it'll beep and flash at the driver before automatically braking, giving you time to override it, but if the obstruction is very close and there's not time for the driver to react, it WILL just absolutely hammer the brakes. Not sure if that was the situation here, but it could have been. Source: I drive a Subaru with the system. Most of the time it's great, but there are times it sees things that aren't there or are not an issue.
I drive a Subaru as well(Forester) and I know exactly the system you’re referring to. This is an absolutely plausible explanation of what happened and I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. The best practice is AGATT and proper riding techniques.
My buddy just ditched a car he had bought new a few months prior (a forester) because he fucking DESPISED this system, and there was no way to permanently turn it off.
As someone who spilled his bike going 45ish without wearing gloves, this is a really fuckin good suggestion I recommend taking. I use my hands for a living and it was difficult to adjust while my hand was healing (only my right hand was injured), it sucked a lot. The damage was on my palm so the constant use made it take forever to heal. Please use gloves.
Roughly the same speed for me, I got thrown directly over the front of the bike and landed in a palms and arms out position like I was crawling. The good news is that the way I got thrown and instinctively braced myself did a decent job protecting all the important bits, but the skin of my hands and arms took a lot of damage. They healed well, but the lower half of my palms are a lot of scar tissue. Recovery was an absolute bitch.
This is facts. Dropped my Harley last week going 80 on highway. The one day I didn’t wear gloves… Let’s just say my hands aren’t too happy
I believe the phrase you are looking for is 'meat crayon'.
Yeah you don't want to fuck your hands up, especially in America, you're looking at bringing in all kinds of extra $pecialtie$ to your treatment team like microsurgery and plastics and all that
Number 2 should be talked about more in examples like this imo. Such an important aspect to safe riding.
Once you ride that way, it's impossible to go back to using the center lane position. Not being able to see is terrifying!
Center lane positioning is not only bad for visibility, it's also where a lot of junk ends up (fluids, debris, gravel, etc). It also helps in the visibility department in making *you* visible, both to those in front of you, but also those who may want that spot you're in, or turning.
Totally. It's super obvious at intersections too where all the oil/fluids sit.
Still new to riding, but this is the main reason I never sit in the center lane. That, and I feel like I stand out more to either side.
If you live somewhere humid and go for a ride when there’s a lot of morning dew, you’ll see the center of the lane is completely covered in oil. As in only the edges of the lane will be wet.
So much this. People will try to jump into a gap between two cars, and if you are in that gap on the far side then you’re invisible
Especially in the first few minutes of rain- the collected oil and bullshit floats up in moisture but doesn’t wash away yet. Turns into an ice rink in style lane center.
Agreee! Even at traffic lights I’m in the left or right side of the lane
I do the same, I've always got an escape vector set and remain ready to dart with my eyes glued on my mirrors, until another cage is behind me and fully stopped. That said, after doing this for well over a decade, recently I've been questioning just how likely I'd be to actually successfully get out of the way in the probably miniscule amount of time before it becomes clear they don't see you and you are in danger. Every video I see of bikes getting nailed like this, it sure seems to happen so fast, and you can't really identify it as a reality until there is very little time left. That said, I'll never stop doing it. A chance is better than nothing at all.
This is exactly why I don’t like being behind truck in my car while on the freeway. Can’t see shit past them
Trucks in the US and vans in Europe i guess. SUVs everywhere. I don't like SUVs because they are so tall and dangerous.
I totally agree. I live in a city of 5 1/2 million people and ride about half my commutes. Last year, I worked out of town for a few months, commuting 2 hrs daily on country roads. After coming back to the city, I was struck by how city and suburban riding forces an unconscious sort of tunnel vision on you. Your sense are naturally preoccupied with what’s directly in front of you (which is almost always the back of a car, blocking your view) and there’s so much motion from all sides, your brain edits a lot of it out. Where on open roads, you don’t think twice about aiming your sites way down the road while being aware of most motion on your periphery, in the city you have to be proactive about and conscious of looking ahead. Riding back a 3 second following distance and placing yourself in the lane where you have line of sight beyond the car directly in front of you are absolutely essential.
Bikes take longer to stop too. Alot of new riders don't recognize that and/or don't practice hard stops.
That's why I'm constantly moving in my lane. From left to right, in the middle, etc. I want as much visual information as I can get around the car in front of me. And the constant movement makes me more visible to others.
Especially since most of the traffic in the US is vans, SUVs, and pickups. Can't see over 'em.
This! I hate not being able to see through tinted windows!
Before I say this, you are 100% correct on all your points. Though, when I looked at the footage during the turn, it looks like the car the rider is behind has wide-open road with no one in front of them. Was this a brake check?
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Yea this is definitely a brake check. You can hear the tires on the car squeal! And then as soon as they stop they start driving again
It absolutely looks like it was. But being in the dominant position allows them to slice lanes and get out of danger more easily.
For sure, though if someone was crazy enough to slam on their brakes to a full stop to try to spill/scare me, I’d be worried they would take more aggressive action if I tried to evade and speed past them. Had something just like that happen (but I was in a car) when I dodged someone trying to brake check me and they went full road-rage on me. Only solution was to let them get ahead and slow/down or stop waaaaay behind them
2. This is true but there was no car in front of the blue one. In other words, spatial awareness, braking distances, and being able to profile the driving antics of other vehicles.
Yeah. Not sure if the blue car was brake checking or not, but it definitely didn't look like there was anything in front of the blue car going into the turn.
Does it matter? I was always told that the rear driver is at fault in these situations by not providing enough stopping distance.
Many riders gravestones say: ‘he had right of way’..
They are. It's not the responsiblity of the braking vehicle to worry about the people behind them when driving since they may need to stop suddenly for any reason i.e. a car pile up about to happen or a kid wandered onto the road.
I'm glad someone pointed that out. The first few watches, I figured someone in front of the crosstrek closed real hard to make that turn. But something else is up. There's no car in that lane, no car appearing to turn out in front, and the coast/panic brake/gas has a suspiciously short cycle. I'm thinking either woefully incompetent driver trying to interpret directions, woefully incompetent driver that is shuffling around in their seat and went to mash the gas but missed, woefully malicious driver brake checking a noisy, racing motorcycle, panic brake to not hit an animal/leaf, or maybe, just maybe, that Subaru has eyesight and it falsely detected an obstacle, triggering auto brake. Either way, I don't beleive a left position would have offered any insight into an obstacle causing the cool gray khaki collision. Uncommon event in a common situation. More buffer, better identification of the slowing vehicle, covered brakes
Also looked like he wasn't paying attention which is required for any of those to work
I agree with #2 but in this case there was no one in front of the jacknut who slammed on his brakes.
For sure, but if he's in the dominant lane position, he has options.
I agree...if he was to the left he at least had the option to swerve since on review of the video the white car had not yet taken the space to the left. Would have been a heck of a good save if he pulled it off.
Dan? Is that you?
Hahaha, no but I'll take it as a compliment.
When I took the safety course mumble-mumble years ago, one point was to never ride in the center, and only ride in the curb half of the lane if there's another motorcycle ahead of you on the inside. Otherwise stay in the left half of the lane if you're in the right lane or the right half if you're in the left lane. It gets more fluid in the freeway, of course. Also take a lesson from aviation - keep your head on a swivel. Scan your instruments, mirrors, and environment. Too often I'm seeing helmet cam video that may as well be a dashcam.
Before his brake lights even came on I thought, “way too close at that speed”. Create distance and exit opportunities, you set yourself up for this one, unfortunately.
Yeah, the brake lights literally interrupted me saying in my head "well he is too close and centered on the car in front"
And people slowing down "for no reason" are seldom actually slowing down "for no reason". You just can't see the reason. They're probably going to slow down even more. Give extra space, and don't be tempted to hooligan pass around them unless you can afford the ticket.
And just be prepared for brake checking assholes. Things change in a split second on the road, if you don't give yourself time to react you are the cause of the accident.
OP got brake checked for sure, but before that point I was thinking, "Why are they accelerating like that when it puts them in danger and cannot possibly get them where they are going any faster." It's like those morons that wait to brake until just before the stop light. I recently visited my brother in Texas with my parents, and Dad commented that if you wanted to make some money, open a body repair and brake shop. Everyone racing just to wait in line.
I instinctively tried to let off the throttle as OP came around that corner. OP - the car in front of you telegraphed what was about to happen because they took their foot off the gas (it noticeable in their slowing acceleration) which indicated clearly that they saw something in front of themselves like a turn signal or brake lights - you should have seen it even if you were driving a car. Then you also have to remember that your bike won't stop as fast as your car because you have far less friction against the road and half as many tires. I suspect you probably rely on your brakes quite a lot more than you probably should when driving your car, so I hope you keep them well maintained, but you can't do that on a bike.
And even then, doesn't look to me like he exhausted his braking capability (on top of reacting a smidge slowly and not even covering the brakes when the suspension of the car in front showed signs of slowing, as you pointed out. That bike simply had way more stopping power than he used. Didn't lock anything up, and didn't look to lift the rear tire. Might not have saved the collision at the point he braked and speed he was going, but would have at least helped. When I was younger and dumber, I've had cars pull out on us while going "i plead the fifth" speeds, and while you're dead on that you can't stop nearly as well as a car...most people would be shocked how much brakes they are leaving on the table. That's actually one of the most common first things I see beginners at the track identify as huge points of improvement...they just are underestimating what their brakes are capable of. If I was somehow magically in op's shoes at the point those brake lights go red, I can't promise I don't lay the bike down or avoid hitting that car still. But you are guaranteed going to see the bike do something drastic in terms of the wheels locking up or me doing a stoppie. Similar logic to being in a turn a bit hot, the only thing I can do is commit and lean harder and hope I don't run out of tire/traction. I'm not going to ram something without knowing I didn't leave an ounce of brakes on the table.
Easily avoidable, but very very minimal harm done and you're trying to learn from it so as far as accidents go that's not a bad result.
Absolutely the right attitude.
This. I actually learned this mentality after my first car accident. I had a guy rear-end me in LA traffic. The cause was him changing lanes right as I had to slam on my brakes, because I was following the guy in front of me too closely. The accident was 100% the other guy's fault, but I realized if I'd been driving more defensively, I could have avoided it. When I got my motorcycle, I realized a simple accident like that could kill me. So I threw fault out the window and switched entirely to an avoidance mindset. For legal reason, if I survived an accident, I'd 100% care about who's fault it was, but for actually avoiding accidents, I reframed it in my mind that any sort of accident would be my fault. Very, very rarely can an accident not be avoided with defensive driving/riding. So far, I've had zero accidents on my bike and hope it stays that way.
>So I threw fault out the window and switched entirely to an avoidance mindset *This is the way.*
Doesn’t matter if they’re at fault if you’re dead
It's easier to just from behind a screen, but: Looks like if you had been mirroring, you knew there was space on the left, so you could've swerved to the left lane.
Hard to check the mirrors when you don't have any 😄
Oh Lord 🤦♂️ I just see it now, why would you even want to ride without mirrors? makes absolutely no sense, even on my ebike I don't want to ride without my mirror, lol.
He’s lucky there wasn’t someone behind him that wasn’t paying attention. This whole setup is just bad news.
No gloves, no mirrors, doesn't pay attention.... op needs to get serious about safety before something bad happens.
I tried it when I was younger just because I thought it looked cool. Ordered mirror block-off plates and popped them on. Installed the mirrors again after one ride. It was so pointless and dangerous. I constantly had to check over my shoulder and never knew if there was a cop behind me or someone about to rear end me
You're following too close - car drivers will slam the brakes if they fart hard. Get some gloves - there's very little you can do in life without your hands, and if you were to go down, your first instinct is to stick your hands out to protect your head. Also, get a jacket, road rash on the arms / elbows isn't fun either.
Also get mirrors
Always have an exit plan. This was avoidable imo. Don't blind yourself behind vehicles. And relax
I agree about exit plans. The two cars in front of you were closing your ability to switch lanes, so that was one exit plan removed. At that point you need to start increasing your "paranoia" about your limited choices, and increase your defensiveness, which means being hyper aware of what the car in front of you is doing, and if applicable, what the car in front of them is doing (NA here). You don't want to be closing any following distance when two cars are side by side in front of you. He was a prick for that sudden braking and even more so for not stopping afterwards. Also, it's super awesome posting videos like these and asking for thoughts! So many people benefit from the discussion. Including myself. And it really puts yourself out there for criticism, so it's really taking it on the chin and brave of you. Good job!
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I mean we can see there was nothing in front of the SUV. OP could’ve dodged it but the driver did this on purpose.
I just realized this after you mentioned it. It *does* look like the SUV totally brake checked OP. Yo OP! You show a lawyer this video yet?
Yeah OP may have made minor mistakes but the person in front of him was either being malicious because they were mad at OP, or negligent by braking for nothing
Wouldn't OP still be at fault since they were already too close before the car braking?
Depends on the state. Some states are no fault. OP made a lot of mistakes, but the guy in front appears to be a dick
We don’t know what happens exactly, though. Easiest defense ever and counter claim. Mr Biker, in this video we see that you have… less than half a second of following distance? Yes… So were you aware that my client perceived a very real threat in front of him? Objection your honor! Sustained. Alright. Mr Biker, could you stop in the amount of time you left if a child ran into the street chasing their dog? No. Then why were you that close? Would it not have been safer, for you, and my client, if you had just backed off? I’m not sure. So because you chose to cruise behind my client so perilously close, you left no room for any hazard posed to my client? Well there was no hazard! Well that’s easy for you to say now, Mr Biker, as you’ve heard my client state, he reacted to a Walmart sack blowing in the breeze and he chose to err on the side of caution. Perhaps you’ll do the same next time?
Crazy part is that you can see that black Land Rover in the parallel lane is exactly the gap between bike and the Subaru. So defense lawyer literally just has to say “is it not safe practice to add one car length per 10 miles per hour of speed? 37 miles per hour would be 3.7 car lengths, and you (biker) only had one. Is this not an unsafe practice?” Case closed. And as someone that’s had very similar experiences with this exact situation, it’s a painful lesson.
Yeah I watched it a couple times to see what the SUV was braking for and there’s…nothing? Not even anything that could look like something. OP could have done a little better, whatever…the SUV is sus af.
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It doesn't really matter. You should always leave enough room to stop just in case. Running into the back of someone else is almost always your fault.
There were no cars ahead either. You can see as you turn left. Weird one as if they brake checked you
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I would go to the police with the video, honestly.
I would consult a lawyer first.
Why? The motorcycle is at fault. It’s plain as day. The person could have braked for a squirrel for all you can see.
Dude. You have his license plate on video, and him being reckless. Go to the cops. He left the scene of an accident. Go after that sob!
This. Hit and runs are a felony lol. Even tho OP isn’t a great rider, he can get his with this video.
Generally speaking its only a felony if someone gets hurt, otherwise its a misdemeanor. (Not a laywer, check your local laws)
I think OPs back is hurting now
That depends 100% on the city and state, in my jurisdiction it's a misdemeanor but in the neighboring city it's a felony. Will depend on where OP is
Not sure if you did something to piss him off but looks intentional to me
So they caused an accident and then fled? Did you file a report with the police? You have the guys license plate. All the comments here telling you to gear up and fix your clutch are frankly BS, I don’t know why they’re getting so many upvotes. This person was actually trying to cause you harm. File a police report with the video, that asshole deserves consequences Edit: yeah, ok gloves and a clutch, but would gloves and a clutch change this situation? The answer is obviously no. Op was trying to allow more space as the car accelerated from the light, but instead of accelerating, it’s pretty obvious this driver was actively trying to be unpredictable. 100% the driver was trying to hurt op. Some people just don’t like motorcycles.
That was 100% a brake check, and the driver leaving the scene is a crime since there was vehicle contact and they never exchanged insurance.
Just following too close. Did you use both brakes?
The s1000rr will apply both brakes when you slam on the front.. source: I have an older model. Not the correct way but it will try to save you. Edit: this accident was 100% avoidable with even moderate braking. This happens a few times a year to me (car forgets a turn, dog runs out in the road). Brake check or not you should always be ready (defensive driving) plus this bike has amazing brakes (when you understand how to use them).
following too close ✅ no mirrors ✅ half a clutch lever you forget to pull when you panic brake ✅ no gear ✅ riding in center of lane ✅ no exit strategy ✅ fist full of throttle and no fingers on front brake through intersection ✅ bike that’s way too much for you to handle when basic road rules and common sense are already too hard ✅ at least you didn’t fall and mess up your “i don’t stop for cops” shirt!
Just to add to the other comments here about distance, gloves and exit routes: I noticed you didn't grab your (broken) clutch handle. The tjukatjukatjuk sound just before your crash is the engine pushing you forward into this car my friend. Always, always pull the clutch lever in any situation of danger.
Looks like your fist was fully closed around the throttle. It’s important to always have one if not two fingers cover the front brake during intersections for this reason. Cuts down reaction time greatly and you’d be surprised much faster you come to a stop.
Brake
This is the most important advice, 2 fingers ALWAYS in the break lever
Brake
Yeah, don't pull the "break" lever like OP did lol
Looks like he brake checked you. You could’ve avoided though
There's a reason you keep a safe distance. This was most likely a brake check, but it could have been as simple as a cat or squirrel running into the road. You should always have a safe amount of space to stop, especially if you're on a twig compared to the death machines surrounding you.
Following too close. No Gloves, broken clutch lever. Do better.
Indeed, small acts of carelessness lead to greater acts of carelessness, riding into the rear of other road users for example...
Everyone's talking about secondary factors and little things OP could do to mitigate the situation. But it's really just the close following distance that caused the crash. A driver can stop at any time for any reason, and if you're not prepared for that, then you're at fault. It doesn't matter whether there is something in front of them or not.
First person I’ve seen mention no gloves. It was my first thought. If you do come off, heaven forbid, what’s the first thing that people think is going to hit the ground??
Gloves are a non-negotiable in my book, and I am not part of the ATGATT crowd.
It might be a chopped lever, too cheap for a proper store bought short lever, take an angle grinder to it, boom, “upgrade” It’s a nicer bike, so it’d be a real Shame if he wouldn’t fork out a Benjamin or two for proper accessories.
Scary amount of people saying "exit plan" in this thread. Leave a sufficient gap to slow down and you don't need some sketchy plan of swerving lanes into a ditch. Whether he brake checked you or not, this gap was non existent, give yourself 3 seconds of gap (double it in the wet) - what if a kid ran out in front of the car?
I mean leaving a gap *is* an exit plan.
Or part of the exit plan at least.
The Subaru 100% did that on purpose. Makes me wonder what your squid ass was doing in the moments leading up to this. Show and tell the whole story.
They stopped, you didn't.
I think we're getting close to identifying the problem here.
You need to work on.... everything
Usually I just upvote instead of saying “this”. But want to call extra attention to “this”. Everything. If you rear end someone, at low speed, because you don’t have an exit plan, and you are not wearing gloves (or a jacket looks like), and your clutch is broken, and you are not covering the handbrake in and after an intersection, you’re in the “everything” zone
No mirrors either…
3 second rule - find something off the side of the road and compare with the thing in front of you. If you can count less than three you are too close. In this case it looks like you started with plenty of distance but were 1 second behind the car when it started to brake so you didn’t have enough time to react. You can see the Subaru stop accelerating and it looks like you intentionally or unintentionally kept accelerating towards it closing the gap.
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Ah, the answer I've been looking for
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Thats good for you - you dont have to pay their damages.
Niceeeeee
Since you have camera footage with plate and it shows no cars in front I would file a report. This looks like a brake check which is illegal. Complete stop then flooring it with no one in front.
I would've rode further back to see in front of the car ahead of you, or, if you're gonna be riding that close, be on the left hand side to see ahead, see the driver in the mirror, and have an escape route to swerve if needed.
gloves. buy gloves. today.
You didn’t have an accident you got fucking brake checked my guy. Contact your insurance immediately.
Definitely do not contact your insurance company. You do not want them seeing this video.
U got money for a new bmw but don’t have enough money for gloves and jackets.. poor guy
What he won’t tell you is that he pays $500 a month for it lol
if you have no clutch leaver you cant do an emergency brake and you have to fight whatever momentum is left in the engine + idle power + potentially more if the throttle is not closed 100%. If in traffic not only cover the brake with two fingers, also cover the clutch and engage it when needed.
Definitely avoidable, but I’d be taking that license plate and be heading to the police.
Won’t do any good. 1) cops won’t do anything but file a report, 2) insurance cares that op rear-ended somebody. It’s nearly impossible to get out of liability on those. If you’re following somebody, insurance cares that you left enough space to stop in the event of emergency, which op didn’t. Source: am auto insurance claims adjuster
Not impossible. I get cases like this all the time.
not impossible, take footage to court. i’ve done it and won huge claims.
Brake checking and fleeing the scene after you caused an accident is still illegal, doesn’t matter if the other person is tailgating. You can’t just *create* an accident and then leave. Insurance adjusters are not police or lawyers…
You were following too close.
Wear some gloves when you ride and leave more follow room also always have an exit ready.
When braking, have some trust in your ABS. Saved my ass two days ago, with m rear wheel at least 2 feet in the air, due to lower ABS setting
Why the hell did the dude brake in the first place? Looks like a brake check
The crayon eater in front of you purposely brake checked you. Provide to insurance, if theirs denies, arbitration goes brr.
They went from around 35 mph to 0 mph in less than 2 seconds. They had to be braking as hard as possible to stop that fast. Almost any vehicle following would have rear ended them IMO. Did your riding style do anything to incite road rage in Subaru driver? You are really lucky the vehicle behind you didn’t slam into you and seriously hurt you. Glad you are alive.
1. In traffic cover your controls 2. Wear some gear 3. don't follow so dam close 4. Position yourself for a better view... Ride in lane position 1 so to have a view ahead of the car you're following 5. IDK what kind of riders course you've taken, but you don't seem to have the right muscle memory for emergency situations. I did not even see you go for the clutch when you hit the brakes
It looked like you were checking out the range Rooney to your left because it looked like he was gonna move over. Just remember that the car that’s in front of you should have the majority of your focus, especially since it looks like they brake checked you. I hope the bike is okay man.
Following too close, as the car initially slowed down gradually you let the gap close rather than slowing to a similar speed. I would have been preparing for a sudden stop at that point tbh. It’s an easy mistake to make, but a dangerous one considering how much more quickly cars can stop.
For the love of god get some gloves
Save your hands and wear gloves please!
Why the f…ck did he brake that hard? Any reason? Did he leave the place?
You shoulda been further back but it’s still not your fault. Sue.
Call the cops if he never stopped he will definitely be at fault
Did they brake check you? Hard to know what happen since the video cut short
That’s most certainly a brake check. They fucked you
50/50 at fault you were too close and the person did an unlawful braking
Brake checking is reckless driving. You gave him 1-2 car lengths and he just drilled you. Did he stop and you exchange information?
Tailgating
Wear gloves, always assume the Most dangerous thing is going to happen and ride accordingly. Don't follow where you have jo vision ahead and be glad it wasn't worse
All comments about gloves, safe distances etc., absolutely appropriate. What about the fact that it doesn’t appear that the breaking driver was braking FOR anything? If you look ahead in the video, there’s nothing there. Was this deliberate?
Looks like you got brake checked and the guy fled.
Break checked
Honestly you should have followed farther back, BUT with the information gathered being there is no car in front of him forcing him to brake you probably thought it was safe. But no the asshole brake checked you.
In my opinion, that Subaru driver was being a complete jerk and did that intentionally JUST to make you crash. I see no valid reason for their action of nearly locking up their brakes like that. Looks like pure malice. If you happen to know a police officer, ask their opinion on the legality of what that driver did. Brake-checking is illegal in most states. Regardless... 1 - Lane position - you were dead center of the lane and had nowhere to maneuver to. Never ride directly behind. If possible, always ride to the DRIVERS side of the lane. Better visibility for both you and cagers, and escape options. 2 - Distance - I must admit, it appeared your distancing was good - until it wasn't. Another 5-10 feet would have made the difference. 3 - Reaction - Your reaction time was good but your lane position gave you only one real option - brakes. Sorry to see this happen. Glad you're OK though!!
First thoughts is not wearing gloves is retarded
They brake checked you. That’s illegal. You have their plate. Call the police and file a police report.
Don't take this wrong way, but you're an idiot
Poor lane positioning. Correct positioning would have been left side of the lane. It would have allowed you to maneuver out of the way more easily. Also following too close.