bloody video of an accident on a C14 (what caused it?)

[Gsun]

I can't see any kind of cruise/throttle lock when in the curves like that. You don't know what is coming up next and you need to respond differently to every curve.

[martin_14]

thanks all for the replies. Most of you really added to the analysis of what happened. A few comments though, since I watched the video another couple of times and, once I understood that they were speaking Spanich from Chile, it got much easier to pick up what was happening:

- the GS guy was told from a man next to the C14 driver (laying on the floor) to go get Kawasaki out of the road. As it can be noticed when he afterwards approaches the crowd around his friend, there was a doctor/nurse (not sure) already taking care of the C14 driver. At least in Germany, in order to get your driving license you have to (among many, many other things) go through a first aid curse in which they train you, in case of an accident, to:
  step 1) secure the accident area
  step 2) assist those who need help
  step 3) call the emergency service (police or medical assistance, if needed)
Step 2 was already done by the bystanders, so he dealt with steps 1 and 3.

- when the GS guy finally takes his helmet off you can see how freaked he was, and that can also be noticed when he picks up the C14 from the floor with ease (it happened to me once). He was full of adrenaline and not thinking clearly. What he did, though, was call emergency services before anything else from his bluetooth paired HTC phone (yes, he looked like "messing with the phone", but he was actually talking with the emergency service trying to be specific with the location of the accident). He actually reacted in a very good manner, I have to say.

-

I can't see any kind of cruise/throttle lock when in the curves like that. You don't know what is coming up next and you need to respond differently to every curve.

  +1 million!!!

- the "smoke" coming off the rear wheel had to be some debriss and since he was on the throttle that had to unsettle the bike. As some noted, he never hit the brakes; crampbuster in this case played a big (bad) role. Any form of throttle lock would be a gamble in such roads. I wonder how a CC would have reacted.

I think the bottom lines here are clear: no throttle lock whatsoever on curves or less than optimal road conditions; good body position; call emergency immediately.

The reason I wanted to hear what you guys think is that I saw (and then posted) this video yesterday eveninig while planning my trip to the Alps this weekend. On the beginning I wanted to do the Passo dello Stelvio (Italy) and the old San Bernardino Pass (Switzerland), and at the last moment I thought of adding the old Sankt Gotthard-Pass (Switzerland again), but then I noticed in the pictures that people post in google maps that the latter is actually paved with setts, which I'm mighty afraid off  If weather is nice (e.g. dry) I'll probably try it, though.

[jayke]

Any form of throttle lock would be a gamble in such roads. I wonder how a CC would have reacted.

Electronic cruise like the Audiovox, Rostra, or MCruise will shut itself off if the RPM increases  more than 500 RPM's suddenly. They are a lot safer than a throttle lock.

[maxtog]

- the "smoke" coming off the rear wheel had to be some debriss and since he was on the throttle that had to unsettle the bike. As some noted, he never hit the brakes; crampbuster in this case played a big (bad) role. Any form of throttle lock would be a gamble in such roads. I wonder how a CC would have reacted.

I will note that we can be pretty sure he had an older model with no traction control.  Some people scoff at the feature, but I think it really is a nice safety feature to have.

I think the bottom lines here are clear: no throttle lock whatsoever on curves or less than optimal road conditions; good body position; call emergency immediately.

Traction control or not, I agree.

[jonathan]

...at the last moment I thought of adding the old Sankt Gotthard-Pass (Switzerland again), but then I noticed in the pictures that people post in google maps that the latter is actually paved with setts, which I'm mighty afraid off  If weather is nice (e.g. dry) I'll probably try it, though.

What are setts?

[Fretka]

Inexperience caused this. This guy obviously thinks he is a sport rider by the way he sorta hangs-off the bike............puhleeeeezzzz, he never once got anywhere near his lean limit. He also seems to think that the paint that is used for road markings has the same co-ef of friction as the blacktop.
The front slips a tiny bit, the rear also follows suit and at that point, the whole deal is over, he was fine, he should of just ridden the bike like normal.
Everything that follows is due to him freaking out, not the tiny slip of the tires. Absolutely typical of someone who never ridden a dirtbike in their life.

He is his own worst enemy in this case.

Fretka

[Kazairl]

Cramp busters aren't throttle locks. And I like how everyone is point fingers at the GS guy because he didn't do this or didn't do that when the downed rider is already surrounded by people. Should he have elbowed some people aside so he could be right next to his buddy? I think he handled the situation well. There was no panicking and the road was cleared to prevent any more accidents in a timely manner. What more do you want?

[RBX QB]

Cramp busters aren't throttle locks.

True. But still worth some mindfullness due to the placement on the throttle grip.

[Kazairl]

That is very true. I have a throttle rocker and every now and then I goose the throttle without meaning to.  And that was the ultimate downfall of the guy in the video.

[rcannon409]

I hope someday we have simulators to practice these problems without the crash .

[maxtog]

And I like how everyone is point fingers at the GS guy because he didn't do this or didn't do that when the downed rider is already surrounded by people. Should he have elbowed some people aside so he could be right next to his buddy?

To at least see how he was and assure him his friend was there??? Yes, absolutely.

[just gone]

What are setts?

setts

.....while planning my trip to the Alps this weekend.

Martin, thanks for the translation...feel free to take many pictures and please share them
with us.

[booger]

Watch the entire video.  No offense to the driver, but he has some of the crappiest lines I have ever seen.  Looks like an inexperienced rider.

[Jack Daniels]

He's damn lucky he didn't hit that pole.

[katata1100]

I think he hit something like a rock or a bump. Note how early on,at the start, a saddle bag flies off?8

[Jack Daniels]

Watching some more, it's odd how he was leaning into corners with is lower body but trying to keep his head upright. 

[DaveO]

i watched the vid a bunch of times. Looked to me like he was trying to get a knee  down with series of swerves .  Might of caught a tar strip as he was doing this.
Body position all wrong too.
 His lines were not bad at beginning of vid but  got worse right up until the wreck.

[texcoonazz]

The following comment was added to youtube by the driver of the C14 in this wreck..

"it was road debris, not a bike problem. I did not pick up speed, just my friend slowed down as he saw me with problem.
Didn´t brake at all, because if you do the bike stands up and stops turning.
Anyway, I don´t remember anything from the accident...
I was going like 140 kms/h when lost the rear..." 
Another comment accompanying his video says "JUST A BROKEN LEFT WRIST"   

[JamminJere]

Inexperience caused this. This guy obviously thinks he is a sport rider by the way he sorta hangs-off the bike............puhleeeeezzzz, he never once got anywhere near his lean limit. He also seems to think that the paint that is used for road markings has the same co-ef of friction as the blacktop.
The front slips a tiny bit, the rear also follows suit and at that point, the whole deal is over, he was fine, he should of just ridden the bike like normal.
Everything that follows is due to him freaking out, not the tiny slip of the tires. Absolutely typical of someone who never ridden a dirtbike in their life.

He is his own worst enemy in this case.

Fretka

Closest verbatum response to my thoughts on this thread...  maybe not the "nicest" or "kindest" response to someone that has gotten hurt.

The rider claims he did not accelerate after the slip, but he did not brake either because that makes the bike stand up?  When a bike is already upright on the right side of the road, travels all the way across the road upright, and then crashes on the left side of road, seems to me that somewhere on that straight line with the bike upright there would be sometime to brake and regain control of the bike. The right hand turn ahead of him as he was going off the left side of the road was not a tight turn.

No off road/dirt bike experience or sliding experience and the panic afterwords had this poor guy just freeze and hang on until his fate was sealed. I'm glad he only suffered a broken wrist.

JJ

[Mr. Green Genes]

Foreign country, heavily populated rural area, road lined with steel guardrail.  He should have been cruising along taking in the sights instead of trying to make a knee dragger video.