Well, thank goodness I had already left for work by the time you posted this or I never would have made it out of the house! ;)

Actually as I passed though Shinjuku station (the world's busiest train station) this morning I noticed a much greater security presence in the station. I think this must be due to the French informing the Japanese government a couple of days ago of a "credible" threat to Tokyo from terrorists :worried:

I guess I'm back on the bicycle tomorrow.

I think the fact that the cyclist was going 155mph is enough to guess that the cyclist was at fault.

While it's true that bikes are often taken out by cars, I think that since the bike was going 155 mph, the bike was clearly at fault. This was Sweden, not Germany. Even Germany has a suggested speed limit on the autobahn, and if I recall correctly it is about half the speed this bike was traveling. Also, the accident occurred at an intersection, not on a superhighway. The only way the driver of the car could share the blame would be if he/she ran a red light. Even if the car stopped at a stop sign, and then pulled out in front of the bike, the bike is still 100% at fault because it was going too damn fast.

The autobahn only has speed limits within the city limits. So the point about this happening at an intersection is well taken, they only happen within the city limits.

Outside of the cities they tend to have speed requirements, like if you're going less than 70Kh you need to be in the right most lane. I've gotten up to 130 mph on the autobahn and was still being passed by other cars. It was a great experience. Thrilling yet terrifying.

Jerry

did you just get your original login back, or do we have two chronoses, both named Jerry?

That bike would have gone clean through the smugmobile. :eek:

Wolf,

Toad hooked me up with my old id, so I'll be using this from now on.

ahhhh.... so much better.

Jerry

Sweet!

This is at least slightly fabricated, and if they make one bit up you need to worry about the rest of the story.

The bike is a Honda VFR400RR. Dating back to the early nineties from the paint scheme. It is speed limted when it leaves the factory to 180 KPH, or 112 MPH. If you de-restrict it you may get to about 125 MPH. But it would take it quite a while to get to that speed as it's only 400cc.

The silencer is made from carbon fibre and is exceptionally fragile yet it did not shatter.

Something impacted with the car in a very serious way - the floor is ripped out where you would imagine the front wheel would hit.

Maybe this bike did hit this car, but not at the speed they claim, and it did not end up where it is now.

Steve

there would not be any pieces of bodywork
plastic left bigger than a fingernail.

If the motorcylce was indeed traveling at the estimated speed of 155 mph that would be equal to 227 feet per second. Convert that to yards for easier visualization and the bike was traveling at roughly 75 yards per second. So to rule out any fault on the part of the car driver, picture yourself in his/her position. You pull up to an intersection, glance left, glance right, see a single headlight a few football fields away. Would you feel confident pulling out? I would. Not knowing that 3 seconds later that tiny headlight in the distance would come tearing through your volkswagon, your passenger, and you. I don't know about the maximum speed of a motorcycle built in the 90's. I don't know about the structural integrity of a volkswagon. I wasn't there when it happened, so as always, I could be wrong.

Welcome TalkIsCheap, and thank you for your service.

I second wolf's welcome, TalkIsCheap. I agree that that the precise speed at which the bike was travelling is not as important as an understanding of what the hell happened here. *I* don't make sure the road is clear OVER the horizon before I cross an intersection either, but clearly, I'm living on borrowed time.

Plus, I love your signature line.

My Rant
 

Guys, I'm a motorcyclist who had a similar (yet MUCH slower) accident than this on a dual carraigeway on a bright sunny day. My impact speed was approx 50-55mph, the car rolled, the bike was mashed - as Steve123 says, judging by the lack of damage to the bike in this pic there's no way this was a 155mph (or anywhere near it) impact. (Also agree on the make/model/speed capabilities of the bike).

The woman who pulled out on me was 15 yards from me when she did - she just "didn't see me" - if I were travelling at the same speed in a bus would she have seen me then?

As for glatt with his "the bike is still 100% at fault because it was going too damn fast" - that's the attitude that kills bikers. We all speed - cars, buses, trucks, vans, bikes - all of us - what exactly is too damned fast? If the road were clear, a dual carraigeway say, with an intersection 3/4 of the way along would you trundle along at 60mph? Nope, didn't think so. (Might not hoon along at a ton plus either though ;-))

To be honest I'm not trying to absolve the rider of any blame as there is not enough information to judge here, but it seems most of you are quick to lay blame somewhere - and most pointing to the biker. I believe that he probably was travelling in excess of the speed limit, that said, it is the drivers responsibility to LOOK (not casually glance) and check that it's clear before pulling out.

At a junction, if there are headlights approaching, whether that is one light or two, look again - try to calculate the speed of approach. If the light is 100 yds away when you first spot it .... where is it now... 80, 50, 20yds? Yes, the guy may well be zipping along at 3000mph, but provided you SEE him then it's your responsibility not to put your ton of steel in the way of him! An extra second or two of thought at a junction could save your life, and that of those around you.

Rant over ;-) (My doesn't this thread stir the emotions)

You're right, it's way harder to overlook a bus than a motorcycle, because buses are much bigger than motorcycles. What exactly is your point?

Maybe something that's harder to see shouldn't drive as fast.

Your argument sounds suspicously to me like "I like to go really fast, and it's everyone else's responsibility to watch out for me." Maybe that's not really what you're saying, but that's the message that's coming across.