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This video is absolutely nuts. A driver makes a lane change (illegal perhaps) into a lane with a motorcycle. The motorcyclist kicks the car, which, I assume startles the driver, who loses control, slams into the barrier, then slams into a pickup truck which flips over. The motorcyclist just keeps on going.
Sorry, but that is not road rage, rather it is self-preservation. He either kicks the car that is about to hit him or he ends up getting seriously injured or even dies, because the car encroaches on his lane and strikes him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonimuso
The Youtube comments are full of people saying that the driver of the car is the one who caused the crash. I don't see how.
Then you might want to seriously consider surrendering your driver's license.
In the law, we have both "but for" causation and "proximate" causation. (Who do I think I am, a lawyer? Well, yes, actually I do.) The idiot biker was unquestionably a "but for" cause. Had he not kicked the car, the accident never would have happened. "Proximate" causation, which is what leads to liability, is far trickier. Should the biker reasonably have foreseen the car driver's reaction (probably yes) and resulting consequences (probably no)?
I have been a motorcyclist for - EEK - 51 years. That maneuver - anywhere, but particularly on a freeway - was certifiably insane. As a biker, you are in the most vulnerable position imaginable. To risk what he did, for the satisfaction of pulling alongside the car and kicking it, was lunacy. I've been enraged on my bike by car drivers any number of times, as has anyone who has ridden for a long time, but there are far more safe and effective ways to express your anger.
While we basically agree the "but for" thing is weakened as we do not have in view what proceeded it. And there obviously was more that in fact caused the video to be made. I would think the kick is a violation of one sort or another in itself. But was it a "but for" or was it one in as stream of actions that led to the actual accident? And if there are other leading actions you get into the conundrum where the kick is just one of a number of parallel paths that might have led to other escalations.
So fun case...and glad no one ended up dead or badly injured.
Sorry, but that is not road rage, rather it is self-preservation. He either kicks the car that is about to hit him or he ends up getting seriously injured or even dies, because the car encroaches on his lane and strikes him.
Oh please. It would take much less time to apply the brakes and it would be FAR more effective at achieving self-preservation. You have two idiots on the road. To me obviously the driver is far more the egregious party but two idiots none the less.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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The motorcyclist was absolutely crazy and an idiot for picking a fight against the car in the first place. I think if he is caught, he should get a more severe punishment than the car driver. The driver of the car can always claim that he was startled by the sound of the kick. Looking straight ahead and driving you dont know if that thump is a blowout of the biker had a gun. But the car driver is also an idiot for putting himself in a position where he could easily be seen as the agressor.
The only person in this who deserves any sympathy is the dude in the truck, whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Glad he is okay.
The motorcyclist was absolutely crazy and an idiot for picking a fight against the car in the first place. I think if he is caught, he should get a more severe punishment than the car driver. The driver of the car can always claim that he was startled by the sound of the kick. Looking straight ahead and driving you dont know if that thump is a blowout of the biker had a gun. But the car driver is also an idiot for putting himself in a position where he could easily be seen as the agressor.
The only person in this who deserves any sympathy is the dude in the truck, whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Glad he is okay.
Both of these morons need to be picking trash on the side of the road. BUT, the guy on the bike was way more vulnerable than douchey in the throw away car.
First of all, the motorcycle should not have been in the HOV lane which is for CARPOOLERS. Last I checked, carpool meat more than one person, and the cyclist was a single rider. I know things go both ways, but so sick of motorcycist playing victim often, like they do no wrong. I have seen cycles go down the middle lane of traffic like they own the road. Even bicycles have to obey traffic laws. The driver of this motorcycle should be charged at fault for both vehicles.
Should the biker reasonably have foreseen the car driver's reaction (probably yes) and resulting consequences (probably no)?
I don't know that I think the biker should have or could have foreseen such a reaction.
If it was retaliation on the drivers part it was over the top. Who would expect someone to try to come at them with a car in an attempt to kill them over a kick?
If it was a startle reaction it was because the driver was totally incompetent, I doubt very much your average driver would have such a loss of control over the kick. I doubt the motorcyclist should have or could have anticipated that either.
YMMV
First of all, the motorcycle should not have been in the HOV lane which is for CARPOOLERS. Last I checked, carpool meat more than one person, and the cyclist was a single rider. I know things go both ways, but so sick of motorcycist playing victim often, like they do no wrong. I have seen cycles go down the middle lane of traffic like they own the road. Even bicycles have to obey traffic laws. The driver of this motorcycle should be charged at fault for both vehicles.
You are incorrect. All HOV lanes allow motorcycles. And in CA it is legal to cut lanes.
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