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From the perspective of someone who's been riding motorcycles on the street for over 30 years (accident free), the motorcyclist in the video violated one of the fundamental rules of safe street riding: even when you're right, you can still lose. He was extremely lucky to be able to ride away from this incident.
I have friends who've reacted to being cut off (real or imagined) by kicking the offending vehicle. Personally, I will never -under any circumstances - engage in a dispute with another motorist while riding my motorcycle. Physics are not on my side. I'm not sure why some motorcyclists don't get this. I've even seen motorcyclists brake check cars - which is idiotic beyond belief.
Kicking a car at highway speed is dangerous in and of itself, even if the car doesn't react. It's very easy to lose control of the motorcycle in such a scenario. In this case, I don't think the car intentionally swerved into the motorcyclist after being kicked. It looks to me like the driver was just startled and over reacted.
The stupidity of the motorcyclist and the ineptness of the driver of the car aside, I was surprised how easily the truck flipped. I suspect something with a lower center of gravity (like a car), may not rolled over so easily.
The motorcyclist was most likely young and what comes with people of that age group is that they think they are indestructible. People don't learn from others experiences, they learn from their own. I bet this motorcyclist will never do this near death experience ever again. As to the pickup, all of it's weight is in the front cab and the engine. The bed is extremely light as it doesn't have all the weight that a car has past the drivers seat. It's pretty easy to cause frame damage to the bed when it is hit from pretty much any direction.
Kicking the car door did not mechanistically lead to the accident.
The car's out of control swerve may have been provoked by the kick, but the swerve was a conscious decision on the part of the car's driver, not a physical reaction to the kick.
Thus, the kick and the swerve are two separate events.
If I and another person are standing at the edge of a cliff and I tap the other person on the shoulder, and he, perturbed by my interruption, swings his fist at me causing him to go off balance and tumble down the cliff, no one in their right mind would accuse me of pushing him of the cliff or somehow linking my shoulder tap to his arm swing.
No, it was one incident. Just like if one car hit another car, and then causing that car to hit a third car. It's considered not considered two accidents.
He damaged the person's car, and he left the scene. That is hit and run.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz
No, it was one incident. Just like if one car hit another car, and then causing that car to hit a third car. It's considered not considered two accidents.
Kicking a car has nearly zero momentum exchange compared to car hitting another car. If the motorcyclist would've kicked the car extremely hard then the momentum would come back to the motorcycle and the motorcycle would have swerved.
I absolve the motorcyclist for most of it since most of the accidents with cars are the drivers saying that they didn't see the motorcyclist when in fact they didn't look over their shoulder and actually look. I've seen this happen most often in the US. If we were in Europe or Asia, I would have leaned the other way as the people with scooters dart from lane to lane as if there is no car in the other lane. I've driven 100,000s of miles in the US and internationally for decades and have seen numerous WTH moments.
But you're STILL missing the point. Accidents happen. Every day. If everyone acted the way this biker did, do you think that would make things better or worse? What the driver did initially in hitting the biker (who again, was doing something very stupid by trying to pass the car IN the lane) was inadvertent (according to the witness). But when someone does something accidentally, you DON'T start intentionally escalating the situation by repeatedly kicking their car. In what strange, demented world do you think that is ok? If the biker had not started kicking the car, the driver most likely would have kept driving on his way. Instead, the biker started acting like a lunatic and made everything much worse. There is no way that a court would absolve the biker of his share of responsibility for what happened.
.... There is no way that a court would absolve the biker of his share of responsibility for what happened.
In relation to the court system, the witness would have to be willing to testify in court. If he doesn't then the interview and video will be thrown out. If by chance the court system gets the plate number, all they can prove is that the motorcycle was there and not the rider. So at most he'll get a low grade misdemeanor with no points. The car and driver on the other hand will get a felony for reckless driving as he lost control of his car and assault with a deadly weapon (his vehicle). He will get points, a fine and possibly some jail time (depending in his driving record). He may also get a bill for damage and cleanup of the roadway and his insurance company is going to be strongly involved.
Keep in mind we are discussing CA only and CA has no laws related to road rage. The words Road Rage started in CA and was most common in the Los Angeles area.
In relation to the court system, the witness would have to be willing to testify in court. If he doesn't then the interview and video will be thrown out. If by chance the court system gets the plate number, all they can prove is that the motorcycle was there and not the rider. So at most he'll get a low grade misdemeanor with no points. The car and driver on the other hand will get a felony for reckless driving as he lost control of his car and assault with a deadly weapon (his vehicle). He will get points, a fine and possibly some jail time (depending in his driving record). He may also get a bill for damage and cleanup of the roadway and his insurance company is going to be strongly involved.
Keep in mind we are discussing CA only and CA has no laws related to road rage. The words Road Rage started in CA and was most common in the Los Angeles area.
Well, let's assume, for arguments sake that the witness who shot the video testifies, and that the person in the car also testifies and identifies the person on the bike. In which case, the biker who escalated the situation and helped cause the accident and then fled the scene would be facing much more than a 'low grade misdemeanor'.
1) California has a felony hit and run statute and it involves an accident which you were a part of and which caused bodily harm or death, and that you reasonably should have known that an injury or death would have occurred. I don't think there's any argument that the biker should have reasonably known that an injury would have occurred after the accident.
2) The intentional damaging of property can also be a felony if it exceeds a given dollar amount. After looking up the number in Cali, it is $400. Considering he was kicking both the passenger and driver side of the car, the damage he caused could easily outstrip that amount.
3) Then you have the additional issue of his role in the ultimate accident. To begin with, you have clear case of reckless driving. Which, although it is a misdemeanor, can carry jail time. And if someone is injured because of your reckless driving, the penalties increase.
4) In addition, you have the civil liability for negligence. And since Cali is a comparative negligence state, the biker can't escape by saying that he was 'less responsible' for the accident. He still shares liability because his actions put the events (certainly helped put them) into motion.
I seriously hope that they find the biker. The driver is not the only one responsible for this mess.
I hope there is a court case about this in California because we can't even agree about it on this board. I see the driver as the reckless one, not the motorcycle.
Again, this is a form of Social Darwinism. The motorcyclist and the people who support him will be selected. It is fascinating to read this thread and find so many people siding with the motorcyclist. It just shows you how there are so many unintelligent people in this world. This is just another form of evolution. No intelligent and successful person would risk their life in this manner like the motorcyclist. Only a person that weak and insecure would resort to that action. The motorcyclist and driver are both wrong.
Again, this is a form of Social Darwinism. The motorcyclist and the people who support him will be selected. It is fascinating to read this thread and find so many people siding with the motorcyclist. It just shows you how there are so many unintelligent people in this world. This is just another form of evolution. No intelligent and successful person would risk their life in this manner like the motorcyclist. Only a person that weak and insecure would resort to that action. The motorcyclist and driver are both wrong.
I don't feel selected !!
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