Bit Of A Mad Journey Home From Work Today

[CraigT]

Coming home from work today down the motorway, usually when the traffic is reasonable it takes around 15 mins.

Today It took over 2 hours.

I was in slow mode today so I was traveling home pretty slowly on the inside lane, I was about halfway down the motorway when a bike passed me in the fast lane, I noticed it because it had orange coloured headlights. Anyway it passed me and headed off around the gentle curve in the motorway. id say it was about 1 min ahead of me.

As it went out of sight in the traffic ahead I could see lots of cars starting to slow down. Eventually the motorway was at a standstill in both lanes. Within mins of sitting there 6 police cars, 3 fire engines, 2 ambulances, and a helicoper flew past. The local radio said there had been an accident and that the motorway was now shut, with me and loads of other people trapped on it.

30mins or so passed and by this time people were out of their cars chatting etc. Up ahead I could see lights, paramwedics, police, etc, but a little too far away to make out what was going on. Soon after word got around that the biker had plowed into a few cars not far ahead of me and had been killed. He was lying dead in the middle of the road with his bike smashed to pieces as the police cordened of his body with police tape. There were 6 other cars involved which had pulled into the hard shoulder.

2 hours passed and the police were still unable to re-open the road. Instead they started to ask everyone to turn their cars around and head THE WRONG WAY back up the motorway, which everyone did. Its was a pretty nasty scene and something which I could have done without as you can imagine.

I eventually got home still shocked at what had happened. The worst thing about it was, if I had been going a bit faster I too might have been caught up in that awful mess.

The biker had a female passenger. I dont know what happened to her as I havent seen any news reports yet.

Its pretty freaky and sad when you come into such close contact with something like that :(

[Bibbs]

Stuff like that always freeks me out ..

like when I was in my old car and I saw an indenticle one and overtook it down the m1 ..

about 30 mins later my parents call to see if I'm okay as they were doing the same trip and saw a car like mine have been involved in an massive accident .. they were about 20 miles behind me ..

[JappyBeast]

I feel sick reading this.

[CraigT]

Yeah these kinda things always make you realise just how close you come sometimes :(

Bibbs mate your parents musta sh*t themselves!

Even I sat there thinking 'god I hope its nobody I know'.

[Fizz]

To think he had a passenger and was still flyin about.. :(

Its things like this which remind me why i aint allowed to get a bike... my loved ones would disown me if i did....

my thoughts go out to his family and friends...

[Calisto]

Thats tragic very upsetting for you.

I have seen a motorbike hit a car and then the rider went flying over the top of the car but the sound of crunching metal is enough to upset me. :(

[Rash@R.A.Motors]

bloody hell that's awful.....

it only takes a split second for a tragedy like this to occur...

Rash

[CraigT]

Just found a news article on it, the rider was killed, aged 34, fatal injuries. He apparently hit the back of another car which possibly pulled into the fast lane in front of him.

[ricomr2]

Im getting a shiver just reading this.

[BLOODUK]

double shiver...

[John R]

Yeah, it is pretty horrible... it's usually other drivers that make it unsafe for motorbikes... I've been to 2 fatal accidents in the last 2 weeks at work, both on the same junction.... Not very nice at all when you have to meet parents and inform families.

[Bibbs]

Bibbs mate your parents musta sh*t themselves!

My step-mum was worried sick ..

They knew I was about 30 mins ahead of them too ..

[CraigT]

Sorry for such a morbid story all, but sometimes its worth metioning an expreience like this. Kind of makes you re-check yourself regarding how you behave on the road.

Have to give a lot of credit to the police who handled a huge amount of traffic very well. It really was chaos with hundereds of cars trapped on a closed motorway, but everything was managed as well as you could ask for.

[ZeroBlade]

this is the kind of thing why my mum would NEVER let me get on a bike, scary as hell...

However i have to add that bikers are pretty unsafe imo, when they skip inbetween traffic, and skirt along the sides of cars.

It always annoys me when i see 'em going inbetween cars that a queued up, not because they're able to get thru & i'm not, but because its so dangerous.

They can easily be missed when a car wants to pull out, by that time it can be too late.

-Z

[John R]

Whenever I see a motorbike, I make sure I'm well out of the way... you usually get a wave for it, because they appreciate being looked out for. As I said earlier, the most dangerous part of riding a bike is the other road users.

[ZeroBlade]

As I said earlier, the most dangerous part of riding a bike is the other road users.

Without wanting to start a flame war i'd say it's the other way round, for the aforementioned reasons.

btw is it legal for motor cyclists to skip queues by going through the middle?

i mean if i had room to pass alongside a car like that i'd prolly get pulled over for dangerous driving...

-Z

[Titto]

Motorbikers blame car drivers (they call em cagers) and car drivers blame bikers...

Yes bikes are allowed to 'filter' on the offside of your vehicle - so on a motorway thats NOT in the 'fast lane' (most people understand that lane!).

Filtering is dangerous for two main reasons:

1) Most bikers are poorly educated riders and go far too fast whilst filtering - this in turn means cars cant see you quickly enough.

2) Most car drivers dont look in their mirrors enough, and dont leave enough room...

This could go on and on but basically people think bikes are dangerous - they arent - its people who ride them who make them dangerous. Likewise, cars arent dangerous - look at the turbo 2 - how unstable that can be, but you all know how to handle them - its the inexperience and mentallity of 'go faster - harder' that gets ANYBODY driving ANYTHING into trouble.

I love bikes, and without wanting to sound harsh; i've attended numerous fatals and they dont stop me living my life, and my love for 2 wheels...you cant explain it to people who havent tried it, or who just arent interested - fair enough thats their choice.

I've also attended many fatal car accidents, where i've thought - ***** im so glad i didnt buy that car...some airbags can kill believe it or not, seatbelts can, being in a car in an accident is sometimes more dangerous than being 'thrown' from one...all depends on circumstances and LUCK.

Just all please be careful and help the next road user out.

Cheers

Adam

[ZeroBlade]

Just all please be careful and help the next road user out.

hear, hear

"Gun's don't kill people, people kill people!"

kinda same thing applies here, i'll pull in a bit to let bikers past cos i understand that they wanna drive fast, imo thers nowt wrong with that, its just when they do stupid things it annoys me. but i guess u can say the same about anything!

-Z

[Titto]

Its not that Zero, a lot of bikers like to go fast, a lot dont they just love the feeling of being open to the elements etc...

And the proof is that the majority of people killed bikers or cars are those that have been giving it some.

[ZeroBlade]

they just love the feeling of being open to the elements etc...

i rem that feeling from when i was a kid on my n/a bike, lol

altho i did end up bombing down a hill, go flying over the handlebars and get my lip caught on em causing my mouth to rip away at my jaw, maybe that why me mam doesnt want me to go near a motorbike, lol

Would be sweet tho...

I think that's why i love theme parks, and the rides u get on there :D

-Z

[Titto]

Defo Zeroblade!

[CraigT]

My best friend has recently bought a motorbike and to be honest I wish he didnt have one. Ive known him for a long time and he can be a little accident prone. Cant really tell HIM that though <_<

He has offered to give me a ride to which I have declined.

Personally I dont think Id be safe as a bike rider or passenger. Bikes are cool and all but not for me