Moral Dilemma

[WRT]

Had a bit of a moral dilemma on the way home tonight. Traffic on the southern was diabolical, so I did what bikers do and filtered through lanes of parked cars. Just after the Market Rd offramp, I found the cause of the delays - there had been a prang and the vehicles involved were parked up on the left hand shoulder. As it happens, one of the vehicles was a GSXR1100.

Normally, my first instinct when I see a bike on the side of the road is to stop and enquire as to whether I can be of assistance. Today however, a second thought entered my head. All these cage drivers that I have just filtered past will probably see me there and assume that I am somehow involved in the accident.

Should I stop and help out a fellow biker (at this point I can see a guy standing near the bike wearing a Suzuki collared shirt, so I can assume the guy isnt mortally wounded)? Or do I keep going so that I dont give bikers a bad rep when everyone thinks that my lanesplitting has been the cause of an accident?

Help one or help the whole? As it happens, I did stop, and the guy was fine. The lady in front had slammed on the picks after the guy in front of her did the same, and the bike hadnt been able to stop in time. He glanced off the side of her bumper and over he went. His knee was a little banged up, and his bike was a lot banged up (plus some scrapes on the cars bumper) but otherwise everyone was fine. I hung around while he called up a mate to come and get him, and then I said my farewells and trundled off.

Did I do the right thing? My conscience says I did, even though an educated guess told me that the guy was ok even before I stopped. Or should I have kept going so that the rest of us didnt get the bad name? Or should I hope that everyone who saw me parked up next to them with an undamaged bike would assume that I was only stopping to help, and maybe even earn the biking community a good name in the process?

Who knows, perhaps they might even assume that the reason I was lanesplitting was to get there and help a mate out. Hopefully in helping out the one, I have not done a disservice to the whole.

[Keystone19]

Being only recently a convert to biking, as a cager, if I saw you do that I'd foolishly assume you were going to help your mate and not give it a second thought.

You did the right thing.

[Nicksta]

I agree with Keystone, I dont mind bikes lane splitting when i'm in a cage... I think bikes help ease traffic, more people should ride....
I think you did the right thing, anyway you look at it, i like the way bikers help each other, even complete strangers... much could be said for cage drivers... ever see one stop for another broken down???

[kro]

I can't see any issue here, you did the civic thing, and stopped, personally, I wouldn't pay the car drivers any heed, their opinion matters not.

You hear me, MATTERS NOT !!!! (says me who is commuting in a skyline)

[RantyDave]

Did I do the right thing?

Yes.

Dave

[stify]

no need to get a complex, it's only a gixxxxer...............






and i tend to stop an see if a biker needs a hand

[WRT]

LOL at Kro . . .

Yeah, gotta agree with Nicksta, wouldnt it be nice? Funnily enough, I came up behind a guy broken down in a ute by green lane roundabout on the weekend while I was in the scooby-do, so hazard lights on, out the door (leaving instructions with my passenger to take the wheel if needs be) and gave him a hand to push it off the road. Think anyone would let us across their lane? Not a hope in hell - what do they care? By that time they are past the hold up and some sucker behind them can deal with it. In the end we just charged across anyway, but then I had the same problem in the opposite direction trying to get back to my car.

Wankers, the lot of them.

[terbang]

Should I stop and help out a fellow biker.

Yup you did the right thing..

[Charlie]

Another vote for 'yes- you did the right thing'.
I too dont mind bikes landsplitting (safely) while I'm crawling (or worse, sitting still) in the cage. And those that do, are just pissed that your getting where you wanna go quicker. Its one of the advantages of riding a bike - if they're that uppity about it, they too could join you. What if all bikers qued too? That would make the wait twice as long.

Also big thumbs up to the 'biker code'. I love that bikers are so helpful to one another; 9/10 times to strangers. Even the cherry wave or "chur" (helmet tilt) warms ya wee heart.

[Oakie]

You did the RIGHT thing. What the others think is unimportant if you've gone to offer assistance.

[Big Dave]

Here's the patent Big Dave answer to every moral motorcycling dilemma.

'Fuck 'em and feed 'em catfish.'

who cares what car drivers think. If they don't like it - they should buy a motorcycle.

[thealmightytaco]

Did good, it's done now, screw 'em all.

[Drum]

If only all moral dilemmas were so lacking in consequence!

You did the right thing.

[Leong]

Sure you did the right thing.... was in that traffic myself in the cage (wishing I was on the bike) and saw lots of cages pulling out of the way of lanesplitting bikes!!

[crazyxr250rider]

Meh.. Don't sweat it mate....