Hazards - A recent happening

**surfchick** · 27th March 2006, 20:14

Originally Posted by WRT

... Scary if you think what might have happened if you had been changing the radio station at the time, or if you were one of the many muppets around that txt while driving.

dude i was riding home over the te atatu off ramp bridge and a rider coming off the north western was texting while RIDING-i kid you not... probably someone form here...

**madboy** · 27th March 2006, 20:35

I gotta agree with Frosty, it's pretty damn hard to keep your eyes on kids. Even more so in a rural environment where traditionally kids will wander more than a few metres from the doorway.

I used to deliver pizza years ago, and the one night of the year I truly hated was halloween. It was friggin kids bloody everywhere, zooming around from outta no where, too excited with the goodies they were scoring to worry about big heavy metallic objects travelling toward them. Kids don't think.

But in saying that, for every example someone puts up where 10km/h slower woulda made the difference, I can also think of an argument where if you'd been going 100km/h faster you would've been long past them. I tell ya, you can't fault that logic can you? Completely avoids the need for evasive maneouvres.

**oldrider** · 27th March 2006, 20:39

A few years ago a girl, (similar to your incident Squeak the Rat) rode her bike out onto the highway directly into the path of an oncoming car.
Result: instant fatality.
The family lived just down the road from here and our kids were friends with older siblings of the victim.
Very sad event for the family, the community and the driver of the car, who was not found to be doing anything wrong by the way but it didn't make it any easier for anyone involved.
I guess you were very lucky not to have been involved in a no fault, no win very sad situation.

Good post. Cheers John.

**Krusti** · 27th March 2006, 21:01

This is one of my great fears when riding...half of the thoughts running through my head relate to what if...? Defensive driving is a real kill joy!

Then again I dare not tell you what I think about the other half of the time...

**FROSTY:Me** · 27th March 2006, 21:08

Ohh and squeak --Good onya for avoiding the lil gal

**ZorsT** · 28th March 2006, 17:44

If you were doing 120, you waould have been past her when she ran out onto the road...

**terbang** · 28th March 2006, 18:29

Good Skills for avoiding what could have easily become a fatality and an absolute nightmare for all involved..!
Bling bling

**terbang** · 29th March 2006, 08:54

Originally Posted by madboy

But in saying that, for every example someone puts up where 10km/h slower woulda made the difference, I can also think of an argument where if you'd been going 100km/h faster you would've been long past them. I tell ya, you can't fault that logic can you? Completely avoids the need for evasive maneouvres.

And the arguement that the the small girl had stepped out 10 or 30 seconds earlier would mean that at 210 KPH (as you imply) avoidance would have been far more difficult to cognite. This being the fault in yer logic I tell ya. Need I describe the mess an impact of 210 KPH would have on small body. I also enjoy riding at higher speeds on my bike but I don't try to kid myself that it may improve safety.

Obviously the good outcome of this incident was, along with luck, directly as a result of Squeak's appropriate speed at an appropriate time thus giving him the time to avoid (as he did). 110Kph is not a difficult speed for most drivers or cars to operate at and is below speed limits in many parts of the world.

**Finn** · 29th March 2006, 09:09

If you'd been going at least 130, you would have been well past her by the time she walked out onto the road.

Fact: Speeding saves lives.

**terbang** · 29th March 2006, 09:31

Originally Posted by Finn

If you'd been going at least 130, you would have been well past her by the time she walked out onto the road.

Fact: Speeding saves lives.

Keep up the medicine mate..!

**ManDownUnder** · 29th March 2006, 09:51

Originally Posted by surfchick

dude i was riding home over the te atatu off ramp bridge and a rider coming off the north western was texting while RIDING-i kid you not... probably someone form here...

that's amasing ...

texting with gloves on... (I assume they had gloves - right??)
texting while riding (which controls weren't they using?)

and a bonus point for sheer stupidity...!

Next time - hunt them down and give them earful. The life you save might be theirs... or it could be yours...

**kickingzebra** · 29th March 2006, 11:44

Oh, and when you have hunted them down, and chewed their ear off, find out their KB log in, and award green bling, for inventiveness!!

**madboy** · 29th March 2006, 12:34

Originally Posted by terbang

yada yada yada... I'm either taking the piss or an LTNZ patsy.

At 210k your fairings would be rooted. Or if in a car, the front of the car would be rooted. Either way you'd be picking bits of little Daisy out of your vehicle for a while to come. At 110k, your fairings would be rooted. Or if in a car, the front of the car would be rooted. Either way, you'd be picking bits of little Daisy out of your vehcile for a while to come. I'm not seeing a significant difference in impact result here?

How do you figure Squeak was doing the appropriate speed at the appropriate time? If he'd been going 10k slower and OBEYING THE SPEED LIMIT therefore NOT engaging in an illegal act, he would have been able to avoid the situation with even more ease. And if he had identified the potential hazard of the hedge AND slowed down to, say, 80k then it would have been a complete non-event.

Don't discount the role luck plays in crashes. Driving on the wrong side of the road through a blind corner doesn't kill you, it's the car coming the other way. So logic says if the car isn't there, you don't get killed. Doesn't meant o say that it's a good idea to do, or that you can or will get away with it that often before the coin flips. In this case, luck was on the side of Squeak and the kid. He appeared to react well to the circumstances he was put in when the kid popped out. In another case, it may well have not been such a good outcome.

**Brett** · 29th March 2006, 17:44

This reminds me of a very similar experiece i had as an 18 year old.
I bought my first sports car, AE101 Levin GTZ, and there used to be this long and straight road near my house in a rural setting(100kph) that was seldom used.
The thought came to me to give it a bit of a speed test. I started at the beginning of the road and got to about 90kph, and got this sick feeling in my stomach that something was not right, buttoned off and sat at 90 for the rest of the road. Got to the point where i WOULD have been doing about 160kph and a little girl on a bmx road straight out into the road.
Yes you might say, you woulda missed her possibly, but i know for certain that if i hadn't slowed down she would have been part of my bonnet.
Sickening thought that i try to remember when the speed demon comes calling. No amount of fun is worth killing someone innocent. I would rather kill myself.

There are still a few good roads that are safe for speed, but they are becoming far and few between.

Hazard identification of the most important part of driving!