Harley cleaned out by BANANA SKIN

[Beemer]

And you thought cigarette butts were dangerous - from the Dominion Post this morning:

Harley ride goes bananas
KAY BLUNDELL - The Dominion Post | Saturday, 17 February 2007

A banana skin took out a prized Harley-Davidson motorbike near McKays Crossing and caused delays of up to an hour for peak-hour traffic.

Police were called when a motorcyclist, travelling south on a dark red Harley-Davidson, went into a skid and crashed about a kilometre south of the crossing, about 8 o'clock yesterday morning.

A banana skin someone had thrown out a car window turned out to be the culprit.

The motorcyclist, 41, from Waikanae, was taken to Wellington Hospital with minor injuries.

The southbound lane was closed for about half an hour while emergency services attended the accident, and the motorcycle, which had damaged handlebars, was removed from the scene.

Constable John Battersby, who had never come across an accident caused by a banana skin before, said there were half-hour delays in the northbound and southbound lanes while the accident was cleared, and further half-hour delays as built-up traffic dispersed.

Senior Sergeant Alasdair MacMillan said the accident was a classic case of slipping on a banana skin.

"The innocent act of discarding a banana skin out the window, because people think they are biodegradable so it does not matter, is a perfect example of literally slipping on a banana skin and the danger of throwing rubbish out of car windows."

[alexthekidd]

Haha rather amusing lol

[Nasty]

Poor bastard ... I hope s/he is ok ... its a giggle .. but this happens all the time .. and people don't think about throwing sh*t out the window ... I heard of the flying ciggie butt that almsot cause a guys suit to catch fire

[Waylander]

Here is a question. Why didn't the guy avoid it? Yea it may have been dumped out right in front of him from the car ahead but shouldn't have been too hard to go around it. Even for a harley.

I've had to dodge a large one of those igloo shaped dog houses that few out of the back of a truck right in front of me, even a bed matress that was in the road I didn't see until the small cargo truck infront of me moved to avoid it aswell. Small things like bannana peels, dead animals, and what not he shouldn't have even need to move the bike a whole lot to avoid.

[j_redley]

He may have missed it .... Stupid bastards that throw anything out the window though... they just don't realise how annoying it is on the bike.

[iwilde]

Poor rider, end of the day a biker had an off which could have caused serious injury or death to himself or a car potentialy coming the other way. i'm sorry, but i can't find that amusing.

[Hitcher]

I am intrigued by the reporter's description of the bike in question, a "dark red Harley-Davidson". One wonders if such fulsome words would have been used had it been a "lesser" machine, such as one made in Japan. I suspect in that case it would have been referred to as just "a motorcycle".

[Oakie]

How ironic. Just yesterday i was following a car up the road from which a youg'un in the back seat was slowly discarding a banana skin. I wondered what the potential would be for a slip if a rider hit it with the front wheel while cranked over a bit. Now i know.

[Virago]

Haha rather amusing lol

Why????

[alexthekidd]

just my sick sense of humor finds something amusing about a big bad harly rider getting taken out by a banana peel

[jtzzr]

Hope the dude is all good , whether you ride a Harley or a Jappa , the road rash is still the same, but I will be looking at banana splits in a different light.

[Bytor]

Why didn't the guy avoid it?

Maybe he'd got ape hangers...

[scumdog]

about a big bad harly rider

You surmised the above information how???

I didn't pick it up in the press release.

[Virago]

just my sick sense of humor finds something amusing about a big bad harly rider getting taken out by a banana peel

You must be reading something between the lines that I haven't. Assuming that a Harley rider is "big and bad" is like assuming that all 250 Bandit riders are snotty little dickheads.

[u4ea]

aww what a bugger for this rider!!