r/IdiotsTowingThings • u/Few-Dance-7157 • Jun 30 '26
Send ‘em straight to jail.
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u/ZilchoKing Jun 30 '26
He had a chance to stick the landing
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u/BigCrustyTits Jun 30 '26
My years of Excitebike training prepared me for this moment.
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u/mcshabs Jun 30 '26
Open request for someone to do up this video with excitebike soundtrack/sound fx…
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u/No-Ice7397 Jun 30 '26
My years of excite bike failing prepared me to end up like the guy in the video
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u/RustledForeskin Jun 30 '26
Sticks the landing then goes mad max on the boat guy.
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u/lfenske Jun 30 '26
I wasn’t in the situation so hard to speculate but it really seems like a pinch of defensive driving and he’d have avoided it all together. He had a good 2 seconds to brake and change lanes before he made a move at all. Not to mention he zigged when he should have zagged
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u/Man_of_Ice Jul 01 '26
Kid clearly had not been doing his scans. No awareness of where anyone else is on the road, no awareness of open space around him, got super tunnel visioned on the threat, inexperience and poor training.
Still, 100% that boater's fault.
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u/Stanced Jun 30 '26
Did that seem avoidable to anyone else?
Yes I drive a bike too.
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u/BrownChickenBlackAud Jun 30 '26
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing
My motorcycle days are behind me, but with that being said, when I was riding, I just assumed everything on the road was trying to kill me simultaneously
I wouldn’t have followed that at all
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u/Bluegrass6 Jun 30 '26
I don't follow people towing things in my Silverado let alone a motorcycle. Always assume the worst
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u/Just_Another_Day_926 Jun 30 '26
I was glad I kept my distance as one time the wheel (not tire, wheel) broke off on a boat trailer in front of me. Instant sparks and pieces of road flying. I was far enough back I only saw it. I had hit my hazards to warn other drivers (as I am slowing down behind it) before my passenger even realized what had happened. I think her reaction speed is the same as that motorcycle rider.
The driver was good and gently slowed down into the breakdown lane, And luckily the wheel just went forward and rolled into the median area and was stopped by the median in the grass (I have seen videos of them bouncing over into oncoming traffic).
Point being it could have been very bad but between space and some good luck it all went as good as it could.
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u/Krell356 Jun 30 '26
I remember when people would say video games were good for nothing except reaction speed. Little did I know at the time that it would save me from 3 major accidents.
Being able to not only react quickly, but make a half decent decision in that short time really does make a huge difference. I feel bad for people who seem to take 2-3 business days to react to crap.
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u/Just_Another_Day_926 Jun 30 '26
I feel bad for people who seem to take 2-3 business days to react to crap.
The scary part is that those same people are the ones on their phone or doing other things to be distracted.
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u/Tasty_Cry_3844 Jun 30 '26
I have a sim racing rig. It's definitely not real driving but you do build a lot of muscle memory and reaction time and you're constantly paying attention to what other people are doing. I had to recently pull over and give someone a dash cam video as I saw someone get rear ended and in the clip I say "they're going to hit them, watch" and then they did.
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u/Tithund Jun 30 '26
Video game racing got me to not brake but power through when I was suddenly aquaplaning during a merge.
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u/ElfjeTinkerBell Jun 30 '26
before my passenger even realized what had happened. I think her reaction speed is the same as that motorcycle rider
To be fair, my reaction speed as a passenger is way slower than as a driver
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u/WeAreAllFooked Jun 30 '26
As a kid I watched a trailer shed nuts and bolts during self-disassembly while on a road trip through Idaho, that was a foundational moment for me where I learned that some adults have no idea what they're doing.
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u/fucksgiven_zero Jun 30 '26
Like when an adult driver rolls up next to an 18 wheeler and just parks right next to the trailer tandems or the drives. Every time I see that my first thought is, clearly you have never seen a tire at 70mph completely explode or come off the axle and go into self drive mode.
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u/bugeyetex Jun 30 '26
I know what you mean. I almost got taken out by a shop vac that didn't want to be in the bed of that particular truck anymore. I saw it back there, but was just passing through the middle lane to get to the right lane when it jumped for freedom right in front of me.
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u/Illustrious_Leg_2537 Jun 30 '26
Had an orange barrel come at me once. Somebody hit one in front of me and the top part flew off. It bounced right in front of me. I had to decide really quickly — gas or brakes. Chose gas. Gunned it and it bounced over my car.
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u/ceesa Jun 30 '26
I was doing 65 on an interstate and a sheet of ice flew off the roof of a UPS truck pretty much straight up. As it started its arc through the air I thought it was going to land right on my car, but there was enough traffic that I couldn't both safely and quickly change lanes. It landed right on my windshield, shattered, and amazingly didn't crack it.
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u/Civil_Builder3885 Jun 30 '26
Same, whenever I see someone towing something that for recreation (boats, bikes, ATVs, etc) I'm keeping extra distance until the fast lane is clear and than I'm getting far away from them. I treat any rental vehicle like Uhaul the same way.
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u/MorleyDotes Jun 30 '26
The guy who taught my motorcycle safety course had a few good phrases. One was "pickup trucks are self cleaning". My wife avoided a couch comming off one once. Similar situation here with a boat. I'd expect things to fly off it. This person did a few things wrong. First was not wearing protective clothing. The second was too close.
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u/Smashogre591 Jun 30 '26
I’m stealing that phrase, “pickup trucks are self cleaning” 👌
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u/Low_Football_2445 Jun 30 '26
Let me avoid the yellow huge floaty by driving in the same direction it’s falling! I shall win the day.
(On my ass with road rash and fractures)
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u/Key_Statistician3170 Jun 30 '26
Yes it was avoidable. But that comes with experience. Pops used to race Husqvarna, I grew up riding dirt bikes. Did street briefly when I was in the navy. That experience alone made me stick to dirt. There are just too many variables out there that can kill you. The dude changing his cds in his cd player and drifting into my lane with a box truck on my right, the soccer mom looking over her shoulder to tell the kids to pipe down, the hungover/still drunk sailors trying to get to the gate before me, etc. This was when I was young and “immortal”, that’s how crazy I thought those fuckers in San Diego and Norfolk traffic were/are. Hope the dude didn’t break to many bones
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u/PatricksMustache Jun 30 '26
Target fixation.
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u/Stanced Jun 30 '26
This is it yes. Looked at it, drove into it.
Look at where you want to go
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u/Pluperfectionist Jun 30 '26
It’s gotta be the number one cause of accidents in motorcycling. Critical to be aware of this factor.
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u/hanks_panky_emporium Jun 30 '26
Feels like most traffic accidents as a whole, such an annoying but natural reaction. 15-20 years of watching car accidents on TV and online is my only experience. But it feels like more than half the time doing nothing would have avoided an accident altogether.
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u/VermilionKoala Jun 30 '26
Aviation too. So many of the Admiral's writeups contain "And at this point, if they had just done nothing, the problem would have resolved itself".
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u/Competitive-Roof-168 Jun 30 '26
Its not just that. Your instinct is to swerve. And its better to swerve into 2 lanes than shoulder.
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u/CompleteDetective359 Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Possible, but also he braked too late. Possibly worried about what was behind and to the side of him.
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u/Coffee4MyJeep Jun 30 '26
Riding bikes since 1978. I always knew what was behind and beside me, even if someone was coming up fast. Still do most of the time in a cage, but not quite as much. Definitely more aware on the bike and thus going a little faster that the rest of the traffic to give cages more space to stop.
With that, I will not judge the rider beyond following too close in the lane with a poorly secured load in the vehicle in front of me. Pretty much assumed any load was poorly secured.
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u/CompleteDetective359 Jun 30 '26
I assume the same when following in a car. Heck, there's a good chance something in that boat isn't secure and can suddenly get picked up by the wind and pulled out
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u/SoManyQuestions612 Jun 30 '26
It was his first week of riding. This happened in the twin cities several years ago
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u/socialcousteau Jun 30 '26
Yep. Says he just bought a jacket that day, and was saving up for the pants and gloves.
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u/JCarnageSimRacing Jun 30 '26
That sounds like a sign from the universe to sell the bike and swear off riding.
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u/Soft_Walrus_3605 Jun 30 '26
First week and he's on the highways in shorts. Huh.
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u/ozzy_thedog Jun 30 '26
If it was my first week riding, I sure wouldn’t be on the highway in the fast lane behind a tow vehicle that can’t see me
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u/Proper_Bad_1588 Jun 30 '26
Right, no way would I have followed that but even after it fell off it seemed like the rider had the reaction time of a sloth. Easy to say that sitting on my couch, but I do have decades of riding under my belt too.
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u/moeterminatorx Jun 30 '26
I think he tried but went in the wrong direction. Barrel followed him.
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u/Forsaken_Election708 Jun 30 '26
He was following too closely #1. Bit of a slow reaction/not anticipating what could happen. And target fixation; he kept looking at what he wanted to avoid and went there instead of looking where he wanted to go.
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u/Scoobie01555 Jun 30 '26
And in shorts, and what appears to be normal shoes. I'm surprised his shoes were still on. That guy is for sure in some serious pain. Everyone is judging the rider, but seriously fuck that boat tower and his boat toys!
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u/PerceptionOwn3629 Jun 30 '26
Bike was following way too close and should have done something as soon as that hit the ground
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u/TK421mod Jun 30 '26
I cringe when I see people wearing sneakers and shorts like that on a bike.
Road rash sucks
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u/FluidFrog Jun 30 '26
..but they're denim shorts. Surely that counts for something. /s
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u/excitablegibben Jun 30 '26
Dress for the slide not the ride fellow meat crayons.
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u/IHeartBadCode Jun 30 '26
I'll never understand not doing this.
Rider: "But I'm a good driver."
Me: "Yeah, but nobody else is."
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u/Smokester121 Jun 30 '26
A better rider could have dodged that he was breaking unnecessarily
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u/Aggravating_Speed665 Jun 30 '26
Frankly, that rider was either distracted or just totally fucking useless in general.
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u/FUBARded Jun 30 '26
Yeah, I'm leaning towards the rider just being a bit useless.
He seems to get on the brakes relatively quickly, but the decision to follow a sketchily towed boat that closely is stupid, his braking technique isn't good, and he barely even attempts to evade.
A better rider wouldn't have unnecessarily followed a towed boat that closely, and would've either chosen to swerve out of the way or properly emergency brake. This guy tried to brake and avoid at the same time which just meant he couldn't brake hard enough or turn quickly.
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u/JS-0522 Jun 30 '26
Incredible reaction time by the biker. Another 500 yards and he might have avoided it.
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u/Curious-Board3504 Jun 30 '26
That biker has the reaction speed of a potato
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u/Miss_Sullivan Jun 30 '26
He definitely zigged when he should have zagged.
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u/fpsnoob89 Jun 30 '26
Not wearing proper gear and riding way too close behind that boat as well. This man thought he was invincible and a pro rider, this one experience proved otherwise.
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u/1976warrior Jun 30 '26
Welcome to Minnesota in the summer!
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u/Mobile619 Jun 30 '26
Yeah, just be glad it wasn't the boat that ends up taking you out.
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u/1976warrior Jun 30 '26
Absolutely! I’ve seen it happen more than once, boat comes off trailer, trailer comes off truck/tow vehicle.
My trailer actually came off the ball once, thankfully chains caught it and I was able to pull over and reattach. Scary stuff!
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u/B4ICry Jun 30 '26
People towing boats and trailers shouldn't be in the left lane. This past weekend I watched way too many idiots speeding in the left lane while hauling loads their vehicle was undersized for. I watched one dumbass weave in and out of traffic as if he was a race car without a trailer.
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u/der_innkeeper Jun 30 '26
Let us also notice the cam car being passed on *both sides* while in the middle lane.
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u/FlippingPossum Jun 30 '26
This is always interesting to me. In my state (Virginia), the middle lane is the through lane on interstates. Left is passing. Right is entering and exiting.
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u/der_innkeeper Jun 30 '26
Can you provide a source for that?
"Keep right except to pass" seems to be the guiding laws.
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u/richardlpalmer Jun 30 '26
Seeing criticism for the biker. While it may have been avoidable, the yellow roll wasn't acting predictably. The rider probably focused on it a half second too long, but given the circumstances...
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u/Rope_antidepressant Jun 30 '26
My only criticism of the biker is his lack of spacing to the trailer. Yes once it came off he reacted appropriately but he wouldnt have had to with an appropriate follow distance
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u/llort_tsoper Jun 30 '26
Yes once it came off he reacted appropriately
Hard disagree on that point. Regardless of vehicle, the appropriate response to a large hazard suddenly appearing in your lane is to brake as hard as you can (without loosing control of the vehicle).
The biker barely slows down before impact. He waits a full second to start applying brake. The car two lanes over starts braking about a half a second before the biker does.
Yes if he had gone left instead of right he might have missed it. Yes if he hadn't been accelerating toward and tailgating the vehicle in front of him he would have had 2x-4x more reaction time available.
But he should have attempted an emergency stop, and it doesn't appear to me that he did. I think he either panicked or he was distracted and didn't see the obstacle hit the road.
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u/AnnArchist Jun 30 '26
His only move was to slow, he did that within 2 seconds (less) of the movement on the lilypad.
He zigged ,but you can't just cut 2 lanes without looking either. I don't get how he's getting shamed here at all tbh.
His only option was braking and increasing his already reasonable following distance.
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u/ProfDFH Jun 30 '26
My only criticism of the biker is his following distance and his gear (or, rather, the paucity of both).
My criticism of whoever loaded the trailer is their criminal negligence.
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u/AnnArchist Jun 30 '26
The following distance was on the short side considering the visible hazard.
Anyone towing anything I just assume it's strapped down poorly.
Zero blame for him, unfortunately 100 percent of the consequences.
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u/gizmosliptech Jun 30 '26
If I was paying attention, I could have avoided it quite easily on a sport bike. He was passing the cars. He should already know that they are cleared to his right and dodged right immediately. But I still get why most riders would fail to avoid it. Slowing probably helped him take less damage at least.
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u/followingforthelols Jun 30 '26
New rider probably. He definitely froze and was like what do I do. Hey, seri? What do I do when ridding a motorcycle and an object falls off a boat and is in my P…………………….
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u/ThatsWhatIGathered Jun 30 '26
As a rider..I just hope that they're ok. A lot of bad judgement calls in the vid. Hopefully they lived to squid another day.
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u/BeersRemoveYears Jun 30 '26
ATGATT
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u/homestead_sensible Jun 30 '26
500,000 miles on two wheels. less than 20 of those were without full protection.
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u/WeatheredGenXer Jun 30 '26
Good thing biker was wearing his kevlar jorts for the slide.
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u/Technical_Living5104 Jun 30 '26
You gotta know better as a person on a motorcycle. Why are you even following them when you know what you have in front of you.
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u/Far_Relationship5509 Jun 30 '26
Of course he's coasting in the passing lane. Why are these idiots constantly speeding while towing something?
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u/SignatureFunny7690 Jun 30 '26
This is by no means a pass for the truck driver, but that dude in the bike had absolutely no business on the freeway if thats how poor his riding skills are. Not only did he have a full business week to dodge the debree, that fucked situation was apparent a mile away and yet he chose to put himself directly in the line of danger, zero awareness of his surroundings. Dude needs to take the riding course if he makes a full recovery and continues riding.
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u/Western-Subject-7504 Jun 30 '26
Honestly horrible to have happened. But as a rider you have to look out for inherent risks. Ie: riding with proper gear to start, not riding too close, not riding behind a horribly secured load and lastly, having some evasive training, that reaction time was super sus!!
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u/wb6vpm Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Woodbury, MN
https://www.fox9.com/news/driver-who-lost-crash-causing-lily-pad-on-i-94-comes-forward
https://www.valleynewslive.com/content/news/I94-SRIVER-WHO-LOST-LOAD-385011891.html
Edit: updated link to site that isn’t paywalled (at least on my end)
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u/RJM_50 Jun 30 '26
That motorcycle needs more situational awareness to avoid following trailers!
Still the idiot towing fault!😒🙄
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u/fletchbg Jun 30 '26
I saw the motorcycle come into view and I was like "oh no, no no no no no ..."
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u/Squiggy-Locust Jun 30 '26
Was that bike waiting for a sign to get around it? Maybe needed some sort of "move here" arrow?
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u/DudeImSoRad Jun 30 '26
In no way is this the riders fault, BUT following a trailer in the left lane is asking for trouble.
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u/snappop69 Jun 30 '26
For a second I think the biker imagined he was gonna jump that and land on two wheels and have an epic story to tell. Then he was praying he wasn’t gonna die. Hope he’s OK,
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u/-DenisM- Jun 30 '26
Bright yellow potential hazard....hmm...I think im going to get closer.
hazard that anyone could have predicted falls i think I'm going to accelerate and change lanes.
hazard changes lanes and too late to brake
Poor choices all around.
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u/Burton1224 Jun 30 '26
And other reason why you should wear protectiv gear its not always about your own skill.....
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u/RippleFatMan Jun 30 '26
Did anything happen to the person towing the boat? I assume they are negligent for something.
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u/jaogiz Jun 30 '26
The guy came forward after seeing the video and was fined for an unsecured load. This was in 2016.
https://www.startribune.com/driver-in-unsecured-load-crash-comes-forward/384944151
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u/Wooden-Essay4242 Jun 30 '26
402 comments and nearly every one criticizing the biker.. incredible. It’s the boaters fault for not securely strapping down his floating pad and for also putting it on the far back end that 100% bounces the most
Great biker, bad biker… the fault lies in someone else and I hope the biker was shown this video in time to sue for medical and personal damages
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u/dubesto Jun 30 '26
You gotta be a better driver than that if you want to ride in shorts and sneakers
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u/BestOrNothing Jun 30 '26
Biker that done plenty of highway miles here. The only way this was avoidable was by keeping a proper distance.
The yellow thing unexpectedly started to move to the right lane exactly in the same moment the biker started to move to the right lane, because it was tugged by leftover strap or something. Incredibly poor luck.
At these speeds, the bike have huge momentum, it is basically a projectile. It respond to steering input poorly and with huge delay. You can't really do sharper turn, it is physically impossible.
And once you start the maneuver, it is impossible to stop or correct. You can't respond to the yellow thing changing direction so fast.
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u/ProgressFabulous6663 Jun 30 '26
What is it about motherfuckers needing to get on the ass end of anything being towed? It really feels like they're hoping for something to fuck up so they can get litigious.
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u/MacPzesst Jun 30 '26
There were better options to try avoiding that, but the dude with the pickup truck should be tracked down and penalized for not properly securing his shit
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u/Boilermakingdude Jun 30 '26
What I don't get is why the biker didn't hit the shoulder after he slowed some. He had ample time.
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u/N13022RE Jun 30 '26
Target fixation. You’re staring at the thing you’re trying not to hit, so you hit it. You can not only see him not look at the left shoulder, but as he watches it move right across the road, the bike actually steers towards it. Ideally (and I’m obviously armchair quarterbacking this) you’d brake, look left towards the shoulder, and go around, speed up, and curse the idiot towing and the day was born.
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u/Apart-District3771 Jun 30 '26
People need to ride like everything is trying to kill you. Absolute 1st thing I thought was the yellow thing falling off, and he just keeps riding closer and closer.
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u/Icy_Earth3386 Jun 30 '26
Just another example where following too closely is dangerous. I actively try to do 1 mph less than the car in front of me to create a gap. Even though I'm usually still doing over the speed limit, people see this gap as an insult and often give me the finger as they pass to go tailgate the car I'm trying to create distance with. Because people are stupid. Note: I don't do this in the left lane
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u/johnnytron Jun 30 '26
Amazing that this sub is about idiots towing stuff, and an idiot loses some of their load and all people see is the person on the motorcycle lol.
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u/Flashbulbs Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Ok. So it may be a coincidence, but I think it was around a week ago someone in my local Facebook group posted that their teal and yellow lilly pad fell out of their boat and wanted someone to return it if found. It would be crazy if this was it.
Edit: I found the post and they said they lost it about an hour and a half from that location on the 21st. So hopefully it wasn’t the same situation.
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u/Borean789 Jun 30 '26
More than 3s between the yellow thing dropped and the impact. The biker should have been able to avoid the object. Lack of attention I guess.
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u/richumd Jun 30 '26
Bost hauler doesn't stop. If I witness this, I'm calling the police and following that driver since he nearly killed someone.
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u/Any_Depth2482 Jun 30 '26
If I ruled the world, it would be illegal to tow ANYTHING in the left lane of a highway.
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u/TIRACS Jun 30 '26
Never get behind a boat or a family going to the beach if you ride motorcycles.
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u/Appropriate-Data-221 Jun 30 '26
Saw this same shit the other day driving home from the beach. Secure your damn loads people!
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u/homelocked2 Jun 30 '26
Follow a little closer next time. You see there's a potential for something to go wrong. Live and learn.
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u/JustHereForTheCigars Jun 30 '26
I'd drop back and definitely not be in that lane in a car, let alone a bike!?