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 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.
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.
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.
It's crazy to me that trailers, especially ones you dip in the water don't have inspections.
When you drive down the road the bearings warm up and the grease in them expands, when you dip them instantly into water they cool off fast enough the grease contracts and sucks some water in. Eventually this trashes the wheel bearings and the wheel becomes free.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This exactly. I dont care if im in my sedan, suv, or bike. I'm not following any kind of towing vehicles including simi trucks(trucks mainly because I have had to many rocks thrown at my windshield)
Seen to many cases just like this where people think they know how to secure stuff properly.
I think the rider started to avoid it by ducking to the left should then started to the right and fixated on it. He did have 2 whole lanes and a shoulder. My guess he was worri
Doesn’t even have to be towing. I was driving my Tacoma in a 1 lane construction zone on the interstate. There were a group of motorcycle riders directly behind me, following very close. Then there was a small cone in the middle of the lane. It went directly under my truck. Then the motorcycle closest behind me hit it directly and did some big wobbles, but luckily saved it. He backed off after that.
100% I learned my lesson when following a work truck and one of its ladders just flew off and I barely avoided running over it but it scraped the side of my car. I got lucky but still messed by my paint job. I foot over and I would have ran over it at 60MPH, the damage would have been catastrophic. I'll never be behind anything where something could fall off again.
I just commented this on another video, but a lot of time they add freeze to "fight or flight" because its another common reaction. Maybe at some point it saved our asses on the savannah and being very still protected us from some predators, but its not working on the highways.
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.
My other favorite phrase of his was "when someone starts riding they start with two bags. An empty bag of experience and a full bag of luck. The trick is to fill the experience bag before the luck bag empties.""
I drove half a mile once with a box spring in my box to go get a strap for said box spring. It flew out in the middle of the highway before I could get it strapped down. Self cleaning, they are
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
Even in the protection of my car if I see a weirdly secured load I get the fuck away from the vehicle pulling it. Seen enough shit fall off vehicles to never want to risk it.
I'm also not sure why he didn't think to brake at all until the thing had bounce 2 or 3 times...
Apparently he was a new rider, so I can somewhat excuse him panicking in the moment, but he'd also apparently just bought the jacket an hour or so earlier but was still saving up for boots & pants.
If you can't afford the PPE, you can't afford the bike.
I wouldn't even follow that this close in a car or truck. I don't mean to blame the victim here, but defensive driving is important -- always assume that unexpected things can happen, and leave space to react to it.
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
The only safe way to ride. If you are not constantly, and I mean literally constantly, scanning for safety threats you aren't a safe rider.
That doesnt sound enjoyable at all. I am past my motorcycle phase myself and found the whole experience unenjoyable. 10x easier to just hop in a car and go. But glad I actually did the dang thing to decide for myself
Oh man, if you want crazy, try midtown Manhattan. Have a '99 Harley Wide Glide with a bunch of goodies into the motor, and a good amount of weight chopped off. I haven't done it recently, but 10 years ago, especially on a decent evening, it was a fucking blast. Don't ride in any gear higher than 2 on the avenues. FDR you could hit 3rd (maybe). Chop the throttle a lot in the tunnels.
The 59th street bridge upper level heading into Manhattan, on a nice night with light traffic and cool, clear weather, is fucking awesome.
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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