In theory......(accident advice)

[Solracer]

What would be better to do?


Say you were going down a road at speed 30-70mph, and a car suddenly pulls out in front of you and you only have time to do 2 things.

1. Hit the car while on the bike, or

2. Jump off the bike trying to make it over the car and pray for a "safe" landing on the other side...


What would be better? Is option 2 even FEASIBLE?

I was pondering this while riding some back roads last friday...

[mekrew]

i dont think #2 is an option

if u have enough time to setup and JUMP you have enough time to maneuver i think

[HtownStunta]

aim for ditch and lowside... ;)

whatever you do... do not grab a whole buncha front brake and stoppie into the car...

[Solracer]

i dont think #2 is an option

if u have enough time to setup and JUMP you have enough time to maneuver i think

If you are going at a high rate of speed and they pull out fast enough... I unno.. I THINK I could leap off the bike within a second or so.... I could be wrong tho.

[MadseasoN]

i dont think #2 is an option

if u have enough time to setup and JUMP you have enough time to maneuver i think

I agree.

You may very well stop in time or avoid the car. If you jump then you're screwed no matter what.

[Solracer]

I agree.

You may very well stop in time or avoid the car. If you jump then you're screwed no matter what.

screwed how? If I land the right way with my gear on, Id think Id have a decent shot at not being a vegetable.. i might be falling from 7-10 feet in the air but id be coming in at an angle... not strait down.

[DaveJHotch]

Either way the insurance company of the person at fault screws you!!!

[MudBug]

I would take the chance at stopping before hitting the car.

[Gixxer Geezer]

i think i would take my chances jumping.. just hoping not to slide under the car... that would be bad..

[Solracer]

I would take the chance at stopping before hitting the car.

no chance at STOPPING, MIGHt be a small chance of swerving, but thats not the point of this thread.... either you hit the car or you fly over... thats the 2 choices.

[SecretAgent]

all i know is i can manuever on my bike much better than i can while flying through the air. i'll always take my chances at avoiding the car. but usually by that time it's too late. you should have already seen the driveway or the car coming close to it, and planned your escape route.

[Valkorin]

Personally, I think if you've got time to jump, use those last few seconds to evade.

[SecretAgent]

no chance at STOPPING, MIGHt be a small chance of swerving, but thats not the point of this thread.... either you hit the car or you fly over... thats the 2 choices.
generally speaking, when you hit the car, inertia will propel you over the car as the rear of the bike rotates around trying to go forward as well. unless you hit a truck or something, USUALLY, you'll get tossed over it.

[GixxerMayham]

Ride it out!!!! No point in jumping. Also, the insurance company may put you at fault if you jump off.

[Badzx14r]

if you got time to think about option #2 then the car is to far away ... but you gonna fly if you broad-side a car try for hood or truck.. SUV your screwed

[del240z]

you could jump and actually tuck and roll right before you hit the ground to minimize physical damage to you.....

If you were that lucky....

[sbfuller]

i would do my best to get above the vehicle... a gradual stop on the pavement is better then a sudden stop into 4000 pounds of metal. but if you are hard on the brakes, a stoppie would be your best bet, lowsiding into the car puts you at the sudden stop

[MadseasoN]

But seriously, how high can you jump? 1' - 2'? You might make it over a car.

[Scorpio]

I'd try jumping if there was no other option.
Only bad thing is white man can't jump too good.

[Godsuki]

I have see with my own eyes option 2 successfully pulled off. Guy did it right in front of us at an intersection back in Georgia. He jumped right over the hood of a midsized stationwagon. Hit the ground, rolled a few times, then got up and proceeded to rip the driver a new one. Damnest thing I have ever seen

[bluewave18]

Noo BS. I have done the Superman thing from a bicycle over a car hood. The car was backed into a driveway. I was riding down the sidewalk and the car pulled out towards the street. I was moving and I was gonna tbone it. I threw myself over the handle bars and cleared the car. The landing kinda sucked but it was better than hitting the car.

[ENDO_monkey]

Hmmm good question.

[GQ*]

I've seen a motorcycle wreck where this same thing happened....the guy hit the car that pulled out in front of him while he was doin maybe 35 and then he did a front flip over the hood and landed on the other side. He got up and was fine.

So based on that, I would think IF you can jump on purposed you stand a good chance of being okay @ low speeds...otherwise you're just gonna end up flipping over the car anways :keke:

[Pyrofallout]

screwed how? If I land the right way with my gear on, Id think Id have a decent shot at not being a vegetable.. i might be falling from 7-10 feet in the air but id be coming in at an angle... not strait down.

Have you ever practiced jumping off a moving sportbike at a good rate of speed? I think it would take a good amount of time.

I say just wheelie into the car. :thumb:

[kdog22]

i'd probably try both, slow down as much as i could and right before impact try to jump off the bike.. i'd rather fly over the car then straight into it while sitting on the bike.. i could easily see having 2 broken legs if you didn't try to jump or at least slow and attempt to make it over the vehicle.

u + car = dead stop.. while on the other hand u + jumping over car you will tumble and i would think more chance of surviving. ... Either way your screwed

[lilmckee]

Superman it!




...sometimes it doesn't work out the way you plan though....:banghead:

[BigComfy]

it's a bird, it's a plane, no it's fat ass BC flying!!!

[Texas94fs]

The best thing to do is slow as much as possible and then swerve

[sbfuller]

if you have enough time to get your legs behind you so they don't get caught on the bars then Newton will probably help you get over the car... you just have to get over your own windscreen... or break it

[dudewhrsmybike]

Hmm, I say the first option even though I don't like the way you worded it. I'll grab front brake and take my chances of NOT hitting the car. Yesterday, and every now and then, I practice sudden braking down backroads. I go about 60+ or so and grab the brakes and squeeze hard. It gives me a good idea of how much I can brake if I'm put into that situation. I think more of animals to avoid than cars though.

[sbfuller]

The best thing to do is slow as much as possible and then swerve

some of you can't read... he said if there is no time!!! imaging you are riding city streets marked at 50 mph... and you come to an intersection with cars stopped in the oppsite lanes but you have a green light... and then some dumbass flies between the cars in an open lane and runs the light, or someone turns left in front of you... there is absolutely no way you can avoid hitting the vehicle... then what?

[ENDO_monkey]

Hmm, I say the first option even though I don't like the way you worded it. I'll grab front brake and take my chances of NOT hitting the car. Yesterday, and every now and then, I practice sudden braking down backroads. I go about 60+ or so and grab the brakes and squeeze hard. It gives me a good idea of how much I can brake if I'm put into that situation. I think more of animals to avoid than cars though.

This is a good idea. I know I did it in the safety course but havent really done it, successfully, on my own bike.

[Pyrofallout]

Hmm, I say the first option even though I don't like the way you worded it. I'll grab front brake and take my chances of NOT hitting the car. Yesterday, and every now and then, I practice sudden braking down backroads. I go about 60+ or so and grab the brakes and squeeze hard. It gives me a good idea of how much I can brake if I'm put into that situation. I think more of animals to avoid than cars though.

I have done that before...that's how I did the only stoppie I have ever done on an R6. :keke:

[cdill35]

Superman FTW..or FTL actually.

[Diderich]

I doubt very much that you'd clear your own bike, let alone the car in the best conditions. And to time it so that you were at the peak of your jump just as impact was made....good luck. practice on a stool next to your bike...and do it where your neighbors can't see you. I bet your feet don't clear the tank even.

[sixmassive]

change vote. . .i'm a *****, ditch the bike. everyman for himself

[Badzx14r]

some of you can't read... he said if there is no time!!! ?





and some of ya'll haven't been in a no time to think wreck ... bam there you go .. then the slow motion starts ........


if you got time to think .. you got time to evade ..

[Badzx14r]

last time i tried jumping a hood the car still moving picked me up on the windshield and pitched me onto a fire hydrant .. i guess i wasn't going fast enough to make a clean jump at 40 mph

[sbfuller]

and some of ya'll haven't been in a no time to think wreck ... bam there you go .. then the slow motion starts ........


if you got time to think .. you got time to evade ..

i have... and i had time to actually think... of course it was slow motion and i may not have had much choice... but i chose to jump off the pegs and hope for the best. didn't take much. that electric fence came out of nowhere!!! your waist is almost at the level of the bars... get your hips over the bars and inertia takes care of the rest.

most bike seats are at about 30 inches... what are the heights of most cars hoods? get your waist over the bars and you'll prolly fly over the hood.

backstory... i was on a dirt bike hauling ass through a field and saw an electric fence with barbed wire below it at the last second. i bet i was doing 40

[bluewave18]

I know I could clear the bike. I have no doubt about that. Now, havin the time to realize its Superman time is another thing.

[Scorpio]

Depending on the car and where you hit it, looks like you could clear it if your timing was right. Beats the alternative.

9s3ZPjnGOvI

[Unleaded_Buell]

I can slow from 50 to 40 in the time it takes to think "this is gonna hurt" because I have the brake and swerve response pre-wired and ready to go. Throw a jump in there and I would need enough time to start worrying about what my wife might find when she gets my clothes together for the hospital.

If I pulled off the jump, and did it deliberately, I would be certain I could have avoided the car. I'd rather go into the car on the brakes and with some degree of control so I can aim for the hood or trunk where I have a better chance of being thrown over.

[bentgixxer]

this guy did the flight over a truck, survived, but wasnt pretty.

http://www.motohouston.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7645

[less_than_coop]

If you are going at a high rate of speed and they pull out fast enough... I unno.. I THINK I could leap off the bike within a second or so.... I could be wrong tho.

Been there.

Totalled 2 bikes in the same manner. Cage turned left in front of me at an intersection (i had right of way both times). First time was at a slower speed (35ish). Front wheel of the bike hit the rear wheel of the car so solidly, that the bike catapulted me over the car. I was lucky not to go into the side.
The second crash (being very familiar feeling in my head) gave me even less time to react, and was at a higher speed (45ish). I went to grab brakes, but knew there was no time for them to do any good. The onoly insticnt(reflex) I had was to jump. There wasnt enough time for me to jump higher enought to clear the bike. My left leg caught on the windscreen and flipped me 3 or 4 times before I landed in the street (on my lid). This time though, the bike had become one with the car. The bike had come to a dead stop buried deep into the front quaterpanel of the car. I would have gone right into the controls of the bike, and probably had a secondary impact with the car. So in that case, it was good that I jumped.

Dont know if it should be something on your mind, cause I dont think you could react fast enough. My body and brain just seemed to recognize the siutation, and told the muscles to jump. It just happened.

[cj_sandman]

I'm not 100% sure how I would jump/pull a superman type thing but I would most certainly opt for trying that instead of plowing my body into the car.

[El-Diablo]

Like Coop, I've had an accident like this.

I had someone pull out in front of me while I was doing about 40mph. I tried to aviod the collision but ran straight into the front quarter panel.

Honestly, I don't know if I tried to jump or just seperate from the bike but I ended up over her hood and on my back. I'm not sure if I hit my controls or her hood, but I ended up with a compound fracture of my right leg. Broken in 7 places total, plus a body full of briuses and rash.

I purposely never tried to lowside because a good frined of mind did that and ended up underneath the vehicle and died.

[Ulric]

If you have to stop and think, how to react... you need to practice more.

The more time/distance you have to scrub speed the better... X- to 0 in 1 second is going to hurt more than x to 0 in 3...if impact is a given, I don't see a lot wrong with trying to jump at the moment of impact... provided it appears you have clearance. (Ie, jumping when your impacting a semi, prolly not a good idea).


If someone wants to spend the google time, I think there were some studies/experiments in regards to this, though the idea/concept was an attempt to survive a head on collision with a oncoming auto/etc.

[CaligoneTx]

if you didn't see the potential hazard of the car before it turned, you were going too fast.

always ditch the bike, it becomes sharp and heavy objects that can hurt you more then protect you.

[kingralphthe3rd]

i dont think #2 is an option

if u have enough time to setup and JUMP you have enough time to maneuver i think

i agree

[vito_8989]

There is a video in youtube of guy that ran into a back of a semi and got his head stuck and survived. They are pictures not an actual video.

[Ulric]

There is a video in youtube of guy that ran into a back of a semi and got his head stuck and survived. They are pictures not an actual video.

I only know of one such accident with pics, and the guy did not live.

[tonyt915]

tuck and roll

[Bevo]

In ABS I trust

[Meaner-n-u]

Jump or Lay the bike down and power slid under the car... ER Doc I know told me that was the safer than hitting the car. ? Who knows.

[JRxGRUBZx]

What would be better to do?


Say you were going down a road at speed 30-70mph, and a car suddenly pulls out in front of you and you only have time to do 2 things.

1. Hit the car while on the bike, or

2. Jump off the bike trying to make it over the car and pray for a "safe" landing on the other side...


What would be better? Is option 2 even FEASIBLE?

I was pondering this while riding some back roads last friday...

if it were me i would stay on until the last second and super man dat hoe right over the car into a tuck and roll ; bounce up and say ..IM OK.

[JRxGRUBZx]

I only know of one such accident with pics, and the guy did not live.

i agree there is noway someone can get their head lodged into a steel truck without breaking a neck on impact.

[Bevo]

i agree there is noway someone can get their head lodged into a steel truck without breaking a neck on impact.If your head stops suddenly from a high rate of speed your brain is going to crash into your skull and cause death

[tiatool]

Been there.

Totalled 2 bikes in the same manner. Cage turned left in front of me at an intersection (i had right of way both times). First time was at a slower speed (35ish). Front wheel of the bike hit the rear wheel of the car so solidly, that the bike catapulted me over the car. I was lucky not to go into the side.
The second crash (being very familiar feeling in my head) gave me even less time to react, and was at a higher speed (45ish). I went to grab brakes, but knew there was no time for them to do any good. The onoly insticnt(reflex) I had was to jump. There wasnt enough time for me to jump higher enought to clear the bike. My left leg caught on the windscreen and flipped me 3 or 4 times before I landed in the street (on my lid). This time though, the bike had become one with the car. The bike had come to a dead stop buried deep into the front quaterpanel of the car. I would have gone right into the controls of the bike, and probably had a secondary impact with the car. So in that case, it was good that I jumped.

Dont know if it should be something on your mind, cause I dont think you could react fast enough. My body and brain just seemed to recognize the siutation, and told the muscles to jump. It just happened.

Been there

Like Coop, I've had an accident like this.

I had someone pull out in front of me while I was doing about 40mph. I tried to aviod the collision but ran straight into the front quarter panel.

Honestly, I don't know if I tried to jump or just seperate from the bike but I ended up over her hood and on my back. I'm not sure if I hit my controls or her hood, but I ended up with a compound fracture of my right leg. Broken in 7 places total, plus a body full of briuses and rash.

I purposely never tried to lowside because a good frined of mind did that and ended up underneath the vehicle and died.

Done that

if you didn't see the potential hazard of the car before it turned, you were going too fast.

always ditch the bike, it becomes sharp and heavy objects that can hurt you more then protect you.

In my instance the car was blocking the interesection to make a left, but hidden behind a van in a left turn lane. Just as I entered the intersection she decided to pull out just a bit farther (into my lane) to make her left. I smashed her quarterpanel. Nothing I could do about it. Was going the speed limit and had the right of way. I supermaned over the hood, and rolled. Got right back up, and started yelling at her. She was crying at the end of it. Bike had minimal damage, and I walked away.

Superman FTW!

[BoLtz]

gogo gadget jetpack!

[MACK]

Bail bitches!!!*
*Bitches is not a term only used in degrading women, here it is used to describe good wholesome law abiding, upstanding citizens.

[mammothmc]

thinking you have time to bail is just silly.....
If you go planning on doing a superman & ignore the brakes because you're tring to preparing to launch, you more than likely end up hitting the car anyway but at full ramming speed.


You'd be better off having the skills to scrub the absolute most speed possible with brakes because you've practiced it enough that you don't panic. Even when the bike does hit the car, it has a lot of give as well. Its going to bleed off some more speed as the wheel & forks etc start to bend absorbing some of the impact.

[spring r1]

go around it..........

[brisingr23]

he said chose from one of the two options not add your own. wow what are we in high school?

[sbfuller]

he said chose from one of the two options not add your own. wow what are we in high school?

no, high school kids can read and comprehend

[GAU-8]

BAIL.

the adrenaline will take over if you are going the bail route.. your jump height doesnt have to be that high at all. with a 1 foot jump, and tucking everything in, you have added another foot or two. so potentially you could have 2 to 3 feet or more on that jump.

not saying its going to happen this way but just the jump with NO TIME/SPEED factored in to it...you should have plenty of potential clearance.

[philly fresh]

hit the brakes hard and right before impact just let go of the grips. so you fly hands first instead of the bike bucking you

[pester]

i dont think #2 is an option

if u have enough time to setup and JUMP you have enough time to maneuver i think


not really. if more than half the car is on your way your toasted

[ALEXD]

just do a stoppie

[Mr.P]

I'm always checking my mirrors when I'm stopped for cars coming from behind. I think I could jump faster than I could get out of the way. So I'm always ready to jump. Sounds stupid and paranoid, but I was hit on my first street bike from behind at 10 MPH once and damn it hurt. I had on a school backback with books, which didn't help the rolling into the windshield manueuver.