Motorcylist killed by truck in Sydney

[Heidi1]

MAN I hope they catch this fucker.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/moto...89539.html

[paulh]

Well I hope so too.
But as it denotes in the story its possible that the truckie may not even have known about it.
If they were travelling in the same direction it would be easy to sideswipe one another and the impact COULD be easy to miss from the cabin of a B Double or something.

paulh

[Heidi1]

Bullshit. You know if you've hit a bird, in a car, you can't tell me you don't know if you've hit a motorcycle in a truck. You'd hear the noise or feel the impact. He ran because he was scared.

[bear]

Not nice. But I suppose you need to give him the benfit of the doubt.
Hope they track him!

[highwaybruiser]

It depends on the load in the truck- there's a lot of weight back there when they're fully loaded and they'll flatten most objects without skipping a beat. I know a few big rig drivers and one of them ran over a small car in a Caltex tanker years ago and didn't feel it in the cab. Another car had to speed up alongside him to get him to pull over.

Don't forget that most prime movers, while they may only have a few hundred horsepower, they generally have torque figures well over 1,000Nm. Hopefully the driver will come forward.

[Louwai]

Bullshit. You know if you've hit a bird, in a car, you can't tell me you don't know if you've hit a motorcycle in a truck. You'd hear the noise or feel the impact. He ran because he was scared.

Understand how you feel Heidi, & I'm certainly not sticking up for the truckie, but you really can't compare driving a car & driving a truck.
If the wheels at the back end of the semi-trailer were to go over a 12" high bump, (busa laying on it's side) the driver would not even know it, unless he actually saw it in his mirrors.
Long distance drivers have to stop every 400 or 500 klm to check & make sure they have no flat tyres. Otherwise they would have no way of knowing.

[Tone165]

The article does not give enough detail to make it clear what happened. I drive a truck, and a bike, and a car (no...not all at the same time)

I maintain that Car/Bike ppl are better drivers than just car ppl, and that "generally" truckies are good drivers.

It is quite possible to hit a bike and not know it, I had a Gemini, cross into my lane without checking once..initially I thought I may have blown a front tyre, but as the car was "spat" out to the right, i saw the problem.

Every truck in Aussie has a sign on the back that reads "Do not overtake turning vehicle"..if indicator is on....truck is turning!

The "blindspots" from a truck cab are big enough to hide a large van, and while most truckies use their mirrors to try and keep track of other vehicles, the odd one can hide from time to time, and cause problems.

Just as we Motorcyclists complain that cagers do not understand our perspective, the same is true for trucks.

My advice re trucks would be, keep clear of them, do not follow closely as "things" can suddenly emerge from under them, or tyres explode throwing out large chunks of debris, once you choose to overtake a truck..do it on the right side, dont dilly dally, and go right past the cab..never ever ride or drive alongside a truck, particularly near the cab.

[paulh]

Bullshit. You know if you've hit a bird, in a car, you can't tell me you don't know if you've hit a motorcycle in a truck. You'd hear the noise or feel the impact. He ran because he was scared.

I AM telling you that you can hit a motorcycle and not know it. If you tbone one you'll know it. If he runs into your side you'll know it. But a brief sidewipe could be undetectable to the truck but cause the bike to crash causing the guys death. YOU dont know either way but are choosing to take one possibility as the only truth because it suits you to have something to vent against. Fine. Vent away if it makes you feel good. I dont know either way but arent afraid to say it.

paulh

[ROD]

Just sad news for all involved

[Heidi1]

What are you carrying on about Paul? Cranky side of the bed today?

[Tone165]

I'd like to back Paul on this one.

Heidi, your post was strongly stated, and poorly informed, and when I read it I had a similar "vibe" as Paul obviously did. At that time I took the view that ..perhaps you did not mean to be offensive, and as a newcomer here, I would let it pass, and see what happened next.

If I could break it down... we all read between the lines to some extent...this is how I read it.

Bullshit. (Lies, stated clearly and authoritively)

You know if you've hit a bird, in a car, (cos you generally hit them head on, the relative speeds are significantly different, and you are inside of the car, near the impact site)

you can't tell me you don't know if you've hit a motorcycle in a truck. (I do not beleive what you have said is true, or that you are qualified to make such claims)

You'd hear the noise or feel the impact. (Whereas I am knowledgeable enough to know this, having not driven large trucks)

He ran because he was scared. (Stated as fact)

As Motorcyclists we get this kind of snap judgements made about "ppl like us" and most of us don't really appreciate it much. Why do the same thing when its a truck driver in the cross hairs?

I am also a truck driver and will tell you that it is quite possible to hit or be hit, and not know about it, The load part of a truck is only connected to the cab part by a pin, and all but the largest impact could dissipate before it was transmitted to the cab.

Anyway..my point is that perhaps you got a bit "passionate" in defence of a fallen rider, perhaps you did not see how your post could be misread or taken wrongly..fair enough.

But to trivialise Paul's reply was bad form. If I had written your post, I would be apologising to Paul..not trying to ridicule him.

now I wait to see what happens next.

[kawasuki]

Some of these truckies could run over the fucken moon and still wouldnt know it,CAUSE they are doing the goey thing.

[CapeBusa]

Agreed Rod. It doesn't change anything whether the driver knew and ran or just drove on. Another motorcyclist is dead and another road user will have to live with the guilt of being involed in the accident for the rest of thier life. No matter how you look at it, this is a sad event.

Like Tone said, respect trucks. Think about where thier blind spots are, same as we all should do with cars, and stay out of them. We are the smallest road users, so we need to make ourselves seen. Never chance the fact that they should know your there. Don't be there at all.

Ride safe everybody.

Geoff

[paulh]

What are you carrying on about Paul? Cranky side of the bed today?

Seeing as all the truck drivers are pointing out that you're wrong I see you've chosen to attack me and not my argument? If theres anything in my post, or in that of others, that you don't understand, then feel free to ask me about it and I will explain.

paulh

[bear]

It's a bit sad. Whenever one of us meets an untimely end as a result of a cage or truck, we end up arguing who might be at fault. The problem is, it's too late. It doesn't really matter. I've been on bikes now for 40 years and the arguments and the accidents are still the same. The only way around this is defensive riding. Just assume the cages and trucks cannot see you, or don't care or are drugged or pissed and will do the thing that can hurt or kill you. You still might get caught out, but the chances are far less.
I also think that MOST drivers are not out there to kill and maim. But it's been proven that the smaller moving targets are less likely to register as threats to our brain, and therefore don't ring alarm bells. Big things are a life threat, so you take notice if you're a smaller target.
None of this justifies what happens at times, and some arseholes do indeed have no regard for other's welfare. You just need to assume the person who can drive over you probably will.
I'll just step off the box now and let someone else talk for a while!