Bike crash tonight.

[Manky Monkey]

Just got home from the weekly bike meet in Alton, Hants.
Maybe 500 bikes, mainly sports, but quite a few classics & a few customs & cruisers, plus the odd trike or three. Very busy, bikes coming & going all evening. Lots of revving & general showing off by the sportsbike guys.
The 3 triketeers, (Flap, Nige & Si), left around 9 & I left 10 minutes later. The road from Alton back to Basingstoke's about 10 miles of twisty unlit A road -great fun on a bike but lethal. Been dozens of fatalities over the years. A line of bikes overtook me about halfway home. No idea what they were, except one was a Harley flat tracker. I was doing 60 ish, they must've been well over 80. Stupid speeds. Two bends further on & suddenly someone's running across the road, flagging the traffic down. There's a hatchback in the ditch, airbag deployed, driver's side of the car completely flattened. One of the bikes has taken the bend too fast & too wide & hit an oncoming car. The bike's 300 yards further down the road. What a mess. 3 or 4 other cars ahead of me, plus others coming the other way. Someone must've rung 999 cos the paramedics were there pretty quick.
I was just about to turn the van around in the road when a guy ran up & asked to use my mobile. It was the driver of the car. Everyone was concentrating on the biker & had forgotten him. Not much I could do. He looked fine apart from a cut arm from broken glass. Gave him my phone & he rang his wife, then I checked to make sure he didn't have any obvious injuries & made sure he went to see the paramedics. I then had to find an alternative route home, driving about in the dark around little country lanes. Got home to find the guy's blood on my shirt.
So just a word to all of you out there on the roads -please BE CAREFUL. I've no idea who the biker was, (hopefully he's still alive but it didn't look likely), could've been someone I've chatted to tonight. The one question I asked at the scene was did the bike have 2 or 3 wheels. Must admit the innocent car driver's got most of my sympathy.
Enjoy the ride guys, but take care please. 

[ByzMax]

Seems an all too often occurence! 

Like you say the car driver probably was not at fault. I see far to many car drivers and bikers taking stupid risks.

Riding a Trike for the first time fifteen years ago changed my attitude to driving. Made me realise how vulnerable you can be and to drive devensively.

[Plainy Janie]

Such a sad way to end an evening.    

Jacko and I are always phoning one another when we get in especially if we're travelling back on our own.  Its only fair, saves you worrying.  I've got Rick phoning me too when he gets in now, he has an hour and a halfs drive ahead of him, once he leaves Alton.

Since I passed my bike test, I've noticed just how impatient some drivers can be.  But unfortunately for them, I won't be hurried.

TAKE CARE ALL!