Denny Morrison, Olympic speed skater involved in motorcycle crash

[Ne7en]

Apparently Denny Morrison the Olympic speed skater was involved in a motorcycle crash last night. However I find it very peculiar how the media first reported the incident in comparison with how they report it once it's been known that it was in fact Denny Morrison involved.

Take a look for yourself:

Originally reported:
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...ar-on-its-side

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/man-sent-t...ycle-1.2364890

Reported as Denny Morrison:
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/speedskatin...rash-1.3066598

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...cycle-accident

[MrMastodonFarm]

Those are two different media outlets though.

[burn_this_city]

Sounds like he was speeding through the intersection and the car turned left in front of him.

[Flabbibulin]

Something for the gear grinder thread, but screw the Herald and their new subscription thing.

[polak]

Scary. Read about the accident yesterday.

[getbak]

I can't imagine how fast you'd have to be going to flip a Corolla on its side with a motorcycle. If a broken femur is his only injury, he is one lucky guy.

[Cuz]

Morrison might have been going fast, but getting charged because some dumbass turns in front of you sounds pretty stupid to me.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Cuz

Morrison might have been going fast, but getting charged because some dumbass turns in front of you sounds pretty stupid to me.

Somebody turning in front of you or not, careless driving is careless driving. I don't think you are taking into other factors like how fast a motorcycle can suddenly appear, grade and possible incline of road, vision factors, etc..

[polak]

Bikers always blame the driver.

Like I posted in another motorcycle accident discussion. A speeding bike can fill an empty space in a matter of a second or two.

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Somebody turning in front of you or not, careless driving is careless driving. I don't think you are taking into other factors like how fast a motorcycle can suddenly appear, grade and possible incline of road, vision factors, etc..

Considering I am a professional driver, I do take all of that into account

There is lots of visibility at that intersection, so unless he was going ridiculously fast (100kp/h +), they should have seen him in time (should being the operative word).

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by polak

Bikers always blame the driver.

Like I posted in another motorcycle accident discussion. A speeding bike can fill an empty space in a matter of a second or two.

A speeding bike and a speeding car at the same speed cover the same amount of ground over the same time. Bikes are obviously smaller than a car, but as long as a driver is paying attention they shouldn't have anymore difficulty picking up a bike or a car.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Cuz

Considering I am a professional driver, I do take all of that into account

There is lots of visibility at that intersection, so unless he was going ridiculously fast (100kp/h +), they should have seen him in time (should being the operative word).

Originally Posted by Cuz

A speeding bike and a speeding car at the same speed cover the same amount of ground over the same time. Bikes are obviously smaller than a car, but as long as a driver is paying attention they shouldn't have anymore difficulty picking up a bike or a car.

One of the problems with a speeding vehicle approaching you is you look at the vehicle see how far away it is and assume it will cover the distance in a certain time (in line with the speed limit). At the point drivers will oftern them move into the turn and look at where they are going, meanwhile the speeding vehicle closes the distance in a shorter amount of time than the driver expects.

The speeding (I don't think we know his speed) does not absolve the turning vehicle of wrong doing, but it does mean that the speeding vehicle has to accept some responsibility for the collision.

[polak]

Originally Posted by Cuz

A speeding bike and a speeding car at the same speed cover the same amount of ground over the same time. Bikes are obviously smaller than a car, but as long as a driver is paying attention they shouldn't have anymore difficulty picking up a bike or a car.

Except a bike can accelerate much quicker than you're average car.

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

One of the problems with a speeding vehicle approaching you is you look at the vehicle see how far away it is and assume it will cover the distance in a certain time (in line with the speed limit). At the point drivers will oftern them move into the turn and look at where they are going, meanwhile the speeding vehicle closes the distance in a shorter amount of time than the driver expects.

The speeding (I don't think we know his speed) does not absolve the turning vehicle of wrong doing, but it does mean that the speeding vehicle has to accept some responsibility for the collision.

It does ultimately depend on what speed a vehicle is doing. The speed limit where the accident occurred is 50 km/h so if he was doing 70, while speeding, I don't think that is careless. In my mind anything approaching about 30km/h over the limit is when it is careless for this location (maybe more, maybe less for other places).

I agree with you about the problems with picking up speeding drivers when turning left (I am sure most of us have turned left and the approaching car was coming faster than we ascertained and we clear the intersection with less space than comfortable), but taking a little bit more time to determine how fast the car is approaching can help avoid most collisions.

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by polak

Except a bike can accelerate much quicker than you're average car.

You're right, I wasn't thinking about acceleration rates when I made my statement. This is one reason bikes need to be treated differently by car drivers and is the same reason when a bike is in front of you, you should give it more distance for braking (bikes can stop much quicker than the average car).

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Ne7en

Apparently Denny Morrison the Olympic speed skater was involved in a motorcycle crash last night. However I find it very peculiar how the media first reported the incident in comparison with how they report it once it's been known that it was in fact Denny Morrison involved.

Take a look for yourself:

Originally reported:
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...ar-on-its-side

Reported as Denny Morrison:
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...cycle-accident

What is the point that you are trying to make? The sentiment or the reporting in the two Herald articles don't change at all in my opinion.

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Something for the gear grinder thread, but screw the Herald and their new subscription thing.

Incognito mode allows you to bypass the subscription requirement.

[pylon]

I have been riding for 25 years, and I can tell you that anyone riding fast enough to tip over a Toyota, is at fault. The motorcycle in the picture is a 2009-2011 Yamaha R1, based on the tailpipes. That bike has 180 HP, does 0-60 in about 2.5 seconds, and has a top speed of 295 KPH. Which is covering a football field per second. It weighs about 450 lbs. The driver in all likelihood had zero time to react to him, and vice versa. Black bikes are virtually invisible as well. And that is part of the reason so many manufacturers have bright red, or bright blue as defacto colors for their machines. Visibility.

People who don't ride, have no idea how quick these get up to speed, the bike does around 160 KPH.... in 1st frikking gear. What I am trying to say is, once you wind the bike up, there is no stopping the momentum in time to react to a car pulling out. Combined with the color, he didn't have a chance.

He should be absolutely grateful all he came out of this was with a broken femur. In most cases, a t-bone at this speed results in a wishbone injury, where your legs and pelvis split in half, and your guts come spilling out of the gaping hole which used to be your tight little pucker hole. If you aren't so lucky, you will survive it. I know of a guy did, and he still wishes he was dead.

I have ridden some super crazy stuff, even faster than the bike Morrison crashed. And the one thing I took away from riding with some ex-racers was the mantra "There is a responsible way to be irresponsible." If you are riding like a jack hole in city traffic, you deserve it. You don't buy a bike like that to do the speed limit, and sniff the roses. But, if you are gonna tempt fate on a hyper sport motorcycle, tempt it on a desolate country road where you can see for a kilometre. Because you almost need about half of that time to react if someone pulls out.

These are the guys that piss me off, and give responsible riders a bad name. They really need to have graduated licensing here like they do in Europe. You start with the small under powered stuff, and earn your way up to the gonzo machines. For every guy that can actually handle that machine, there is 5 more that have no bloody clue.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by pylon

He should be absolutely grateful all he came out of this was with a broken femur. In most cases, a t-bone at this speed results in a wishbone injury, where your legs and pelvis split in half, and your guts come spilling out of the gaping hole which used to be your tight little pucker hole. If you aren't so lucky, you will survive it. I know of a guy did, and he still wishes he was dead.

Geezus. That's actually a thing? I crossed my legs as I read it. Gah.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Geezus. That's actually a thing? I crossed my legs as I read it. Gah.

It's referred to as an open book fracture as well.

Open book fracture

One specific kind of pelvic fracture is known as an 'open book' fracture. This is often the result from a heavy impact to the groin (pubis), a common motorcycling accident injury. In this kind of injury, the left and right halves of the pelvis are separated at front and rear, the front opening more than the rear, i.e. like an open book that falls to the ground and splits in the middle. Depending on the severity, this may require surgical reconstruction before rehabilitation.[5] Forces from an anterior or posterior direction, like head-on car accidents, usually cause external rotation of the hemipelvis, an “open-book” injury. Open fractures have increased risk of infection and hemorrhaging from vessel injury, leading to higher mortality.[6]

[chubeyr1]

Originally Posted by pylon

I have been riding for 25 years, and I can tell you that anyone riding fast enough to tip over a Toyota, is at fault. The motorcycle in the picture is a 2009-2011 Yamaha R1, based on the tailpipes. That bike has 180 HP, does 0-60 in about 2.5 seconds, and has a top speed of 295 KPH. Which is covering a football field per second. It weighs about 450 lbs. The driver in all likelihood had zero time to react to him, and vice versa. Black bikes are virtually invisible as well. And that is part of the reason so many manufacturers have bright red, or bright blue as defacto colors for their machines. Visibility.

People who don't ride, have no idea how quick these get up to speed, the bike does around 160 KPH.... in 1st frikking gear. What I am trying to say is, once you wind the bike up, there is no stopping the momentum in time to react to a car pulling out. Combined with the color, he didn't have a chance.

He should be absolutely grateful all he came out of this was with a broken femur. In most cases, a t-bone at this speed results in a wishbone injury, where your legs and pelvis split in half, and your guts come spilling out of the gaping hole which used to be your tight little pucker hole. If you aren't so lucky, you will survive it. I know of a guy did, and he still wishes he was dead.

I have ridden some super crazy stuff, even faster than the bike Morrison crashed. And the one thing I took away from riding with some ex-racers was the mantra "There is a responsible way to be irresponsible." If you are riding like a jack hole in city traffic, you deserve it. You don't buy a bike like that to do the speed limit, and sniff the roses. But, if you are gonna tempt fate on a hyper sport motorcycle, tempt it on a desolate country road where you can see for a kilometre. Because you almost need about half of that time to react if someone pulls out.

These are the guys that piss me off, and give responsible riders a bad name. They really need to have graduated licensing here like they do in Europe. You start with the small under powered stuff, and earn your way up to the gonzo machines. For every guy that can actually handle that machine, there is 5 more that have no bloody clue.

I hope that is not trademarked cause I am going to use it! Souped up old Camaros and Mustangs, current project is an S10 Xtreme Turbo. Never been given a ticket in any wild ride. That is not to say I did not have any fun. Driving your motorcycle balls out on the shoulder of deerfoot during rush hour is a death wish! Have fun with your ride, just do it in a place where no one can turn in front of you.

Do us all a favor if you need high speeds, kill yourself on an empty road, don't take others with you!