Road Rage...Chopper vs Motorhome

[BLEW911]

Motorcyclist dies in apparent road-rage crash

By Adam Foxman
Monday, August 10, 2009


A motorcyclist was killed Monday in a collision with a motor home on Highway 101’s Conejo Grade after he slowed rapidly in front of the recreational vehicle in an apparent road-rage incident, authorities said.

The motorcyclist, a 57-year-old Ventura man, was killed about 12:22 p.m. on southbound Highway 101 near Camarillo Springs Road when he collided with a roughly 30-foot motor home driven by Michael Antoine, 68, of Thousand Oaks, said Officer Terry Uhrich of the California Highway Patrol’s Moorpark office.

Authorities did not identify the motorcyclist because they were still working to notify relatives.

The motorcyclist and Antoine were both traveling about 55 mph when the collision occurred in the right lane, authorities said. Witnesses and Antoine later told authorities that the motorcyclist had made obscene hand gestures, pulled in front of the motor home, then slowed down dramatically, Uhrich said.

Antoine did not have time to react and struck the back of the low-slung custom motorcycle, causing it to become stuck under the front of the RV, authorities said. The motorcyclist was thrown from the bike, run over by the motor home and dragged underneath for about 75 feet, Uhrich said. Unable to steer, Antoine continued about 500 feet and hit the center divider, Uhrich said.

The frame of the motorcycle carved a deep groove in the roadway as it was pulled under the motor home. Antoine was not injured.
The cause of the initial confrontation was unclear, but investigators believe the motorcyclist intentionally slowed in front of the motor home, Uhrich said. There were no other vehicles that would have made the motorcyclist slow to avoid them, he said.

“It looks like partial road rage,” the officer said. Antoine was not suspected of any wrongdoing, Uhrich said.

Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
© 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.

[Tim Walsh]

Darwin strikes again.

[m21sniper]

Well i guess that biker "showed him" who was boss, didn't he?

What a stupid-ass.

[Gogar]

Bad move, tough guy.

[URY914]

When someone gets hit from behind it is always blamed on the tailgater not the guy in front. A good lawyer will have his hands full with this one.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Tim Walsh

Darwin strikes again.

+10

That is like getting into a road rage fight with a 18 wheel truck when driving a car. You may be right but you are going to be DEAD right.

[Rich Lambert]

Road rage on a bike = natural selection

But then, we're only getting one side of the story. The motorhome guy could have dropped his cell phone in his latte when the tiny faux dog in his lap nipped him and run into the bike.

[splinterAMG]

Brake checking a RV? At least its forks are salvageable.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by splinterAMG

Brake checking a RV? At least its forks are salvageable.

Sad situation, I know, but that is funny.

The law of gross tonnage.

I grew up near the Conejo Grade...it was a big part of your driving test in those days. It is a steep, fairly curved highway southbound. Idiot.

[rouxroux]

Hood ornament

[varmint]

the winners get to write history.


they should just weld the two vehicles together like that. it's the next step in custom trike building.

[Jeff Higgins]

Hmmm... the motorhome continued for about 575 feet after rear ending the bike. At 55 mph. Was the guy's foot on the brake, or on the gas? It's not even that big of a motorhome - it's a van conversion. Could the guy in the motorhome have decided to "teach that biker a lesson"? These thing will stop in far, far less than 575 feet from 55 mph. Like substantially less than a third of that distance.

I'm not condoning what the biker did; it was clearly just plain stupid. There is no room for road rage out there. Driving in today's traffic is stressful enough, and we are all in this together. We need to try to get along.

That said, what was the motorhome driver doing? How many of you have been stuck behind one, driven by some old fart who is poking along at 10-15 mph (or more) under the speed limit, with a growing line of cars behind him? With no passing zones, but plenty of turnouts, none of which he feels the need to use. It's frustrating. Yeah, everyone could see the biker's hand gestures, but what about the guy inside the motor home? I'm sure he was perfectly calm, as pure as the driven snow...

[VincentVega]

far less than 575 feet from 55 mph. Like substantially less than a third of that distance.

I'm far from an expert, but I dont think the stated distance is too far off. I found this...

Keep your distance from the car ahead – stopping time and distance is up to four times more for an RV. Never tailgate (good advice even in a car!)

Read more: http://campingrving.suite101.com/article.cfm/rv_insurance_safety_tips_for_drivers#ixzz0NtBfqRYw

That said, if the rider did try the brake check he got what he deserved.

[varmint]

there is this thing called "lane splitting".


absolutely no reason to be stuck behind anything.

[Jeff Higgins]

So, going up a very steep grade, he still couldn't stop in essentially less than two football fields?

I'm sure "...up to four times more for an RV" is indicating stopping distance for the largest RV, hence the "up to" statement. A van conversion is about the smallest RV out there.

[Gogar]

You guys are assuming they were going UP the grade. Maybe they were coming down, which would certainly fit the numbers (55 MPH, 5xx feet to stop) better.

[legion]

It sounds like the bike wedged under the motorhome and slightly lifted the front wheels off the ground. He said he couldn't steer either. I think not being able to use the front wheels to steer or brake would have significantly increased the stopping distance.

You guys are correct that in this type of incident, the driver in back is generally at fault--but there is an exception, and that is when another vehicle swerves in front of you. The idea behind this exception is common sense--you can't adjust your following distance when someone swerves in front of you and brakes hard.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

So, going up a very steep grade, he still couldn't stop in essentially less than two football fields?

I'm sure "...up to four times more for an RV" is indicating stopping distance for the largest RV, hence the "up to" statement. A van conversion is about the smallest RV out there.

Are we sure they weren't going downhill?

If so, that distance would make perfect sense.

Originally Posted by legion

It sounds like the bike wedged under the motorhome and slightly lifted the front wheels off the ground. He said he couldn't steer either. I think not being able to use the front wheels to steer or brake would have significantly increased the stopping distance.

Yep. 80% of a vehicles braking comes from the front brakes. If they were off the ground the stopping distance would be massively increased.

[craigster59]

If it's southbound near Camarillo Sprg's road he was just getting ready to go up the grade towards Newbury Park. Sounds like they weren't going uphill or downhill.

[m21sniper]

On level ground with no front brakes that stopping distance is believable to me.