Videographer Explains Crash Into Truck

MERRIAM, KS – The slogan for the city of Merriam is “Just Right.” Mapquest shows it to be about 10 miles southwest of Kansas City, and it was there on June 27 that a ride went terribly wrong for a rider on a Yamaha FZ1.

A rider behind the accident victim had video rolling when the lead guy rode into a pickup truck on a freeway. The video was soon posted on YouTube where, as of this morning, it had been viewed nearly 485,000 times.

First, the video, and then the story behind it:

RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland came across the video yesterday and quickly messaged “KC motovlogger,” the rider who shot it, with some questions seeking the who, what, when, where and why behind the crash. He responded a few hours later, explaining that the accident happened in Merriam on June 27. (The video was posted June 28.)

“I think there were several factors that contributed to this happening – the first obviously being that the rider went into the turn above his comfort level,” wrote KC motovlogger, who declined to give his real name.

“The corner is deceiving due to the fisheye lens on the camera. It’s down hill and then a decreasing radius corner at the bottom. Target fixation definitely played a role as well. Also, his front tire was not in the best of condition so that may have (contributed) as well.”

KC motovlogger continued, “If you look closely at the video, you can see he starts to decelerate once in the corner. If you do that, along with using the brakes in a corner, (it’s) a no-no and will cause the bike to decrease lean angle and go straight.”

While the video makes its appear as if the truck that the rider rode into drove off after the crash, KC motovlogger said that wasn’t the case. “The the truck did stop. When the bike hit it, the impact blew the rear passenger tire. There were several other motorists that stopped as well. (The rider) did not have any other injuries other than the road rash. (Thank, God.)”

My first reaction upon first viewing the video was that the rider was a “squid,” a  squirrelly kid with too little experience and too much motorcycle. That may be the case, but KC motovlogger’s assessment makes the accident seem a little more complex than that first impression assessment.

The rider who crashed was certainly very lucky. A car behind the truck could have easily run him over. The fact that he was wearing a helmet no doubt prevented more serious injuries.

The crash video (and photos taken from the video) are courtesy of KC motovlogger: Facebook and YouTube.