On-duty police officer dies in crash in Southampton

[richfzs]

What you cannot see on the video are any tell tale skid marks to suggest the back of the car was flipped round.

You can't see skid marks, no, but there are yellow cones marking out something, roughly where you might expect marks to be?

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[simonm]

We are a contentious lot.

I vote we drop this and think about the tragic loss instead.

What we think won't change anything.

Peace lads :-). Me too btw.

[maddog04]

sad news
there but for the grace of God

[mcsuffolk]

Another tragic loss for the family and a reminder to us all of how a momentary act can last forever....

[fireblake]

I thought the car was coming out of the garage and then turning right. Whether nearly 300kg of bike and rider could spin a car around like that I don't know, although  the car was maybe half way around already?


Whatever, it won't change the outcome?


Mickey

[locksmith]

poor bastard, never stood a chance.

Fireblake, i'd go with the car was pulling out of the forecourt, trying to turn right around the end of the island.
The combination of the bike hitting the accelerating/turning RWD car flipped it round.

[sure2ride]

Tragic loss. Unmarked Police bike not responing to emergency call etc but "on duty"......could have been on mobile surveillance.....probably one of the most difficult things you could do on a bike, concentrate on safety whilst covertly following another vehicle? .....what a tragedy for all concerned. Sometimes we have a pop at the plod, but lets be honest, sometimes they do the most difficult of tasks.
 

[pitternator]

It still unnerves me when coming up to any junction with a car waiting to pull out. Me I do the smidsy swerve quite often, a movement to interrupt a fixation stare...its not yet failed to work ! I also have been known to parp my very loud horn if I get even the slightest worry the twat is going to pull out.
I have been T boned three times in my life, managed to survive all of them, though two were classed as serious injury.I also got twatted off by a idiot reversing round  a blind bend as I was entering it ! I have the scars to prove it all, and the compo !
 
If there is any moral to such stories its the case for eternal vigilence and dont relax into " it cant happen to me mode" ...ever.After all my extensive training it still happened to me...so its NOT a training thing,I dont believe any training will per se stop such happenings... the only defense is  a be scared of it happening mentality  every time you go out , and thats the best advice I can give to anyone. I tend to give myself a commentary when I am riding , as if I am on test ...it really helps to keep sharp. I have thwarted many many possible accidents by extensive forward obs, restraining speed appropriately,  but still nevertheless enjoying my ride. Above all never trust another driver to have either seen you or be willing to do anything to help you.It is IMO a battleground out there, especially at commuting times.

[Buzz]

It still unnerves me when coming up to any junction with a car waiting to pull out. Me I do the smidsy swerve quite often, a movement to interrupt a fixation stare...its not yet failed to work !

...and for those who'd never heard of the SMIDSY swerve before like me, here's a vid.  Very useful and it'll be used from today, thanks, Pitternator.

Crash Course - The SMIDSY

[sure2ride]

Interesting Vid, thanks. 

[Enceladus]

good vid.
will give it a go next time im out

[noggythenog]

It still unnerves me when coming up to any junction with a car waiting to pull out. Me I do the smidsy swerve quite often, a movement to interrupt a fixation stare...its not yet failed to work ! I also have been known to parp my very loud horn if I get even the slightest worry the twat is going to pull out.
I have been T boned three times in my life, managed to survive all of them, though two were classed as serious injury.I also got twatted off by a idiot reversing round  a blind bend as I was entering it ! I have the scars to prove it all, and the compo !
 
If there is any moral to such stories its the case for eternal vigilence and dont relax into " it cant happen to me mode" ...ever.After all my extensive training it still happened to me...so its NOT a training thing,I dont believe any training will per se stop such happenings... the only defense is  a be scared of it happening mentality  every time you go out , and thats the best advice I can give to anyone. I tend to give myself a commentary when I am riding , as if I am on test ...it really helps to keep sharp. I have thwarted many many possible accidents by extensive forward obs, restraining speed appropriately,  but still nevertheless enjoying my ride. Above all never trust another driver to have either seen you or be willing to do anything to help you.It is IMO a battleground out there, especially at commuting times.

Well im glad im not the only one a bit paranoid with junctions & i have often wondered whether doing a little bit o swerving would help make me more noticeable.


Back to my earlier statement about me really slowing down when i see a car waiting to come out,on further reflection i think ive exagerated saying i do 20mph & thinking about it a bit more i got thinking that this maybe makes car drivers think that im about to turn off into the junction as im slowing down.


I need to go somewhere quiet & practice what speed i can do & still comfortably stop within a couple o car lengths without much fuss.


As much as the test i sat last year was quite anal in much of its ways i really appreciated the swerve test that i feel could be useful for swerving out in front of a car thats just pulled out on you.

[pitternator]

Would also add the need for appropriate speed, the instructor relates the observation process of the car driver, so a rapidly approaching bike will probably be out of his observation ( especially the left check), as he will be looking right and if clear will pull out. Meanwhile maybe 2 to 3 seconds of left hand traffic will be unobserved. A fast approaching bike may well emerge in that time, Hence the driver thinks its clear and pulls out in front of you !
So yes, do some sort of movement to make yourself stand out , but be aware that even a well intentioned car driver could miss seeing you approach, let alone the ones who dont check hard !
myself I do the right left right left check to ensure its clear, and take pain to visually estimate the speed of any distant vehicles to ensure I can get out safely in time. Its all done in a fraction of a second, but its a system. Wish every one did it !
Nothings foolproof, but all these little defensive riding techniques  will combine to reduce risk.
 
Reading further about this crash , I did see a video of the crash site which clearly shows the drivers side of the bmw as the impact zone and its at rest at 90 degrees to line of traffic, and wedged up before the traffic bollard.... Hard to see how else the crash happened but an attempt by the car to turn right before the bollard( ie illegally) , and the bike must have been filtering, but at some speed. I do wonder if there was a covert surveillance actually going on and the bike was trying to catch up by overtaking a line of cars.?? ..tbh its just not the sort of manoeuvre you would expect a police rider to do when not on a shout...I have seen police cars do it with blues and twos on,. but so risky for an unmarked unlit up...wonder if we will ever know ?

[mcsuffolk]

Most police forces use unmarked bikes for surveillance which often includes "loss catching".... This is where cars following a subject loose sight of the subject.... They call the bike up which is normally well behind and the rider has to make ground to catch up with sight of subject, talking the cars back into the following..... This is often used in heavy traffic as the cars can easily get stuck in traffic etc..... They use unmarked bikes incase subject sees them etc.... It is a really useful role but really dangerous as the rider is under pressure to catch the subject without drawing too much attention.....


Don't know if this is what the rider was doing but may explain it if he was filtering at speed on an unmarked bike.....

[Grahamm]

If I'm approaching a junction where there's a chance someone may pull out (especially if I can't see into it), I'll move to the outside of my lane, throttle off and cover the horn button with my thumb to give myself the best chance of a) being able to avoid someone if they do pull out, b) brake if they don't stop and c) give them an audible warning of my approach and, if someone appears, add a swerve too to make myself noticable.

All the time I'm also looking for any clues such as reflections in windows opposite, headlights showing, pedestrians who are waiting to cross the junction instead of walking across, the actions of other vehicles at that junction etc.

Of course don't forget to watch for the idiot turning *into* the junction across your path who hasn't seen you coming either...!