Video: Pickup tries to push biker off highway

[Chuck]

While I think the pickup truck driver would have roadkilled the biker given the chance, it seems the two bikers were not angels either. An interesting video, with some language and excessive speed.

http://youtu.be/CbTZkZTYkaM

[FXSTi]

From the video comments it looks like the pick-up driver got two years. Nothing like retaliating for unsafe act by escalating your own behavior to a felony.

[CapriRacer]

According to Florida Law, the biker would be within his rights to shoot the pickup driver. I wonder what the law is in KY?

[lightfoot]

Originally Posted by FXSTi

From the video comments it looks like the pick-up driver got two years. Nothing like retaliating for unsafe act by escalating your own behavior to a felony.

When someone does something dangerous and/or illegal near me on the highway, it helps me to remind myself that my job is to drive safely and defensively. It isn't to enforce the law, that's the police's job. If I want to enforce the law, I should join the police.

Ditto for this pickup driver. If the motorcyclists were riding too fast or unsafely (I couldn't see if that pass was on the double yellow or not), it isn't his job to force them to slow down.

And of course the police would not do what he did even if they were breaking laws!!

It also helps to remember that I've done some pretty stupid things on the road myself.

[lightfoot]

Originally Posted by CapriRacer

According to Florida Law, the biker would be within his rights to shoot the pickup driver. I wonder what the law is in KY?

I think they face each other on a dusty road at high noon with holstered .45's and draw??

[Prozac]

This was broadcasted all over differing motorcycle forums. It sucks, two wrongs do not make a right. Road rage is real and it even happens on the back roads of Kentucky. While whipping out a Judge would make some feel better, it really would not solve anything other than adding more sensationalism to something that really doesn't need to be sensationalized.

[Blackbelt]

Wow, that is scary. Had a bike done that to me, i would have grabbed my cell and called it in as possible DUI.
The idiot in the pickup is lucky. I conceal carry legally, and in PA, if someone comes at me with any type of weapon i am within my legal right to defend myself, and I would have drawn on that redneck. Coming at anyone with a weapon in your hand is a very stupid thing to do.

[JonNC]

Originally Posted by Blackbelt

Wow, that is scary. Had a bike done that to me, i would have grabbed my cell and called it in as possible DUI.
The idiot in the pickup is lucky. I conceal carry legally, and in PA, if someone comes at me with any type of weapon i am within my legal right to defend myself, and I would have drawn on that redneck. Coming at anyone with a weapon in your hand is a very stupid thing to do.

I concur with all of the above.

[worthywads]

I guess it's okay in the bikers mind to drive backroads well in excess of the speed limit passing everyone they overtake without regard to double yellow lines?

Truck driver is totally wrong but I'd bet from the other bikes on the road in the video that this is a favorite spot for bikers to do lots of illegal driving.

[lightfoot]

From some of the youtube comments the PSL on this road may have been 55mph?? Things look a lot faster from this bike cam, partly because it's low down and because a bike moves laterally in its lane much more than a car can due to its greater width. If the PSL was in fact 55, it's not clear that they were exceeding it - until the P/U got involved.

In the early portion the bikes were keeping to the right of the centerline. Looking closely, one can see that the first bike passed the P/U over a double yellow, but in a place where he had excellent vision down the road. Not that it was legal, but bikes have way more accel at these speeds than cars do. Line painting is based on the distance cars need to complete a pass, bikes can do it in a much shorter distance. Yes absolutely it was illegal but pretty safe. I had the impression these riders know the road well.

Once the first bike passed the PU and was nearly squashed into a tree, he had to speed up to stay away from the P/U. In fact, I'm surprised that he stopped at all - I wouldn't have.

No it's not OK to speed on a bike any more than it is to run +15 on the highway in a car. The difference is that people get more exercised about the first than the second.

P.S. People operating motorcycles are "riders", not "drivers".