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Accident liability

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Strong Eagle
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Re: Accident liability

Post by Strong Eagle » Tue, 13 Jan 2015 1:31 pm

bgd wrote:ABS rather than bike size is probably more important in the wet. If you are going to come unstuck it ususally involves braking.

Remember reading an article arguing smaller sized tyres were better in road surface flooding conditions because they could slice through the water rather than trying to pump it aside. It was actually about the joys of owning a 2CV so no idea how accurate that view is.
It doesn't matter whether you have a big bike or a small bike... what matters is what you do in treacherous conditions. You're going to crash with the front wheel turned and too much application of front brake when it's slippery out. You're going to crash when you ignore slick spots and turn into or accelerate through while in a turn. You screw yourself either way.

What it's about is becoming PROFICIENT... to read your situation and act accordingly... as I stated to the OP... I've had two crashes in my life in 100,000 miles of driving... and one of those was off road in very difficult conditions... still my fault.

I've seen bikes go down at the Orchard Hotel parking lot... right behind me... on a 350 kg Valerie... in the rain... I made it... the clown behind me grabbed too much front brake... fortunately what was mostly bruised was his ego... it aint the bike, it is the rider.

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Re: Accident liability

Post by x9200 » Tue, 13 Jan 2015 2:27 pm

I have half of what you have for the riding millage all in SG in last 10y (plus over 200k km driving cars, lifetime) what I think is enough to make some judgments and I say, let's be fair, not everything can be predicted and prevented acting reasonably. I have 2 small accidents, first was surely mine fault on the 2nd day I owned my bike and misjudge its center of gravity on a sharp, slow turn, but the second, I was hit by a car going straight forward from a left turn lane only - to avoid it I would need to do something impracticable, for example only turn from the lanes adjacent to the curbs.

Besides this, I was just lucky some few times missing by centimeters wood logs or bricks on highway while following a car in front of me all within the safe distance. Should I expect this kind of objects on the highway and always drive less than 20 on the slowest lane? And there can be oil spillage or paint spillage in a similar scenario while turning so as much as I agree to the point that the OP should not blame anybody else for what happened I can believe acting all reasonably he could have missed oil on a CP surface.

I lost control on wet or contaminated surfaces like 6 times, always back wheel and always managed to recover. 4 of this was my fault, but for 2 cases, I don't think so.
One has to assume some boundaries to make riding practical.

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Re: Accident liability

Post by skooch » Thu, 15 Jan 2015 11:21 am

Strong Eagle, fair enough, I fu*ked up. I'm a relatively new rider and am a very cautious rider especially after seeing the driving standards in Singapore. I got so fed up I bought a camera because of the near daily stupidity I witness on the roads and wanted some level of protection. With regards to the incident, I did report it and have since found out that another rider in the condo also hit the same patch of oil ( a far more experienced rider than me ) and he complained as well. So I don't think you can blame people for expecting some action. For the money we pay the condo I think its fair to expect at least some level of maintenance in the car park. The management company have at least said they will talk to their insurance people and come back to us and have assured us they will have more cleaning patrols in the car park. In this respect I feel it was still the right thing to ask if they should be liable in some aspect. I accept that you say I fu*ked up but calling me a dumbass was not necessary so apology excepted. I enjoy this forum immensely and am not here to make enemies so I too also apologise if I overreacted.

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Re: Accident liability

Post by bgd » Thu, 15 Jan 2015 11:31 am

I'm noticing a lot more cameras on top of helmets these days. Mirroring the trend of more cars having dash cams I guess. I have one which I also use on the bicycle. I get more exciting footage on the bicycle, especially in East Coast Park on a weekend.

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Re: Accident liability

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Thu, 15 Jan 2015 12:01 pm

^^LIKE! :mrgreen:
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Re: Accident liability

Post by x9200 » Thu, 15 Jan 2015 12:17 pm

A camera is an obvious thing to have and I am in a process of acquiring one too but I don't want to have it on my helmet (having this extra task to remember to charge it and such is a sure way to have it off most of the time) but permanently installed behind the windshield.

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Re: Accident liability

Post by Strong Eagle » Thu, 15 Jan 2015 1:00 pm

Peace, Skooch. I over react at times. I am a person that entirely disagrees with x9200 who seems to think certain kinds of accidents are unavoidable. There are a few, I am sure. For example, you may be on a long two lane bridge, no way to move off to the side. Someone decides to pass coming in the other direction. You cannot escape.

But for most situations, it is up to you. I disagree with x9200's comments about trash on the road, and your own incident. If you believe these kinds of things are unavoidable, then you are essentially saying that circumstances are out of your control and that you will eventually crash.

I disagree. Everything in front of me is controllable. I not have the wherewithal to control it, due to my own shortcomings... but to look at it any other way is to suggest you are doomed... simply because you can't control the situation... and I disagree with that... I am in control.

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Re: Accident liability

Post by bgd » Thu, 15 Jan 2015 2:54 pm

x9200 wrote:A camera is an obvious thing to have and I am in a process of acquiring one too but I don't want to have it on my helmet (having this extra task to remember to charge it and such is a sure way to have it off most of the time) but permanently installed behind the windshield.
The charging and downloading are a bit of a hassle. I use it on 3 bikes, 2 on the helmet and the bicycle has a handlebar mount. Most of the time it's working but there are times I forget it, forget to charge it, battery runs out, card is full or just can't be bothered. A static camera is a much better idea, I just can't afford 3.

I got a goPro because I figured I could use it for other stuff as well. I don't. :-|

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Re: Accident liability

Post by x9200 » Thu, 15 Jan 2015 2:57 pm

SE, I am in a full agreement that most of the situations are controllable but it's more about the risk management than controlling the situation. Whatever we do the risk of an accident/incident is never zero. Sorry, we are limited and we can not predict everything. More-over, I feel, thinking differently actually adds to this risk as it may contribute to acting routinely and being complacent.

How can you ever say “everything in front of me is controllable“? Idiots hiding on the fly-over bridge throwing objects at you too? Could you believe I had this sort of situation in Singapore? Fortunatelly what I was hit with were remains of some fruit but I know of people killed because of such idiots in some bit rougher countries.

Ok, now please tell me now what would you do to avoid the situation with the debris on the highway and also please tell me how to avoid being hit by a car in the example I have given.

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Re: Accident liability

Post by x9200 » Thu, 15 Jan 2015 3:04 pm

bgd wrote:
x9200 wrote:A camera is an obvious thing to have and I am in a process of acquiring one too but I don't want to have it on my helmet (having this extra task to remember to charge it and such is a sure way to have it off most of the time) but permanently installed behind the windshield.
The charging and downloading are a bit of a hassle. I use it on 3 bikes, 2 on the helmet and the bicycle has a handlebar mount. Most of the time it's working but there are times I forget it, forget to charge it, battery runs out, card is full or just can't be bothered. A static camera is a much better idea, I just can't afford 3.

I got a goPro because I figured I could use it for other stuff as well. I don't. :-|
I bought this one:
http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/321485521754 ... 1439.l2649

I don't believe the claim of being waterproof (it does not look like one and is yet to arrive, but who knows) so I will put it in a small plastic jar and fix it somewhere on the rails holdin the windshield or the erp reader. I am going to check it only from time to time so no problem with downloading the videos.

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