Motorbike Accident (A Small Story)

[Tim_w]

Hello All

Thank you for the kind replies here are the answers to your questions individually:

Gordon:

Yes, finally managed to get hold of the new vehicles after months of waiting patiently  . It was more by luck really as i only had knew that TRU had them in stock. I decided to pop by the Entertainer on the off chance and was greeted by the sight of the new stock. I couldn't resist the temptation and brought the two vehicles there and then . As for the motorcycle accident one aye witness stated that "That motorcycle was shifting when he went past me" meaning he was going pretty quickly. It needs to be said though that these bikes don't stand up to well in collisions  .

Dunc:

Thank you very much for your reply  . I was sorry to hear about your bad experience with a motorcycle crash  . Its allways difficult to portray story's like this without bringing back bad memories for people who have experienced such things and i allways try to deal with it sensitively. I am very glad that in this case you found my story interesting and that all in all there was a happy ending . Allthough i do like to portray all sorts of accidents for my fire service to deal with 9 times out of 10, and sometimes only by a miracle, everyone survives      .

Richard:

Still laughing from reading your very kind reply, i am glad that i had finished my cup of tea when i started reading it. The reason i was laughing so much Richard was more down to the very funny descriptions of the 'characters' involved rather than the report itself which was very thorough indeed. I think you are on to something with your theory so i am going to go and get the Police to re-create the accident as part of their investigation  . Pictures of this new addition will be posted shortly along with pictures taken on the day . Myself and my Head Accident Investigator would be most greatfull if you would be able to give us your interpretation on the new pictures when they are made available.


Kindest Regards  Tim  

[Richard]

Still laughing from reading your very kind reply, i am glad that i had finished my cup of tea when i started reading it. The reason i was laughing so much Richard was more down to the very funny descriptions of the 'characters' involved rather than the report itself which was very thorough indeed. I think you are on to something with your theory so i am going to go and get the Police to re-create the accident as part of their investigation  . Pictures of this new addition will be posted shortly along with pictures taken on the day . Myself and my Head Accident Investigator would be most greatfull if you would be able to give us your interpretation on the new pictures when they are made available.[/color]

Hello, Tim ...

I am sure that by now you have realized that I really enjoy "investigating" your "accidents" ...

And, yes ... I would be delighted to give your Head Accident Investigator my "interpretation" of the new pictures when they are available ...

All the best,
Richard

[Tim_w]

Hello  Richard

Here are a few of the pictures which my accident investigators took after the accident.

Picture 1:
Shows the impact with the taxi, the initial point of collision to the rear offside. The boot or trunk lid has popped open with the force of the impact and the front forks of the bike were left near by.

Picture 2:
This picture shows the single skid mark where the bike's brakes locked up. We presume that this is the point where the motorcyclist saw the taxi up ahead. The length of the skid mark reveals that the motorcycle was traveling at approx 40 mph, impact speed was approx 30 to 35 mph.

[Tim_w]

Picture 3, 4 and 5:
Shows the point where the motorcycle landed, skidding along the road leaving scratches and paint marks in the surface.

[Tim_w]

Picture 6:
Shows the point where the rider of the motorcycle landed after being thrown over the taxi's roof and onto the bonnet or hood. The yellow mark on the road to the left of the picture is where the riders helmet made its initial contact. The fact that he was wearing his helmet saved his life.

Hope these pictures shed a bit more light on the matter, i would be interested to see your take on things . Thank you for taking the time to look at my pictures.

Kindest regards  Tim

[Richard]

Hello, Tim ...

It's very interesting how having ALL the data makes a BIG difference in determining what really might have happened. (Someday I may learn NOT to jump to conclusions!) ...

Knowing that the taxi was only going about 5 to 10 miles per hour is probably one of the most important pieces of information in this investigation.

The length of the skid mark reveals that the motorcycle was traveling at approx 40 mph, impact speed was approx 30 to 35 mph.

This would mean that the tractor may have been actually traveling faster that the taxi. If the tractor was closing on the taxi, then it may indeed have been very difficult for the motorcyclist to see the taxi.

You have never said what the speed limit was for this particular stretch of highway. However, for most roads, 40MPH does not seem excessive. Therefore, it seems reasonable (if there was no oncoming traffic) that the driver of the motorcycle would want to pass a slow moving tractor. (Unfortunately, there seems to have been a taxi in front of the tractor that may have been moving at an even slower speed.) ...

Most tractors operating on public thoroughfares display a triangle indicating that they are slow moving vehicles. Other vehicles (the taxi in this case) traveling at speeds so slow that they could endanger other motorists are considered to be in violation of most vehicle traffic codes.

Regardless, all motorists (the motorcyclist in this case) are expected to have their vehicles under control at all times.

The investigating officer will probably issue violation citations to both the taxi and motorcycle drivers, as they seem to have both been at fault.

The only thing that might keep the taxi driver from getting a violation citation for driving too slow would be if he had been signaling for a turn.

I only have two questions ... If there was NO ONCOMING TRAFFIC, why didn't the driver of the motorcycle pass both the tractor and the taxi? And, did both the taxi driver and the motorcycle driver pass their sobriety tests?

Thanks, Tim, for allowing me to have some fun with your Playmobil Police Department! ...

All the best,
Richard

[Little Jo]

Beneath the excellent story and investigation on this issue (thank you Tim for sharing with us), I really like the measure skid; where is this from? Is this an existing PM item or is this customized? Can I have more details on this, please? (In case 1: from which set is it? What is the spare part no? -- In case 2: from which items did you make it? Spare part no., sets, etc.?)

[Tim_w]

Hello  Richard and Little Jo

First of all please accept my appologies for my delay in replying. Now lets get down to buisness 

Richard:

Thank you very much for your analysis on the accident. I spoke to my senior accident investigator and he wishes to express his thanks for your help. He is satisfied that your explenation is the most likely one to have occured  .

Little Jo:

The peice of equipment in question comes from set 3904 Police Car (Blue). It is an original Playmobil peice and as far as i can gather it is designed to serve the same purpose as it was used for in my photo story. Here is a link to the part on Heathers wonderfull website http://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showpart.pl?partnum=30-03-4620 It is not compatible with the fire extinguisher and as i say more than likley serves the purpose of a measuring device.

Kindest Regards  Tim

[FireChief]

Hey Tim,

Nice story and photos. It looks like the police did a good job with the investigation as well.

How are the victims? In my experience if the rider has both shoes on and a tattoo he usually ends up ok, but the more shoes missing the worse it gets...


Ben

[Tim_w]

Hello  Ben

Thank you very much indeed for the kind reply to my story. The Police are just starting their accident investigation's and seeing as it is all new to them they are not doing to bad, Richards advice was very valuable indeed. Hopefully as time goes by i will develope the accident investigation side of my Police force and some new vehicles will be developed.

Kindest Regards  Tim