XR8 HITS TREE AT HIGH SPEED!

[aniken]

Vik, was the mallala incident a track day type of event or was it a competition event?? Either way I would assume that he would have signed a waiver and the track would have to meet some sort of safety regulations, if those regulations were not met fair enough, if they were its just unlucky for the rider. I heard the arse end of a report on the news about this, it seems the family are pushing pretty hard for some sort of compensation, whether that be money or closure of the track or stricter safety guidlines I didnt hear.

Dazza.

Rider could have survived crash: coroner

11:32 AEST Sat Oct 2 2004

A superbike rider who died when he crashed into a concrete barrier at a SA raceway could have survived if protective devices had been installed, a coroner says.

Ballarat racer Liam Magee was travelling around 205kph when he lost control of his Suzuki GSXR 1000 bike during round three of the Australian Superbike Championships at the Mallala race track in April, 2002.

The 19-year-old slid for almost 140 metres along the track before hitting a concrete barrier at 100kph.

Magee was pronounced dead at the scene and a post mortem examination revealed a traumatic rupture of his thoracic aorta, a large artery that carries blood from the heart to other arteries.

SA Coroner Wayne Chivell said motorcycling was an inherently dangerous sport but Magee could have survived if additional protective devices - such as PVC structures known as air fences - had been in place.

He said Motorcycling Australia (MA) guidelines for road racing circuits required such devices to be installed where there were concrete walls but noted the guidelines were not binding on track owners.

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"At the very high speeds involved (in motorcycle racing), the risk of death or serious injury is high," Mr Chivell said.

"For that reason, everything must be done to ensure that the maximum protection for riders and spectators is provided.

"Unfortunately, that was not the case here.

"More could have been done to prevent the death of a young man with great potential.

"If straw bales had been installed, the chance that Liam could have survived the fall was significantly greater.

"If an air fence had been installed, it is highly probable that he would have survived.

"The probability of survival would have been greater again if a suitable sand or gravel trap had been installed in front of the air fence."

Mr Chivell noted that since Magee's death, an air fence, which absorbs the force when something hits it, had been installed along the concrete barrier.

He recommended that MA vigorously enforced its guidelines when race meetings were conducted.

"If it cannot be established with reasonable scientific certainty that motorcycle racers can be protected by the provision of adequate run-off areas and/or the installation of protective devices, then solid objects such as concrete walls should be removed, or a track licence for the venue should not be granted," Mr Chivell said.

[rusht]

People are quick to jump on the hysteria bandwagon - and I am surprised to see people in this forum are too. They fall for the hype crap in the papers. The V8 engine contributed.....riiiiiight. What a load of emotional crap.

Might be time for a powder and a lie down. :lol:

It just so happens that a 2 good friends of mine were first on the scene to that accident...........he lives about 200 meters from where it happened on the Teven Road and was enjoying a few late night beers on his back veranda while fishing when he heard the smash followed by the Splash..........He is also a Motor Mechanic and said that the thing was "Howling" before the impact.

[turb06]

did anyone see on the news tonight the accident at goodna where the truck ploughed through about 5 cars and one flipping onto the other side of teh highway. that's roughly the same spot where a truck merged into me in my wifes old silvia and squashing me against the rail, it was pretty bad but the good part was the car was written off.

Also there was another accident where a turbo skyline, pressumed to be drag raceing crashed and killed 2 passangers in the back, the driver was a young male, they even drew a comparison to young age and inexperienced drivers behind the wheel of high powered cars. I feel a motorcycle type restriction coming soon.

Dazza.

[Falchoon]

did anyone see on the news tonight the accident at goodna where the truck ploughed through about 5 cars and one flipping onto the other side of teh highway. that's roughly the same spot where a truck merged into me in my wifes old silvia and squashing me against the rail, it was pretty bad but the good part was the car was written off.

Yeh I saw that but even with half a dozen or so replays I couldn't work out what had happened. Then the newsreader said something like this is a good example to go to the government with to try and get them to upgrade the roads. FFS, there's nothing wrong with the frigging road, it was a dual carrigeway with at least two lanes each way, no bends and clear vision. It was a busy road by the looks but if people drove a sensible amount of distance from each other instead up each others a lot of these accidents might be avoided. If one person brakes suddenly because a bird or some other fauna suddenly appears in front of them or a truck loses part of it's load it is going to cause a chain reaction and there will be carnage like we saw. If people drove a bit more sensibly this wouldn't happen.

[turb06]

did anyone see on the news tonight the accident at goodna where the truck ploughed through about 5 cars and one flipping onto the other side of teh highway.  that's roughly the same spot where a truck merged into me in my wifes old silvia and squashing me against the rail, it was pretty bad but the good part was the car was written off.

Yeh I saw that but even with half a dozen or so replays I couldn't work out what had happened. Then the newsreader said something like this is a good example to go to the government with to try and get them to upgrade the roads. FFS, there's nothing wrong with the frigging road, it was a dual carrigeway with at least two lanes each way, no bends and clear vision. It was a busy road by the looks but if people drove a sensible amount of distance from each other instead up each others a lot of these accidents might be avoided. If one person brakes suddenly because a bird or some other fauna suddenly appears in front of them or a truck loses part of it's load it is going to cause a chain reaction and there will be carnage like we saw. If people drove a bit more sensibly this wouldn't happen.

Falchoon - the road on the replay looks quite normal but it is very undulating and the crest are blind at 100kmph also the on ramps are in very bad spots with some bad angles, so when you check over your left shoulder you almost need to have a head that swivels 180 degrees to see everything, that's how our silvia was crashed, I was in the rights lane and a truck merged onto the motorway and came accross the left lane straight into me squashing me against it and the guard rail, I couldnt get out because the left side of the car was f*cked and the door wouldnt open and the car was stuck hard against the rail so the right hand door wouldnt open and the front left wheel was rooted stopping me from rolling it away from the guard rail, so I just sat there looking out the back for the traffic to slow up and all I could see was tyres smoke and cars and 40 tonne trucks swerving before they hit me, it was scary sh*t. 2 trucks jack knifed about 500m back trying to stop.

What happened in this case (it took me a few looks to tell) the big semi came over a crest and all the traffics was pretty much stopped, he was travelling at the speed limit and all the sudden theres a bank of cars there and he couldnt stop and just ploughed through them all, took out about 6 of them in total I think with the white van hitting a tree then rolling it onto the other side of the road. I am not sure if the truck had some sort of braking failure or not though.

The road does need upgrading because this stuff happens nearly every week there.

Dazza.

[ktford]

Those who said he contributed due to speed should learn a bit of logic and physics.

Poles will cut cars in half even at lowish speeds. Cetainyl I have seen cars cut in half at 60kmh, especially if they hit in just the right spot, and at the right angle. They cut clean through. 80kmh is easy. 100 is almost guaranteed.

I don't believe they told the truth about their speeds.

Scotty

[Turbo6man]

I don't believe they told the truth about their speeds.

Scotty

What yo sayin' boy? That those poles were moving faster than claimed??? Sorry, my bad humour ...

[mickq]

.........He is also a Motor Mechanic and said that the thing was "Howling" before the impact.

So what? My car can howl at 70kmh, as can an XR8.

It means nothing.

Again, more emotional crap. You should get a job writing newspaper headlines if you think that kind or hearsay rubbish is in any way indicative of FACTS.

How do you know he doesnt have a highly modified exhaust, and was doing 60 with it flat chat, making a racket?

Base your decisions on fact, not hearsay, rumour and stereotyping and generalisations.

[mickq]

Those who said he contributed due to speed should learn a bit of logic and physics.

Poles will cut cars in half even at lowish speeds. Cetainyl I have seen cars cut in half at 60kmh, especially if they hit in just the right spot, and at the right angle. They cut clean through. 80kmh is easy. 100 is almost guaranteed.

I don't believe they told the truth about their speeds.

Scotty

Of course they would be expected to underestimate, which is why the police have accident investigation experts who can look at physical signs and work things out pretty accurately....

There was a case of a mercedes being cut in half at 60kmh in Melbourne about 2 years ago. Its not exactly a weak carm and is much stronger than many cheaper Jpa cars and most if not all Aussie cars.

Find someone who likes physics and they can do the maths, and PROVE that something with the cross section of a pole being hit by a car of certain mass at a certain speed will easily be cut in half.

Its nothing to do with people understating their speeds, people speeding etc etc. Its simple physics.

Ever seen a stream of high pressure water cut through steel? Or how a .303 fired at a sandbag wont pierce it yet an arrow from a bow will? Its a matter of the energy and the square root of the cross-section.

a .22cal bullet has (in soft tissue on people or animals) better penetration than a much more powerful .45 cal bullet for exactly that reason.

Needles on syringes are small and thin with a small cross-section for a very good reason....

[mickq]

What happened in this case (it took me a few looks to tell) the big semi came over a crest and all the traffics was pretty much stopped, he was travelling at the speed limit and all the sudden theres a bank of cars there and he couldnt stop and just ploughed through them all, took out about 6 of them in total I think with the white van hitting a tree then rolling it onto the other side of the road. I am not sure if the truck had some sort of braking failure or not though.

The road does need upgrading because this stuff happens nearly every week there.

Dazza.

The moral of the story is never drive in a manner where your distance to stop is further away than what you can see. Its one of the rules I usually follow, and it definitely doesnt stop you driving hard. Only thing is that a semi with less stopping ability should have allowed a bigger margin.

The semi driver should have slowed down if he was going over a blind crest on a busy road....a bit like driving fast in fog...not a good idea because you are taking a gamble nothing is out there.

That being said, I have had a few close calls in the past by making assumptions that the road ahead woudl be clear. Something that I quickly stopped doing after I started riding motorbikes on the road.