Photo: Liveleak capture
When thinking about a rider traveling at night and hitting a kangaroo, the odds are not exactly in favor of the motorcyclist. Most of these encounters don't end up well for the riders and their bikes, so I pressed the play button ready to watch what I thought it would be a nasty crash.
To my huge surprise, the video shows a rider that hits not one, but two kangaroos, several seconds apart, and still he manages to remain upright. Indeed, he drives off the road a bit, but keeps his calm and keeps the rubber side down.
Now, the guy was very lucky because the 'roos were both small. Colliding with an adult kangaroo would have yielded a much worse result, with the rider's chances to remain astride his bike being slim, to say the least.
The bike doesn't seem to have a steering damper installed, so I can only assume that the rider has excellent instincts. He grabbed the handlebars just right to maintain control of the motorcycle at both critical moments. The second impact destabilized the bike a bit more, but still not close enough to the "point of no return."
Maybe a third kangaroo would have flipped the bike, but the odds for such an encounter are probably smaller than those of meeting an alien hitchhiker. Even so, running into two 'roos... who'd have thought it was possible?
Now, the guy was very lucky because the 'roos were both small. Colliding with an adult kangaroo would have yielded a much worse result, with the rider's chances to remain astride his bike being slim, to say the least.
Moderate speed helps
Another factor that helped this chap to make it back home in one piece was the fact that he was not traveling fast. Watching the video once more, I'd even say that the speed was simply perfect: the bike carried enough momentum to help the rider stabilize after both impacts, yet was low enough not to bounce man and machine in the decor.The bike doesn't seem to have a steering damper installed, so I can only assume that the rider has excellent instincts. He grabbed the handlebars just right to maintain control of the motorcycle at both critical moments. The second impact destabilized the bike a bit more, but still not close enough to the "point of no return."
Maybe a third kangaroo would have flipped the bike, but the odds for such an encounter are probably smaller than those of meeting an alien hitchhiker. Even so, running into two 'roos... who'd have thought it was possible?
Google News