If you’ve been around here for some time, “ladder”, “motorcycle”, and “highway” might sound familiar. Yeah, it happened before, and the results weren’t fun at all. This time, we get to see the good result.
As I said before, you might be tempted to think the highway is a more predictable, safer area to ride. Well, that’s not necessarily true all the time. On one hand, you have careless drivers who change lanes unpredictably, and on the other, you have pickup truck drivers that have no clue how to secure their load.
Watch closely in the video below how the ladder falls out of a pickup ahead of the rider. Unlike the previous case, this motorcyclist appears to be more experienced and is keeping his distance from the cars ahead.
He spots the hazard early, quickly checks his right shoulder and proceeds to move out of the way. Unfortunately, the ladder skidded along with him, and in a fraction of a second, it became very clear he’s going to run it over.
Thankfully, the shock was absorbed pretty well by the bike and the rider, so they both went over without much drama. Kudos to the rider for keeping a clear head in such a situation.
What should you do in such scenario? Well, first of all, don’t ride behind pickup trucks, or trucks in general. Secondly, if something falls out from a car, you need to act quick and judge if the object is avoidable. That’s why you should always be aware of your surroundings, so you know if you can move to the left or right without crashing into someone else.
Start braking as soon as you see the obstacle. If it’s something flat, like a ladder or some plywood, don’t panic. You can usually go over it, but keep in mind three things: let go of the brakes so the fork can do its job; stand up a bit, but keep your knees flexed at an angle so you can absorb the shock; be loose on the handlebar.
This also works on potholes you didn’t spot at the right time and get unavoidable. Good luck and ride safe!
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