This motorcyclist learned a painful lesson in not trusting his fellow motorists to secure their cargo properly. Thankfully the biker reportedly wasn’t seriously injured.
Linda Leverty and her son were driving on I-94 through Woodbury, Minnesota on June 18th when this GM SUV towing a boat and what appears to be a roll of foam (flotation device?) passes them.
A motorcycle comes up shortly after, and is unable to swerve to safety before the big yellow roll inexplicably breaks free and wreaks havoc on the highway.
Fox 9 says “a man claiming to be the motorcyclist in the video posted on YouTube that he had suffered road rash and ‘some bruises,’ and had been unable to swerve out of the way because he had only been riding his motorcycle for two weeks.”
Make no mistake, motorcycling is easy to learn but difficult to master. Nuances like emergency maneuvering are best practiced in a parking lot, preferably with a Motorcycle Safety Foundation instructor, before new riders head to the highway.
Still, it sucks to see somebody get hurt because of someone else’s idiocy. Apparently the boat-towing SUV did not stop after the crash, presumably not realizing they’d lost anything until they got home.
Surely by now they know what’s happened and are debating confessing or waiting to see if anyone identifies their SUV. Chances are somebody, somewhere saw its license plate. But the takeaway here, besides “secure your damn loads, people” is to expect the unexpected always on your bike.
And if you see something hanging off the back of a truck, maybe pick another lane as quick as you can.