Jerry Duke Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/mar/21/one-dead-crash-south-i-805/ Link to comment
OlGeezer Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/mar/21/one-dead-crash-south-i-805/ This doesn't make any sense to me. I'm assuming he was an experienced rider, but possibly not. BMW has probably the best brakes/suspension/ABS for a street bike. How could this happen? Did he not trust his brakes/ABS in the rain? Was he distracted? That's kind of hard to believe in the weather in which he was riding. Did poor visibility prompt him to ride too close? Maybe. Whenever I see a tragedy like this, I always like to use it as an opportunity to assess and ask my question: "How could I avoid a situation like this?". The answer is invariably to work on my skills. I am a firm believer that just about every motorcycle accident can be / could have been avoided. This is a great time in Southern California to work on improving my trust in my brakes/ABS on wet pavement. This is one reason I ride a BMW; it's the safest motorcycle I can put between my legs. It is also a trigger for me to remember to SIPDE (Scan, Identify, Prepare, Decide and Execute) at a rate of at least 10 times a minute. Godspeed, Paul Palika. Link to comment
LPOL Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 http://www.sandiego6.com/mostpopular/story/Winter-Weather-hits-San-Diego/bPgnFCXsQkmlF4oxwhg0Dg.cspx Another post. Link to comment
OlGeezer Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 http://www.sandiego6.com/mostpopular/story/Winter-Weather-hits-San-Diego/bPgnFCXsQkmlF4oxwhg0Dg.cspx Another post. Snow in San Diego? Clearly a sign of end of days! Quick! Go out for a ride! Link to comment
David13 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 He was an instructor for Streetmasters. And was quite well known as a good rider. http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28949 dc Link to comment
Kathy R Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 And they'll likely blame it on the weather, rather than the idiot in the Lexus who was driving TOO FAST for conditions. What a senseless tragedy. Rest In Peace. My sympathy to his friends and family. Link to comment
Dennis Andress Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 The last week has been fraught with insanity. Wednesday morning at around 6:30, Laney was almost hit by a car going the wrong way in her lane. Friday there was a motorcycle fatality on the U.S. 101 near here. The culprit was swerving through traffic and clipped the motorcycle. An off duty CHP witnessed the collision, and called his dispatch. It took almost 40 miles before he crashed into the back of a CHP cruiser. After all of that they still needed a Taser to subdue him. The fatality snarled traffic for hours. Laney had to ride home through some of it. As she was coming down the Conejo grade -- a steep downhill which freaks most drivers -- some asshat flies up behind her, zips around her in her lane and cuts in front of her. He then proceeds on down the hill zig zagging through traffic and on and off the shoulder. Thanks, I needed to rant. Laney's job moved to a new location a couple of weeks ago. Her commute changed from 5 miles across town to 20 miles on the freeway. She has to dust off some unused skills and learn the traffic patterns for her commute. RIP Paul Palika. Thanks teaching others the sport you loved. It's troublesome when conditions overwhelm even the experienced. Link to comment
CarrotNC Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 From the North County Times (http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/oceanside/article_b0e64cda-4983-593d-b23c-3f127cbd1505.html?mode=story) today: A motorist traveling about 80 mph in the far left-hand southbound lane of the freeway encountered slow-moving traffic ... causing him to lose control of his Lexus SUV...The Lexus slid to the right, struck a big rig and caromed back to the left across the roadway, crossing directly in the path of Palika's BMW motorcycle...... the motorcycle struck the driver's side of the Lexus, ejecting the rider, who died at the scene. The driver of the sport utility vehicle was not injured. Trying to think thru this and learn what we can, using the given facts above, and Google Maps looks like at least 5 lanes each direction before an exit lane is added. Heavy traffic area known for multiple car accidents each day, coupled with bad weather. The rider's following distance was sufficient for the vehicles in his own lane. Based on the accident picture the rider was in the innermost lane at the time of impact. No mention of whether the rider swerved from another lane. Damage in the picture appears to show a T-bone impact rather than a sideswipe, and the debris field is barely 6' away from the car's final resting point. This indicates to me the car was broadside when the impact occurred, and barely moving down the road although sideways motion is unknown. Would I have reacted differently? I honestly think I'd be a statistic here. Once the vehicle I'm following leaves my path on a ballistic arc for the shoulder, he's no longer my highest perceived threat; that honor falls to the vehicle behind me who's now trying to conduct a panic stop while watching a car in front slide sideways (and he's likely forgotten about me on the bike). Having learned from target fixation I'm no longer watching the first car, I'd back off on the brakes, thank my lucky stars the first car didn't collect me, and then look at my left mirror to see how much deceleration I can still provide without taking a hood up the keister. The return of the first car back into my lane would likely catch me by surprise since I'm looking at the left mirror and trying to decipher the distance through a rain speckled visor and mirror. Although covering the brakes my reaction time would be insufficient to significantly alter things, and I'd ride the bike into the door. Aside from the normal lessons of avoiding these areas, weather, following distance etc, the major takeaway for me is to remember to watch out for a rebound that could bring the issue right back to me. Link to comment
Twisties Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Friday there was a motorcycle fatality on the U.S. 101 near here. The culprit was swerving through traffic and clipped the motorcycle. An off duty CHP witnessed the collision, and called his dispatch. It took almost 40 miles before he crashed into the back of a CHP cruiser. After all of that they still needed a Taser to subdue him. Dan Smilanick. My step father's very close friend. A retired firefighter stopped to render aid. The perp stopped and tried to steal another vehicle from a construction site, and was beaten off. Then resumed the high speed flight in his own vehicle, and then ran on foot. He has been charged with murder, amongst a number of other serious crimes. I believe he cut across several lanes to clip the bike. Accounts I read are unclear and differ as to whether a high speed pursuit was underway already at the time of the moto collision. Dan introduced my step father to riding, and had ridden for many years. Link to comment
Rich06FJR1300 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 his profile says he's from maryland, is this the same guy? Link to comment
Glenn Reed Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 his profile says he's from maryland, is this the same guy? I am guessing that you are looking at the profile for Paul Mihalka (Old Fart), not Paul Palika. I could be (and frequently am) incorrect though. Link to comment
Paul Mihalka Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 his profile says he's from maryland, is this the same guy? I am guessing that you are looking at the profile for Paul Mihalka (Old Fart), not Paul Palika. I could be (and frequently am) incorrect though. Thank Heaven it's not me... Also I've got into trouble in CA... Link to comment
bmwdave152 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 How could the SUV driver not be cited?? Link to comment
David13 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Maybe they are preparing, or looking at something more substantial than a citation. I would like to see them prepare and file something more substantial than a citation. dc Link to comment
SWB Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Aside from the normal lessons of avoiding these areas, weather, following distance etc, the major takeaway for me is to remember to watch out for a rebound that could bring the issue right back to me. If the Lexus was in the far right lane and starts losing control heading towards a big rig, regardless of what lane I was in, I'd be heading towards the far left side of the freeway while trying to dump speed, and that's about where he was when he died. Once that car glanced off the truck and lost control, it was a missile heading for the median, and there was nothing but luck, reflexes, and the bike to save this man. He didn't have a chance. I've had two incidents in the past two years where out of control vehicles crossed all lanes of the freeway and passed within a few feet in front of me. A half second one way or the other, and I would have T-boned both (riding in my F150 truck AND on dry payment, I would have had a chance). My point is that when events get started, they happen so quickly, if it hasn't happened to you would wouldn't believe how fast chaos arrives upon you. I'm guessing Mr. Palika, if he had any time to react at all, decided to lock up the ABS brakes and let the bike defend him; it was the only chance he had. He essentially had a steel wall instantly appear in front of him, and may not even have seen the car coming (since it was coming up fast from behind him, and to his right side blind spot). Again, he probably had no chance. RIP to Gunny Palika, and my sincere condolences to his family and friends. Tragic loss. - Scott Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 My point is that when events get started, they happen so quickly, if it hasn't happened to you would wouldn't believe how fast chaos arrives upon you. I'm guessing Mr. Palika, if he had any time to react at all, decided to lock up the ABS brakes and let the bike defend him; it was the only chance he had. He essentially had a steel wall instantly appear in front of him, and may not even have seen the car coming (since it was coming up fast from behind him, and to his right side blind spot). Again, he probably had no chance. Sometimes the lesson to be learned is that there are indeed occasions when there is nothing you can do because you don't have time or space to do anything useful. The circumstances in this video are not the same as Mr. Palika's accident, but the lesson is the same: Link to comment
DiverRay Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 My condolences to Mr. Palika's family! I do hope the idiot in the lexus is charged with vehicular homicide, at the minimum. I HAVE been in a situation like that, and it DOES happen faster than you can think! I had a drunk driver clip the car in front of me, slide across three lanes, and then came back into my lane. It totaled my 650 Seca Turbo, and then of course the car behind me hit both of us! I was VERY LUCKY that time, and I know luck will not always do it. Link to comment
pbbeck Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 I had the privilege of meeting Paul and spending the day with him. He was one of my instructors at the Streetmasters class, and I had a chance to briefly ride with him outside the confines of the course for about 20 miles on the road. He was an unbelievably competent rider and a nice guy, and it breaks my heart that he was killed in this manner. The SUV driver should be tried for manslaughter. So many people get away with driving like a$$holes here in southern California simply out of luck. Link to comment
Paul C. Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 I had the privilege of meeting Paul and spending the day with him. He was one of my instructors at the Streetmasters class, and I had a chance to briefly ride with him outside the confines of the course for about 20 miles on the road. He was an unbelievably competent rider and a nice guy, and it breaks my heart that he was killed in this manner. The SUV driver should be tried for manslaughter. So many people get away with driving like a$$holes here in southern California simply out of luck. I also knew Paul for the last 11 years. While most here seem intent on learning from Paul's death. I think the biggest lesson for most has been missed. That lesson is that 4 wheel operators can negligently operate their vehicles, cause a homicide and get away with it. Negligent operation of a vehicle resulting in death is a crime today. No new laws are required only action from the DA's office. When will we see charges filed? I wouldn't hold your breath. Godspeed Brother. Paul C. Link to comment
JOHNNYWISHBONE Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 the memorial gathering today, it was really nice. sad, but up beat. lotta harley, some bmw. lots of usmc and vets. glad i went. Link to comment
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