And he didn't notice his rear brake wasn't working?
The rear brake is operated by the right foot and one would normally use it, surely he'd have noticed he wasn't slowing down as fast as normal?
Motorbike crash man fails to notice loss of leg
A Japanese motorcyclist failed to notice his right leg had been severed below the knee in a collision with a motorway central reservation, and he travelled a further 2km before spotting he'd left something behind at the scene, the Guardian reports. Company worker Kazuo Osada, 54, was on a jaunt with 10 other bikers yesterday …
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Tuesday 14th August 2007 12:15 GMT Cyberspice
Someone who never uses his rear brake...
Most motorcycles have independent front and rear brakes. The fronts are controlled by the right (throttle hand) and the rear by the right foot (on most bikes - old Brit bikes have the rear on the left foot). 90 odd percent of your braking comes from the front anyway but this guy obviously didn't use his rear...
I once heard a story of a guy (who was dying of fatal disease and so was rather nuts when he rode) who once got hit by a car. He came off his bike; Stood up; Walked down the road; Picked something up off the road; Went to the car driver who was now parked up and shaking; And waving his now separated thumb which he'd collect from the road said "Look what you bl**dy did!". He then got on his bike and road off...
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Tuesday 14th August 2007 13:02 GMT Mark Harrison
Arrived at the junction...
I think some of your correspondents are missing the point about being able to operate the rear brake, the article clearly says "He clocked his loss when he subsequently arrived at a junction". It appears as though a zealous editor may have removed Lester Haines further comments of, "... and raced through it at 100 mph".
Was his failure to operate the rear-break what caused him to "clock his loss"?
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Tuesday 14th August 2007 13:02 GMT Anonymous Coward
Brakes.
Er, many modern machines have the rear brake linked to the front, so the operation of the hand lever (front brake for non-bikers) automatically operates the rear as well. It's only for occasions when you want rear only that you need to use your foot. Maybe that's when he noticed.......
TeeCee
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Tuesday 14th August 2007 13:43 GMT Anonymous Coward
Groan IV - The Return
I say it's thigh time someone did something about those dangerous medians. If the civil engineers had calf a brain they'd have made them safer.
Do you think his bike got toed home?
It just says he was a 'Company man' - I suppose that if he worked in the insurance business, the shoe is on the other foot now.
Even if he gets back to riding after losing that limb, he won't be half the man Alex Zanardi is.
And finally, even though he rode more than a mile after clipping the barrier, it was still only about one foot away...
I'll be here all week.
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Tuesday 14th August 2007 13:43 GMT Jacob
Stopping
As mentioned before most breaking is being done with the handlever, however when you stop you tend to use your right leg to support the bike as opposed to the left one which you use for switching gears.
So if he found out that way I`m sure it must have been quite a peculiar sensation not to mention a shock to suddenly notice the bike tilting a lot further to the right then expected.
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Tuesday 14th August 2007 13:43 GMT Ian Ferguson
Rear brake
I rarely use the rear brake (right foot), and then mainly for low-speed manouvers. And if he was going down a motorway he quite possibly didn't need to change gear (left foot).
I suspect he arrived at the junction and tried to do one of the above, or (more potential for amusement) stopped and tried to put his foot down.
Reminds me of a story I heard. The storyteller was pulling up at a junction, behind another biker. The other guy stopped, and promptly toppled over. He helped him up, and the embarrassed biker explained that he'd been riding with a sidecar for years, but had just removed it, and kept forgetting to put his foot down.
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Tuesday 14th August 2007 13:56 GMT Dennis
Re: Brakes
"Er, many modern machines have the rear brake linked to the front".
Okay, so he didn't need his right foot for breaking. But, what happened when he reached the junction? He'll need to put at least one foot on the ground. If he left his left foot on the gear shift ready for a quick getaway then he found out about the missing appendage when the bike fell over.
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Tuesday 14th August 2007 15:23 GMT Jason Hall
Erm... Stefan
"bike riders rarely use the rear brake unless really necessary. Most of the brake power is on the front wheel. Any biker worth his salt knows this."
Erm... maybe *YOU* only use your front brake, but the Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists and ANY Police rider would tell you otherwise.
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Tuesday 14th August 2007 17:35 GMT ScruffyJack
His mates
A few things thoughts on this report:
1) How did the guy pick up his bike after the crash? Obviously has a good sense of balance and a strong leg (the one still attached).
2) How did his mates not notice his accident? I guess they must have been in front when it happened and he caught them up (presumably at the junction). His mates must have been wusses.
3) If he did catch his mates up he must have been going at a fair clip and possibly getting his knee down!
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Tuesday 14th August 2007 17:35 GMT Anonymous Coward
Reminds Me Of A True Story
When I were a lad we were out one day and stopped at a set of traffic lights. Dual carriageway so no surprise when an old git came up on a motorbike to the side of us.
He stopped gracefully enough, and then fell over. Naturally we helped him to his feet, when we were told that he had taken the sidecar off the bike that morning....
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Tuesday 14th August 2007 17:35 GMT Dillon Pyron
Blood loss
Losing your leg below the knee would result in massive blood loss. I'd be surprised if he hadn't fallen off the bike in another minute or so. Traumatic amputation requires immediate attention.
Do we have verification from an independent source? I'm not calling bullshit, just a little skeptical.
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Tuesday 14th August 2007 19:22 GMT Drarok
Dear oh dear
There are some woeful comments on here. Use your right foot to balance at a junction? Wrong. Keep your right foot on the brake, illuminating the brake light so people don't crash into the back of you thinking you're moving. Also, when people pass you on the right you won't get your foot crushed. You leave it in 1st gear so you don't need a foot on the gears for a "quick getaway".
Sheesh!
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Wednesday 15th August 2007 06:45 GMT Anonymous Coward
re: Dear oh dear
IANAB but...
"Keep your right foot on the brake, illuminating the brake light so people don't crash into the back of you thinking you're moving"
does the brake (hand) lever not do that?
"Also, when people pass you on the right you won't get your foot crushed."
how far out are you sticking your leg?
woudnt they take out a mirror with them? (that they could presumably see)
you are in a lane, arent you?
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Wednesday 15th August 2007 06:45 GMT Alan Donaly
leg gone I guess
I tracked this down from reuters
"The man and his leg were taken to a hospital, but the limb had been crushed in the collision, the paper said."
OK what paper if the guardian got this from reuters I think
they have all been duped anyone speak japanese and read
Tokyo newspapers.
Anyway
if Reuters can be believed and many times it can't he didn't get
his leg sewed back on. Reuters stories all seem a little flakey.
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Wednesday 15th August 2007 13:04 GMT Adam
re: re: Dear oh dear
Actually, he's right. When I was taught (1999) I was taught to keep the right foot on the brake when stopped for three reasons:
1) illuminate brake light
2) if you ARE rammed, you are less likely to end up beneath the rammer than if your front brake was on
3) it keeps your right leg out of the way of any cars that may be beside you. When stopping at junctions and lights, many bikers filter to the front of the queue in which case they are NOT in a lane.
If riding to the book (possibly not, as his riding led to a crash barrier!!!), he wouldn't have noticed until he stopped and went to put the bike into 1st or neutral... falling over, as a consequence OUCH!
Japan drives on the correct side of the road, so the same logic would apply there as here in Blighty. :-P
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Wednesday 15th August 2007 23:51 GMT Aubry Thonon
Back brakes.
I don't know how many of the commenters are bike drivers, I am one, and I would guess that a large number of the commenters who *are* bikers would be riding a chopper (seems to be a US favourite) instead of a performance bike, which the poor sod (being nipponese) would have been riding. So... a few comments:
Any idiot who uses his front brakes to stop on a performance bike from speeds is asking to tip ass-over-feet. You use your back brakes to slow down and only bring in your fronts to increase the deceleration power if you have to. Period. Use your fronts for any other reason (or even have your fingers on the lever) and you'll get a dressing down from most Advance Riders teachers 'round here.
Back brakes serve a secondary purpose on a performance bike - if you need to take a corner at speeds, you lightly use your rear brakes on the start of the corner - this causes a slight lengthening (I'll skip the actual physics and use Pterry's patented "lies to children") of the base of the bike which helps in leaning the bike into the turn.
And you use your LEFT foot to steady the bike when stopped. The reason? That's also the side the kickstand is positioned on performance bikes (can't speak for choppers), so the bike naturally leans in that direction when you get on/get off it. Also, since you're supposed to have ALREADY down-shifted to first gear while stopping, you do not need your left foot while taking off... while you might need your brakes NOW because some f*kwit in a SUV didn't stop at the lights.
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Thursday 16th August 2007 16:54 GMT ScruffyJack
Performance braking
If you are riding a performance bike in the dry and going at a decent speed you have to use the front brake to make use of the braking power available.
If you just/mainly use the back break you'll skid because there isn't any weight transfer to the back wheel when you're braking. If you use the front brake it transfers weight through the forks and onto the front tyre increasing its contact patch and pressing it into the road. I've been riding (mostly performance bikes) for 15+ years and could point to other evidence to support this (e.g. bigger twin brake disks and more powerful calipers on the front).
Just watch Rossi, Stoner and Co in MotoGP. When you see them braking for a corner you will see their forks compress and the back tyre occassionally leaving the tarmac.
I always thought the reason for using the back brake when you're nearly stationary was because it's less likely to unbalance you when the gyroscopic effect of the wheels aren't in play. The rear brake doesn't cause front fork compression which might unbalance you.
Anyway, that's an aside (the whole thing about him noticing his missing leg when he stops). If the story is true how did he not notice when he had to pick his bike up to ride off in the first place? (he might even have had to hop over to it if he was thrown off inthe accident).
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Sunday 19th August 2007 04:56 GMT Steve Nordquist
Ganbare Osada-san!
That stuff about not noticing; think about Anakin whatsisname going through an obstacle (what -is- that traffic feature? He did survive the collision...traffic moving amain I imagine...) on a land speeder or whatever those things are; If you do not forsee things, forget 'em!
Our budding physician will be pleased to know that thanks to sinuses and other soft tissue features in the knee, as well as arterial oculi and the effect of a headwind on clotting, a biker can do that a bunch of times. The shin having been raptured by traffic is of course a grave failing among hosiers to bikers.
You have been watching the cinema releases of _The Girl Who Leapt Through Time_, right? This man is 56; of course he leaps forwards as accords his age. Moreover since he is a mature biker he stands a good chance of getting a right prototype pattern rather than the novice practice of just stubbing it in.
Those biker transhumanists are tough guys.
Hang in there Kazuo!
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Biting the hand that feeds IT
