Bermuda Triangle for Bikes

[maamoot]

https://goo.gl/maps/V72lE

This map link is right near the top of Doi Suthep mountain in Chiang Mai . I go hiking here fairly often and the trail exit is just across from where this link is . Over the last month I have witnessed one bike accident here and seen the aftermath of three others , all in this exact same spot . Makes me wonder how many other accidents have happened here and how many people have been seriously hurt .

Edited January 21, 2015 by maamoot

[Shurup]

There are some bends like this on Koh Chang and 2331 Hwy in Phetchabun (https://www.google.ca/maps/@16.8811608,101.113848,15z?hl=en)

And from what I've seen it's the cages that just can't stay in their fricken line! So what happens when you go around one of the bends like this and find a pickup on your lane heading straight at you?

[maamoot]

They have all been single bike accidents that I have seen and at very slow speeds . Don't know if they can do anything about it but I would assume that there must have been hundreds of accidents in this spot .

[moe666]

Over the past years have made many trips up Doi Suthep I have only seen one accident and it was a 4 wheel drive Suzuki flipped over on its top. Not saying your wrong but persnally haven't seen that many wrecks up there.

[Gweiloman]

This looks like one of hundreds of corners of most mountain passes in the north of Thailand. Unless there something about the road surface that makes this extra slippery, I would just put it down to rider error.

If anything, this looks like a safe and easy corner, two lanes for uphill traffic. On the MHS loop, most of them are single lane.

[maamoot]

This looks like one of hundreds of corners of most mountain passes in the north of Thailand. Unless there something about the road surface that makes this extra slippery, I would just put it down to rider error.

If anything, this looks like a safe and easy corner, two lanes for uphill traffic. On the MHS loop, most of them are single lane.

Of course it is anecdotal evidence only , I might have seen the only four accidents on this corner . But it does seem like a fairly big coincidence that I have spent approximately 3 hours here over a period of 6 weeks and have seen this many accidents .

I think the problem is low powered bikes with 2 passengers taking a very sharp and steep corner .

[RubberSideDown]

There are corners that collect bikes. On my one big crash (100% my fault) on Mesa Grande Road in San Diego back in 2000, I high-sided my Hayabusa and sent myself into orbit and ended up in a ditch. When my senses returned I looked around and thought my bike was destroyed as I was surrounded by broken pieces of fairing, as well as turn-signal lights and other bits easily identifiable as having come from a motorcycle- it took me a minute to realize that they weren't from my motorcycle, which had continued on without me for a distance and was still in rideable condition (all the damage was cosmetic, and I was bruised but not badly hurt- fortunate my leathers and helmet did their job).

After doing some research, I read of several other riders who had crashed in the exact same spot (two of whom I knew personally)- it was a decreasing-radius curve that was very deceptive, and if you were unfamiliar with it (I had never ridden the road before and my lack of respect for it bit me), it could get really ugly really quickly. It wasn't the most difficult corner I'd ridden (and I rode it several more times after my bike was repaired), but it wasn't indicative of the rest of the road and really snuck up on you.

While it's impossible to tell from the link, it's possible the corner in the OP is similar, and catches riders out.

[pokerkid]

This looks like one of hundreds of corners of most mountain passes in the north of Thailand. Unless there something about the road surface that makes this extra slippery, I would just put it down to rider error.

If anything, this looks like a safe and easy corner, two lanes for uphill traffic. On the MHS loop, most of them are single lane.

Of course it is anecdotal evidence only , I might have seen the only four accidents on this corner . But it does seem like a fairly big coincidence that I have spent approximately 3 hours here over a period of 6 weeks and have seen this many accidents .

I think the problem is low powered bikes with 2 passengers taking a very sharp and steep corner .

it makes a difference in the kind of bikes that are involved in the accidents. If it is mostly thais 2 up on scooter than the reason why they crash is most likely that they forget to downshift before the corner and come to a virtual stop in the middle of the corner and just tip over.

I have seen so many times that thais don't downshift until its too late, be it overtaking somebody or going up a steep hill.

Edited January 22, 2015 by pokerkid

[Gweiloman]

This looks like one of hundreds of corners of most mountain passes in the north of Thailand. Unless there something about the road surface that makes this extra slippery, I would just put it down to rider error.

If anything, this looks like a safe and easy corner, two lanes for uphill traffic. On the MHS loop, most of them are single lane.

Of course it is anecdotal evidence only , I might have seen the only four accidents on this corner . But it does seem like a fairly big coincidence that I have spent approximately 3 hours here over a period of 6 weeks and have seen this many accidents .

I think the problem is low powered bikes with 2 passengers taking a very sharp and steep corner .

Yes, it seems like a lot of accidents for just one particular corner.

Coming downhill, the road surface is broken just before the corner which might make some riders panic and slam on the brakes. Also the road looks very slick. One can also see that either a car or pickup has also crashed, as evident by the bent barrier.

[ll2]

There is a infamous off camber turn on route going Sisawat - Kanchanaburi. I stopped there once to help a japanese guy on a k1300 and when i was looking around, there were bits and fairings from many other bikes in the ditch! Later checked and found out that road is designed wrong.

[dave_boo]

Easy to see why that corner eats bikes up.

Almost a 45^* elevation change during a 180^* turn on an apparently very bumpy surface.

[DualSportBiker]

There are some bends like this on Koh Chang and 2331 Hwy in Phetchabun (https://www.google.ca/maps/@16.8811608,101.113848,15z?hl=en)

And from what I've seen it's the cages that just can't stay in their fricken line! So what happens when you go around one of the bends like this and find a pickup on your lane heading straight at you?

I have a collection of VDO of just that... I started doing an "A-Hole of the trip" series and then thought better of it. Posted one though on my YouTube channel sgpsimonb...