Contentious motorcycle crash case heads to Sacramento jury

[stew71]

This fool is suing HD because of a braking system failure. He's claiming that the ABS icon on a non-ABS equipped bike was a defect and therefore caused him to crash, because, you know, it didn't light up.

I'm guessing that opening the owner's manual was too tough. I suppose that learning to properly ride in the first place would have helped some.  As for the wife, she was probably wearing one of those awesome chrome soup bowl lids. I'm trying to find some sympathy somewhere deep down in my soul...really I am.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/16/4126504/contentious-motorcycle-accident.html#storylink=omni_popular

[DogBoy]

Could be the perfect ST.N thread; HD, ABS, assumptions, tort reform, AGATT debate, skills debate, California. What else?

County, can you work some FJR content into this?

[Andrew]

OH crap I see this going south real quick

[mugwump58]

I'll help. I'm an FJR rider and I will read the original artice. Is that enough?

"
Wilson and her husband testified the Harley salesman told them the bike contained the antilock braking system, with an elbow-to-the-ribs-type aside that "chicks love ABS." Really?

Again really? "
"To require separate tachometers for the two types of bikes would 'bring the assembly line to a halt,' Wolensky said."


It is sad to make comedy of tragedy, but hey I own an FJR.

[veefer800canuck]

Lots of vehicles have empty spots in the dash for options they don't have.
And they don't light up because the option isn't there.

Motion to dismiss your honor!

[Jet Jock]

"Chicks love ABS . . ."

WTF? Anybody here with two brain cells sparking that believes this alleged quote? Show of hands please.

[dan88z]

I put this all on the owner. Not reading his MOM, not knowing what features are installed? Who cares what a salesman says, look at he manifest of what is installed on the bike. Read the manual to learn how and when the ABS light comes on if equipped. Another dumbass who screws up and thinks everyone else should pay.

[Skee]

Consider the California jury pool.  HD has got plenty of money.  I say $12 million award.

[tjhess74]

sooo, if these morons lose, does that mean they will be so pissed at harley that they will give up 'the lifestyle'?  if so, what bad ass lifestyle will they assume? will they become ducatisi?  guzzians perhaps??  im not sure the japanese set is ready for these two....

[stew71]

My favorite part of the article...

Veen laid a third of the fault on Jack Wilson and told the jury to award the estranged husband only $100. But he said the ABS icon and the alleged remark by the salesman mean the manufacturer and the dealer have to pay.

So the rider was only a THIRD at fault? Of course. Makes perfect sense.

[greench440]

Maybe he should have had a car tire on it.  

[spd2918]

I put this all on the owner. Not reading his MOM, not knowing what features are installed? Who cares what a salesman says, look at he manifest of what is installed on the bike. Read the manual to learn how and when the ABS light comes on if equipped. Another dumbass who screws up and thinks everyone else should pay.

Yes, and train with the bike you will be putting your spouse on.

[mugwump58]

My favorite part of the article...



So the rider was only a THIRD at fault? Of course. Makes perfect sense.

Can I only be a third responsible for the dumb shitstuff I do too? I'll be needing a memo for work. Thank you.

[Flyer]

"How many brain-damaged people will it take?" Veen asked.

It's not often you get a straight line like that from a lawyer.  

[X1Glider]

Can I only be a third responsible for the dumb shitstuff I do too? I'll be needing a memo for work. Thank you.

No.  East coasters must be fully responsible for their actions.

[stew71]

Could be the perfect ST.N thread; HD, ABS, assumptions, tort reform, AGATT debate, skills debate, California. What else?

County, can you work some FJR content into this?

It seems to be missing bacon and guns. And no cop bashing.

[Kootenanny]

Wolensky and Rushford blamed Jack Wilson, 48, for the crash. They both said he should have known the bike's features after riding it for 15 months and 12,000 miles.

Jack Wilson said he hit the brakes when traffic backed up while he was going 65 mph, locking up the rear wheel and catapulting his wife 35 feet forward into the pavement.

Hmmm...

Locked up the rear at 65mph, eh?  With his wife riding pillion, too...hmmm...perhaps a bit more braking skill and situational awareness and a bit less dependence on techy stuff (especially techy stuff they don't have) might be in order...

But they know that.  Sounds like they're trying to score a big settlement here on sympathy.  

BTW, if a salesman ever said to me, "Chicks love ABS?" I'd have laughed out loud.  I mean, really?  And this is part of their defense?


PS--wonder if either of them was wearing a helmet at the time?

[DogBoy]

It seems to be missing bacon and guns. And no cop bashing.

  for bacon.

PS--wonder if either of them was wearing a helmet at the time?

CA has a had a helmet law for nearly 20 years. I'm sure it would have come up at trial if either/both of them were not in compliance. Especially with the passenger claiming brain damage.

[Justin]

 

Sad thing is they will probably win with a CA jury.

[zer0netgain]

Sadly, this is an issue of what the jury thinks.

It is standard on all kinds of vehicles for the "icon" to be present because the template is cut for all models, not a specific model.

So, no reasonable person should believe that because an icon can be made out means that a vehicle is equipped with it.

STILL, if the salesman told the buyer it had ABS, how many people never read their owner's manual?

Drive a car with ABS and you need to allow yourself more stopping distance because of it.  You can't handle an ABS car as you would a non-ABS car in bad weather.

Do any salesmen tell you the difference?  Not that I've seen.

I could see the jury putting the dealership on the hook for making a false representation as to what the bike came equipped with, but otherwise it's not HD's fault.  Even then, you would think that a motorcyclist would know what's on their bike, but seeing how dumb customers can be....

[stew71]

Update: Woman hurt in 2009 crash loses suit in Sacramento against Harley-Davidson

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today exonerated Harley-Davidson in a lawsuit filed by a woman who suffered severe brain damage in a 2009 wreck on Highway 99.  Plaintiff Judy Wilson had charged in her suit that the motorcycle her husband crashed while she was riding on the back had a defective design because of an icon on its tachometer that made him think the bike had anti-lock brakes when it didn't.  Wilson also charged that a salesman for Harley-Davidson of Sacramento told her the motorcycle had an anti-locking braking system. The company argued that the design was not defective and that it's been selling motorcycle with the "ABS" icon for years without incident. The dealership denied that its salesman ever told Wilson the bike had the anti-lock braking system.

[keepergale]

 

[Royal Tiger]

It's amazing common sense prevailed in the US these days.  Good job by the jury.

[JonS]

It's amazing common sense prevailed in the US these days.  Good job by the jury.

 

Maybe now, the husband will learn how to brake, instead of skidding the rear tire.

[veefer800canuck]

But was he using a car tire on the bike?  

[spd2918]

See?  ABS can kill even when it is not equipped.

[MDHCO]

Very sad that she was seriously injured.  

It never ceases to amaze me how many riders you meet that don't believe in using the front brake.   And it's not limited to Harley riders.  

Getting a motorcycle endorsement ought to require more formal training, and testing.  

[Robus]

Sad for her injurious but I think the verdict was right.

[tjhess74]

theres hope for california yet!  indeed, good job by the jury.  and the plaintiffs will be eating the legal fees bill for at least their dirtbag laywer.

so, now that they lost, back to my question...what bad ass lifestyle will they choose, since im sure they wont be harley fans anymore!  

[cbsnbiker]

so, now that they lost, back to my question...what bad ass lifestyle will they choose, since im sure they wont be harley fans anymore!  

Her "bad ass lifestyle" may involve lying in a hospital bed, depending on how severe her brain injuries are.

[tjhess74]

nah, she was well enough to go to court.  iirc, i thought she testified, no?  anyway, even if she was a veggie, she could still wear a do-rag or put her new found moto-brand stickers on her bed or pee pan.

[county]

Wow, amazing verdict....I guess HD must have gotten to the jurors...