Lorry Coming Downhill Crashes Into KTM On Hairpin Curve: Who’s At Fault? [Video]

One has to be extremely careful on Indian roads, especially if you are a biker. We often see bikers riding recklessly and causing accidents on highways and even on city roads. Many of them completely avoid wearing safety gear and even perform stunts on public roads. Then there are groups of bikers who enjoy exploring new places on their bikes and often go on road trips. They post content related to these trips on their social media profiles. Here, we have one such video where a KTM rider on a road trip was caught in front of a loaded truck or lorry coming downhill.

 

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A post shared by 𝕳𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖐𝖌𝖔𝖐𝖚𝖑 (@__blubee__)

The video has been shared by Blubee on their Instagram page. It was posted with the caption: “Trip Gone Wrong, Hills Always Difficult.” The bikers were on a road trip to a hill station in Tamil Nadu. The exact location where this crash occurred is not known. The bikers were sticking to their respective lanes as they rode uphill.

Soon, they encountered hairpin curves, and on one such hairpin bend, a fellow rider in the group faced an issue. As the bikers approached a curve, they spotted a lorry coming downhill. They did not worry about the lorry as they were in their lane. However, the lorry driver, instead of completing the turn within his lane, moved into the bikers’ lane and then returned to his own.

One of the bikers, riding a KTM 390 Adventure, got confused by this behavior. He stopped right in front of the truck. Within seconds, the lorry crashed into the front wheel of the bike, and the situation escalated. The lorry continued to turn with the bike’s front fender caught under its wheel.

The biker jumped off the bike and waved at the lorry driver to stop. However, the lorry driver continued moving forward. The bikers acted as if it were entirely the lorry driver’s fault. But is it really the lorry driver’s fault? We don’t think so.

The reason we don’t believe it was the lorry driver’s fault is that he had no choice. He was driving a loaded truck coming downhill. Lorries or trucks behave differently on hilly roads. Due to their long wheelbase and large turning radius, drivers often use certain maneuvers to navigate such terrain safely.

If you’ve ever noticed how a truck or bus navigates uphill or downhill, you’ll realize that drivers often move their vehicles into the opposite lane just before entering a curve. They then turn the vehicle on the curve, ensuring it ends up in the correct lane. If the driver were to stick strictly to his own lane while navigating the curve, the truck might not be able to make the turn, potentially causing a traffic jam on the hill.

The lorry driver was simply employing this technique in the video when the biker got caught in front of him. The biker should have been far more mindful of his surroundings. Upon noticing the lorry coming downhill, he should have either moved to the opposite lane or stopped well before entering the curve. He should have allowed the lorry to pass before proceeding with his bike.

The reason the lorry driver didn’t stop after hitting the bike is that stopping in such a situation could be dangerous. Reversing a fully loaded truck on a downhill hairpin section is extremely risky. These trucks use air brakes, which tend to lose pressure if used extensively.