Could THIS Motorcycle Crash be Avoided?

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A Tragic Crash and a New Direction for MCrider

A regular viewer of MCrider sent me a news article a few months ago that has completely shifted the way I think about this channel and its direction.

I call it a “shift,” but in truth this message has been at the heart of what I’ve tried to do with MCrider since the very beginning — over nine years ago.

Today, I want to share something new with you. At the end of this post, I’ll tell you about a new venture I’m launching — something that builds on what MCrider has always been about but takes things in an important new direction.

The Crash That Sparked This Change

The article was about a motorcycle fatality crash involving a rider and a school bus in Fort Worth, TX.

The viewer who sent it to me knew it happened close to where I live and wanted to know my thoughts. After reading the article, I found security cam footage of the crash and saw that local news stations were covering the story.

In this video, I break down the core principles of MCrider training and show how misunderstanding those values may have contributed to this crash. I’ll also share clips from the news coverage.

Then, I’ll explain why this story matters so deeply and introduce my new venture — and how you can be a part of it.

Core Value #1 – Road Skills

One of MCrider’s core values is Road Skills — the practice of core motorcycle techniques in a parking lot so you have those skills ready when you need them on the road.

I teach these skills through:

Countless MCrider videos
Member forums where riders share and refine techniques
The MCrider Field Guide — a book with skill explanations, exercise layouts, and video demonstrations

Three Skills That Could Have Prevented This Crash

There are three key skills in the Field Guide that could have helped this rider:

Emergency Braking
Swerving
Brake and Escape

From the footage, it appears the rider may have locked up the rear brake and possibly never used the front brake at all. You can see:

Smoke from the rear tire
The motorcycle losing alignment before the collision
Lack of front fork compression (a sign the front brake wasn’t used effectively)

It looks like the rider reacted instinctively rather than with trained technique.

And that’s the problem — our natural reactions and bad habits often fail us if we haven’t replaced them with proper, practiced skills.

Even if proper emergency braking hadn’t prevented the crash completely, it would have:

Reduced speed
Reduced impact
Potentially prevented the collision altogether

Core Value #2 – Road Strategy

The second core value of MCrider is Road Strategy — anticipating risks and minimizing the chances of needing life-saving maneuvers in the first place.

I have numerous videos and an entire book dedicated to road strategy because it is critical to rider survival.

Here are a few road strategy factors that may have made a difference in this crash:

Helmet Use

No one wakes up planning to crash their motorcycle. If we knew a crash was coming, we’d wear every piece of protective gear we own — especially a helmet.

It’s a simple fact: helmets save lives.
We can’t say for certain whether one would have saved this rider, but we do know the cost of not wearing one.

Sun in the Driver’s Eyes

The footage shows the rider had the rising sun directly behind him, likely creating a severe blind spot for the bus driver.

A rider using solid road strategy would recognize this and adjust:

Change lane position
Slow down
Cover the brakes
Prepare for left-turning vehicles

We may never know what the rider saw or considered that morning — but we can all learn from this and apply the lesson to our own riding.

Something of Ultimate Importance

This crash caused me to consider things of eternal significance. That’s why I’m launching a brand-new channel called The Study — where we will talk about topics of ultimate importance.

You can find The Study here: MCrider.com/TheStudy. That link will take you directly to the channel where you can watch the continuation of this video.

How You Can Help

I have one favor to ask:

When you get to The Study, please subscribe. Subscribing tells YouTube the content is valuable and helps it reach more people.

My goal is to get 1,000 subscribers within the first 24 hours. Hitting that milestone will make a huge difference for the success and reach of this channel.