This is the kind of video that causes sleeplessness in back-road thrashers. An Ariel Atom chases a sportbike down a California two-lane, only to find a stopped car around a blind corner. At first glance it seems to be a stunning indictment of reckless vehicle operation, but there might be more to the story.
The low perspective — a camera mount on top of an Atom's sidepods is about as high as the headlight on a Camry — and wide frame make the video feel fast, but how fast, exactly, are these drivers going? A YouTube video commenter took the time to measure speed and distance with a known 100-meter distance at the ten-second mark and came up with a guesstimate of…
40mph.
In a 35mph zone.
That relatively low estimate is backed up, in my opinion, by the relatively tame lean angles the sportbiker's demonstrating and the lack of suspension compression as the Atom negotiates the corners. The speed limit on a road like this in California is unlikely to be any lower than 35mph and I've seen Ohio roads just like this where the limit is 55, as with the Hocking Hills test loop used by Road&Track for the Performance Car Of The Year test. So this might not be as reckless as it appears.
On the other hand… you're always responsible for maintaining assured clear distance. If you can't see around a corner, that might be a good reason not to do the speed limit, or slightly over the speed limit, around it, right?
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