Ever leave your coffee on the bumper of your truck and then drive away?

July 11, 2013 6:20 AM

This guy's here to help.
posted by 256 (48 comments total)

The cost/benefit analysis is weak in this one.
posted by DU at 6:30 AM on July 11, 2013 [23 favorites]

Also, it looks like it was milk.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:31 AM on July 11, 2013

Cool, but dangerous as hell.
posted by Aizkolari at 6:33 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Also, it looks like it was milk.

I instantly recognized this as being in Utah (Utah Valley, even), so it's far more likely that it's milk than coffee.
posted by jessssse at 6:35 AM on July 11, 2013 [3 favorites]

It's better to do this on foot.
posted by orme at 6:38 AM on July 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

Man that's tricky because you gotta use your right hand for the throttle. He had to speed up to just too fast then let go of the throttle and then while slowing down grab the cup. No way in hell I'd try that. Especially, you know, because folks who leave stuff on bumpers may not be paying super close attention to their surroundings anyway, and you know: motorcycle vs. SUV. (That's not an indictment of occasional forgetfulness, but it is an indictment of operating on autopilot.)
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:38 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

why'd she pour it out?? sure it was outside for a while, probably filled with bugs but come on what a waste...
posted by cristinacristinacristina at 6:43 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

In college I once put a soda can on the snow on the roof of a car and forgot about it as we pulled away. A few minutes later at about 55 mph I remembered the can, rolled down the window, reached up, and found it still embedded in the snow.

I wasn't driving.
posted by COD at 6:45 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Every time he would look behind him or to the side I kept thinking a crash was coming. The driver did holler out the window "It's water" when she took the cup from him.
posted by PuppyCat at 6:52 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Terrifying. But what lovely mountains!
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:53 AM on July 11, 2013 [6 favorites]

All of you people saying that was dangerous obviously don't recognize a Faberge cup when you see one... philistines.
posted by codacorolla at 7:04 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

I can't figure how the motorcyclist was able to reach for the cup with his/her right hand without having to let off the throttle and lurch to a much slower speed. Hell, I can't even manage to wiggle my fingers when they're tingly on the throttle without a bit of roller coaster speed variations.
posted by sonascope at 7:06 AM on July 11, 2013

Oh, on second thought, maybe it's clutch out and coasting, then back on the throttle after the hand changeover. Still wouldn't want to do it.

Also, the mountains are pretty, but that looks like the boringest motorcycling region imaginable.
posted by sonascope at 7:08 AM on July 11, 2013

Man that's tricky because you gotta use your right hand for the throttle.

At one point, after handing over the cup, it looks like he's using his left hand to work the throttle. Also not the safest thing to do.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 7:10 AM on July 11, 2013

PuppyCat: Every time he would look behind him or to the side I kept thinking a crash was coming. The driver did holler out the window "It's water" when she took the cup from him.

She actually says, "My daughter," by which I think she means her daughter left the cup there and not that the contents of the cup physically come from her daughter.
posted by mistersquid at 7:13 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

seanmpuckett: "Man that's tricky because you gotta use your right hand for the throttle. He had to speed up to just too fast then let go of the throttle and then while slowing down grab the cup. No way in hell I'd try that. Especially, you know, because folks who leave stuff on bumpers may not be paying super close attention to their surroundings anyway, and you know: motorcycle vs. SUV. (That's not an indictment of occasional forgetfulness, but it is an indictment of operating on autopilot.)"

Well, she struck me as not terribly attentive at best. I think if a motorcyclist zipped close enough to my vehicle to grab something off my bumper, I would start paying serious attention to it, more so than usual.
posted by Samizdata at 7:13 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Sonascope:Also, the mountains are pretty, but that looks like the boringest motorcycling region imaginable.

Naw, those straight roads in the valley *take you* to the fun stuff.

(Cottonwood Canyon road....)
posted by notsnot at 7:14 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

I agree with those above saying that this was a risky move for minimal payoff, particularly considering the SUV strays into the left lane at 22s.
That said, his giggles at the end made watching it worthwhile!
posted by staccato signals of constant information at 7:17 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Lady, let me clue you in on something.... when a motorcyclist risks life and limb to save your beverage and 'fine' china from certain destruction (not to mention the tires of someone who might be following behind you) because of a brain fart on your end of things you do not, under any circumstances, pour it out right next to him/her.

Humbug, what are they teaching people in school nowadays.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:18 AM on July 11, 2013 [4 favorites]

I can't figure how the motorcyclist was able to reach for the cup with his/her right hand without having to let off the throttle and lurch to a much slower speed.

I considered the possibility that he was holding the throttle with his left hand, but that's a recipe for disaster. I agree that he accelerated and then reached for the cup, his timing was good (which is more than I can say for his judgement).
posted by HuronBob at 7:21 AM on July 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

Another point of consideration. Since the advent of helmet cams, do you think there's a greater incidence of marginally wise stunts because: "Wow, I can tape this and upload it to youtube and get a lot of views!!!!"
posted by HuronBob at 7:23 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Oh come on. That was cool and nice. And if my husband ever did that on his motorcycle I would smack him.
posted by Mooseli at 7:25 AM on July 11, 2013 [7 favorites]

Coffee saved... like a BOSS.
posted by ElDiabloConQueso at 7:29 AM on July 11, 2013 [3 favorites]

No one said it wasn't cool or nice, just that the guy was risking his life for the sake of a cup of milk.
posted by kavasa at 7:30 AM on July 11, 2013

It's a cool stunt no doubt but the smart motorcyclist looks at potential road debris like that and just gets the hell away with a muttered "nope". That dont get teh yootoob viewz doh.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:35 AM on July 11, 2013

Coffee cup? Bah. Big deal. This guy rescues a WHOLE PLANE. (NSFW Language)
posted by ColdChef at 7:41 AM on July 11, 2013 [10 favorites]

Is it me, or does she seem completely unaware of what's happening behind/beside her on the road? I know I was guilty of the same thing when I first started driving, but really, people should be monitoring their mirrors a lot more than they do. They're not just for when you're about to back up, turn, or change lanes!
posted by ceribus peribus at 7:43 AM on July 11, 2013

OK, so ten out of ten for style, but minus several million for good thinking, yeah?
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:02 AM on July 11, 2013 [4 favorites]

Incredibly risky, but I have to admit, I loved his little "go me!" at the end with his hands.
posted by drewbage1847 at 8:02 AM on July 11, 2013

Is it me, or does she seem completely unaware of what's happening behind/beside her on the road?

Given that she seemed totally unaware of the motorcyclist who just picked up a coffee cup off of her rear bumper? Yes, I'd say so.

OTOH, if you were going to try that maneuver, you'd almost want the driver to be oblivious because then it's less likely that they're going to see you, panic, do something sudden, and kill you.

As a motorcyclist, I'll take predictably bad driving over unpredictable, skilled driving any day.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:03 AM on July 11, 2013

I've snagged a laptop and a purse off two different vehicles over the years from the seat of my motorcycle. Left hand takes the throttle, ease in, grab item, return at next stop light. To people who assume they're being carjacked. Ingrates.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 8:07 AM on July 11, 2013 [4 favorites]

Cups on bumpers survive amazingly well. My Dad drove from northern VA to the coast of NC with a half-full/empty styrofoam cup of coffee on the bumper of a Chevy S-10 pickup.
posted by I'm Doing the Dishes at 8:13 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Haven't slept in quite a while I've read that as "cub".
I was anxious to find out whether it would be a bear cub or a fox cub.

The disappointment thereafter was unparalleled.
posted by bigendian at 8:39 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Reminds me of this.
posted by Chutzler at 8:40 AM on July 11, 2013

Cups on bumpers survive amazingly well. My Dad drove from northern VA to the coast of NC with a half-full/empty styrofoam cup of coffee on the bumper of a Chevy S-10 pickup.

Once I drove for over an hour with my purse on top of my car. Someone at a stoplight waved at me like crazy until I rolled down my window so they could point it out. Not sure how it managed to stay on top that long. It was just a smooth civic roof.
posted by Jalliah at 8:59 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Cups on bumpers survive amazingly well.

Jack Daniels bottles, not so much, dammit.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 9:18 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

OK, so ten out of ten for style, but minus several million for good thinking, yeah?

I see what you did there.
posted by Gelatin at 9:20 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Putting my child in my mom's car at the airport in NYC, I had to install the car seat we'd brought, so I placed my brand new iPhone on the roof of the her SUV and...


30 minutes later retrieved it from the rear section of the roof rack it had wedged itself into through the bumps and turns of NYC driving.

With regards to this guy, no harm, no foul is how I see it. I certainly wouldn't want anyone I care about risking their lives to save someone's coffee cup, but I still think it was nice.
posted by Debaser626 at 10:27 AM on July 11, 2013

The CNN video has an interview.
posted by Eideteker at 11:12 AM on July 11, 2013

Also, as a badass motorcyclist, I'm pretty sure this guy did it for badass motorcyclist points. (Though it never hurts to rehumanize bikers in the minds of cagers so that they hopefully stop absentmindedly trying to murder us.)
posted by Eideteker at 11:14 AM on July 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

The double guns at the end was the payoff.
posted by Rocket Surgeon at 11:15 AM on July 11, 2013

>I'm pretty sure this guy did it for badass motorcyclist points<

Why? Because it was there...

:)

(but I like your take on it)
posted by twidget at 11:38 AM on July 11, 2013

He sure gets credit for badass motorcyclist points from me. That was a tricky maneuver and he executed it well. I likely wouldn't have made the same choice, but so what? The whole point of being an adult is that you get to make your own judgements about risk.

He didn't do it because he was rescuing a cup of milk, he did it because he saw an opportunity for a thrilling test of his skill as a motorcyclist, and judging by his reaction at the end he seems to have gotten exactly what he wanted.
posted by Mars Saxman at 11:49 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

I once left a small plastic cooler full of several bottles of breast milk on the top of the car, not realizing it until I hit 40 mph, heard some thumping on the roof, then saw it shatter on the road in my rearview mirror. I wish some motorcycle daredevil would have been there to save my ass that day. Hell hath no fury like a woman just told that hours of breast pumping are now evaporating on asphalt.
posted by zakur at 11:50 AM on July 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

My wife once left her set of keys on the roof of our car. We drove all the way from Weehawken New Jersey to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn when we noticed some rattling on the roof and pulled over. The keys were still there.
posted by monospace at 12:48 PM on July 11, 2013

Yeah, Utah has some "boring landscape" for driving through

Utah valley might not be all that great, but go up the canyon, and it's beautiful, heck going in just about every cardinal direction eventually yields some pretty breathtaking scenery.
posted by PipRuss at 12:58 PM on July 11, 2013

Once it happened with me.
posted by smartchoice at 2:24 PM on July 11, 2013

She actually says, "My daughter," by which I think she means her daughter left the cup there and not that the contents of the cup physically come from her daughter.

Ah, I also was confused. But I thought she said "that’s my daughter" meaning the person on the motorcycle was her daughter and she was pulling a silly stunt, and I couldn’t figure out why no one else had mentioned this.
posted by bongo_x at 9:47 PM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]