Your mother probably told you to look both ways before crossing the street, but one man didn't heed that advice before crossing the Isle of Man TT course seconds before motorcycles whizzed by at 180 mph, reports Visor Down. A collision at that speed would likely have been fatal to both the pedestrian and the rider who hit him.
The Isle of Man TT is the wildest race in the world. Each year, racers gather on the British isle to full send their bikes around the 37.7-mile road circuit. Some sections are wide open countryside, while others blast straight through town centers at unthinkable speeds. It's more like a paved rally stage than a MotoGP track. You wouldn't even think about wandering across a MotoGP track during a race. Even there, crazy stuff can happen. But a Facebook video shows a man in a pink shirt, arm sling, and no pants casually sauntering across the course at Bray Hill, just seconds before the blur of a motorcycle passes through the shot. The man then stops to argue with spectators, who are rightfully yelling at him for his dangerous stunt, before wandering off.
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Not A Bright Idea
The man in the bright shirt did not wander off without consequences. His unique form of dress (and lack thereof) made it easy for police to identify him from the footage, leading to his arrest. Christopher Crellin pleaded guilty to entering onto a closed road, provoking behaviour, and, as a surprise to no one, being drunk in public. He was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison, nearly the maximum sentence of six months, all because he couldn't be bothered to use the pedestrian footbridge conveniently located right next to where he chose to cross in front of speeding motorcycles.
I've never been to the Isle of Man TT, but I've worked a lot of stage rallies. I've personally shut down a stage because spectators wouldn't stay behind barriers or follow instructions to move out of an area where a crashing rally car would go. Events like rally or the TT still allow spectators to get closer to the action than any other form of racing I know, which is part of what I love about them. There's no reason to get any closer, even if you won't find yourself doing jail time for it.
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