‘The Vespa’s an interesting little puzzle. There are no hard scrapes, no smears of foreign paint, as there normally are when two vehicles collide; the damage to the front mudguard and left-hand foot rest and the impacted earth are consistent with the Vespa sliding along the road, off on to the verge, and down the slope. The tyres, especially the front one, are badly worn and with very little tread. There’s a dent in the rear mudguard, but apparently of little consequence. So the picture seems to be of a bike that’s not looked after and a driver who loses control and skids. But the road was bone dry and the marks on it say the bike wasn’t moving fast. So why should the rider suddenly lose control? ‘Suppose it wasn’t an accident. The easiest way to ensure a powered bike crashes is to come up behind in a car and push hard against the rear mudguard at an angle. Get it right and the driver hasn’t a hope in hell. But with that scenario, there’s crushed and powdered paintwork on the bike and usually the mudguard is pushed hard into the tyre.
