A British tourist, Nathan Paul Molino (43 years old), died in a ravine at the 16.4-kilometer mark of the Tigawasa-Lovina road near the village of Tigawasa, Buleleng Regency, Bali Province. He was heading to Lovina on his Yamaha Xeon motorbike with a passenger named Timo André Matsuchk from Germany. They were using Google Maps to navigate their route. The app chose the Tigawasa-Lovina direction, an alternative road that is narrow, winding, with steep elevation changes and many blind turns.
When the motorbike, driven by Nathan Paul, was descending a road, he lost control, presumably due to brake failure. The vehicle then skidded and fell into a ravine.
"The victim sustained lacerations on his forehead, a skull fracture, and a broken left shoulder. He was pronounced dead upon examination at Paramasidhi Singaraja Hospital," reported Gede Darma Dyatmika, the head of public relations for Buleleng Police.
The passenger, 27-year-old Timo, survived the accident but sustained quite severe injuries. He is receiving treatment at Paramasidhi Singaraja General Hospital.
"Drivers who are traveling for the first time and lack sufficient experience should avoid this section of the route as it is dangerous. It's better to travel to Lovina via the village of Gitgit," explained Gede. He added that many similar incidents have occurred because the app directs travelers to this road.
The route is indeed quite challenging, and due to the elevation changes, your brakes can overheat. Keep in mind that if the braking efficiency of your bike suddenly decreases, you should stop, pour water on the brakes, or simply wait 10-15 minutes for the system to cool down a bit. This often happens on heavy bikes, especially if you are traveling with passengers on mountainous roads. However, it can happen on any bike on long, winding descents. When complete brake failure occurs, the brake lever feels like it sinks, and you completely lose the ability to stop.
In general, if you are navigating using Google Maps or another GPS, make sure it is choosing the optimal route for you. Sometimes, instead of a direct and wide road, Google tends to choose a winding, narrow, and rough detour, which is unlikely to be enjoyable. Sometimes such roads lead to dead ends that Google is not yet aware of.
Sources: compass, aksaratime
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