metal vs. flesh

ok folks, we all know cars are the natural enemy of the motorcycle rider.

i have totalled two bikes, both times a vague driver was at fault, both times i had nowhere to go but down.

i will tell all over a couple of posts, but please, if anyone has experience in this area please contribute, because you might help someone else cope with what is normally a pretty ugly event.

thanks :D ads.

the most recent get off i had was coming home from night school.

was about 8.30, and was a bit cold.

i decided to put my "wet" pants on but not because it was raining, just cold.

so off i go after a quick cigarette, cruise home to a nice meal and a heater.

about maybe 3 kilometres from home, i was following a car. giving about 2 seconds gap, i was in no rush.

things were fine and dandy, notice this car pull up at a cross intersection, he is giving way.

so the car goes past and as im coming through i hear this guys engine revving higher. look to my right and there is a headlight just about on my right leg.

so im like, $hit, im coming off here. from previous experience i relax up. there are no parked cars off to the side of the road, so if i kind of roll towards the gutter, i should be ok.

big whack happens, and im off. skating along the ride, which isnt an unpleasant experience, just hoping the bike doesnt roll on top of me.

so im looking for the bike while im rolling finally i see its headlight.

everything stops, and all is ok. thats when i decide to get up and move off the road. big snap as i stand up, my right leg is sticking out at a right angle to my body.

so i think this cant be good, and continue hobbling over to the gutter.

insert high adrenaline levels here.

i think ive broken my ankle, but i was a bit groggy, so i wait for the paramedics to show up.

thats when i realised the damage was a bit more substantial.

basically, the leg took the full impact of the car. the impact side of the bike was only dented where my knee had pushed the tank in a little bit.

all the damage happened when the bike was cart wheeling through the air, and as a result the left side of the bike was pretty crumpled.

a large section of my tib and fib were exploded by the blow inflicted from the car. i had a 17" tibial nail inserted down through the bone to hold my leg together.

the injury is over 8 months old, i still cant walk or drive.

what i can do now (finally) is take a shower, make a cup of coffee, sit for more than an hour in a chair without being in chronic pain, and sleep like a normal person.

luckily, i was dressed appropriately, and only had abrasions from when the rear wheel of the bike spun up on my back (large bruise, but cant remember it happening), and a small friction burn on my left knee.

my new shark helmet (4 weeks old) served me well, for what was a pretty heavy hit, although i was disoriented (thought i was facing the opposite way to what i was), i didnt end up with a head injury.

so there you go. hopefully some of you guys could offer your experiences, on the more sobering side of being a rider.

ads.:D

I have never had contact with a car that caused me to go down.

I can say that the stuff I learned in the MSF course has saved my butt on more than a few occasions.

I have replaced one of the white headlight bulbs with a yellow bulb. I have yet to have soneone pull out in front of me. (knocks on wood) The yellow grabs their attention.

I can honestly say that I have never went down, or been in a wreck. But my boyfriend on the other hand...

It was roughly 8:00 pm, and he was headed home from riding. About a mile from his house a 70 yr old man turned into his driveway (in front of my boyfriend).

My boyfriend had no place to go but straight into the guys passenger side fender. He got thrown 20 ft over the front of the car onto the asphalt, then slide 10 ft into the ditch.

He had 3 compound fractures in his upper left arm. Which now leaves a 8 in scar down his arm.

He spent 3 weeks in a coma, along with several months in the hospital and physical therapy. Not to mention, he would be dead right now if he was wearing a helmet... Yes I said that correctly. While in his second week of his coma, his brain swelled beyond its limits. He had a craniotomy, leaving another scar from his left ear simicircled to the center of his forehead.

Basically, things can always be worse than you think.

I went down at one of the local track days. I was following behind a person when we were coming into a hard left turn so he layed on the brakes. Unforunately during this mornings tune-up while replacing his brake fluid, he forgot to seat the front brake fluid resevoir cap on right, so when he really crunched down on it, the lid shot off and smacked me on the visor. Brake fluid is NASTY shit, i tried to wipe it off once but it smeared and didnt help at all. Needless to say i was glad I had put the frame sliders on my bike this morning. It ripped off my left side body panel, but it was a fiberglass panel built for the track, so no big loss.

That has been my only accident so far with my motorcycles, besides the stupid shit you do while learning to ride :) id est: parking out of gear on a slight decline.

mmm, interesting about the yellow kennedy.

i was riding along a well lit street.

my bike only had one headlight. (of course the bike is dead now)

i did however have a yellow dainese all weather jacket on.

ho hum........... just my turn i guess.

by the way, glad none of you have come off , but civics bf's experience sounded like my first one.

guy pulled out from a parking space over double lines (supposedly no crossing of the double lines is allowed) and saw me half way through his hook/ u turn.

of course he stopped in the middle of the road as i came down on him doing 80 kph (i think about 50 mph??)

so similar to this latest one i realised i had no options but to stand up on the pegs and jump when i hit the car.

luckily, i missed the a pillar of his car and went over the bonnet on to the road and had a roll around.

i got up and this time everything worked.

that was about 8 years ago now, when i was a courier in melbourne.

i think the difference between my two was that once i was hitting the car (no injuries) and this time the car hit me (loads more damage)

if people want to visit my site youre more than welcome.

it has lots of xray pics, pics of me and pics of the bike

url is www.geocities.com/robadsy

thanks for response, its great :D

ads.

I will agree with most people posted here about helmet wear. In my last medic course I learned in most motorcyle accidents the riders head will come in contact with the ground twice(average). I 've have hand 2 accidents. I walked away from both. I had proper gear on. 90% of the time I wear approved gear. (Today-its going to be 90 out so it will be t-shirt and helmet and hope the gods smile on me.:D )

I think most helmet related injuries come from half helmets. By design it only protets a small potion of the head and can cause neck injuries if you land upon upper back/chest or shoulders region. I wear a full face Arai and have a built in back protector in my jacket. By design my head will only go so far back when the lip of the helmet and protector meet.


Mt firend who was rear ended on his Sturgis Special last year<-thats a HD:smoka: had neck and head related injuries do to his lack of wear.

ok..call me a wimp...but

i was thinking about buying a 2002 Ducati something or other

but

after hearing your stories...

specially robadsy 's im rethinking it... i mean i have had 2 dislocated knees playing soccer and that is enough pain for me...

if i was to buy the ducati and only ride it around town and maybe into the city once and a while...i wouldn't be too likely to get in a real bad accident (i mean speeds dont go about 40)

Originally posted by SilverLotus340R
if i was to buy the ducati and only ride it around town and maybe into the city once and a while...i wouldn't be too likely to get in a real bad accident (i mean speeds dont go about 40)

Not flaming, but...
Motorcycle brand has very little to do with it, Ducatis are a very nice bike, however I think their price is a bit much.

Riding around town and the city is basically the only place you will ever get in a crash.

A 40mph crash can easily kill you. We have all heard about the local boy who got hit by a car that was turning and didn't see him. It is very easy for you to be in a much worse situation. However, if you are wearing full body gear, that is a different situation.

A good older friend of mine passed away about a year ago, from a motorcycle crash. He had raced Binellis all his life and could leave me behind in the twisties even with his 1500cc cruiser. He went riding alone one night and he slid out around a turn because it had gravel on it. He recieved very minor injuries and the bike was able to be ridden home by a the passerby who found him. About a week later he was being moved from the hospital to a physical rehab center, where he passed away from a blood clot that traveled form his knee to his lungs and blocked his oxygen flow.

Now, riding a motorcycle is like dancing basically, you always have to be aware of when the other cars are going to advance. You must have a very good general intuition (AKA paranoid) which will save you many many times.

I suggets to definetely buy a motorcycle, you will never regret it. BUT THERE ARE NECESSARY STEPS that you MUST take to become a safe rider. Ask SaturnTangerine for the list, she has it down pat :)

Originally posted by R1-rider

I suggets to definetely buy a motorcycle, you will never regret it. BUT THERE ARE NECESSARY STEPS that you MUST take to become a safe rider. Ask SaturnTangerine for the list, she has it down pat :)

*lol* Gosh, I guess I've got quite a reputation for Safety Goddess of AF! :p

Now if only I hadn't been pulled over for an equipment violation by a jerk-off cop. :( Sure, I was slightly out of your standards for my faceshield, but he was still being a butthead...

As for those accidents... I feel sick just thinking about them! :( I'm just glad I have my car to feed my speed addiction since it has a FEW more safety features to it... I've locked up my rear wheel twice now, and I still don't know how I managed to keep it up either time. I did take the safety course, but I got a big head and rode above my limits. I'm MUCH more cautious now, and I'm happier and feel safer for it.

Originally posted by saturntangerine


Now if only I hadn't been pulled over for an equipment violation by a jerk-off cop. :( Sure, I was slightly out of your standards for my faceshield, but he was still being a butthead...

As for those accidents... I feel sick just thinking about them! :( I'm just glad I have my car to feed my speed addiction since it has a FEW more safety features to it... I've locked up my rear wheel twice now, and I still don't know how I managed to keep it up either time. I did take the safety course, but I got a big head and rode above my limits. I'm MUCH more cautious now, and I'm happier and feel safer for it.

Why did the cop pull you over? What was the matter with your faceshield?

Well for the almost wrecking part.... Saturday night I was riding with my boyfriend. We went around a turn in Anderson where some dumb*** had just mowed his grass. I think I was running about 55, well anyways my rear tire slid sideways and so did I. Luckily I had on jeans or my legs would be worse.

I came out of it, with a few road rash burns. But mostly red clay. I was able to get my bike up and thank god it still ran. I learned my lesson on Saturday:

Speeding+ Motorcycle= PAIN

And it is not very fun.

thanks for the advice.. i think when i get the money (and guts) ill buy that ducati.

I really wasn't trying to emphasize that having a ducati had anything to do with it...i just wanted to know how high the risks were around town.

Thanks again!

I think ill stay around the motorcycle forum for more advice ;)

sorry i forgot to ask something...

SaturnTangerine: what was wrong with your equitment that you got pulled over??

Well, I had my face shield up to the notch right above my eyes, but I had my head turned down... I had hit a TON of bugs, and I felt unsafe riding with it all the way down since I wasn't sure if I would be able to see an animal run out in front of me...

At any rate, PA law states that you have to have protective eye-gear at all times, and this guy didn't feel like pulling over the speeding cars or bike in front of me, but instead chose to hassle me about my faceshield. I managed to get away with a written warning, but this area is a "nice" neighborhood, and as a chick on a bike at 10:30pm he chose to target me... :rolleyes: How lovely. So I got to ride home with a buggy face shield.

cops...can't live with them... can't live without them (sometimes);)

I've been a huge fan of bikes my entire life, helped my brother work on his when I was a kid *still am one, compared to most but hey*, and have plans to get one soon. I have every intention of taking things slow, getting a smaller low power bike, and attending the safety courses, etc.

But some of these stories scare me almost to the point of turning my back on motocycling. My mother was a nurse, so I heard a lot of these stories, etc, when my brother had his bike way back when, but they didn't phase me as much when I was younger. I love the sport, love the bikes, and can't wait to be able to just cruise, but it terrifies me to think that there is a bumper out there with my name on it :(

Originally posted by greenfoot
I've been a huge fan of bikes my entire life, helped my brother work on his when I was a kid *still am one, compared to most but hey*, and have plans to get one soon. I have every intention of taking things slow, getting a smaller low power bike, and attending the safety courses, etc.

But some of these stories scare me almost to the point of turning my back on motocycling. My mother was a nurse, so I heard a lot of these stories, etc, when my brother had his bike way back when, but they didn't phase me as much when I was younger. I love the sport, love the bikes, and can't wait to be able to just cruise, but it terrifies me to think that there is a bumper out there with my name on it :(

You sound VERY grounded, which is a HUGE relief I must say. Just remember your basics. Take the MSF if you can. Much of it focuses on how to keep yourself OUT of trouble for as much as you humanly can. Best of luck!

Originally posted by greenfoot
I've been a huge fan of bikes my entire life, helped my brother work on his when I was a kid *still am one, compared to most but hey*, and have plans to get one soon. I have every intention of taking things slow, getting a smaller low power bike, and attending the safety courses, etc.

But some of these stories scare me almost to the point of turning my back on motocycling. My mother was a nurse, so I heard a lot of these stories, etc, when my brother had his bike way back when, but they didn't phase me as much when I was younger. I love the sport, love the bikes, and can't wait to be able to just cruise, but it terrifies me to think that there is a bumper out there with my name on it :(

I Dont want to try to scare you at all, but the truth is accidents are very common occurences for motorcycles. There is an old saying for riders "there are those that have been in crashes, and those that are going to" and it is the truth, the only thing you can do is wear gear (helmet jacket pants) and you will more then likely walk away with nothing more then some bruisers. Don't let stories like ours turn you away, you could die the second you walk out your door everyday, don't let it influence your decisions. Just watch out for dem damn cagers!!

99% of the time, a rider who is aware, focused and riding within his abilities will not make the mistake of allowing someone to pull out in front of them. The old Hurt report found that most of the motorcycle vs. car accidents were cages turning left infront of/into the bike (who had the right of way). Anticipate, focus and expect everyone to do the most stupid thing they possibly could do and 99% of the time you'll be able to stop in time, flip them off and ride home shaking from the adreneline ;-)>
hth,
Bill:bandit:

I have a really bad story. It didn't happen to me, but my science teacher a while ago.
He was riding home one night(late) on his motorcycle, when this drunk driver coming the other way starts drifting over to his(my teacher's) side of the road. So the thinks, "Oh, my god. That guy is gonna hit me." He had two choices: hit a tree at 50 on a motorcycle or try to avoid the guy. He chose the latter and tried to avoid the drunk. But he wasn't quick enough, and the drunk t-boned him and shattered his leg. My teacher went flying through the air, and landed quite a distance aways. Luckily, someone saw it happen, and called an ambulance. If that person hadn't called, he would be dead. So he went to a hospital, and had major leg almost-reatatchment surgery, and had to stay in the hospital for over a month. He now has one leg a little shorter than the other, but other than that, is thankfully ok. He's also the coolest teacher ever:)

Originally posted by saturntangerine
At any rate, PA law states that you have to have protective eye-gear at all times...

lets say you had the shield up but had sunglasses on - would that be legal? (i live in pa and just bought a bike)

Originally posted by fortyoz2eric


lets say you had the shield up but had sunglasses on - would that be legal? (i live in pa and just bought a bike)

In the fine-print, no, but the cops will usually let you get away with sunglasses or eye glasses. The eyegear is really supposed to be "shatter-proof" or "resistant" but the Hardley Ableson guys can wear beanie brain buckets with sunglasses, so why can't everyone else? :)