Got into accident today

Side swiped a truck as it was backing out of its driveway. You can see that I tried stopping by the top cowling appearing in the view.

I was going to record my next journey, but never knew it would end up like this. My reaction time was almost instant when I saw the truck, but it was too late.

Had the accident at 12:04pm and was taken to ER via ambulance. I didn't get out until 7pm. I had some roadrash on my right knee and behind te thigh. Left leg has rash on right side just below the knee.

:banghead: :banghead:

http://www.livevideo.com/video/AE8B6B77B9174E3CB6F39646E3CDF367/side-swiped-by-a-truck.aspx

Damn man, glad you're okay. What does the police report say? Are you gonna get screwed over?

I'm glad you are alright. Have you shown the police your video as evidence? The other party has to be listed at fault. If not, you can challenge the accident report. That video footage will work heavily in your favor if it comes to that.

I'm glad I had the video on today. I'm doing better, but I won't be walking normally any time soon until the swelling goes down. I can hardly bend my knee.

The truck just kept coming out and something is telling me I should've just let go of the brake and try to lean it hard left. One reason I didn't do that is because I knew my tires were not fully warmed up yet and I didn't want to lowside and slide into the truck. I was probably going about 10-15 mph when I collided with the truck.

My bike still starts up--I just checked. :licka:
Now I need to see if the alignment is screw up or not.

Fault is going to be a bit sticky I think...if the truck had backed out while you were in view of the driver, it would be different...but they were already out there when you came into view...in this situation the law says they now have the right of way, and it's up to you to do what you need to do to allow them to finish. They are not obliged to stop and let a cycle sneak behind them...for practical purposes the law gives a cycle the same amount of road as a car...which can work for you or against, depending on the situation.

In this situation, a car could not legally fit behind the truck without crossing the centerline (assuming the truck had stayed put), so a bike is not allowed to do it either, even if there is room for it. On any roadway with driveways and limited viewing distance, it is up to you to anticipate this sort of occurance, and yeild right of way in this situation.

You may be found at fault, I'm afraid. Just giving you the legal view of it.

Glad you weren't hurt worse....a friend of mine had the EXACT same thing happen, but he was moving much faster, knocked him off and across the road, guy's car crushed his leg and required tons of pins and screws and grafts and PT to fix, he still limps...

First off, I'm gald you hear you are essentially ok Rubix, as it could have been much worse than some road-rash.

I'm not sure what the laws are where you are Jeff, but that truck failed to yeild the right of way, so he's at fault. Had the truck backed out into your lane going with traffic (not perpendicular to it), and you hit him rearender style, then most states would find you at least 50% at fault. Since he didn't "merge" with the direction of traffic, he was essentially blocking the road, which is illegal.

Rubix, can I ask you a question. Where was your attention at the moment you saw the truck backing out? As I watch the video, I would have layed on the horn and swerved into the oncoming lane to go around it. You had a clear view of the road ahead and there was no traffic coming. Also, were you exceeding the speed limit? It looked like you were going at a good clip (55-60'ish maybe?). That would factor into fault as well, as the truck driver could state that you were speeding and he didn't expect you to get to him so fast. I believe this should be a lesson to you that you have to ride like you're invisible, because to most cars you are. I use my periferal vision and constantly monitor what is going on around me to avoid such incidences. I hate to say it because I wasn't there, but it appears this accident happened, at least in part, due to unnattentive riding.

Again, I hope you (especially) and your bike are ok, and keep us posted on your recovery.

I am saying that regardless of the other vehicle's actions, it falls to you to anticipate and be prepared to react to any hazard in your lane, especially when there is an obvious hazard such as multiple hidden driveways along a limited sight line. In this situation, the law says that even the posted speed limit may not be prudent. Don't ask me how I know....:(

Going into an oncoming lane to avoid a hazard is also not only illegal but dangerous, especially here where the oncoming lane is hiodden from view. I know many people who have been ticketed for AVOIDING an accident by going into the oncoming lane....police do not consider it to be an acceptable move, and will ticket you for it if they see it.

As a truck driver, we are trained in multiple scenarios and what the law and the liability courts say about each. Unfortunately, the best course of action in most situations is to hold your lane, brake as much as possible, and get a piece of the other vehicle if you can't stop in time.

The reasons are simple. If you swerve into oncoming, and hit head on with another vehicle, if you survive, it's your fault. There is never any circumstance that makes travelling on the wrong side of a double yellow acceptable. If you cause an oncoming vehicle to wreck trying to avoid you, it's your fault. If you go right, and crash into the ditch and roll the rig, it's your fault (report will say you lost control of your vehicle with no vehicle impact...courts and insurance reads that as your fault)...

If you stay in YOUR lane, do all you can to stop, and end up hitting the other vehicle, you did everything you were required to do, and the other vehicle is there as evidence as to what happened. Otherwise in the above scenarios, nine out of ten times the primary vehicle will leave the scene, and have no responsibility placed on them.

Just before coming around that curve, there was a yellow caution sign. Anyone see what it said?

I'm just saying if he uses this as evidence, I would not try to say you were going to try the wrong side of the road to avoid it. That will bite you in the butt. That makes the action incorrect and your fault for even being in that position. You need to downplay that aspect. It won't play well.

Most people will lock a brake in a panic stop even if they don't mean to, I didn't hear that, which they may interpret as you intended to continue around him. Be prepared for that question. Did you leave any marks?

I'm not trying to assign blame, I'm just telling you from experience how they think and how the insurance is going to question it in an attempt to lay blame.

This is like when you are backing out of a parking spot with a large vehicle next to you, so you can't see what's coming. All you can do is come out slowly, and hope that whatever is coming will see you. But once a person sees that you are backing up blind and identifies the situation, it falls to them to stop and allow you out. Otherwise we could just hit people in parking lots all day and it's their fault. A person can only do what's reasonably expected in an unsafe situation, and then it falls to the other drivers to see what's happening and react.

There is blame to be laid on the other driver, I didn't mean to make it sound as if there is not....but just because they were backing out into traffic doesn't automatically make it their fault.

If you came around that curve and there was a police car in the road blocking it because of an accident, it seems you would have hit it also. Think that would be their fault? I'll give you a guess what they'd say....

I was in sixth gear cruising at 4krpm, which is probably 40-45 actual mph when you include the speedometer error. I think by the time I hit the car I had slowed to 15-20mph.

I believe I should squeezed the brake more since I think I didn't squeeze it as hard as I could fearing that it would slide.

sorry for the accident dude. i could quote laws from down here but they won't apply.

we have a general rule that you need to be at a speed enabling you to be able to stop. so never ride faster than you can see to stop.

we also have a rule which is basically " i did it to avoid hitting him" so if you crossed the double white lines to avoid the truck its ok IF you don't cause another stack.

i reckon you had time to brake. i know my bike has good brakes but you should have been able to pull up. did you not brake heavy thinking he may stop?

since I was hauled off to the ambulance, I didn't get time to exchange information with the other guy so the police wrote up a report. I will be able to see what he wrote down and I can go from there.

You all have valid arguements. Which means it will depend on which officer worked the scene. If I were working the scene, there would be no tickets written to either party(careless operation, fail to yield right of way, etc.). In this particular case, I would place the driver of the truck at fault. My reason for that would be that the truck kept backing out and never stopped. State laws do vary, as well as from town to town if you wanted to get into the particulars. But here is my two cents worth. Do i think there was a bit of speeding, yes. Do i think the driver of the truck could have been more alert, sure do. Which this is the reason I would not write any tickets, because the insurance hike on whoever eventually is listed at fault will be payment enough. Contrary to popular belief, not every police officer is out to ruin somebody's day. (We don't get paid enough for that.)


In reply to jeffcoslacker's last line..
We had a case down here which i will not get into but their was an officer listed at fault while driving down a straight road blue lights and siren (maybe 40mph) and a different vehicle turned left (failing to yield) striking the patrol car. Different story, maybe another time...

If any police officer tried to ticket me for using a clear oncoming lane to avoid hitting someone, I'd fight that ticket to the Supreme Court if I had to. A law stating there is no circumstance allowing use of the oncoming lanes is rediculous (I'm not saying that's not how the law is written, I'm saying it's a stupid law that needs to change). What if a tree had fallen in the road. Do you have to stop, turn around and backtrack to find an alternate route on another road to get past the tree? Should you break out your swiss army knife and cut the tree up before continuing? I can't believe any person with more than two brain cells to rub together would say you should have stayed in your lane and crippled yourself t-boning the other car when the oncoming lane was clear of traffic and open as an escape (watch the video again, the camera had a clear view of the road ahead and there was no traffic coming). If that truck would have been pulling out, rather than backing out, he would have had a clearer view of on coming traffic. In Michigan , the vehicle entering traffic has the burden of making sure it is safe to enter the roadway. Traffic has the right to expect a clear plath, and is only required to maintain a speed that is prudent for the conditions present. It was a clear sunny day, so traveling the posted speed limit would be considered a safe and prudent speed. I still say the truck is 100% at fault for the accident (he failed to yield the right-of-way, and Rubix hit him because of that fact) but laws may differ where you are. If the law is written that you cannot enter the oncoming lane to avoid someone, then Rubix did everything he could do to avoid it. In Michigna, had the truck pulled out and started moving in the direction of traffic, then Rubix would have been at fault if the truck was straight in the lane and moving forward when he hit it.

Yeah, there's a lot of road with curves and driveways like that around here...most are half circles, so they can always pull onto the road facing out...but I still ride like there's going to be a car coming out of every one of them...my riding buddy has wrecked twice now due to cars pulling out of driveways like that...he's not as paranoid as I am, and it shows :lol: one time he crossed into the oncoming lane to go around them, but then found himself on the gravel fanned out from another driveway on the opposite side of the road, and now trying to turn back into his own lane on reverse cambered pavement, went down and went for a slide...:shakehead

Moss, I think you're right...they might just forget the citations and let them work it out between insurance...that's why I was saying be prepared for the questions the video is going to bring if he uses it....

just an update for you guys.

I'm doing a little better, and working from home. I can actually connect remotely to my computer at work to send emails, what not.

The swelling in my knee has gone down enough so I can barely define my patella from the rest of my knee. Hopefully it'll go down quick enough so that by the time I get the police report I can start figuring out what to do from there.

I'm currently shopping for riding pants, which I think would've minimized the injuries from that accident (though may not prevent it, would have to change something in my head to prevent future similar accidents :licka:).

It's always a humbling experience to get knocked around to realize how vulnerable we are.

Glad you are feeling better. Hey, where was your camera mounted? It seems pretty low, which also makes your speed look higher than it actually is...there is a rule of perception that follows viewing height above the road...I forget the actual formula, but if you ever put a video camera on a dashboard, it looks like you are hardly moving, even if you are really gettin' it...that's why in movies and TV they mount them low behind the front wheel and such...even at lower speed it looks like you're really hauling ass...same reason go-karts seem so damn fast when you're driving them, even if they only go 25 mph or whatever...

If you've ever ridden in a semi, from your vantage point some 8 feet or so above the road, it seems like the truck is barely moving...it's very strange and takes time to get used to, 65 mph feels like about 35-40 in a car...they say it may be a factor in SUV accidents also...the higher driving position make the driver's perception of their road speed to be about ten mph slower than they are actually driving.

the remote camera was mounted right above the front wheel, taped to the front fender. doing that actually makes leans seem sharper than they really are too. I can't wait until I'm all healed up and able to walk.

The itch to go riding is already coming back.

I'm thinking to myself... all I really need is my hands and left foot to go riding.. the right foot isn't really necessary since we use mostly front brake..

i actually rode with my left knee all bunged up! i had dislocated it and had to get to work to fill in some papers. this was during the olympics in 2000 so parking was a real problem.

so i put my crutches, which folded in half, in a backpack, got on the bike with a full leg brace on and started it. once started and in first gear, i took the brace off and put that in the backpack. off i go to work but concentrating on putting my right foot down instead of my left.

it was a struggle to balance, keep the clutch in and pack my bag but i did it.

Rubix, I'm glad to hear you're felling better and itching to ride again. Be smart, especially if you're a new rider, and wait until you're healed more to ride again. Also, use all of the lane to widen your field of vision. When I'm going through a right hand sweeper with limited sightlines/multiple driveways, I ride in the left 1/3 of the lane (and the right 1/3 in a left hand sweeper), to give me a better angle to see farther up the road and make me more visible to anyone pulling out. .

I agree 100% with you about the height/speed perception Jeff. My sister, all 5 ft/100lbs of her, is a truck driver, and I've ridden with her. I thought to myself, we're never going to get there at this speed you twerp, step on it. I glanced over and we were doing 10-15 mph faster than it felt. She stated the exact thing you said, that it takes getting used to. Although this may be a small factor in SUV accidents, I think the real factor in those accidents is the driver's superiority complex. They are just more aggressive and for once in their measly little pocket protector lives have a physical advantage, so they act like the Terminator and will "crush you" if you get in their way.

rubix, how many days do you have to turn in your accident report to your insurance company? I only ask this because in S.C. you only have 15 days to turn the green copy of an accident report in to your insurance or your license goes under suspension. don't know how other states work, but I wanted to throw that out there in case it's similar where you are.

the police report will probably be available today-I called them yesterday and the one who wrote the report didn't turn it in yet.

I got liability only for my plan, so unless the other party submits a claim, I don't think my insurance will have to do anything.

When I get the report, I'm going to let the lawyer take care of it.

I hope the forks don't need alignment.. I only have scratches on the bar ends, passenger footpegs and exhaust..

That's good. Keep an eye on your insurance though. Even if you're not listed at fault, they may try to sneak one past you. I had to call my insurance company when they listed me at fault after the report stated I was not at fault.

i had a similar story in a work vehicle. (keep in mind we drive on the left) i had a @#%#$#^# try to overtake me on the left as i turned left in my work truck. my rear step tore the front end of his car completely off. it was so funny seeing the front bar ripped off and as we surveyed the damage, the front headlights fell off in unison and smashed on the ground.

his insurance company kept coming after me personally for years after. he kept claiming it was my fault, but i had photos and a witness. still every year i'd get a phone call from some loser trying his luck. ended up now when they try, i don't even bother explaining the accident. i just respond with a two word response f off! been going for 5 years now

I'm currently on personal injury leave from my company. I have a doctors note for me undergoing physical therapy treatment for the next 2 weeks.

as for the bike, medical insurance, and auto insurance, I handed it over to a lawyer who'll take care of that for me for 50% of the gross recovery.

I'll just be sitting at home for a while.

Here's just an update.

The police report stated the other party at fault for failing to yield right of way to me. The other party's insurance company paid me $4200 for my bike and I get to keep my bike. I am selling it for $2500 and have already had some people come take a look at it. That will net me with $6700 to spend on a new 650R.

My insurance is unaffected or they seemed indifferent that my bike is now salvaged so my insurance remains unaffected. =)

I'm still recovering from my knee as the meniscus was bruised and there is still swelling going on in my knee. I'm wearing a knee immobilizer and elevating it after seeing the orthopedist.

Hopefully I'll be able to start riding again before Christmas =)

Pics: http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h195/rubix777/Sell%20500R/

thanks for the update Rubix, and glad to hear you weren't found at fault. Keep working on that knee, and you'll be up and riding in no time.

I like it when it works out good.

My friend was riding his 2002 Sportster a few years back, a lady in front of him signalled right, moved over as if she was turning, then suddenly tried to do a u-turn just as he was passing her:banghead: , he slammed into the side of her car and went over her hood...got bumped up a bit, nothing serious, but the bike's front end got wadded back into the frame, front wheel (alloy) broke, forks and trees destroyed, bent handlebars, small jink in frame downtube, etc.

Clearly her fault entirely, there was no doubt or suggestions otherwise...

So the insurance paid the bike (total loss according to estimate), he bought it back for $1500, paid off the loan, got an entire front end (forks, trees, wheel, tire, brakes, etc) for $600 from eBay, bought some new bars, had a guy we know repair and paint the frame, and he ends up with his bike back for about $2500, and no more payments:iceslolan ...I've ridden it since, you'd never know anything happened.

Several years ago George, a friend of mine, was turning left at an intersection while on his motorcycle. He hit a car while going maybe 15-20 miles per hour. The head trauma and result is that this 35 year old computer professional now has the mind of a five year old.
Please motorcycle owners, wear a helmet.

Car Insurance Phoenix (http://www.choicearizona.com)

the person that came to look at it gave me $2500 cash today and we transferred the title to him.

all I'm waiting for now is for me knee to heal, then I should be heading to the dealership to get me a brand new 650R.

I suppose in the mean time I could have the riding pants on order.

You should of jump since u stopped a little bit you wouldnt of been rushed to the er but your bike would still be totaled. :frown:

I got rid of my 95 Katana 600 for exactly what happened to you... before it happened. Glad you're ok dude. Where I am there's too amny jerks on the road that don't look, and probably could care less... they're in their SUV and you are of no concern to them. Almost bought a 04 Interceptor, but some poor bastard got nailed on a Harley just in front of me as I was leaving to pick it up.

That's when I bought my 70 Camaro instead.