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Message started by dssaak on 06/07/05 at 13:31:20

Title: First Time Going Down
Post by dssaak on 06/07/05 at 13:31:20

I always heard it was a matter of when and not if you would have to lay your bike down. I am now in the when column. How can they not see us???

I was traveling a straight road and someone in a pickup turned left in front of me to get to his driveway. If he would have kept going, I might have been able to get around him. When he did see me, he decided to stop the truck in my lane. I had no choice but to lay the bike down - fortunately it was NOT my 'new' Savage!

The bike came to rest just as it slid up to his truck. Slight dent on his quarter panel; the bike was not so lucky. I am sure the Insurance company will total it and screw me out of what it would take to fix it up.

I was able to walk away with minor bruising and a fair amount of road rash.

Watch for them because they sure are not watching out for you!

dk

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by jennifrb on 06/07/05 at 14:00:47

Oh that's a bummer! Sorry to hear about your accident, but glad to hear you walked away from it.
I tell my daughter the same thing, even when driving a car, you gotta look out for the other guy. Just because you see them, doesn't mean they see you.

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by Red_Wine on 06/07/05 at 14:57:34

Too bad to read about it :(

Did you smack the a$$hole????

I'm glad you could walk away from that, but keep riding, man

Best,

RW

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by sluggo on 06/07/05 at 15:13:00

first go get an attorney, then go to dr. wrack up the bills. make him pay pay pay. when the insurance totals the machine, offer to buy it back at pennies on the dollar. then deduct it from the settlement.

welcome to the "been down" side of life, it's scarry but survivable. just don't let the insurance carrier try to screw you around. remember they are there to pay for your "damages" not fix your machine, so make it costly.

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by red2k1 on 06/07/05 at 15:14:57

Quote:

Just because you see them, doesn't mean they see you.

Truer words were never spoken.

Real sorry to hear about your forced slide, but glad you are reasonably okay. Hope you will pursue his insurance company forcefully. Have been in more than a few of those kinds of crashes myself and they do take a toll on the body.

Recently, I installed one of those headlight flashers and it seems to help people judge the distance and speed of the motorcycle a little better. However, there are still far too many folks who simply drive in never never land.

Good luck and ride safe.

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by HawkEye1967 on 06/07/05 at 15:25:32

glad to see you walk away, sorry to hear it happend in the first place.

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by vroom1776 on 06/07/05 at 15:34:46

glad you're pretty okay. Keep ridin' and good luck with the insurance.

k

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by PerrydaSavage on 06/07/05 at 16:32:23

:(Whoaa ... I'm just glad you're OK man ...

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by SavageDude on 06/07/05 at 17:30:52

Sorry to hear your crash! But glad to see you walk away fron it. Just wondering, is this during daytime?? If it is daytime, is your highbeam on? Would that idiot see you better then? My MSF instructor told me to ride with the highbeam on during daytime, it seemed to get other drivers when I'm riding. Hope you get another bike and ride again soon.

SavageDude

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by cphilip on 06/07/05 at 17:34:17

Glad your ok....

but... the title of this thread made me think I was at the wrong site! ;)

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by Karen627 on 06/07/05 at 18:11:09

I am so glad you're all right.

You know what riders need? We need someone to invent a collapsible tire iron. Small enough to fit in the smallest saddlebag. When something like this happens, you take it out, expand it to full size, and smack the other driver in the head with it. >:(

As far as how they can not see us, I swear it doesn't matter if they do see us. Here's a screwed up thing that it never occurred to me to watch out for -- I'm heading down a busy road, and it's close to rush hour so I'm in the middle of a long line of cars (plenty in front, and plenty behind). There's a guy stopped in the oncoming lane, waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for a break so he can make a left. The car in front of me passes through the intersection, and the guy waiting guns it through his left turn, right in front of me. I stop short, locking the wheels, and barely miss hitting him. If he'd taken the turn any slower, I would have hit him.

And I was in my car.

Sometimes they see you just fine -- they just get impatient and figure they'll make you stop.

Ride safe, everyone. And remember the first rule of riding: everyone's stupid except you.

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by GITARZAN on 06/07/05 at 18:24:59

dssaak wrote:

I was able to walk away with minor bruising and a fair amount of road rash.

Watch for them because they sure are not watching out for you!

I'm glad yer OK.

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by bentwheel on 06/07/05 at 18:40:16

I feel for you brother. It's such a surreal feeling after you've been hit, isn't it. I was just rear ended on Saturday and walked away from it. First time in 36 years a car has hit me.

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by Savage_Rob on 06/07/05 at 19:41:03

Goin' down is a rush I don't want to repeat but probably will anyway at one time or another. However, anytime you can walk away it's a good day. Glad to hear you could. :)

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by Deb on 06/07/05 at 20:19:42

Glad you didn't get hurt. Gosh, I am going this weekend for my MSF classes and this scares me to hear this :-/

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by WD on 06/07/05 at 21:26:13

Glad you're okay. Bikes are replaceable, skin grows back (sort of).

Deb, don't let crashes spook you. It's a known fact of riding life. You "pay to play". And the road is always hungry...
-WD

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by DangMan on 06/07/05 at 21:55:45

darn :( Im sad to hear about your bike but happy that you didnt get totaled yourself.

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by Tony on 06/08/05 at 03:43:53

I am very sorry to hear about your incident. I hope the rash isnt to severe. sometimes even small injuries can cause a serious amount of discomfort.

Did the Police get called? Please tell me they ticketed the driver for crossing the center line as well as everything else. Insurance companies can be a real pain when the tickets dont get written. Also make sure your injuries are well documented (if they look bad take pictures).

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by Greg_650 on 06/08/05 at 05:27:14

dssaak wrote:

Good that you weren't hurt too badly. Sorry about the spill and injuries...road rash is tough too. Was the bike rideable after the spill?

The left turn in front of a rider is a classic. And all the driver was thinking about was getting home, most likely. Now, that you can look at this in retrospect, do you think that a headlight modulator would have given you more visibility?

Which bike were you riding? What time of day? Were you doing the speed limit?

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by dssaak on 06/08/05 at 08:20:14

Thanks for the kind words.

The trooper did give him a ticket for failure to yield. The fellow was Chinese and spoke little English. I am not sure he knew what the ticket was.

However, my insurance (Progressive) said they would investigate to ascertain my level of responsibility in the accident. Does that translate to higher premiums? I was pissed at the driver. I think I am going to be more upset with the insurance companies! Kemper is the other guys company. Does anyone have any experience with them?

I was on my '86 Honda Rebel 250 (did use it as my commuter). It was evening but still plenty of daylight. I always ride with the high beam on during the day and was doing under the speed limit. I started to brake when he started to nose across the lane. My first thought was he is not going to go. My second thought was he would keep going and I could get behind him. He did neither. In this case, I am not sure anything would have helped. I did ride the bike home. Left side is trashed and the handle bars are at 30 degrees from normal. It was in great shape for an '86 - 11k miles.

I have been riding a long time and took plenty of spills trail riding as a kid. One thing I know, pavement does not feel like grass or dirt!!

The wife and I rode the Savages last night, so I am already back in the saddle. It was a scary experience but if the alternative is not riding - no thanks.

I used to like to ride behind her but know I am

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by Michael on 06/08/05 at 09:30:37

dssaak:

Glad you are OK and still have other bikes to ride.

After a small crash last September with a spoiled little rich b**ch of 20 years old, in daddy's SUV , with a cell phone in one hand, and a Tim Horton's coffee in the other, I truly understand how you must feel.

I now ride as if everyone doesn't see me, or perhaps sees me, and doesn't give a $hit. I stay at least 50-feet behind any other vehicle, unless it is impossible due to congested city traffic.

I also assume that someone is gonna change lanes or turns in front of me, and adjust my speed accordingly.

When someone pulls up to the stop sign from a side street, I always assume they are going to dart out in front of me, so I slow down, and make eye contact.

Sometimes I think I am over careful, if there is such a thing. I just don't want to experience that awful feeling again. I bounced off that truck like a rubber ball.

The bike suffered only a broken windshield, and a scraped front fender. .....If I had not been wearing a helmet, i would not be telling this story today. I only got a scuffed elbow out of it, and was quite sore for a couple of days.

I had some old guy pull the old turn and stop in front of me, in the center of my lane last week. Bet ya his ears are still ringing. I followed him into the mall he was heading to, and told him that he should consider giving up his licence, for the safety of others. He denied he was at fault, even though his wife was telling him he was, so i let him have it. I got 2 words for people like that......".Public Transportation".....

Pre 1960 here in my area, you didn't even need a test, to get a licence. It was just handed out to those who were of age, and applied...Imagine the bad habits they taught themselves over the years....At least the kids today need to successfully pass a written and a road test before they can drive.. With the exception of of a few , like the one that hit me, I believe most young people are pretty good drivers. There are always going to be exceptions to any rule. A car, or any vehicle is a lethal weapon. Any little mistake can cost lives.

cheers

Michael

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by Tony on 06/09/05 at 04:22:33

I think what your insurance company is going to do is attempt to do it put most of the blame on the other driver. Your insurance company wins if they pay nothing. However, about 6 years ago I was involved in a car accident where I was the car traveling on a hiway at 8am. The other car ran a stop sign at a cross roads ( i had no stop and the speed limit was 55) the outcome was that (after lawsuites) My insurance had 20% responsibility due to the fact that... get this......
....
If i wasnt on the road i wouldnt have hit her.

she even made a plea of guilty for her ticket. Insurance companies suck.

Title: Re: First Time Going Down
Post by Savage_Rob on 06/09/05 at 06:35:25

And in "no-fault" states, they seem to try to go that route instead of burning any calories to get to the real cause. At least that used to be the case in Hawaii when I was home-ported at Pearl Harbor.