| Author | Message | ||
     Dbird29 |
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,680196996,00 .html Price of loving motorcycle: a broken body By G. Don Gale Sell your motorcycle! Give it away. Push it over a cliff. Motorcycles are disasters waiting to happen. They're like drugs: The temporary thrill is not worth the long-term danger. It started with shoddy work by a Utah contractor where Salt Lake's Foothill Boulevard merges onto I-215. The incompetent contractor left an unsafe bump on the left side of the road crossing a bridge. Careful drivers dreaded it. The contractor's incompetence was compounded by careless UDOT inspectors who ignored the imperfection. (In a tacit admission of culpability, UDOT repaired the bump last week — too late to ease one man's constant pain and a young family's crushing financial burden.) During an evening rush hour in May, a Jeep in the left lane hit the man-made bump. The Jeep's short wheelbase, speed and torsion combined perfectly to pop the hood, blocking the driver's view. The driver reflexively hit the brakes. Immediately behind the Jeep, the driver of an SUV saw the hood fly up, saw the brake lights and instantly reacted by slamming on his own brakes. Behind the SUV was a motorcycle ridden by my grandson-in-law. He could not see the hood fly up on the Jeep or its brake lights. He could not even see the Jeep. When the SUV squealed to a stop, he hit his own brakes, but the laws of physics were against him. He tried evasive action. On his left was the bridge railing; on his right was an oblivious driver on a cell phone. The young cyclist put the machine on the ground, as he had been taught. His helmeted head hit the rear panel of the SUV, leaving a helmet-shaped dent. A motorist stopped to help the young cyclist. Both legs were broken above the knee. A bone protruded from the flesh of his left thigh. His right ankle was twisted and mangled. Skin along his right side was scraped raw. The good Samaritan leaned over the broken body. The cyclist's cell phone rang. The Samaritan picked it up: "Hello." "Who's this?" a voice asked. "There's been an accident. Do you know a young man on a motorcycle?' "He's my brother." "You'd better get here as soon as you can." The brother arrived at about the same time as paramedics. They stabilized the victim and rushed him to University Hospital. Doctors performed their daily miracles. They operated for 10 hours straight. They drove titanium rods into both upper leg bones to hold them together. They found bones from the front of the foot pushed around to the rear of the ankle. The Achilles tendon was torn apart. Doctors put a metal basket around the young man's foot and connected it with rods to bones of the lower leg. A highway patrolman arrived at the accident scene after the evidence had been moved aside for rush hour traffic. The patrolman finished his investigation, then went to the hospital. He found a young woman in tears, not knowing whether her new husband would live or die. The patrolman handed her a traffic ticket to give her husband "if he survives." Then the thoughtless, ill-equipped officer left. A couple of days later when the victim regained consciousness, a friend came by — also a motorcyclist. The attending doctor handed the friend a card. "Call me when you have your accident," said the doctor. "You mean if I have an accident." "No," the doctor replied. "I mean when you have an accident." Fortunately, the young man who broke both legs is home again. He is confined to a hospital bed. His young wife must be a full-time nurse in addition to being the bread-winner of the family. He faces more surgery in the weeks ahead. In August, doctors will repair his Achilles tendon. It will be many months before he can walk again. He and his wife love to ski, water ski and participate in other outdoor sports. Doctors say he may be able to participate in some of those activities again ... eventually. You may think it won't happen to you on your motorcycle. Think again. No one was more safety conscious than this young man. Whoever you are, when you climb on that motorcycle, you are one second away from disaster, pain and suffering that could last a lifetime. Think about it! Get rid of your death machine. G. Donald Gale is president of Words, Words, Words, Inc. He first rode a motorcycle when he was about five. E-mail: dongale@words3.com | ||
| Hughlysses |
Sad story. I hope one of our certified MSF instructors will comment on that line about "he put the bike on the ground as he had been taught". | ||
| Danny_h__jesternut |
My thoughts exactaly nowhere at any time was I taught to lay a bike down, never ever. If he had no time to react, then one must questin how close was he following the SUV he rear ended ? | ||
| Ducxl |
If he had no time to react, then one must questin how close was he following the SUV he rear ended ? eggzackery...A motorcycle is way more evasive and has more stopping power than any SUV.But i feel sorry for the poor fellow regardless. | ||
| Bcordb3 |
A sad story, indeed. Really reactionary by the doctor in question. | ||
| Dongalonga |
I highly doubt any doctor would have done that. Besides is someone going to get in a motorcycle wreck and think man Im glad I got that card let me give the good ol Doc a call while Im laying in a heap on the pavement. Some people overreact and make blanket statements when tragedy touches too close to home. I bet the woman who wrote that article didnt even have an opinion on motorcycles prior to this. Typical lets blame the motorcycle for the circumstances BS. | ||
| Ryker77 |
During an evening rush hour in May, a Jeep in the left lane hit the man-made bump. The Jeep's short wheelbase, speed and torsion combined perfectly to pop the hood, blocking the driver's view. The driver reflexively hit the brakes. Immediately behind the Jeep, the driver of an SUV saw the hood fly up, saw the brake lights and instantly reacted by slamming on his own brakes. Now for more truth and less fancy talk. The Jeep was driving too fast for conditions. It's hood latch should have not came un done. So that might be a manufactor issue. The Jeep driver over reacted and slammed on his brakes. SUV was driving too fast also and was also following too close. My guess is both cars were engaged in other items other than driving. Cell phone, eating, changing radion station.. The bike rider was also following too close and had not be trained or taken the time to learn how to avoid a wreck. A bike is only as capable as the rider. Most reports I've read are that most riders don't apply 100% braking power on the instant. They will roll into braking.. Which greatly INCREASE stopping distances. I often will be riding down a empty road and will pick a speed limit sign, for sale sign, power poll. And then do my best to stop before it. As if it was a car stopped in front of me. | ||
| Mikef5000 |
There are many things that seem wrong with the article. But, I can't blame the author, I'd be pretty torn up too. | ||
| Imonabuss |
Sorry, I do blame him for sharing his ignorance with the public. The rider "laid it down as he was taught"? If this was this guy's grandson-in-law maybe it was this guy who taught this kid pure idiocy. So the guilt is not in the motorcycle, it's in whoever told him to "lay her down", and in the head of someone who actually believes that laying a motorcycle down on it's slippery steel and plastic parts will stop it better than sticky rubber controlled by all the years of research at Pirelli and Nissan for example. That's the sadness of it all. Stupidity and ignorance are what hurt people, not products. Like it was the spoon's fault that Rosie O'Donnell is fat... | ||
| Essthreetee |
Like it was the spoon's fault that Rosie O'Donnell is fat...  | ||
| Spank |
Dongalong, I wouldn't be surprised if the doctor had done that. On more than one occasion my old doctor had given me lectures on the dangers of motorcycles and actually used the line "when (not if) you go down". But hey if nothing else this story makes you think a little. | ||
| Rd3501 |
I know this area well and the bump. But truth is the motorcyclist was not paying attention and driving to close to the SUV. SUV was driving to close to the jeep. But like all accidents the last one rear ending someone in a pileup is the one that is at fault for driving to close. Yes, feel sorry for the guy but driving anything these days is a risk. Maybe we should go back to walking, its pretty cheap and everyone could stand to loose a few pounds..damn all this fast food... | ||
| Zenfrogmaster |
I'm with Dongalong - no doctor would use a line like that. I can't imagine my oncologist handing out his card and telling strangers "Call me when you get cancer". Spank - your doctor, who has an established relationship is well within bounds to lecture you on riding - or smoking and drinking, for that matter. The entire story reeks of exaggeration or outright fabrication - every statement is tweaked for maximum reaction, from "new husband" to the Jeep's "torsion" and and apparently missing secondary hood latch. But that's the "beauty" of opinion pages. They don't require professional journalism or fact-checking - just opinions. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I wonder what G. Don Gale would have said if his grandson-in-law was hurt on a bicycle? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
We all assume risks. We all understand that riding takes skill. We all understand that it takes time and constant vigilance to improve these skills constantly. The young cyclist... I would say this statement says it all. Inexperience coupled with youthful indestructibility can result in this sort of outcome. A motorist stopped to help the young cyclist. Both legs were broken above the knee. A bone protruded from the flesh of his left thigh. His right ankle was twisted and mangled. Skin along his right side was scraped raw. Sounds to me like his injuries could have been much worse. No major head injuries. No spine injuries. No punctured lungs, spleen, kidney, liver, intestine. Sounds like an article written by someone who doesn't ride and doesn't really like motorcycles in a terribly not too objective frame of mind. | ||
| Rick_a |
I've never heard of that being taught anywhere. I had read several books on riding techniques including a couple from the MSF before I ever threw a leg over. That's just a really bad myth that some people unfortunately swear by...even after ending up in the hospital tore up and broken from head to toe (as a fellow coworker has). Some people get back on the horse, some can't, and others won't. That's just the nature of the beast. | ||
| Ryker77 |
My wife is in the cancer treatment field. So I always in a satire way. Tell people to keep on smoking and eating bad. It makes my house payment! ----------------- Doctors and medical people in the ER call motorcycles what? Donorcycles. Becuase the body gets all mashed up but the major donor organs stay in pretty good shape. None the less I think I'll sell my tuber. I want that new Buell! | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
I've never been told to lay it down in my 25 years of riding. MSF or the Military schooling I attended. What I see here is a total lack of competency by the contractor and the state for not keepin the road safe. Not just for bikers but cagers alike. I have seen plenty of bump signs here in Ohio and approach them with due respect. Was a sign posted or just a bad piece of ramp? | ||
| Steve_a |
One comment here: Any motorcycle can outbrake any SUV by a substantial margin. This crash was almost certainly caused by inattention, excessive speed, or following too closely on the part of the motocyclist -- or some combination of the above. From the description above, however, I would be willing to bet there will soon be a suit against the contractor and the road authority. | ||
| Ryker77 |
I'd use the shotgun lawsuit method. State, contractor, Jeep, Jeep driver, Jeep hood latch, SUV driver. Sue them all and let the lawyers just make settlement offers. However a smart lawyer would pass ALL blame onto the bike rider for "laying it down"  Beleive it or not a good SUV that has good tires can panic stop better that some bikes. Granted a expert rider on a sub 400lbs machine with sticky tires can sure stop a bike. But the average cruiser bike at over 600lbs with hard tires and a rider that has his legs tossed up on the "I'm Cool" highway bars - just can;t stop. Ever notice that most bike magazines don't publish or even test braking distance like they do on cars? I sure do??? | ||
| Rainman |
Hi, my name is Rainman and I am an MSF/Rider's Edge instructor. I teach the basic courses and the advance courses. I even taught in the old curriculum. Never have I taught a student to "lay down a bike" That occurs when someone locks up the rear tire and it slides out from under. In this case, it sounds like the front was locked and threw him into the SUV. Yes, doctors will tell you all sorts of things like "murdercycle" and "donorcycle" and crap like that. It's the God complex. | ||
| Tdiddy |
Why did the Jeeps hood pop open? I've jumped my Jeep at different speeds and my hood didn't pop. I've even driven 4 miles with the latches undone and all it did is flutter. I think this whole story is bullsiht. | ||
| Iamike |
My son was in a similar incident in Pueblo, CO last summer. He was following two vehicles on to the freeway when he looked over his shoulder to check traffic (big mistake). The first car, driven by a woman, decided to stop instead of trying to merge into traffic. The Durango in front of him stopped. He looked ahead just in time to realize that he was in deep s__t. He braked and and then swerved to the left. Luckily he was leaned over enough on his CBR that when he hit the bumper that it hit just beneath his foot. If his foot or leg would have hit the corner of the bumper I'm sure they would have been smashed to bits. His brake lever was bent completely back, his foot peg broke and his pipe was smashed flat. Of course the bike bounced off and landed on the left side breaking the mirror and scraping the plastic pretty good. He was lucky to have his helmet and jacket on. His bare skin, due to shorts didn't get it too bad but since he had tennies on his ankle got a good scrape. Lessons learned: 1) Keep your eyes on traffic ahead 1a) Be careful when you check over your shoulder. 2) Don't follow too close 3) Wear the proper gear He was very lucky that it didn't turn out worse. He used good a evasive manuever and didn't panic. | ||
| Dbird29 |
That's the Proficient Rider lesson in this month's MCN. On-ramps & head checks. | ||
| U4euh |
} often will be riding down a empty road and will pick a speed limit sign, for sale sign, power poll. And then do my best to stop before it. As if it was a car stopped in front of me. I thought I was the only one who did that when out riding in the backroads. Peeve's my wife to no end though! | ||
| Alchemy |
I am curious about the best action to take given the unavoidable rear-end collision? With the given that the collision is going to happen, what should the rider do? Going headfirst over the bars into the back of a stopped SUV sounds likely to result in a neck injury. Laying the bike down will surely increase the impact speed but the point of contact may not be the fragile head/neck area. I don't remember that in my Advanced Riding course this type of situation was mentioned. It was mostly about avoidance. | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
Sounds like he was following too close. If he was hard on the brakes instead of sliding acrossed the pavement he could have decreased his speed to the point of minor injuries. It is easy to coach after the fact and makes the point is irrelevant. I am not sure which of the motorcycle survival books I read stressed the importance of keeping the bike on the rubber for as long as possible. Keep your 3-4 second follow distance. Do not follow anything you cannot see over or thru. Don't travel in blind spots and drive like you are invisible. When in doubt give they chick on the cell phone a honk of your horn. | ||
| Dhalen32 |
Alchemy: I am also an MSF RiderCoach. We teach braking and swerving or some combination of both to deal with this situation. I always opt for braking first. This does a couple of things for you. It reduces the speed of the impact if you cannot stop in time and frequently, given the proper technique, you can get the bike stopped in a shorter distance than you thought was initially possible. If your "on board computer" determines that you will not stop in time then we advise releasing the brakes and swerving quickly towards a point where the hazard is not located. Unfortunately there is a human tendency to stare at the object you may collide with so we also teach students to look in the direction of an escape path rather than at the SUV bumper you want to avoid. In this scenario I would advise you to look towards the empty space between the vehicle and the guard rail to the left or the space between the vehicles in adjacent lane to the right. I would swerve in the direction of the largest potential escape path or the one in which I could swerve the fastest without losing traction. If you have given up on braking and elected to swerve you may still hit the vehicle but it will be a glancing blow rather than a perpendicular faceplant into a steel and glass tailgate. If you had braked first before electing to finally swerve then your speed will also be lower as you glance off the back of the vehicle. Each situation like this is dynamic and unique so there is no absolutely correct black and white answer to your question. However, research has shown that braking takes less time and distance if executed with proper technique, than swerving. Also remember to always separate braking from swerving as there is only so much traction available from that front tire. Dave | ||
| Steve_a |
I am curious about the best action to take given the unavoidable rear-end collision? With the given that the collision is going to happen, what should the rider do? Going headfirst over the bars into the back of a stopped SUV sounds likely to result in a neck injury. Laying the bike down will surely increase the impact speed but the point of contact may not be the fragile head/neck area. Braking, or braking and swerving, are the best things to do. You can slow a motorcycle at about .9 g using brakes effectively, slowing by about 20 mph per second of braking. Sliding on the ground will slow you less quickly than that, perhaps as low as 11 mph per second dependng on what you are wearing, and will also likely put your head into something hard like a bumper or wheel. You'll always hit faster "laying the bike down" than if you braked hard and effectively. If there's any room to the sides of the vehicle stopped ahead, you can get some extra stopping room by taking that. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I am curious about the best action to take given the unavoidable rear-end collision? I have talked to a few Motorcycle cops and fellow instructors about this and they all agree it is best to shave off as much speed as possible. In other words, stay on the bike, keep the rubber on the road and stay on the brakes. |
