| Author | Message | ||
     Djkaplan |
Firstly, no injuries to me except for a wrenched thumb and I hurt my back a little lifting my bike off the pavement. I am one lucky SOB. I've been a licensed rider for 30 years and this is the first motorcycle accident I've had involving a collision with a car. I was leaving the neighborhood I live in and and was following a big van with tinted windows. I was maybe 5 car lengths behind when the van slowed to a stop at an intersection with no stop sign. When I neared the interesection I was doing about 25 mph, the van hit the left turn signal and started turning left. I maintained my speed as the van cleared the intersection, but it revealed, in a split second, a car coming from the opposite direction that had apparently been waiting for the van to make his turn. As soon as the van started the left turn, the guy waiting made his left turn but couldn't see me coming up behind the van. All of a sudden, I was in the classic situation of a car turning left in front of me. Before I could even think about it, I was hard on the brakes and broadsliding into the car that was already half way through the intersection. I almost made it unscathed... just missed clearing the rear bumper with my front tire by 6 inches. The impact wasn't hard, but it surprised me with the force that it turned the bike over. The bike got pulled down to the right and I went sailing over the left side of it and went tumbling into the left lane - thank goodness there wasn't another car coming. The driver stopped immediately and came running over to check me out. I was already on my feet... and this is where it got weird. There was a police officer (who I know!) sitting with his wife on their front porch - he and his wife saw the entire thing happen. John, the LEO, immediately told the other driver he was at fault for 'not yielding to oncoming traffic in the interesection' and to wait by his car for an on duty officer. It was the police who called the police! I could not believe the damage I did to the car. There was a 6 inch rip in the rear bumper cover (it was a Nissan Sentra) and the cover itself was torn halfway off the car. I went to my bike expecting the worst, but the front wheel was still straight and nothing looked tweaked in the front suspension. The front brake lever and rear brake pedal were bent and a handlebar plug was trashed. I was most worried about the race pipe being dented and the Crossroads bars being bent, but there was just a little mar on one of the primaries from resting on the asphalt, and the bars looked fine. I had a little scratch on the tank from hitting the handlebars, but it wasn't too bad, and certainly didn't look out of place next to the other scratches it gets from road debris. After giving the bike the once over, I told the guy in the car that I wasn't going to claim anything on insurance and that physically, I was fine. The guy said he wasn't going to make a claim either and was just going to fix the car himself (he worked at a bodyshop). When the on duty police came to the scene, we told the officer we didn't need an accident report and as far as who was at fault... we both blamed it on the van. I certainly don't think the guy who turned in front of me was totally at fault; I should not have let myself come up on a nearly stopped vehicle so fast. We both had the same thing to say about the accident, "You came out of nowhere". The officer was dumbfounded that neither of us wanted an accident report. She made us exchangce addresses and insurance, and physically checked out licenses (without calling them in) and let us on our way. We shook hands and apologized for the situation, and parted ways with no tickets or insurace companies involved. I feel sorry for the guy for the damage I did, but I am overjoyed I came out relatively unscathed. On the same day, another local motorcyclist was killed and another was found dead after going off the road 2 weeks ago. Except for my sore thumb and back, I didn't get a scratch, and the only real damage on the bike happened when I tried to straighten the brake lever and it broke. In light of the way things turned out, I didn't think the other guy getting a ticket would make anything better, and he did stop and make sure I was OK when he could have just as easily run off. I hope I never see him again, though.... (Message edited by djkaplan on August 07, 2008) | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
What's the saying... "There are only two kinds of motorcycle riders - those that have gone down and those that will" | ||
| Froggy |
Just don't turn this newfound ability into a habbit! | ||
| Neurorider |
Buells are a tough bike! nice to hear it ended OK for both of you, and you've shared something for me to remind myself about and maybe prevent another wreck. Thanks! doc | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
Whew... that was a close one. Glad to hear you and your beautiful M2 came out with just some soreness and scratches. See you at Suches! | ||
| Greenlantern |
Glad you're ok. Too bad "They crash good!" is not a desirable marketing slogan in the motorcycling world. From the stories I have seen here Buell would have props on that one!  | ||
| Zane |
Sorry to hear about your crash but really glad you didn't get turned into road jelly. I know you don't feel like you're hurt but go see an doctor anyway. Little doubt you are fine but be on the safe side and make sure. | ||
| Nevrenuf |
dj, glad to hear it didn't turn out worse there buddy. be sure to take a lot of motrim or something to ward off the aches and pains of tomorrow. be sure to let us know how you feel tomorrow. | ||
| Bott |
good to hear you made out ok after such a close call | ||
| Oldog |
WOW Lucky is right, good on you I hope that nothing turns up later. | ||
| Road_thing |
Sorry to hear about any accident, but this one could have been much worse! Glad you're OK, dj! rt | ||
| Rich |
Close one, Danny, I'm glad you're OK. | ||
| Bbbob |
Glad you're OK, but you'll be very sore tomorrow. | ||
| Ulywife |
Danny - glad you are OK, other than the sore thumb. The situation you described is always my fear, be it on a bike or in my truck. We'll see you in October! | ||
| Prof_stack |
Good to hear that you're okay, but a strong pain-killer before bed might be a good choice for you. Next time you will expect a car to be there ready to turn in front of you. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Glad to hear the bike is ok, Danny. Don't want to paint that thing for the third time, right? Oh yeah, good to know you didn't get messed up either!  | ||
| Diablobrian |
Glad you came through relatively un-scathed! We are always at our most vulnerable when we are near home because we are so familiar with where we are and it can certainly bite you in the butt! | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
Yes glad to hear your okay. If anything I myself have learned something from the mishap. I'll remember this when I get into a similar situation. Thanks for posting and again, glad to hear you're okay. | ||
| Dynasport |
Sorry to hear about the accident. Glad to hear the damage to body and bike are minor. I know I am more careful again after my unplanned dismount a few months ago. Stories like this will hopefully help others learn without the experience of going through it themselves. | ||
| Bcordb3 |
Lucky guy. | ||
| Guell |
Glad you and your bike are ok danny! | ||
| Paint_shaker |
Dayum Danny... Be careful out there!!! Glad to hear you and the bike are safe. See you in October | ||
| Iamike |
Danny- Glad to hear you came out ok. Every once in awhile I have a close call like that and cuss myself for getting in a situation that I know better than to get into. p.s. Drew says "Hi" | ||
| M2nc |
Glad to hear you are okay. We almost had the same thing happen last weekend. Ferris, Twig and I turned right and started to accelerate onto a divided four lane highway. A truck pulling a horse trailer ahead of us, pulled into a left turn lane. Denise riding pillion with Ferris saw a Bronco coming head on with the truck pulling the horse trailer and start to turn in front of us. She signaled Ferris who finally sees the Bronco coming and locked up the brakes on the bike. I was second in line and started to slow down because Ferris was even though I could not tell at the time why. The Bronco never stopped even when Ferris was in sight. By the time the Bronco cleared Ferris and I were side by side stopped watching this guy cross in front of us. Good catch Denise, I would have hit the Bronco at over 35mph if she had not signaled Ferris to stop. | ||
| Rotzaruck |
I hope I never see him again, though.... I beg to differ, I suggest you watch pretty close! Glad you had a "nice" (relatively speaking you know) wreck and hope you don't realize more pain when the euphoria of just being alive wears off. I hope the other driver understands how fortunate he was to collide with a nice guy; I'll bet he does. I also hope you're through with that kind of stuff for another thirty years. Sometimes it's just not all that much fun. Rotzaruck! | ||
| Smoke |
keep a good eye out DJ!! glad you're ok. tim | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Glad nothing more serious happened. You must the be world's most laid back individual, most people would be out for financial blood over something like this. | ||
| Djkaplan |
Thanks for the kind words everyone. I never realized how much a post could mean until I read everyones responses. It really does make me feel better. "I hope the other driver understands how fortunate he was to collide with a nice guy; I'll bet he does." I think you are right. I received a call from him yesterday checking to make sure I was alright. I am fine and the bike is fine. I learned a few things that day, not only about traffic, but about myself. In the replay of the accident that kept going through my head for the rest of the day, I saw every mistake I made; allowing myself to get to close to a vehicle I was following, commiting myself to a direction I didn't have a clear view of, and not being cognizant of what was on the other side of the van. But I also saw everything I did that kept the situation from being a disaster; I was on the brakes without even thinking about it, and I rode that nag all the way to the impact without flinching or panicking. Still, I was lucky most of all. Thank you again, gentlemen and lady. | ||
| Smokescreen |
Damn, Danny! Glad you are ok. If you need anything just let me or one of the 3%er's know. Heal quick! Smokescreen | ||
| Kilroy |
Yeah Danny - we haven't met yet but I'm pretty close to you. Let me know if you need anything - Kilroy |
