Foo - fooster down

On my way to work, Tuesday morning, riding the R1200 GSA up Kamehameha Hwy in Kaneohe, doing about 30mph, car at a stop sign up ahead on the right. He seems to be looking the other direction, but I have him spotted and will be able to react if he starts to pull out... getting closer and he looks left ... right AT me, or so I thought... so I think ....good to go... I stay on the throttle and get within 10 yards of him and he starts out across my line of travel. I see him moving (he apparently was looking right THROUGH me)...not enough time to brake, even with the GSA's ABS so I swerver to the left in a desperate attempt no to T-bone him... too late .. he catches my right rear pannier and I am down. Not sure how I came off but I know I landed on my right shoulder, then my head.

End state, Momo helmet did its job, no head injury. Aerostich Darien light did its job no uper body road rash. Levis did exactly what we know they will do, some road rash on my knees. Nothing could have protected me from the broken collar bone, three broken ribs, and partially collapsed lung.

Still at Tripler Hospital, hope to go home tonight or tomorrow morning. Feel pretty good considering. Everyone wants me to sell the bike, but this just makes me want to ride more.

100% his fault, but I have avoided this exact accident before, and I cant help shake the feeling that if I had been more defensive I could have avoided this jackass as well.

Not sure about the condition of the bike, will post some pics when I get to see it.

10 years of riding experience, beginner and advance MSF courses, and several track days. Sometimes the cages win.

t;

Dam that quite a crash, Glad your OK./ Alive

heal quickly dude! That could have been much worse.....
and make sure they give you an Rx for the good drugs.

Thankfully you are still here! And I hope you heal quickly. ribs suck, punctured lung sucks been there; but being here - most awesome. Get well soon!!!

Sucks about the crash, but glad to hear that you're still breathing!

Sometimes I wonder if people are just bloody blind?

Sorry brother, heal up quickly.

Ouch.

The same thing happened to me this past June. I thought he saw me, but he pulled right into me. I escaped with superficial damage and considered myself fortunate.

I've been hit more times than I care to remember by people that looked right through me. :mad:

I can't imagine a scarier incident than a driver looking directly at you and pulling out anyway.

Heal up soon.

Oh man! Glad you're not worse off but it sucks that the jerk didn't see you.

Good healing! Also, did they at least stick with you after plowing into you?

You'll be OK :thumb: next time just slow down and/or stop, not worth taking the chance that some dickhead (like the one you encountered) may cut you off. :) Well, anyways, your alive, and thats a good thing! :thumb:

Sorry to hear about the crash and the injuries, hope you heal up quickly. :(

Glad that your gear did its job though. :thumb:

Will the driver's insurance cover all the damages?


100% his fault, but I have avoided this exact accident before, and I cant help shake the feeling that if I had been more defensive I could have avoided this jackass as well.

When your head clears a bit, what do you think you might do differently next time? It's good to go back mentally and analyze our crashes.

There but by the grace of whatever Higher Power you believe in, could be any of us who go forth on two wheels.

On my way to work, Tuesday morning, riding the R1200 GSA up Kamehameha Hwy in Kaneohe, doing about 30mph, car at a stop sign up ahead on the right.

BTW, is it possible that the driver had the sun in his eyes when he was looking?

...Sometimes the cages win...

Hopefully you'll heal up quick. Perhaps, while you're healing up, someone with legal skills will be able to make this "win" hurt.

thanks for the thoughts folks,

sun in his eyes?? I dont think so but Will check next time I am in that area during the morning... i really doubt it though.

What would I do different? that is a tough question. I spotted the guy in plenty of time for me to stop. But he gave no indication that he was going to pull out. When he looked the other direction I prepared to grab a handful of brakes, but then he looked right at me. I wear a dayglo yellow Aerostich jacket and a super bright yellow Momo helmet. I guess if I was riding 100% defensively I would have slowed down enough to ensure I could stop if he started out... but I also feel that at some point we have to go past these guys.. I thought I had reached that point. I was just off by a split second.

the lawyers..HI is a no fault state... not that I know what that means, but given that my medical is free and I wont loose any income by being laid up, i only have pain and suffering to sue on.. maybe I could make an argument that this could negatively impact my career and my chances to be picked for full Colonel next year. It really could if I cant get back on the pull up bar for a while.

he did stick around. Last I saw of him the HPD had him for questions and he looked pretty distressed. I am sure his words were something like "I never saw him." :)

I've been hit more times than I care to remember by people that looked right through me. :mad:

+100

I feel THAT pain, brother!

I can't imagine a scarier incident than a driver looking directly at you and pulling out anyway.

Heal up soon.

A couple months ago I was coasting downhill on a smaller side street... I'm doing about 25-30 mph in the middle of the lane, wearing my cycling gear (BRIGHT yellow club jersey, etc... much brighter than the clothes I normally wear on my bike) when a guy in an SUV stopped at a stop sign to my left looks RIGHT at me, looks the other way, looks back at me again, then pulls out in front of me.


Left a bike-sized dent in his passenger door... nearly ended up in his wife's lap!

Watch out for them, because they're NOT looking out for you!

Ugh. All hail the Darien. Sorry you got tagged. I've had cagers do similar things to me, yet managed to avoid denting and bruising. Don't give a $(@* if they look at me, I'm rolling off the throttle and covering the brake anyway.

I wear a dayglo yellow Aerostich jacket and a super bright yellow Momo helmet.

Good thing you were wearing the gear in compliance with your base safety regs. This will be line of duty and the medicals covered.

Sorry about your accident, at least you are still here. It's always good to see a fellow motorcyclist who believes in proper protection: helmet, aerostitch...A few years ago a friend of mine had a terrible crash, he is now a paraplegic because of the accident. The doctors who worked on him after the accident noticed that he didn't have a scratch on his entire body, he had been wearing an aerostitch suit. Unfortunately the helmet and aerostitch were not quite enough.

Ouch, heal up quick.

Ugh, sorry to hear about the wreck. Glad you came out of it... better than you could have. Heal up quickly and correctly.

I've gotten to the point where I don't even bother looking at the driver. Usually the glass is too tinted to see anything, and them looking at me doesn't mean a damn thing anyway. I look at their front wheel. Much more telling.

That sounds so scary. :( heal up, dude.

Sorry to hear about that.Hope you heal well.

40+ years of riding motorcycles.They will try to kill you.Never assume the see you.In fact never assume they are awake and concentrating on their task.Always have an out.Always.I always hit 'em with the high beam.Makes some angry but life's like that sometimes.Don't give them an opportunity to kill you.

Glad to hear you're injuries won't prevent you from riding again.

Have you considered a headlight modulator (https://www.kisantech.com/index.php?cat_id=2)? I have one for the brake light on my Yammy Roadstar. It has greatly improved my visibility...worth every penny and easy to install. It's tales like yours that make me want to add the mod for the front end too.
keepin' the rubber side down :)
Tim

Yikes! Glad that you're able to post about it, though. As you say, sometimes these things come down to a split second. Heal up quickly!

Glad you are able to tell the tale. I haven't had a good attempt on my life yet this year and there isn't much riding time left in buffalo, so it has to be coming soon.

I'm so happy you are okay man. Get better soon so you can get back on the bike.

Couch

Bloody Hell! Best wishes for a quick and full recovery brother. I tell ya, it's truly amazing how many things motorists don't see because they're not looking for 'em: smaller cars, motorcycles, bicycles.... the smaller the 'threat' the less likely they are to notice.

I won't regale you with my own war stories but I hope that the other driver makes you whole again, at least as far as the GSA, your gear and whatever type of bump they factor in for P&S given your medical / lost time is covered by the DoD.

Of course, I've always wondered, does anyone know if the DoD / USG ever subrogates the medical and loss of productive time to an insurance carrier when a civilian causes physical harm to a military or government employee? I would think so, but never was personally connected with any incident where that may have been an issue during my years of service.


Have you considered a headlight modulator

As far as modulators go, I'm not a fan... My preference is a set of Motolights (https://www.motolight.com/), which I've got on both the R11S and our RT. While not usually a sucker for marketing spin, I think the Motolight folks 'triangle of light' really does make a motorcycle much more visible to motorists, even more than than a HD running a set of triple headlights if only because of the placement on the Motolights down below the headlight. The closely spaced double or triple headlights on HD 'Glides' nor single headlights even when modulated just doesn't seem to give folks in front of you a true appreciation for your distance and speed the way a more widely spaced set of lights do. On the down side, I wish they didn't cost as much as they do, but if your timing is good you can usually score a set of black powder-coated "blems' for about $300 from Motolight's 'garage sale' listings.

Just something to consider... in addition to running the Kisan Signal Minder that allows you to run with your turn signals illuminated for even a little more conspicuousness when mixing up with the always distracted motorists.

http://www.thetandemlink.com/Images/motolights.jpg

As far as modulators go, I'm not a fan... My preference is a set of Motolights (https://www.motolight.com/), which I've got on both the R11S and our RT. While not usually a sucker for marketing spin, I think the Motolight folks 'triangle of light' really does make a motorcycle much more visible to motorists, even more than than a HD running a set of triple headlights if only because of the placement on the Motolights down below the headlight. The closely spaced double or triple headlights on HD 'Glides' nor single headlights even when modulated just doesn't seem to give folks in front of you a true appreciation for your distance and speed the way a more widely spaced set of lights do. On the down side, I wish they didn't cost as much as they do, but if your timing is good you can usually score a set of black powder-coated "blems' for about $300 from Motolight's 'garage sale' listings.

Just something to consider... in addition to running the Kisan Signal Minder that allows you to run with your turn signals illuminated for even a little more conspicuousness when mixing up with the always distracted motorists.

http://www.thetandemlink.com/Images/motolights.jpg

The 'triangle of light' sounds like a reasonable alternative especially for people like me who find the modulating headlights (like those on Goldwings) irritating. But I definitely notice them.

Nice Beemers! :thumb:

Lights are a feeble attempt to negate stupidity.People pull out in front of dump trucks every day.Practice threshold braking and never assume.Passivity results in insurance claims and worse.Act first and come out on top and for the times that doesn't happen wear the gear.

Lights are a feeble attempt to negate stupidity.

Indeed...



40+ years of riding motorcycles.... I always hit 'em with the high beam. Makes some angry but life's like that sometimes.

Yet as your own comments reveal, making yourself more conspicuous through the use of: (a) lighting by flashing high beams, modulating low-beams, or using auxilliary lighting, as well as (b) wearing light colored or high-vis and reflective apparel, (c) riding motorcycles with increased frontal area or (d) staying in the left wheel track when approaching intersections remain prudent preventative measures.

Note: I abide by (a) and (d), but partially violate (b) by wearing dark colored riding gear with only reflective piping -- it's a fashion thing and violate (c) on my sportbikes which tend to have a smaller frontal area but make up for it by using increased lighting.


People pull out in front of dump trucks every day. Practice threshold braking and never assume. Passivity results in insurance claims and worse. Act first and come out on top and for the times that doesn't happen wear the gear.

That all sounds fine, well and good too... and it sounds like our friend did all the right things but still got nipped. Of course, statistically, the number of M/C riders killed in single bike crashes suggests that it's not always someone else's fault. Thankfully, in this instance where a motorist appears to have been clearly at fault our friend was able to share his experience with us almost the day after and is looking forward to throwing a leg over his GSA in the future.

Bottom Line: Riding a bike, any bike, exposes you to a lot more risk than riding in a car. Hopefully everyone who rides has a deep appreciation of just how much risk they accept when they swing a leg over a bike.

------

Now, since this is a cycling forum, here's some food for thought....


Hypocracy #1: Interestingly enough, I'm probably not alone as a motorcyclist / bicyclist in that while I advocate the valule of and use all kinds of lighting and what-not to remain conspicuous on the motorcycle and dress for the wreck from head to toe with a full face helmet, armored apparrel, gloves and 3/4 or full-height motorcycle boots, I routinely share the road with cars on a bicycle at similar speeds (Let's face it, 25 - 30 mph is common and it's not hard to hit 40-50 mph on a bicycle given the right fitness & terrain) and under similar conditions wearing what is essentially lycra underwear, a light-duty 1/2 shell open face helmet, and shoes that afford no protection to my ankle. Hmmmmm. Yeah, my wife and I struggle with this one everytime we walk past the bicycles all geared up for a ride on the RT. Now, to be sure I don't see us not riding the M/C in our gear, but I also don't see us changing our cycling gear either; however, we both recognize the logic doesn't follow on this one.

Hyprocracy #2: Ever notice how many folks who ride motorcycles and who advocate the need for street survival and AGATT (All-Gear, All-The-Time) under the premise of reducing the health risks associated with having an accident and being unprotected are clearly overweight and/or who engage in other off-motorcycle behaviors that would put their safety at risk (smoking, excessive use of alcohol, texting while driving, etc.)? I'm not EVEN going to touch the on-bike XM Radio / MP3 / GPS / BlueTooth / Intercom factor in terms of how those devices can increase risk by stealing away the rider's attention from the real task at hand.

Again, best wishes for our friend's quick and full recovery.

I see that someone else here is a member of ADVRider.

home from the hospital...Lung has fully re inflated, broken collar bone and ribs feel surprisingly OK. I have pretty much full range of motion with the arm, just cant lift any weight with it. The ribs only hurt when I cough or hiccup, or laugh, so I am avoiding JSharr's posts.

I have given much of the same advice as above on numerous occasions on this forum as well as others. I always thought I would never let one of these bastards get me. I ride with the brights on, plus my fog lights, wear bright yellow gear, and drive very defensively. I will admit I got suckered in by the Magic Johnson head fake. I have preached to never trust the cager's eyes, and yet I got nabbed by that very thing. I should have been more defensive. I had this guy spotted and I should have been on the brakes. Still 100% his fault, but I cant cut myself the slack that I have refused to give to others who got caught in the same trap.

I will go down to see the bike today. I am not sure yet how the insurance thing will play out. Unfortunately USAA does not cover motorcycles in HI so I had to go with GEICO.

The whole lawsuit thing is new to me. I certainly cant claim medical or lost wages, only P&S. Not sure if they could factor in the damage it could do to my career... Hard to say. I am not a litigious person by nature, so I may let the whole thing slide.

Thanks for all the thoughts folks. I will try to keep the shiny side up in the future, learn from my mistakes.

I see that someone else here is a member of ADVRider.

Yeah I went for the double dip on the sympathy :)

On my way to work, Tuesday morning, riding the R1200 GSA up Kamehameha Hwy in Kaneohe, doing about 30mph, car at a stop sign up ahead on the right. He seems to be looking the other direction, but I have him spotted and will be able to react if he starts to pull out... getting closer and he looks left ... right AT me, or so I thought... so I think ....good to go... I stay on the throttle and get within 10 yards of him and he starts out across my line of travel. I see him moving (he apparently was looking right THROUGH me)...not enough time to brake, even with the GSA's ABS so I swerver to the left in a desperate attempt no to T-bone him... too late .. he catches my right rear pannier and I am down. Not sure how I came off but I know I landed on my right shoulder, then my head.

End state, Momo helmet did its job, no head injury. Aerostich Darien light did its job no uper body road rash. Levis did exactly what we know they will do, some road rash on my knees. Nothing could have protected me from the broken collar bone, three broken ribs, and partially collapsed lung.

Still at Tripler Hospital, hope to go home tonight or tomorrow morning. Feel pretty good considering. Everyone wants me to sell the bike, but this just makes me want to ride more.

100% his fault, but I have avoided this exact accident before, and I cant help shake the feeling that if I had been more defensive I could have avoided this jackass as well.

Not sure about the condition of the bike, will post some pics when I get to see it.

10 years of riding experience, beginner and advance MSF courses, and several track days. Sometimes the cages win.

t;

If you'd been wearing One Ring you could have sic'ed one of the Dark Riders on 'em. That would have ruined their day.

Glad you're OK!

I see that someone else here is a member of ADVRider.

Make it four and I know of at least two others, although one doesn't post anymore.
http://images4.cafepress.com/product/62629214v12_350x350_Front.jpg

Make it four and I know of at least two others, although one doesn't post anymore.


It is always interesting to me to see the number of people who go both ways on two wheels: unpowered and powered.

went and looked at the bike today.... seems that the protective gear did its job. Both auxiliary lights and front turn signals were broken off... looks like the bike slid on its right side. Right crash bar scraped to hell, right header dented, right side of wind screen scratched. Left side looked pretty good except the pannier. Both panniers are totaled. Of course I couldnt tell if the frame or drive train were bent or damaged. I am hopeful it is all cosmetic.

I set the Calfee up on the trainer today... docs wont clear me to ride it for a week or so.. but I put it there to keep me motivated. Figure it will be at least a month to six weeks before I can venture outside on the road bike. By then here in HI it will be hitting a chilly 78 degrees. :)

OBTW i took two oxicodone to get to sleep last night.. I had seriously psychedelic dreams all night.. kind of Sgt Pepper meets Wolfenstein... was that the drugs?

Heal well and fully, my man -- take it as a chance to (re)learn the following:

1. If you assume a driver will always do the rudest/stupidest/most inconsiderate thing imaginable, you can only be pleasantly surprised.
2. You ARE invisible; and they ARE out to get you.

It's like the old joke from the Reagan years -- the USAF Chief of Staff escorted the President to a hangar, which he ordered opened with a flourish, to display an empty interior. When the President looked questioningly at him, the CoS said, it's our new stealth bomber -- like it?

There are 100 million Presidents on the road. You are the stealth bomber.