crash. darn.

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ericalm
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crash. darn.

Post by ericalm »

I was hoping to post this evening about my adventures riding GatsbyGirl's pink Buddy to work through L.A. and all the hilarity that ensued. Maybe I'll still do that, but this is more important.

Riding the pink Buddy home, just after dark, about 35mph. A white Lexus SUV simultaneously signaled and swerved into my lane (the right). I braked hard, probably grabbing instead of squeezing as I should have, but did not have room to swerve out of the way.

Could I have avoided him some other way? Hard to say.

Though I remember every detail of what happened, from my perspective it was hard to tell what direction I went in. The damage to the Buddy is mostly on the headset. It's cracked and somehow the top of it is pretty badly scuffed. Did I actually flip forward? I may have. I can't imagine it right now.

I was probably in mild shock, because what follows was really damn stupid.

I immediately sprung up off the street. Hit the kill switch (should have done that while on the ground). A lot of people stopped to help me, including the driver of the white SUV. I was somewhat dazed, but not concussed and had not blacked out. My arm was a bit sore but I could move it around. A couple guys helped get the Buddy up and on the sidewalk. I got it up on the kickstand, no problem.

But, in my confusion, I rather stupidly didn't call the police or get an ambulance. I got contact info from two witnesses and got the Lexus driver's insurance info. He was really damn nice, staying and offering to call the police or drive me to a hospital. But at that moment, all I could think of was getting home to GatsbyGirl. That was the one thing in my mind, and I remember repeating it to him a couple times.

So I started the Buddy, checked it out (sort of), then rode the 4 miles or so home. By this time, I was starting to feel some pain and had already realized that all was not right. I got home, parked and walked in. Looked at GatsbyGirl and said, "Hi, I need you to get dressed. I need you to take me to the emergency room." Her expression: priceless.

The damage to me is probably worse that the Buddy. I landed on my right shoulder and quite possibly tore my A-C ligament which attaches the clavicle to the joint. I'll know more about this after seeing the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow. It hurts like hell, but the vicodin is helping as is the clavicle brace they strapped on at the ER. Can hardly move the thing now, so must made it home fueled by pure adrenaline. Sprained my left wrist. Banged my right knee. A little abrasion on my forehead from my helmet.

My gear saved me from what surely would have been much worse injuries. I was wearing gloves and an armored jacket. The front of my helmet is banged up. That'll need replacing. Enough said about that.

And me? I want to heal quickly and get back on a scooter. But GatsbyGirl and I need to have a talk about that at some point after I find out how badly I'm injured.
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Post by dru_ »

Damn, sorry to hear about it. I wish you a speedy recovery, and hope for the best on the shoulder, that's a nasty place to be injured as it's slow to heal and you don't realize how much you use it til you can't.
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Post by AxeYrCat »

Holy crap, man...


Glad to hear that it wasn't a lot worse, but really sorry to hear that you got pretty dinged up. :(
Huh? What just happened?
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Post by rickyd410 »

Man... your reaction sounds like something I would do.

We're glad your injuries aren't worse. Good luck recovering. !

It's good you had decent people around to help you after the accident.
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Post by rajron »

Wow;
Sorry that you got banged up and I hope you recover soon, the bike can be fixed.
A good warning to all of us less experienced scooter people.

Love it “I want to heal quickly and get back on a scooter.�
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Post by vitaminC »

Wow, that really sucks! :(

Glad to hear that you are at least well enough to write about it- the ride can alwys be repaired/replaced, but it's not always so easy with the rider!

Wanting to get home is understandable, but hopefully the lack of a police report won't cause too many problems down the road...

Heal quickly!
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Post by MrNatural »

Stories like this help us all to keep being vigilant. Scary hearing about situation one could do NOTHING to avoid.

Heal fast!!
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Post by jess »

Youch, sorry to hear it, Eric. Glad it wasn't worse. Still, a torn ligament sucks.

The one time I wrecked (this past April 15th, on my motorcycle) I had the same reaction -- I jumped up from the ground before I had really taken inventory of my limbs and whether I was in one piece or not. I think it's pretty common, actually, for people to do that despite knowing better. I also proceeded to ride another 8 hours in the pouring rain, and had a bit of hypothermia to boot.

Hope all goes well with the orthopedic surgeon.
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Post by jaded »

So sorry. Glad it wasn't worse.
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Post by golfingirl »

So sorry to hear about your accident. You did exactly what I would've done. Thought you were alright until the adrenaline wears off and the pain kicks in. Glad it wasn't worse. Best of luck with the surgeon. Keep us posted on your progress.
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Post by peabody99 »

wow. glad you are ok and that people were helpful. now what is up with pink buddy crashes? take it easy and get better.
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Post by sunshinen »

So sorry about your accident.

Shock and adrenaline can be great when you need to flee... if say you'd been knocked off your scooter by a mountain lion, but definitely can get in the way of the post accident injury inventory (that moment where you go :shock: "What happened? Am I okay?").

Just a tip: I've done it my way and the doctor's way, and it's really best if you do ALL of the physical therapy recommended, follow the ice/heat advice, and let yourself heal before pushing yourself outside of therapy. Torn ligaments can turn into a long ordeal if you're not nice to them, and things really do work better if you follow doctor's recomendations. Funny how that works. :wink:

Heal fast!
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Post by avidgirl »

Oh no! I'm sorry you were in an accident. I'm glad that others stopped to help and that Gatsby Girl was home to drive you to the ER.

Hope you feel better soon and can get back to scootering when you are ready.
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Post by jrsjr »

Sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you heal well and quickly and you are back in the saddle as soon as circumstances allow.
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Post by ericalm »

peabody99 wrote:wow. glad you are ok and that people were helpful. now what is up with pink buddy crashes? take it easy and get better.
You know, I was pretty much attributing pink Buddy crashes to their appeal to new riders and the whole "the Buddy is deceptively easy to ride" factor. But I've been riding for a year and had MC experience before that. So in this case it may be more of a "bad things happen in threes" or just a lousy coincidence.

Thanks everyone for your support! It's most important, for me, that people read about crashes and hopefully learn something of use. There will be more.

For the ModernBuddyists not also on ModernVespa, there are reports of two recent rider fatalities there. I've been morbidly wondering for a few weeks when we'll have the first Buddy fatality. Glad it wasn't me; sorry it has to be someone else. Have fun and be careful out there!
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Post by toga28 »

No bueno. I got cut off in a similar fashion yesterday, but was able skid to a stop (literally; first time I've locked up the back wheel). Sorry to hear you weren't as lucky, but glad you're safe.

I spend so much time on this forum, it's almost like someone in my family was in the accident. I have got to unplug...
-Andy Moore
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Post by brat »

I really hope things go well tomorrow.

I knwo the white SUV was a jerk to not see you. But at least they stopped and gave you info and offered anything you needed. I had an old Volvo try to run over me, he got pissed I got in front of him at the red light. I am sure he would not have stopped.

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Post by RisingSunset »

I'm so sorry to hear about your crash. Thank goodness it wasn't any worse. I wish you a speedy recovery.
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Post by germ »

Take care of that shoulder man. I landed on my hand once and it has never quite been the same. I should have went to the doctor. Sorry about you bike man.
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Post by notselfcreated »

Posts about serious accidents have spurted this week. A lot of experienced people, too. Honestly, it makes me wonder how much I really need to get into this world--exciting and fun as it is. Although I fancy myself an excellent driver, and very cautious, still there are doubts.

I like to read posts about accidents when there's a helpful lesson to be learned from them. What I like less is reading about accidents where the only lesson learned is that, oftentimes, there is simply nothing you can do. There are no gaurantees in life as it is; even less are there gaurantees in two-wheeled vehicular travel.

Eric, glad you're on the mend. We don't need another Zac.
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Post by vitaminC »

notselfcreated wrote:I like to read posts about accidents when there's a helpful lesson to be learned from them. What I like less is reading about accidents where the only lesson learned is that, oftentimes, there is simply nothing you can do. There are no gaurantees in life as it is; even less are there gaurantees in two-wheeled vehicular travel.
There are no guarantees in four-wheeled travel, either! Folks that aren't paying attention are not more or less likely to run into a scooterist vs a cager, it's just you'll only here about it happening to scooterists on this board...
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Post by dru_ »

notselfcreated wrote:I like to read posts about accidents when there's a helpful lesson to be learned from them. What I like less is reading about accidents where the only lesson learned is that, oftentimes, there is simply nothing you can do. There are no gaurantees in life as it is; even less are there gaurantees in two-wheeled vehicular travel.
There is *ALWAYS* something that can be taken away from a post about an incident.

Eric's for example, helped raise my awareness of the people beside me, to make sure that I'm paying attention to my escape routes to include them. It's already saved me from a dousing. Because of being aware, I saw the shoulder movement of the passenger tossing a half full coffee cup out the window, and got out of the way.

I hate that he is suffering physical pain, and financial loss to the accident, but at the same time, I'm glad for his post, as it has raised my awareness of a potential problem.
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Post by Keys »

Having been in the Marine Corps in combat, I learned to keep my eyes moving and be aware of everything around me. It's saved my butt countless times on scooters and motorcycles. That is the one thing I recommend above all others; keep your eyes moving...don't get complacent. Just as soon as you start thinking about what you want for dinner and quit looking around, you'll get clobbered. I don't want that. This forum would be a much less valuable and pleasant place without you...

--Keys 8)
"Life without music would Bb"
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Post by ScooterMonkey »

Eric i'm sorry to read about your accident, but I'm glad that you weren't seriously hurt. Get better soon. I hope to read that your back on a scoot soon.
As to learning something from accidents I have to agree with dru_ in that there's always something to learn.
With my accident I learned to be more aware. I learned one area where i need more practice is turning, especially braking in a turn. Perhaps more importantly in the long run, my accident gave me another opportunity to face fear, & by beating it, to grow a bit as a person.
There's always something to learn, if you pay attention. :wink:
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Post by tinalee123 »

We're so sorry to hear about your accident. We hope your injuries heal quickly. Take care - our best wishes to you.
-tinalee123 and modernscooter
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Post by GatsbyGirl »

notselfcreated wrote:Posts about serious accidents have spurted this week. A lot of experienced people, too. Honestly, it makes me wonder how much I really need to get into this world--exciting and fun as it is. Although I fancy myself an excellent driver, and very cautious, still there are doubts.

I like to read posts about accidents when there's a helpful lesson to be learned from them. What I like less is reading about accidents where the only lesson learned is that, oftentimes, there is simply nothing you can do. There are no gaurantees in life as it is; even less are there gaurantees in two-wheeled vehicular travel.
As Eric's significant other, I figured I'd weigh in.

From the word "go" safety has been my No. 1 concern regarding the scooter. When Eric was going "I want one," I found myself channeling my mother and saying, "It's not you I'm worried about; it's everybody else."

I really don't think we should fool ourselves by saying "cars are dangerous too." Yes, they are, but they are not nearly as dangerous on a day-to-day basis as two-wheel vehicles. Cars are also a largely unavoidable necessity to modern life. Scooters are a choice that have pros -- affordable, fun, flexible -- and cons: can't cart around the kids, bring home furniture from IKEA, a minor crash can easily turn into something major.

Eric and I were talking about it today and how the advice of how one should always ride as if every car is out to kill you isn't quite on target. Because, really, they aren't all out to kill you, only a handful are. But as anyone who has ridden a scooter has realized when they get back into a car, you are automatically more removed from the situation when you're behind the wheel. Instead, we would say you should always drive like you're invisible. Nobody can see you, but you can still be hit.

All that said, after a year of seeing how much joy his scooter gave him -- not to mention having a blast riding around on the back -- I bought one of my own. Quite the change from someone who refused to even look at his when it was first brought home.

On Wednesday night Eric's list of concerns were 1) apologizing for what happened to my scooter; 2) his shoulder; 3) I wouldn't let him ever ride again.

Oddly though, at no point was my reaction "I knew this was going to happen. No more." Yes, I will let him ride again. Yes, I will ride again. If anything, we've learned a valuable lesson about just how much your gear makes a difference. Eric might not be able to say for sure, but looking at the bike and his helmet, he really did flip the thing and landed on his head/the headset. Tearing a ligament could happen playing sports. It's actually pretty remarkable that that's the extent of his injuries other than a couple of scrapes and pains.

However, I do have to say that I think both he and I have gotten a bit carried away in our embracing of the scooter lifestyle, including discussions of going down to one car. Going forward, I think our usage will be much more of a recreational one. He's a graphic designer and not being able to use his hands or having rull range of arm motion for extended periods of time is not a good thing.

I definitely still think that the risks inherent in scooter riding are acceptable ones. But I also think that going whole hog with anything is probably not a good idea. Moderation is key, because no matter how fun it is, avoidable death is never a price worth paying.

Then again, should we move out of the Los Angeles area, I could change my mind again.

Oh, and PS, if you don't already, be sure you know where your closest emergency room is. I'm embarrassed to say that we've been in our house for three years and had absolutely no idea (the "Scrubs" set around the corner is not an operational hospital). Last thing you want to be doing when you need one is going on yahoo to track it down.
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to a steady and speedy recovery

Post by ebcspace »

ericalm, sorry to hear about the accident, but thank-you for sharing your story. I hope your shoulder feels better soon, and please follow the advice of sunshinen, heat, cold, physical therapy, doctors orders and all to take care of your recovery. :wink:
scoot on!
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Post by notselfcreated »

GatsbyGirl, thank you so much for that thoughtful and wise response. I can tell why ericalm had nothing but getting home to you on his mind when he crashed.
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Post by thepickupbear »

This is the first I've posted about it, but Wednesday night before last, the 20th, I was riding home in the rain late at night. I took my normal route home, which is a slightly more challenging route than should have been taken in the rain...and coming down a steep hill towards my sharp right turn to home, i ate it about halfway through the turn.

Back tire out from under me, went down directly onto my shoulder. I stood up immediately and noticed my arm dangling un-naturally from my shoulder, and knew it was dislocated instantly. Kill-switched the Buddy and all of the stopped traffic helped the bike to the sidewalk. My friends had left the club I'd been working at right behind me, so I called them and they safely parked the Buddy and took me to the emergency room.

8 hours later and I was in surgery for a chip off the bones in my shoulder, and to repair the dislocation. It will be at least 5 weeks until I ride :(

Ducati Seattle picked up my bike for me and brought it home, since my roadside information hadn't gotten back to them yet. They were absolutely amazing, and thoroughly looked over the bike once they got it home for me. The Buddy is fine, one of the panels got scratched up and needs to be reattached, but other than that shes in fine shape for when I recover.

I definitely learned a lot about actual skill level vs. perceived ability...It was late at night and just starting to rain again for the third or fourth time that day, making for super unsafe conditions...I should have chosen a safer route home or just left the Buddy parked.

Glad you're okay ericalm. Didn't mean to hijack your thread, but I thought I'd share my crash as well. Here's to a speedy recovery!
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ericalm
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Post by ericalm »

Hey, thepickupbear,

Not a hijack at all! Sorry about your injuries but good to hear you're not worse off.

Can I ask what you're experience riding is? I don't mean to imply anything by that, but given the number of reported crashes among ModernBuddy members, I'm really wondering if any of it can attributed to the "deceptively high confidence" that comes with riding a Buddy.
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Post by thepickupbear »

I cut my teeth on a Honda Metro, riding for several months before purchasing the Buddy. I'd owned the Buddy for two weeks before the crash. I'd definitely say that the ease of control at high speeds can lead to some misconceptions of skill.

I'd ridden for several years as a downhill mountain bike racer, and was frequently guilty of riding well above my skill level in order to learn..but that was as a fear-less youngster. Definitely much more aware now of the consequences of not paying more respect to the level of rider awareness the scoot requires.
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ericalm
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Post by ericalm »

thepickupbear wrote:I cut my teeth on a Honda Metro, riding for several months before purchasing the Buddy. I'd owned the Buddy for two weeks before the crash. I'd definitely say that the ease of control at high speeds can lead to some misconceptions of skill.

I'd ridden for several years as a downhill mountain bike racer, and was frequently guilty of riding well above my skill level in order to learn..but that was as a fear-less youngster. Definitely much more aware now of the consequences of not paying more respect to the level of rider awareness the scoot requires.
Yeah, I kind of feel like, "My evasive action skills probably need some work." Sucks to realize this stuff after a crash! But at least we realize it.

The Pink Rocket, BTW, may actually be totalled. Mike @ NoHo came by to pick it up yesterday and said that the fork may be bent (okay, that can be replaced) but that also the frame may have been compromised (which means, well, new Buddy). GatsbyGirl and I are already wondering which body parts we can salvage for "experimenting" with paint and DIY seat covers! So, maybe not a TOTAL loss... :?
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