Who HASN'T Crashed?

[BootScootin'FireFighter]

A kid ran out into the street and tried to punch my face.

Wha' happened?

... and what area did that happen?! I'll mark that on my map of not to ride through

[Poursuivant]

I was riding through a slightly sketchy part of town at night after a local arts festival. There were some people in the street to the left, just off the sidewalk on a two lane, one way street. When I approached them, I moved to the right side of the street to pass them when a kid ran out into the street and threw a punch at my head. I swerved around him and gave him the finger as I hit the throttle.
This was near the same area where I was chased on my mountain bike by a group of youths, so I was on the lookout for anything dodgy.
It's all a part of living in the second most deadliest city in the US. You just reroute around the trouble and keep alert.

[Beamster]

Not yet in 39 years.
Not bad for an acceleration junkie.

[KABarash]

I had a football thrown at me by some punk kid the other day, I didn't crash but he did!!
FLAT on his back when I asked him WHY he did it and he stated that I was "ONLY on a (expletives deleted) moped....."
I handed him two halves of the football back.

BTW: I was going about 45 MPH at the time....damn, that wouldda hurt!!

[BootScootin'FireFighter]

I handed him two halves of the football back.

Insert football (and foot) here -----> (_|_)

[BootScootin'FireFighter]

I had a football thrown at me by some punk kid the other day

I thought I was in the exact same situation yesterday afternoon. Ironic how I always get into these situations shortly after reading about them. Riding through a residential area and 3 boys, prob 11-15 yrs old tossing a football from opposite sides of the street. They stopped when the car ahead of me approached. As I passed, the fat kid on my left cocked his loaded right arm back and I clenched up for a moment ready for the hit. He instead threw the football high, arching it up across the street and above me to his friend. I think my heart still skipped a beat. Usually nobody messes with me lately when I have my blacked out face shield and people can't see my eyes. Stupid little punks.

[TVB]

He instead threw the football high, arching it up across the street and above me to his friend.

And you can be sure that he intentionally timed his throw to go over your head, to show off that he could do it. Because as every adolescent "knows", it's always someone else who misses.

[polianarchy]

A kid ran out into the street and tried to punch my face.

Wha' happened?

BRB, looking up "Old Line State" to see if it's a nickname for Philadelphia.

Last summer, some precious little darling dumped a bucket of water on me as his friend jumped in front of me in order to get me to stop.

Anyone know of any libraries that are hiring?

[Scooterboi]

Just found this thread. 5500 miles and not down yet. 3 or 4 close calls though. The first 5000 was over 4 years, all seasons, on a Honda CT70, and the on a Yamaha 125DT. Last 500 on the Buddy. The Buddy is a huge step up in safety, visability, and performance. ATGATT! (and that zen quality that Bunny mentioned before)

Oh. I worked as an orderly in an ER for a year in Springfield, MO. Saw some pretty bad MC crashes. (DON'T get me started) However, after hearing the survivor stories, there seems to be a corelation between how bad the crash was and how spectacularly stupid the person that caused the accident was driving or riding. It was also amazing to me that of all the MVA (motor vehicle accident) that I saw there was NOT ONE without alcohol being involved somewhere. <sigh>

[teabow1]

My scooter fell down due to wind the first summer I had it so hopefullyn that counts as my inevitable fall My MSF instructor said that saying a crash is inevitable is BS, the guys that never have an accident are the guys who stay focused and can avoid situations before they start. I agree with David Huff that it is skill that keeps the rubber to the road. Being able to spot signs of trouble, never thinking you've learne dit all. I'm not saying that all situations can be avoided or blaming the victim but often times accidents can be avoided if you ride within your skill level and constantly educate yourself. If I thought a crash was inevitable I don't think I'd ride at all. I read and re-read proficent motorcycling and plan on taking an MSF course every other year. Hopefully that will keep me focused on the dangers well enough in advance to avoid them. I've been riding for two years, which is the scary time statistically speaking. I'll be glad when I've got 4 years under my belt I've also been told that I drive like a grandpa, I'm not too fast or too furious, and don't plan on racing for any pink slips anytime soon so maybe that has something to do with it

I also agree that "going down" is not inevitable. That kind of attitude is fatalistic and not warranted. According to Wikipedia, only about 3% of motorcyclists have taken the MSF basic rider course! There's one reason why we probably see more crashes than should occur. I think experience, practice, and skill is certainly going to play a big role in keeping ourselves from "going down".

I've crashed a few times on my bicycle and come to think of it none of them were inevitable. First crash was due to misjudging and not having experience going downhill fast and going on a curve. It was also dark so there might have been some sand on this mountain road. Second time was also a combination of mine and another car driver's error. Third time was more recently and due to my own misjudging of how slick the parking lot was during the rain. I was cornering too fast too quickly, and all because I was trying to escape the heavy sudden downpour of rain. On the other hand, my husband who is a much less experienced bicyclist was unscathed. I think the reason is because he tends to be a lot more cautious (a good thing) and takes things slowly. I don't ride fast, but I can misjudge sometimes. And here's a case where sometimes being a newbie (him) is more advantageous than being more experienced because sometimes that experience can bring a false sense of confidence.

[teabow1]

The "crash is inevitable" mindset is useful for me. Maybe I'll never crash, but every time I ride thinking "I could crash today" keeps me paying attention. I don't personally use the inevitable argument as a reason not to ride or to be scared- just to be careful so that if/when I do go down, maybe it's just a minor spill. It's like, if I'm prepared to crash, hopefully I go down in a manner that causes the least damage to myself and my scoot.

"You could crash" versus "You will crash" is an entirely different mindset. The former alerts you to the possibility. The latter is fatalistic and makes you think it's inevitable. The former reminds you to be cautious and to concentrate while riding. The latter is discouraging and even unnecessary.

[ericalm]

I also agree that "going down" is not inevitable. That kind of attitude is fatalistic and not warranted.

Not inevitable, but not 100% preventable either.

The flip side of those who treat crashing like an inevitability is those who think that it won't or can't happen to them or grossly underestimate the probabilities involved. Having ridden for tens of thousands of miles without a crash it great. Letting it make you overconfident and arrogant about it is not great. Believe it or not, there are people who believe that if they just ride safely enough they won't crash.

[peabody99]

yeah the whole "youre gonna crash sometime so you might as well get it out the way" mentality totally ticks me off. skilled and unskilled people do dumb things and they are often no better a rider after a crash....doomed to repeat history. I see a lot of times people don't take responsibility at all-even saying the crash was not their fault because of excuses such as "it was raining" (mmm maybe going too fast?) Its one thing if you are slammed by a car while you are sitting at a red light or some one hits you when you are doing everything to be defensive but so many crashes are preventable.

MOST people go through life w/o a crash, but people make a big deal about every one that happens...and perhaps they should b/c crashes can be very serious. I just hope "if" it happens to me (not "when"...so stupid to say that) , If I live to tell about it, I will have some personal accountability if I was sloppy in my riding.