Modern Buddy

So after my own little spill a couple of weeks ago, and reading of so many others since then, I've been pondering in each situation how the rider might have avoided the situation, including myself. So I wonder if others who have crashed, either recently or a long time ago, might be willing to think about what happened, even if it wasn't your fault, and post up some thoughts about how you might have avoided it. Start with a brief synopsis of your accident and then what you might have been able to do to avoid it. I know that this question is asked in the "Who's crashed" thread, but most of us are still so fresh off of our accidents when we post there that we haven't really had time to reflect.

(Those who are still under litigation or investigation should probably not answer for obvious reasons)

1. Brief accident synopsis:
On my way home from work, I was planning to stop at the grocery store. I had just crossed through an intersection with a light. I don't recall if I had to wait at the light, or if it was green. Just after the intersection, there's a driveway into the grocery store. As I approached that driveway, the cars in front of me came to a sudden stop. I grabbed my brakes hard and down I went. My attention at the moment of the accident was focused on some traffic cones next to the second parking lot entrance because I was planning to go there and I was trying to see if it was open.

2. What I would do differently:
I don't honestly know if I had enough distance between myself and the driver in front of me. I feel that I probably lost a couple of seconds of reaction time because I was looking elsewhere - at the cones. I'm assuming I was too close - perhaps my distance should take into account the possibility that I'm focused on something else for a second or two? I also could not see past the vehicle in front of me because it was a mini van. Normally, I'm watching several cars ahead. So I think I need to keep more distance in general, even coming fresh out of a traffic light, and perhaps open that up even more when I don't have clear sight past the vehicle directly in front of me. Secondly, I need to keep my attention on the area in front of me and not try to see something else, as I was doing in this case. Finally, my gear - I feel really good about my helmet, gloves, boots, and jacket. I did not have protective pants or knee pads on. I'd have walked away with nary a scratch if I did have that. So I'm, once again, on the lookout for some overpants or, barring that, knee pads.

I'll add that for myself, I'm open to constructive feedback. Feel free to comment.


Anyone else up for some introspection?

1. Brief accident synopsis:
I didn't really crash as much as a close-call and dropped the scooter... I was on my way to work and was the at the front of the line at an intersection. When the lights turned green, I started going. This truck in the left-turn lane in the opposite direction suddenly turned left right in front of me. I braked, came to a stop, and I'm not sure why dropped the scooter (maybe I panicked?). I wasn't hurt. The scooter's fine except for a few scratches on the lower side by the floorboard, a crack on the fake metallic headlight trim. The jerk in the truck even had the nerve to yell out that he had the right of way and drove off. There are NO right protected arrow light on that street (Lowell & 64th for those who knows) so there's no way he had the right of way. I was kind of in shock at the time and didn't even think about getting the guy's plate info, so I couldn't go after him. Also the damage to my scooter was so minimal that I didn't really need to replace anything.

2. What I would do differently:
Nowadays, whenever I'm the first in line at a light, I always do a left/right check plus make eye-contact with the car in the left-turning lane in the opposite direction before I go. I think people sometime just zone out and just not see what's right in front of them. About 6-7 years ago I was in a car accident where this car literally just turned left right in front of our car without signaling or anything. This wasn't even an intersection, but just a stretch of road. That car just turned. It was totally his fault and his insurance paid for everything, but from what I can remember I just feel like the guy didn't even see our car. And we were in a bright green (as in bright granny smith metallic apple green) car, too.

Interesting I did the same thing last week. I avoided a crash and introspected about it.

Instead of re-posting it here, you can read my long-winded introspection here

http://phalanx.phpwebhosting.com/commin ... upid-cager

velobuff wrote:Interesting I did the same thing last week. I avoided a crash and introspected about it.

Instead of re-posting it here, you can read my long-winded introspection here

http://phalanx.phpwebhosting.com/commin ... upid-cager

Interesting incident, velobuff. I have to admit that it's particularly interesting to me because I almost ran over a bicyclist in almost the exact same situation. The right lane was blocked (I don't recall by what), so I got over one lane and rode around the blockage. At the end of the blockage, I moved back into the right lane without checking and came close to hitting a guy on a bike. I was on my scooter. So, of course, my lesson learned is to never expect the lane to be empty. I do think that, in that circumstance, vehicles that somehow manage to be in the right hand lane need to be hyper aware that other vehicles aren't at all expecting them to be there. Nevertheless, if I had hit the bike, it would have been entirely my fault.

I think we're all guilty of starting to move over without looking first when we don't see something in our peripheral vision - wether we are driving, riding a scoot or bicycle, or walking and looking at our smartphones...

I've now had two major crashes and one minor one. The majors were not "my fault." The minor, totally my fault. I'm going to break from the template to make this a tiny bit more concise:

Crash #1: Dusk, rush hour, my first full day out on the Buddy 125, which was my wife's. I was in right lane, doing about 30-35mph. SUV swerved into my lane, right on top of me, no signal, etc. I braked hard, but too hard and went over the handlebars. Scooter totaled, shoulder ligament torn, lots of bruises and a little road rash. Required wearing a shoulder brace and sling for several weeks followed by over a month of physical therapy. Orthopedic surgeon told me it was one of tyne most painful injuries. For me, yes, it was. And I was still fortunate!

Had I been more familiar with the scooter and its brakes, I probably could have avoided. BTW, was wearing a jacket with cheap ass foam armor and a half helmet. Immediately upgraded gear. Helmet damage was about 1" from face opening.

Crash #2: On Stella, I took a turn too fast in the canyons. Probably about 40mph. Would have made the turn, but there was sand in the corner. Lost traction on back tire, which slid up an embankment. I was then dumped onto my side with my foot trapped under the scooter and the scooter wedged against the embankment so I couldn't lift it off. A couple guys on Can-Am Spyders stopped and helped. Damaged ego, fender, mirror and legshield. Pretty bad bruising and bloody road rash on left leg.

Could have avoided if I'd heeded my own advice and taken it easy on the turns. BTW, gear saved my hand and upper body from injury on this one.

Crash #3: Ambling down park road on the Stella, roughly 30mph. Minivan parked at curb on my right pulls out to make a U-turn. No signal, no brake lights. The Stella and I go head on into the side of the van, just behind the driver's door. I was thrown forward into the back of the legshield and glovebox, then onto bounced off onto my side. Scooter totaled, bruised ribs, forearms, knees, legs—anywhere not covered by armor. Hematoma on left knee.

Couldn't have avoided, even with lightning reflexes. Gear protected me from injuries to my head, shoulders, elbows and ankles.

Lessons:
1. Even low speed crashes can cause serious injury. I once just tipped over on my LX at about 5mph because the kickstand stuck down. I had on an armored jacket, but landed on the side of my elbow. That small impact caused nerve damage that plagued me for months.
2. Knowledge and good judgment are crap if you don't use them. I knew that one of the top reasons "experienced" riders go down is taking turns too fast. It's happened to many friends who've been riding longer than I have. Still happened to me, too.
3. Gear. See lesson #1.
4. You can get in a crash anytime, but in many cities, it's more likely to happen during rush hour, when drivers are most hurried and least attentive. I'm a much more cautious rider during these times of day. Most of the time.

ericalm wrote: 4. You can get in a crash anytime, but in many cities, it's more likely to happen during rush hour, when drivers are most hurried and least attentive. I'm a much more cautious rider during these times of day. Most of the time.

I don't even like to go out around evening rush hour. People around here seem so anxious to get home that I don't know that they would really care if they ran my ass over. It gets really hectic sometimes.

1. Went down on a slick of some sort at an intersection a few miles from where I live. It was a damp, drizzly morning after a long dry spell. I knew better then to risk riding as I knew conditions were poor. I had a car at my disposal. I rode, anyway.

Went down at 30mph while I gave it some throttle. Front end just seemed to shake loose. Happened so fast can't say exactly? The bike lost traction and two seconds later it and I were on the ground.

I rolled, got a badly bruised and sprained right hand. The scooter came out ok. Just some battle scars. I hit the ground hard and hopped right up when I stopped rolling. Was not injured beyond road rash, whiplash, swelling of knees and elbows, sore jaw, and the right hand that took 5 weeks to completely heal. You know, the usual


2. I will not ride in that sort of damp after a long dry spell. I am not sure what I could have done different to avoid this except to have followed my better judgment that morning and not ride. I have all the necessary bus routes down pat now, and if need be I do that. I never have to drive in traffic. I ride, or someone else drives. I just chill with my earbuds on either way.

But in SoCal it's hardly an issue. And I will still ride in the wet after a shower or storm. But after two months dry and then a light morning drizzle? Nah. Street are like teflon some places. I even took the "road less traveled" that morning. Oh well....

When I bought my Buddy I made a promise to myself that I would not ride in sub freezing conditions. The day of my motorcycle crash I woke up and there was snow on the ground. It was late April and if I cancelled I wouldn't get anter test date for a couple of months so I went anyway. During the braking portion of the test I went up to the high end of the speed they set for the test (25 mph). When I hit the brakes I found a nice little patch of ice. It was like a magician yanks the bike out from under me and I went down.

Luckily I was wearing full riding gear with insulation, boots, and a full face helmet. I got up and went whitewater kayaking. The Buddy got a few minor scratches.

In retrospect I should have followed my own rules and stayed home. I still had to wait a couple of months to take the test. I also should have not gone for the top end speed for the test. Going 15 mph would have got me the same license as 25.

Kyle

The evening of my wreck I was going home in the drizzle. It hadn't rained for like a week, so the ground was slick.

I was going down this residential street (doing the speed limit, which I think is 30 there) when a woman in a huge SUV pulled out of a blind driveway that tilts up to the the street) then just stopped, completely blocking my lane, while she looked to her right to wait for traffic to clear so she could complete her left turn.

There really was no way for me to see her ahead of time because the stupid city allows cars to street park on either side of that driveway...and there were 2 SUVs and a big truck blocking my view of that driveway.

Well, I was only a couple car lengths from her when she pulled out and when I hit the brakes I went down on my right shoulder, then slid forward until I hit the under-carriage of the SUV (right below her door) with my helmet. My left hand went through the Buddy's windshield and the glove snagged on the broken plastic. Luckily that was the extent of my injuries (a sprained pinky), barring a bit of road rash on my right knee and a little stiffness in my neck.

I had luckily started wearing a full faced helmet a week or two prior to that, as it was pretty scratched up right in front of my nose and chin area.

My take away was to avoid that road when going home at night, as this same thing could happen again. There's nothing I can do about rain, or when it starts drizzling, if I have to get home.

Months later, Scorpion came out with a high viz yellow helmet, so I got one (an EXO-900) and picked up a high viz yellow jacket as well (previously, my helmet was black and my jacket was black and white). I honestly don't know if having a high viz yellow helmet would have prevented my accident, but I know it has stopped countless people from pulling out in front of me since them. I regularly see them start, then stop, when they see me, and have had many people comment to me in parking lots how "they can see you coming from a mile away!". I tell them "That's the point!".