Went down today.....need the Cafe's analysis and suggestions

[Promethean]

Hi guys,
Up until today, I've been down 3 times and each time it was pure stupidity on my part. This time there was another vehicle involved. This was a minor getoff but I just figured I'd post to get the Cafe's opinion on how to not let it come to this in the future.

So...here's the incident report to the best of my recollection.

At 08:30 AM CST this morning, I was on my way to work along city streets. It's a very short commute (approx 3 miles) with about 10-15 intersections regulated by traffic lights. This was a city street with 1 lane going each way (Not sure how I should refer to these streets). The speed limit for the entire stretch is 30 MPH.

I was riding a few miles over and I had no one ahead of me on my side of the street for about 2 blocks. I had a couple of city buses following me but far enough away. All of a sudden, I see the left turn-signal indicator light up on a car in the opposing traffic and the guy made a sharp left turn in front of me into a dead-end alley on my right. This did NOT occur at an intersection. I was about approximately 30 feet away when he initiated his reckless manouever.


I attempted to perform a quick-stop but I suspect I overbraked the rear compared to the front. In any case, I punched off most of my speed before I lowsided. I landed on my left hip and shoulder and slid for about 10 feet with the bike sliding on its left ahead of me. The bike and I did not stray into oncoming traffic and the traffic behind me stopped (I think). So I was VERY lucky in that respect.

I was up as soon as I stopped and approached the driver of the car who was getting out. Guy was in his late 40s. I asked him if he didn't see me and why would he pull such a reckless maneouver....the guy was panicked and babbling about how he was late and was very sorry and stuff. He asked if I was okay. He and another passerby helped me move my bike to the curb.

And right away....he pulls out a $100 bill to help pay for any damage to the bike and wants me to forget the whole thing. I told him to put his money away and give me his information just in case my injuries(if any) assert themselves later in the day. The guy was reluctant and wanted to leave saying he had to get some place...maybe a lawyer's office (I don't remember...adrenaline rush) and that they're not going to make it wherever they're going.

I insisted on getting his info and his lady-friend came out with a cast on her right leg and wanted to hug me and seemed relieved that I was in one piece. And she was reluctant to share info too. So, I told them that I'd just get it off their license-plate. That's when they relented and gave me his name, address, phone number.

The info was barely legible so I had him read it back to me and I wrote it down again in my own handwriting just to be sure. I gave him my contact details. I was in a bit of shock to ask for their insurance info but I did write down their license-plate and make/model of the car.

They got out of the alley and went back the way they came...before they had made the left turn. I suspect that they had wanted to make a U-turn using the alley when they caused the accident.

I took some time to collect my thoughts and am here at work.... :)

There was no impact of my bike with their vehicle. The left cylinder-head and the side case had a few scruff marks and they didn't appear to be much worse for wear from previous drops.

My gear saved my ass. Here'es where the gear met the road....

The hip protector on my First Gear overpants took the impact with the blacktop and there are some tears (http://promethean.smugmug.com/Animals/Linked/i-NxGPgNk/0/M/IMAG0019-M.jpg) in the material.
The Joe Rocket jacket has a few fasteners ripped/ground away (Link 1 (http://promethean.smugmug.com/Animals/Linked/i-mJZ2NLn/0/M/IMAG0014-M.jpg), Link 2 (http://promethean.smugmug.com/Animals/Linked/i-CNqR8xk/0/M/IMAG0015-M.jpg), Link 3 (http://promethean.smugmug.com/Animals/Linked/i-ZVkZrxk/0/M/IMAG0016-M.jpg), Link 4 (http://promethean.smugmug.com/Animals/Linked/i-bLvvkqW/0/M/IMAG0017-M.jpg)).
My left Hein Gericke engineer boot has the leather ground away to the steel toe (http://promethean.smugmug.com/Animals/Linked/i-pG7GLM7/0/M/IMAG0020-M.jpg). Don't know how that happened.
The Held Steve gloves did their job. (Linky (http://promethean.smugmug.com/Animals/Linked/i-d9J53vw/0/M/IMAG0021-M.jpg))


I'm a little sore by my left hip and shoulder but I suspect the pain is muscular than anything else.

I didn't have the presence of mind to take details from any witnesses. None stopped forward as far as I'm aware. And I'm not sure if there would be anything to report because there was no vehicle-on-vehicle impact.

As far as the insurance is concerned, I suspect it would most likely be recorded as a collision and most likely my fault. And by the time the report is filed, with no witnesses, the guy can dispute my version of events. With budgetary cuts and constraints, Milwaukee County will not respond to calls for accidents and will direct you to the nearest police station to file a report.


That said, what should/could be my next course of action?
File a report/call the insurance company?
Ignore it and learn from the experience? :)


I'd love to hear your thoughts.

What should/could I have done better before/during/after? (today)
Takeaways:

Practice braking with more emphasis on the front brake?
Take ALL information (insurance and witness details)?
Anything else?

[DarthRider]

Ab, I am very sorry this happened to you, but relieved you & the bike are relatively OK.

If your state laws are like Texas', you're screwed. Since there was technically no collision it is only a single vehicle accident. The other guy committed no infraction and his insurance is not liable. That's not right, it's just the way it is. Here at least, maybe it's different there.

What could you have done to avoid it? A few things:
Practice, practice, practice emergency stops. An upright bike with proper brake application will stop much faster that one sliding on its side.
Practice proper "threshold braking" technique, bring your tires almost to the point of lockup/sliding, but not quite. You are 100% correct to use your rear brake as well as the front, don't let anyone tell you different. Reg Pridmore teaches to coordinate the brakes this way: Apply a little rear first, then follow immediately with a firmer application of the front. Continue to use them both, modulate as needed. The harder the brake application the less traction you will have in the rear, and more in the front, up to the lock-up & slide point of both. That is rear-front weight transfer, know where it is, expect it, plan for it & practice it.
Even more important is the big anti-crash device between your ears...anticipate. Anytime you see a car approaching an intersection, expect them to turn in front of you, run the red light, stop or yield sign, make a u-turn, pull out in front of you, whatever it takes to nail you. 99% of the time they will do the right thing, but you will be prepared for and expecting the 1%ers.
"Cover" both brakes whenever you are in or near traffic. This will shorten your reaction time considerably.
Flash your hi-beams continuously, from well before reaching the intersection.
Try to make eye-contact with the driver.
Stay 100% alert.

I know you well enough, and your post proves it, that you are willing to accept responsibility where needed and come out of any situation a better rider. Asking questions, analyzing, and "doing" are the answers you are obviously prepared to make.
Kudos to you my friend for a great attitude!

[Donson]

I have nothing to add to what Dave said,except I am glad you fared as well as You did!

[panthercity]

I have two things to add.

1. I LOVE my Held Steve gloves. They (several pairs over the years) have stood me in good stead when I or someone else was stupid.

2. STEER! Target fixation is the bane of our existence. If you were able to slide without you or your bike impacting the car, that means he had already cleared the potential impact zone and that with a minimum of steering, you could have been well assured of missing him. Look where you WANT to go, not where you DON'T want to be.

Glad you are OK and that you are using this as a learning opportunity.

[Sir Limpsalot]

Firstly, I'm very glad you got away so lightly. But..

If you were 30 feet away from him and doing 30 mph then, I would suggest, you had room to stop (old British bikes could stop in 22 feet from 30 mph back in the fifties - with crap brakes and tyres) or, as Bob says, steer round him. Of course, it's easy for me to say from the comfort and safety of my armchair..

It sounds to me as though you were on "auto pilot" and not really 100% focused so, when faced with the unexpected, you panic braked.

1. Read the excellent advice offered by Dave.

2.When bike change time comes round, consider getting one with ABS. A really skilled and fully alert rider may be able to beat the ABS stopping distance, but for situations like the one you faced it could/would save your arse.

3.You should have taken the $100!

[NoRRmad]

I used to flash my high beams when I thought that somebody might not see me at an intersection, but then I read that flashing means "I see you, go right ahead.(!)"

[Promethean]

Bob,
You're probably right. By the time, I burned off some of the speed, my rear end had begun to shake loose. I think that if I had used my front brakes more than the rear, I would have been able to keep the bike upright and steer it around. I appreciate the insight.

Si,
I agree. Room to stop was probably not a factor. I've performed quick stops in similar situations on the road before with some degree of success. I think my braking technique needs some work.

I was scanning potential threats within my field of vision but it was further out e.g. a block ahead . I didn't anticipate a threat appearing so close to me and performing such an unlikely action. But....point taken....I was probably not as aware as I should have been.

Having never been in this situation before where another vehicle was involved and not knowing the laws in case of a one-vehicle collision.....you are correct. I should have taken the $100. :)

Merde!

Thanks again for all your advice.



I have two things to add.

1. I LOVE my Held Steve gloves. They (several pairs over the years) have stood me in good stead when I or someone else was stupid.

2. STEER! Target fixation is the bane of our existence. If you were able to slide without you or your bike impacting the car, that means he had already cleared the potential impact zone and that with a minimum of steering, you could have been well assured of missing him. Look where you WANT to go, not where you DON'T want to be.

Glad you are OK and that you are using this as a learning opportunity.


Firstly, I'm very glad you got away so lightly. But..

If you were 30 feet away from him and doing 30 mph then, I would suggest, you had room to stop (old British bikes could stop in 22 feet from 30 mph back in the fifties - with crap brakes and tyres) or, as Bob says, steer round him. Of course, it's easy for me to say from the comfort and safety of my armchair..

It sounds to me as though you were on "auto pilot" and not really 100% focused so, when faced with the unexpected, you panic braked.

1. Read the excellent advice offered by Dave.

2.When bike change time comes round, consider getting one with ABS. A really skilled and fully alert rider may be able to beat the ABS stopping distance, but for situations like the one you faced it could/would save your arse.

3.You should have taken the $100!

[vintagemxr]

Wow, I'm glad you're ok, Ab, we may still need technical help with vBulletin! J/K. Sounds like you handled it pretty well in that you didn't hit the other vehicle and likely make the damage to your bike and yourself worse. Here in AZ I believe the driver would have been cited for failure to yield the right of way to the on coming vehicle. Since you went down, a cop probably would have responded but these days, who knows? My only other thought is that you might have taken your cell phone and snapped some pictures of the scene to show the vehicle positions and retain details your mind was too flustered to note.

the other Doug

[Deans BMW]

AB, so glad you are OK. Both Daves advise above and the advise about the ABS should be noted.

[Tipstall]

Nothing to add but glad you are OK.

Ken

[Ed K]

Sorry to hear this AB, I'd put a similar, but slightly different twist... And sort of rank order things...

In congested areas first priority should be avoidance...think every car within your zone (oncoming, behind, sides), is a high risk. Not because of probabilities of their bad behavior, but because of the impact on you.

Always assume the cager will do wrong. Always. Always have an escape route planned for every car around you, so that when that 1% happens, it won't matter.

If approaching vehicle, assume the idiot will turn left into you and watch him as you approach.

If he's behind you, and you are stopping assume he won't stop (I learned this one the hard way). Have it in first gear and ready for escape.

Etc...

Is this always possible to be this vigilant always? No! We all forget, but if we only forget sometimes, is greatly reduces the risk.

[Sir Limpsalot]

Is this always possible to be this vigilant always? No! We all forget, but if we only forget sometimes, is greatly reduces the risk.

Exactly right!

[jamming]

AB, I've got very little to add. I'm damn glad your OK. I've got a saying and it's "ride paranoid because they are out to get you" I know its silly but never let your guard down. Take care Brother.

[Deans BMW]

In addition to what Ed just posted above is reading the very subtle body language of those around you. I practice this constantly. A driver in a vehicle gives off a signal of their intensions often before they are even aware of it themselve. You can see this indicator of future actions in either the most again subtle movements of the vehicle or of those of the driver. I always ride so that I can see the driver in both the vehicles rear view and side mirrors.

Anyhow, I tried to write a Mag article on this once.....but just don't have the writing skill of a lot of you all.

[Boxerboy]

Re: the bus behind...any chance of tracking down the driver via bus co. schedules? Can you ID the company? What about same place, same time tomorrow? Who drives past?
Glad you're ok.

[Promethean]

Hey guys,
Thanks for the advice and suggestions. I will work on this.

BB,
It was a city bus and I could probably find out but as Dave said...it would be logged as a one-vehicle crash.....

Thanks again brothers.


Re: the bus behind...any chance of tracking down the driver via bus co. schedules? Can you ID the company? What about same place, same time tomorrow? Who drives past?
Glad you're ok.

[Boxerboy]

Hey guys,
Thanks for the advice and suggestions. I will work on this.

BB,
It was a city bus and I could probably find out but as Dave said...it would be logged as a one-vehicle crash.....

Thanks again brothers.

I had a car pull out in front of me once, wrong way down a one way street. I crashed into the curb, then a tree, avoiding the car, but they still took the blame. That's where I'm coming from.

[DirtyTwin]

It sucks when you are involved in a wreck, and it will ruin your riding "experience" for a while to come, but you have the guy's licence plate number, name address etc, get your favorite local dealer to give you a printed quote to replace the damaged parts, mail a copy of it too him and ask him for payment, include a SHORT cover letter explaining how you use your bike to get too and from work and that you would like to make repairs as soon as possible,(like within thirty days, and how he can reach you to work it out) see if he "Man's Up" and sends you the cash or not, if not you are no worse off than where you are right now. I love the advice of taking out your camera phone and snapping pictures of the scene, great advice that hopefully you will never need again! You were VERY LUCKY to not have been seriously injured, if nothing else take that from this accident and don't ever forget it!.
Even though you think you were not involved in an accident, you were! at the very least the guy in the car failed to yield the right of way, and I would presume he also made an illegal left turn in front of oncoming traffic. You also lost control of your vehicle, and that is what a crash is!. You don't sound like you are trying to retire to the Caribbean from this, but you should at least be "made whole" jacket, pants, gloves boots etc, looking at it from the opposite side, what would your reaction be to causing he damage?
Be grateful to whoever convinced you that safety gear is important, even on short trips! "Practice" your riding skills every time you turn the key, safety gear, bike in best mechanical condition possible, focus on your surroundings, and be prepared to the best of your ability for anything, file the police report, it protects "You" and "Them"

[kocook]

AB, I'll chime in. You have a very sympathetic crowd here. We have all been in your situation or near enough to it. Practicing emergency braking is great advice, and very few riders do it routinely. I would define that as a panic stop from various speeds you regularly travel to a FULL STOP. If you don't do this regularly, you might be surprised how often things start going wrong just as your speed gets near zero. Also, the practice has to be so frequent as to ingrain the proper procedure into your automatic response while panicked. When you think about that you will realize that this is not just an occasional effort.

As for technique, front and rear brakes should be used. Would not worry too much about which goes first. The key is to get weight on that front wheel. The more weight, the greater the braking force you can apply. To do that you have to initiate with a smooth onset. If you just grab a handful of brake (or stomp on the rear brake pedal), you risk locking the wheel before enough weight can transfer to the front (flipping over forward if your bike has a short wheel base/high CG combo). Once the skid starts, your braking becomes much less effective to non-effective and you have to release pressure before you end up on your ear. Obviously, this is going to be hard to do in the few seconds you have during a real emergency stop with the adrenaline affecting your reactions.

Of course, ABS will help a lot as the chances of you getting it right in a panicked state are low. If you don’t have it, get ABS on your next bike. It will save you one day (or if you are like me, multiple times). Nevertheless, proper braking technique will make your stops occur in a much shorter distance even with ABS.

Glad you got away relatively unharmed. I commute daily. Your incident just serves to remind me that I must not get complacent. So thank you very much for posting.

[DarthRider]

Your incident just serves to remind me that I must not get complacent
Some of the best advice yet...when an incident happens we should all learn from it. In this case, you and us.
Otherwise it's just a scary waste of time for the reader until one day someone else is reporting a crash.
There is value in everything if we look for it, in this case the learning opportunity to "not get complacent".
And we can all learn from the discussion, possibly discovering a "new" technique or a refinement.
Ab, as for you my friend, I'd advise re-reading this thread a few times, over time. "Replay the tapes" of the accident and look for ways, means and opportunities to avoid a repeat.
My guess is you will never allow this to happen to you again and the attitudes & techniques learned will carry over to many other riding situations.

[Donson]

A side note here. When I am travelling surface streets, and a car is about to pull out, I am making eye contact with the driver.
Often, especially when they are on a cell phone, they will be looking right at Me. OR SO IT APPEARS.
Right BEFORE I reach the point of no return, collision wise, I will tap the front brake, just enough to make My front dive, just a little.
This often jolts the driver back to the current situation, and they will stop creeping forward.
If nothing else, I have communicated to that driver, that I AM watching them, and NO , I dont trust You.
This simple technique seems to get their attention, and I often get a little apologetic "sorry" wave.
No one has ever seemed to get mad about it.
Of course, I FULLY EXPECT THEM TO PULL OUT IN FRONT OF ME,ANYWAY.
NEVER trust anyone.

[panthercity]

EVERY cage driver out there truly believes they saw be coming out of their spouse's bedroom window last night.

[socalrob]

Flashing the high beams may indicate "go ahead", but I have, on occasion when I thought the situation was squirly, during the day, turned on my high beam and leave it on until the situation passed. Around here, I have noticed lately that LA County, city & CHP moto cops all run their high beams during the day.

[OU812]

Glad your OK.
Going down always sucks.Smile

[Donson]

The unseasonally warm weather here has had the bikes out in large numbers, and another tragic accident has ocurred, in Amarillo.
A 65 year old man on a Harley, no helmet, was southbound on a wide , four lane, lightly traveled surface street Wednesday evening.
A elderly Lady in a large car was southbound, in front of the motorcycle.
The lady in the car missed Her left turn, and slammed on the brakes, and tried to make the turn.
The motorcyclist, was either too close, or not watching the traffic.
The motorcycle clipped the left rear of the car, and continued travelling southbound with the injured rider still aboard.
The motorcycle continued southbound and drifted into the oncoming lane, where it collided head on, with a Ford pickup.
The rider was thrown into the pickup and suffered "life threatening injuries".
At last report the rider was in extremely critical condition, and Surgeons had amputated an arm, and a leg.
I will be following this to see the rest of the story.
It sounds, from initial reports, the rider failed to remain aware of traffic conditions, for perhaps, one, or two seconds. Thats all it takes.

[Rode Daze]

I see the left turn-signal indicator light up on a car in the opposing traffic and the guy made a sharp left turn in front of me into a dead-end alley on my right. This did NOT occur at an intersection. I was about approximately 30 feet away when he initiated his reckless manouever.

He signaled his turn and then he turned -- just like he had signaled. He failed to yield right of way. Having the right of way doesn't mean you don't get killed when someone gets stupid.

Moreover, you need to anticipate that the driver in front of you is going to do something stupid and entirely unexpected -- following traffic and oncoming traffic. You need to provide a "cushion" space for unexpected events, and you need to constantly provide yourself with a place to go when it all goes to hell in front of you.

Don't tailgate, and don't get boxed in. Expect that the oncoming driver is a jerk. Provide yourself with an escape route and keep it open.

Since we're here . . . stay away from the large trucks on the freeway. They'll roll over an obstacle on the highway rather than drive around it. You won't see what they hit until it's coming at you.

[Rode Daze]

Flashing the high beams may indicate "go ahead", but . . .

Regardless who signals whatever, you're liable for yielding right-of-way to the driver who has it. Being "waved through" an intersection or into merging traffic does not relieve you of the lawful duty to yield right-of-way to the traffic who has it.

If you have an accident resulting from being signaled through a situation, you'll be viewed as having failed to yield.

People who "wave you through" a traffic situation aren't doing you any favors. You're liable for any accident when you fail to yield. On a motorcycle it can get you killed.


So, I told them that I'd just get it off their license-plate. That's when they relented and gave me his name, address, phone number.

Not providing this information is "Failure to perform the lawful duties of a driver." -- In most states this is the basis for a criminal hit-and-run charge.