Posted by Ken Dunnington on Tuesday, June 25, 2002 at 9:20AM :
In Reply to: Off topic post posted by Gordon Maney on Tuesday, June 25, 2002 at 1:27AM :
Gordon
That's awful. I ride and have done so for 12 years now(I'm 32). Used only a motorcycle for almost 3 full years here in Fort Collins CO, even in the snow(stupid). I finally got hit by a lady in a pickup truck coming the other direction that yanked a U-turn right into me(saw a garage sale she wanted to stop at). I don't remember the actual accident, just riding along at 7:30 in the morning on June 24, 1994(eight years ago yesterday!) and then I'm on the pavement with a crowd around me and some guy is holding me down trying to stop the blood flowing from my face. No helmet. I ALWAYS wear a helmet now. No one can know what exactly would have happened if I had been wearing a helmet, but odds are that I would've limped away instead of riding away in an ambulance.
I was only going 35 mph and she was going virtually 0 as she was in the process of initiating the u-turn. My accident was avoidable by me I'm sure. I became a lot more defensive after that and have remained so. I WAS LUCKY.
Yes, I have a problematic injury to this day and show the signs of skin being scraped off my face(not bad at all but it's there), but I lost no major function of my body or mind.
The bike was completely totalled, and I mean completely. My left leg missed, by an inch or two, being smashed between the truck's front bumper and my bike. I WAS LUCKY. A guy lost his leg the year prior due to that.
Even prior to reading your post I can say that I would now NEVER ride in formation like I see Harley(cruiser) AND sport bike guys do all the time. I did when I was younger and more stupid but not now. You have a much smaller chance of avoiding an accident if you're that close to others. Especially for sport bike riders as they get into a fair amount of accidents all by themselves(don't try to tell me different, I know, I've seen 3 so far this YEAR at a certain spot in the Big Thompson canyon). The cruiser guys usually will only be in an accident from being hit. Either way, if you are too close to the soon to be victim, you will be added to the list due to flying/moving parts etc. If you are the would be victim, don't you want maximum manuevering space to try to avoid the impact?
A good friend of mine had a car coming the opposite direction waiting to turn left gun it right into him as he was riding by in a line of traffic! He was wearing a helmet. Good thing too as his speed was about 55 mph. He was messed up but survived with not a single head injury of any type.
Note the speeds involved. My accident, 35 mph. My friend's, 55 mph. Not fast by any means.
A friend of my wife's, in front of my house, lost his life(and the passenger in the car too) when a car turned in front of him. He was speeding though...
I remember this quip and agree(for the most part): There is no such thing as a fender bender on a motorcycle.
One may feel like the king of the road while riding on their bike, but the fact is that the smallest car sharing that road outweighs you by a factor of 4.
Be careful out there. And ride DEFENSIVELY, you can hardly afford not to.
Ken Dunnington
Fort Collins, CO
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