First Motorcycle Accident

Status
Not open for further replies.
C'mon now...

I've been hit 9 times, sent to the hospital in the back of cars, ambulances, and a helicopter - none of which were my fault. 3 drunk drivers, one unknown driver (I was found wandering in the road with a head injury, a wrecked bike, and no memory of the incident--still don't know what happened), three hit-and-runs. If a rider doesn't assert themselves at least somewhat, they are road pizza, with the "left hook", or being clipped at speed by a drivers who don't see or care. We share the same dangers with all two wheeled road users.

There are some real entitled a-holes out there, as with any group, but slowing down for someone else never hurt anyone.

Sorry to hear for your misfortune. It's a shame, and no one is calling you a Valentino wannabe.

I'm sure I'll take some lumps for this one, but that's fine. The lack of humanity these days is disturbing.
I certainly never meant to offend - it was meant as a light hearted jab but it seems I have touched a nerve and if I had been through what you have I’m sure I would be sensitive as well so apologies all around . I always yield to bicycle riders , pedestrians et all. I’m with Nigel in that some bicycle riders are aggressive and endanger themselves and ignore the rules of the road .
A little background to explain where my perceptions come
from . I have lived all my life year round in a small seashore resort with a year round population something like 10 -12 k. On a holiday weekend in the summer that number can and does swell to 250 k , taxing
everyone ’s patience as well as services - police , fire , medical . The crowds also lead to impatience on drivers parts , leading to things like not looking or not looking thoroughly before changing lanes and hitting motorcycles. So when a bicyclist ignores basic rules of the road - not stopping and waiting at traffic lights - lane splitting in busy intersections- riding three abreast on a narrow shoulder - it does nothing to endear them to the general population and motoring public .
But it’s a big world and there are many different interests and opinions so let’s all get along . Life may be short .
 
Last edited:
My last encounter with a Mamil was on an ex dual carriageway, one lane is now a cycleway and one for cars with a large central reservation between. Guess which lane this guy decided was best for him, yes the car lane. Council has spent millions on cycle lanes but the cyclists will not use them. If there were lanes for motorcycles only I sure as hell would be using them.
 
I used to pass the local paper shop as the delivery boys were turning up to collect... And sadly yes, even on the darkest of winter mornings, so many bicycles but not one light between them...
A job for the local 'hobby bobby' perhaps? Anyone else will just be a miserable old interfering git...
 
Most modern bikes have a tipover switch to cut ignition in the event of a fall. A friend's did not function and his ZX-14 engine ran on until he gathered himself and ran over to hit the kill switch. 2 months later it spun a rod bearing, necessitating a total teardown and rebuild. So oil starvation can be an issue with certain machines, esp. those with long crankshafts. Dry sump engines are less likely to experience oil starvation when laying on a side, since the pickup merely returns oil to the tank.
 
My Missus came up with a good idea, all bicycles should have permanently fitted and working lights, by law, and all new bicycles sold must be sold as such.

But then I realised, what’s the f*cking point? It’s already a legal requirement for bicycles to have working lights at night, and a working bell to warn people as they approach. Many cyclists blatantly ignore these laws … and plod does nowt about it.

And thats the real root cause IMHO, if people who flout the law are NEVER challenged for it or brought to account, it can only create a culture in which such laws are meaningless. Because, well, they are!
I could never get the "working bell" part, I can yell louder than any bell can ring.
 
A bell is a very clear and distinctive sound. In areas where cyclists and pedestrians share space they are extremely useful.
On some occasions when I've used mine I get the: 'You don't own the road/footpath' glare, others times if I ask politely to pass I've had: 'Ain't you got a f*cking bell?'
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.... Such is life :)
 
It ain't 1950 any more.

So many drivers in the holiday areas are pensioners and their abilities are limited. Young studs and
studettes haul ass be it on their push bikes or in their Audis. You can see how the mix isn't good. So the rules of the road and the
abilities of the riders and drivers and the tech of same are now way different than they were and the rules of the road are not
really up to reality.
We live in two worlds now: city/suburbia and country. Laws and rules are made in the first and then the second has to live with them no matter how inappropriate they are. Passing the push bike on a B road or even a old A road means you are now in the other lane which is amazingly dangerous as there are few straight roads out here. I see so many close calls every day that I am
ready to move to Mars.
I'll stop now before I get too worked up to ride out.
 
I started riding motorbikes in 1963... other road users hated you and at times seemed to be engaged in a conspiracy to kill you.. Nowadays this hostility seems to be reserved primarilyfor cyclists. In a cycling week of around 100-150 miles ,I normally amthe recipient of 2or 3 road rages varying from shouting abuse to out and out intimidatory behaviour. Nothing like this happens to me on motorbikes .
 
I started riding motorbikes in 1963... other road users hated you and at times seemed to be engaged in a conspiracy to kill you.. Nowadays this hostility seems to be reserved primarilyfor cyclists. In a cycling week of around 100-150 miles ,I normally amthe recipient of 2or 3 road rages varying from shouting abuse to out and out intimidatory behaviour. Nothing like this happens to me on motorbikes .
It's their paint on my elbows that worries me. I still maintain some cycling should be mandatory as part of the car test, just to 'raise awareness' of how vulnerable we are, how cr*p most road surfaces are , and just how clueless some car drivers can be...
In the UK, many B and minor roads aren't overly wide, yet the SUVs and pickups which seem to be trendy at the moment just get bigger and bigger!
 
It's their paint on my elbows that worries me. I still maintain some cycling should be mandatory as part of the car test, just to 'raise awareness' of how vulnerable we are, how cr*p most road surfaces are , and just how clueless some car drivers can be...
In the UK, many B and minor roads aren't overly wide, yet the SUVs and pickups which seem to be trendy at the moment just get bigger and bigger!

Good points... on the average A road in the uk due to ever wider vehicles there is not the room for two cars to pass and overtake either a pedestrian or cyclist .

The main danger point for cyclists is actually vehicles turning left at traffic lights . Instead of looking into the turn they are about to make drivera are concerned about clearing the vehicle in front.
Do not ever stall your bike's engine at trafficlights if you wish to go straight ahead and are corrrectly positioned , youwill undoubtedly get scooped up by an articulated truck and its trailer making a left turn .
 
TBH, all of my close shaves (and almost guaranteed every time out) are from those impatient drivers who gamble with the time or space needed to overtake you. I can see both sides of the coin of the 'two abreast' scenario, but of you've ever been ear'oled by a 44 ton truck (as I was yesterday), better to be safe than sorry...
 
TBH, all of my close shaves (and almost guaranteed every time out) are from those impatient drivers who gamble with the time or space needed to overtake you. I can see both sides of the coin of the 'two abreast' scenario, but of you've ever been ear'oled by a 44 ton truck (as I was yesterday), better to be safe than sorry...
Why have vehicles been allowed to grow to such manifestly unsuitable size for crowded roads? Compare for instance the width of an original mini with the current offering..
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top