| Author | Message | ||
     Rick_a |
Yesterday I struck a vehicle. I was traveling in a right hand lane and accelerating swiftly when a woman jumped directly into my lane, hit the brakes, and turned with no signal or warning. I had neither the room or time to escape. With only a second to brake, the option was the rear of the vehicle or the side. The side seemed like it would deflect some of the force. I don't believe she noticed me at all. The first responders and a few people who witnessed the accident looked extremely concerned. Apparently I flew through the air quite far. Upon hitting the ground the immediate concern was getting my body and bike off the road. The EMT's convinced me to go in the ambulance. It was probably unnecessary, but my shoulder in particular was in severe pain, unstable, and grinding at the slightest movement. Turns out it was just a separated shoulder and some bumps, bruises, a sore neck and headache. A police officer stopped by the hospital and gave me a lecture as well as a citation for "following too closely" which seems ridiculous as I was not following this driver at all. That was disappointing to say the least. They never took my statement so it'll be down to hashing things out with the insurance reps, apparently. The DR has a few scrapes but held up incredibly well. Crashing sucks. Getting up under one's own power is good. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Try and find those "few" people who witnessed the accident. Perhaps they can corroborate that she cut in front of you and stopped/turned before you had a chance to create a decent following distance. Glad you're OK. Good call on riding the bus - never hurts to make sure. | ||
| Ourdee |
Go to court and fight the ticket. Get a lawyer right away. You need the ticket over-turned. | ||
| 86129squids |
Super glad you're generally OK. I'm allergic to pavement... What Joe and RD BOTH said. See if you can find a way to track down some witnesses... might not be as hard as it sounds, what with social media and such. Although FacePlantBook (pardon the pun, buddy  )kinda creeps me out in general, it has proven to be very useful in tracking down people, things, pets, etc. Rest and heal well, keep us posted on things. Hope you get yourself, the bike, that ticket, and everything else straightened out ASAP. | ||
| 86129squids |
Oh- and perchance, was the dingbat on her phone? $1 sez yes. Some states are beginning to involve digital forensics to determine if cel phone use contributed to an accident... Things like this make me much more interested in commuting anytime with live camera recording, front/rear views at all time. The investment in the right camera rig(s) would surely pay off down the line... | ||
| Rick_a |
True. I believe she didn't see me at all. The claims adjuster said she believes she had been in front of me for ten seconds but says she doesn't recall knowing where I was when she turned. He said it's generally assumed that the motorcycle is at fault in such cases, and the police attitude certainly confirms that. He said that since a car and motorcycle should stop at the same rate the motorcyclist is at fault for failing to maintain proper control. Seeing as I was cut off by an already decelerating vehicle that seems a bit ridiculous. | ||
| H0gwash |
Glad you're generally okay. I would file police paperwork ASAP disputing the officer's assumption that you were at fault. The impact should clearly be shown on side of both vehicles, not front of yours and back of hers. EDIT: I'm guessing since this happened yesterday it's too late for that.  (Message edited by h0gwash on November 10, 2017) | ||
| H0gwash |
I was cruising home from a Toy Run hitting all the green lights when an elderly lady ran her red light in cross traffic. She then saw me and panicked and stopped, completely blocking the intersection. I could not stop entirely and went over the hood bruised but generally unhurt. The Guzzi Eldorado did not fare so well. I was written up for running my red light. I filed a "police report amendment" or whatever they called it and was able to get a statement from a fellow who introduced himself to me and said she was driving all over the place before she ran her red. He left his phone number, and even though he later became unavailable after he moved, it ultimately that helped with the settlement almost a year later. | ||
| Rick_a |
The police never took an official statement from me and I never signed one. They generically asked "what happened" at the scene and that was the extent of it. Depending on how this insurance mediation works out will determine whether things will come to an acceptable conclusion or whether I'll be busy with lawyers. I've been nearly ran over at intersections a few times. That's not a good feeling. There's not much that can be done to change rather fixed trajectories in such a short time. It's ridiculous that it's almost always assumed the motorcyclist is at fault, especially when your life is on the line. Self preservation is a natural instinct, and sixteen years of daily riding tends to make spotting errant drivers a matter of course, generally. | ||
| Sifo |
Glad to hear you are more or less intact. I've been through a pretty severe shoulder separation. The surgery to fix it sucked bad! The PT sucked too, but don't short cut the PT. I would guess that how bad of a separation will go into to the level of suck. I agree with getting your statement on record, and getting the ticket overturned in court. The ONLY witness on her side, will certainly be her, and it's doubtful she will show up at your court case to testify. Lacking that, it should be no problem getting it dropped. Even if she shows, it's your word against hers. Court is always a crap shoot though, but you have little to loose. When you have that ticket against you, it will work against you at every turn. | ||
| Skinstains |
Join the NMA, they are really good with speeding and such but I'm sure they can point you in the right direction for someone local to you. Alot of their help is pro-bono. Good luck. | ||
| Pnw_ulys |
Glad to hear you are okay, but shoulder separation is no small event... Realize it varies for each individual, but I opted for reconstructive shoulder surgery after last year's "commuting dismount". If your separation isn't too severe, you might be okay without surgery (but do everything the Physical Therapist tells you), and don't think it'd be a bad idea to immobilize the affected area now to reduce potential further separation (But I'm not in the health care industry, so use your best judgment) However, if you can make your shoulder do this:  . . . I'd recommend the surgery. Again, glad you were able to walk away, fight hard legally, but HEAL !!! Ride Safe. | ||
| Rick_a |
I've separated my right shoulder previously and torn my rotator cuff twice on my left side. My right shoulder separation was as a child and it was more painful then...but it'll probably take longer to heal this time around. My left shoulder has really taken a beating over the years. My therapy has just entailed doing daily things at the limit of my pain threshold. On my worst rotator cuff injury it took me a couple months to hold a book over my head, but I was back to riding immediately after the injury. Going for a ride immediately afterwards will certainly not be the case this time  | ||
| Rick_a |
The tally was about $1k in bike damage and several hundred in gear destroyed. Overall, the gear did what it was supposed to do, and the bike proved itself tough as nails. If it were not for a weak, unstable, droopy shoulder plus high sitting clavicle, I would not have much care or concern over this affair. As it is, this is disrupting my life in the most disagreeable manner and I'm a bit pissed off. |
