| Author | Message | ||
     Old_man |
If you ride long enough, You'll find yourself in that situation, through no fault of your own. When your only option is to grab all the brake you can. | ||
| Jaimec |
Old_man: Is 500,000 miles in twenty seven years "long enough?" Mostly on Long Island and around New York City... | ||
| Old_man |
You're so right, It can NEVER happen. | ||
| Danny_h__jesternut |
I jest try not to fall off. Its less painfull that way.  | ||
| Old_man |
The gas company cut a deep, wide, trench completely across the road and, of course, completely on both sides. It was on an 180 deg. turn, with no way to see it ahead. They filled it with gravel. A severe storm washed all the gravel out of the trench. I was on the police Harley, patrolling on a Sunday morning. The frame of the low slung Harley caught the far lip of the wide trench. It stopped, I didn't. The edge of the thick beaded windshield caught me in the face. Smashed the windshield and my face. I awoke in the hospital. Broken jaw, the orbit of my left eye smashed,[removed my left eye, to remove the orbit, then replaced my eye] cheek bone broken and pushed toward my ear. brain damage, that affected my speech and vocabulary. Spoke as if I was drunk. I recovered, in time, but at times, a word, that I know, escapes me. There was absolutely no way to avoid this accident | ||
| Jaimec |
If I believed there were accidents that were COMPLETELY unavoidable, I'd've hung up my riding gear a long time ago. EVERY accident can be reviewed afterwards with 20/20 hindsight to see how it could've been avoided. Couldn't see the trench in time to stop? How fast were you going? Was it a road you've been on a hundred times and just KNEW the road would be perfectly clear (except this one time)? Or was it a road you were never on and you were simply cornering on FAITH? If you don't have a clear four second path of travel ahead of you, then you were cornering too quickly. Sucks all the fun out of the ride? Hmmm, well... so does a prolonged hospital stay. It's everyone's choice. I'll confess: that IS an accident I'd be LIKELY to have, as I do find myself falling into the assumption that the roads I've traveled hundreds of times in the past haven't drastically changed since the last time I was on it. On the other hand, I was on an onramp in Philadelphia in the rain. Nice, long, even-radius curve when suddenly I noticed STEEL PLATING in the road up ahead. I was able to straighten the bike and ride straight over the plating before tipping it in on the other side and completing the turn. If I didn't have those reflexes I WOULD have slid off the plating right into the concrete wall. Taking a safety course isn't enough. CONSTANTLY practicing the techniques and strategies MAY just save you a world of hurt. I can think of multiple times that has been true in my case. | ||
| Old_man |
No, the trench was not visible until you were almost upon it. Travelling 25 mph. the posted limit. I was patrolling, nowhere to go in a hurry. Travelled that road thousands of times before. If I was on something other than the behemoth Harley, I probably could have lifted the front wheel and, maybe, made it over. My point is; Sometimes an accident happens through no fault of your own. I was run over on my bike by a semi. while parked, sitting on the bike. | ||
| Old_man |
Another time I was on patrol, when a motorist stopped me and told me two young girls were having car trouble at the top of this long curving hill. The trouble was that they lost all of their transmission fluid on one of the curves of the hill. I was moving pretty good up the hill when I hit that curve. I knew that I should not hit the brakes or even cut the engine too quickly or try turning too much. I rode through the curve safely. Stopped, got off the bike and sat on the curb for a while. | ||
| Dbird29 |
If I interpret Old Man correctly he is saying "Shit Happens" | ||
| Aesquire |
Murphy was an optimist. | ||
| Reepicheep |
There is a spectrum of "avoidable" to "unavoidable". Everything is "avoidable" to some degree, many things are not avoidable in any kind of practical scenarios. So it's silly to split hairs. I buy and wear my equipment and gear to cover the "unavoidable" end of the spectrum... Glad you are OK Jack... It'd be nice if they would let motorcycle cops wear full face helmets... and while I understand just how good an electra glide can be, it it was me, I would still rather have a ulysses... | ||
| Old_man |
When I first was assigned to motorcycles, The uniform helmet was a Harley Davidson helmet. It looked like a polo players helmet. It had a thin layer of cork to absorb impact. It was not D.O.T. approved. Pennsylvania did not require helmets at the time. I refused to buy one and wear it. I bought a "Buco" helmet. When I was ordered to wear the "correct" helmet. I explained what the problem was, politely. The whole department switched to the "Buco | ||
| Aesquire |
Wear gear for the unavoidable. That's wisdom. I know this is NOT a helmet thread. When I was teaching Hang Gliding, long ago, we had a few idiots that didn't want to wear a helmet. To show that, in the event of a simple trip & fall, your head was likely to hit part of the glider, I had them put on a helmet, get into harness, get into flying position with me holding the glider in flying position, then, when the balance was just right, let go. The glider would tip onto the nose, and the student would promptly swing forward and bash his helmet on the aluminum keel tube. End of argument. Of course we try to avoid danger, but black ice, tranny fluid, and cars that turn left in front of you are usually not seen until it's a bit late to react. If ever. All accidents are avoidable is a mantra in the Navy meant to maximize caution, which is a good thing when not paying attention for a second can get you blown off a flight deck or crushed by a ammo pallet. | ||
| Babired |
Your perception is everything  K | ||
| Fast1075 |
Sometimes there is the unavoidable...My hardest crash happened at the dragstrip many years ago...I had completed the engine work for a customer and went with him to the track...the bike was a 1972 Kawasaki H2...I had ported the engine, installed larger carbs and a set of race pipes...the chassis was stock frame with aftermarket swingarm, rear wheel, slick, and wheelie bars. After two passes in which the customer was afraid to hold the throttle open, I donned my leathers and took it for a pass...it ran a very respectable 9.65. The customer tried it again, and could only manage 10.98...once again because he would not run it wide open... I got on for a second pass....in 4th gear the bike took a hard turn left and tossed me on the track at around 125...luckily, I didn't slide under the Armco barrier or get run over by the bike. Slid to a stop with nothing broken and a minor abrasion on my right hand...my Bates leathers saved me from road rash...and my trusty Bell Star saved my noggin. Upon inspection, the left front downtube from the steering head had failed the factory weld at the attachment point. | ||
| Dfbutler |
I follow the adage,"What you're wearing when you get on you bike is what you're wearing when you crash." It goes though my head every time I start to get on the bike for a quick trip somewhere wearing sneakers or no jacket and think that it is not worth the chance and go change to appropriate attire. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Jeans.... pavement thinks they are tasty...  | ||
| Rfischer |
In an earlier lifetime, I drove tanker trucks for Texaco, delivering to bulk distributors in Ontario. The company had a crusty old safety supervisor who came 'round occasionally to lecture us. His mantra was, "there is no such thing as an accident, merely collisions; if you are involved in one it is because you were driving too fast for the road conditions." At the time, I thought that was unreasonable since surely, as Old_Man says, 'sh*t happens'. A 'couple lifetimes and many, many miles later, I have come to agree with him. In hindsight, every situation I have been in, on the road or on the track, could have been avoided had I not been traveling "too fast for the road conditions". Of course, to accept this notion you have to apply a very broad definition of "road conditions", including the unexpected appearance of an open trench across the road. But, is that any different than my encounter last night with a group of deer which jumped onto the road in front of me from the ditch to my right? I narrowly missed them....and immediately thought of that Texaco Safety Supervisor 36 years ago. | ||
| Old_man |
I've had deer jump into the side of my car. The too fast for conditions is bull for unforeseen conditions. We would all be riding 5mph. | ||
| Ratyson |
I was about to post a deer incident I had last year. Jamiec, There is absolutely no way to prepare for a deer darting out of the woods, other than just accepting that it can happen. And when it does happen in front of you, it puts you in a "Panic-break" situation. There is nothing one can do to prevent that, no matter how fast or slow you are going. There are countless other occurances that can put you into a panic-breaking situation. One cannot possibly be ready for everything, no matter how many miles or years one has in the seat. You can prepare yourself on how to react, but that is the best you can do. | ||
| Old_man |
I knew some fellow cops who believed that, if there was an accident someone was doing something wrong. I never bought into that. Sometimes an accident happens and no one did anything wrong. The unforeseen, unforeseeable. | ||
| Danger_dave |
My mantra: Don't let ego write cheques ability can't cash. Wear appropriate gear. Sh*t will happen - but 'it's better to live a day as a Tiger than a thousand years as a sheep.- Old Chinese Dude. | ||
| Rfischer |
Au contraire, there are a number of things one can do to avoid the "deer jumping into the side of [your] car". However, like me when I was a kid rejecting the Texaco dude's wisdom, you guys can have your own "learning experiences".  | ||
| Old_man |
there are a number of things one can do to avoid the "deer jumping into the side of [your] car Do tell us all. | ||
| Ducbsa |
Some people swear by deer whistles. But not everyone. As far as unavoidable, my daughter got t-boned last winter in the car by an inattentive stop sign runner at low speeds. I wasn't there, but am convinced that there was no time to swerve, brake, or gas it. | ||
| Court |
>>>Some people swear by deer whistles. But not everyone. Well, if you use them, read the installation instructions carefully. I put mine on backwards, got home, pulled in the garage, looked in the mirror and there were 3 deer that followed me home. | ||
| Brumbear |
I know this sounds wierd but NJ has more deer on the roads than anywhere I have ever seen they have nowhere to go they really are a huge problem here Everyone I know has had run ins or close calls but I do not believe anything other than luck helps you avoid them consistantly and seeing them a split second before they dash. There are roads in NJ where at 7 ish on summer eve I have seen over 100 deer in fields they are like rats with antelers | ||
| Brumbear |
this seen can be repeated across the entire state I have ven seen dead deer on rt21 in newark nj http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKlePR8lQ1k | ||
| Fast1075 |
The deer issue just proves that there is not NEARLY enough healthy, lean venison being served on America's dinner tables. | ||
| Brumbear |
I don't eat it but I'll help ya kill em |
