Rider down "accidents" - Can anything be learned? | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Rider down "accidents" - Can anything be learned?

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PrivatePilot said:
Glad you're here to tell us about it, hope you're otherwise well.

"Let you have it"? Nope. You did everything right IMHO. Reducing as much speed as physically possible until the moment of impact was your best option and you didn't do anything stupid like "laying it down" or other crap that some still believe is the right course of action - more reasons to discuss things like this and dispel those old myths.

In the advanced rider training I took a month or so back this exact scenario was part of the training. Often there's nothing a rider can do to avoid an accident - there's no "out". There's no time to stop fully. Too fast to simply swerve and avoid. So, the best course of action is to accept you're going to hit, but scrub as much speed as is physically possible right up to the moment of impact. Obviously hitting at a lower speed is better than a higher speed, your case in point.

So, the learning experience here? Practice threshold braking regularly - in your situation you walked away. In a similar situation from someone who didn't know or practice emergency braking, it would have been much worse.
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In going over this incident in my head i realized that i started in the left block position but by end of the accident i hit his passenger fender, obviously i drifted right. Perhaps somewhere in the back of my mind i was praying he would see me and stop so i had room to get around in front of him.

Food for thought.

Lost a few layers of skin, tweaked my slipped discs again slightly, replaced some gear, had to regain some lost pride, i'll take it. Certainly if i had been ripping it i would have been launched into the stratosphere over his hood.

/shrug
 
Any accident you can walk away from on a MC is a good result.

Make sure insurance does you right on both the bike, the gear, and your physical condition. I'm not a particularly litigious person, but if someone ever does something so stupid as to cause me physical harm that could last far into the future, yeah, I'd be getting a really good lawyer.
 
The pilots have it right. Keep flying right through the crash. That way you have done everything humanly possible to minimize the energy and pick the squishiest spot you can see. Still a crappy situation, but you will be in better shape than if you give up and become a passenger before the impact.
 
A while back I pondered whether the media ought to invest a little followup time on some of these crashes. doesn't have to be every one, perhaps a summary story looking at the outcomes of a few situations.

Part of the discussion is providing lessons for us riders who are paying attention, I'd like to see the general public get a sense of the devastation vulnerable road users face due to carelessness.

I have lots of riding experiences but no crash stories to share, probably a combination of dumb luck and a caution.
 
x2. Media isn't interested in learning anything aside from what sensationalistic headline gets the most views/clicks.

They can't even be bothered to spend 60 seconds checking facts or giving themselves even a most basic education on a topic before airing things anymore. Case in point:

 
I don't know if it should be a separate topic or not, but I would be curious to know what percentage of riders involved in collisions ( not accidents ;))are "dirty". I can't see how they wouldn't have a different mindset than most of us who have many years and thousands of kilometers of safe responsible riding.

Everything about riding on the street is risk management and as we gain experience/skill/knowledge we become better at risk mitigation. I will be riding any time the weather permits this winter, but I will dress properly (hi-vis) , slow down, be ultra cognizant of changing road/weather conditions, and on and on... We each do our own assessments based on our highly individualized experiences.

Guess I am a bit of a bummer for the speedy types to ride with, but I never over drive my vision or stopping distance in the twisties. I try to enter curves at the 70 per cent of my maximum comfortable speed when conditions are perfect.( Always obeying speed laws of course ! ). ?

Two things that have helped me and still do are never trusting an area that I cannot "clear" visually, and I try to never assume anyone, a pedestrian, another driver, sees me. Even when it is "obvious" we made eye contact or there is no way they couldn't have seen me, be prepared for the worst. There is no relaxing in traffic, every one of the mo fos is out there to kill me.
 
Gonna play captain obvious here and say some things you can learn from other riders and their mistakes...but some things you HAVE to take advanced riding classes and/or go read some good books..I would often go wide in the corners before and it wasnt until I started reading/watching some Nick Ienatsch that I realized I was doing it because I was getting on the gas too much, which makes the bike want to stand up/go wide/straight..

Now I think back to all those scary/painful moments and feel really stupid :oops:

Its crazy how subtle advanced riding is..

Also his book which I couldnt find ANYWHERE before is now on amazon:
Sport Riding Techniques: How To Develop Real World Skills for Speed, Safety, and Confidence on the Street and Track: Nick Ienatsch, Kenny Roberts: 9781893618077: Amazon.com: Books
 
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GreyGhost said:
The pilots have it right. Keep flying right through the crash. That way you have done everything humanly possible to minimize the energy and pick the squishiest spot you can see. Still a crappy situation, but you will be in better shape than if you give up and become a passenger before the impact.
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A police officer rider told me the same thing about motorcycling. Stay will the bike until the last second.
 
PrivatePilot said:
If you're referring to the accident I think you are from last summer, honestly, a lot of people I discussed it with after the fact had really never thought that the situation she put herself in was particularly dangerous to begin with. Further to that, many never "thought outside the box" so far as doing it anyways, but doing something as simple as changing your blocking position to give yourself an escape route.
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I wonder how many collisions are the result of an attitude of entitlement. "I'm important and have the right of way. People are supposed to watch out for me."
 
Klaatu said:
I always ride with my high beams on in the daytime.
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I do the same but I also swerve in my lane approaching an intersection where I'm alone entering it (ie. not following a larger vehicle). The movement of the headlight helps in the left-turner seeing you.
 
Does it seem like most accidents happen around or in the city? I guess the best advice here is ride slower more cautiously.

The other day I was riding down south from the north around 5pm or so. I was going against the traffic so it was light on my way in, but you could just feel the tension on the streets as people commuting from work, just in a hurry. I was trying to be extra alert as there wasn't much patience from other drivers lots of quick stops and turning into traffic. Probably not the best time of day to be out cruising.
 
sburns said:
Does it seem like most accidents happen around or in the city? I guess the best advice here is ride slower more cautiously.

The other day I was riding down south from the north around 5pm or so. I was going against the traffic so it was light on my way in, but you could just feel the tension on the streets as people commuting from work, just in a hurry. I was trying to be extra alert as there wasn't much patience from other drivers lots of quick stops and turning into traffic. Probably not the best time of day to be out cruising.
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That's a good point. Going for a leisurely cruise during rush hour exposes you to more potential dangers than at other times. I stay off the roads as much as possible on Fridays of long weekends for that very reason.
 
sburns said:
Does it seem like most accidents happen around or in the city? I guess the best advice here is ride slower more cautiously.

The other day I was riding down south from the north around 5pm or so. I was going against the traffic so it was light on my way in, but you could just feel the tension on the streets as people commuting from work, just in a hurry. I was trying to be extra alert as there wasn't much patience from other drivers lots of quick stops and turning into traffic. Probably not the best time of day to be out cruising.
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While i enjoy riding in the sun, my favourite time to ride (when i had a real bike, lolz) was 9/10pm. Cruise down Bayview to the lake and then back up Yonge St. Really love riding in the city when it's more chill.
 
Evoex said:
While i enjoy riding in the sun, my favourite time to ride (when i had a real bike, lolz) was 9/10pm. Cruise down Bayview to the lake and then back up Yonge St. Really love riding in the city when it's more chill.
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Used to love that time riding in the city as well, used to ride into the wee hours regularly, in the city.

Now that I live in the country about 25 minutes from the city I have some risk factors that are difficult to mitigate and rarely plan to ride at night.

There are tons of deer. Had day time close call with a doe in June. She came out of a roadside wooded area and made like she was going to cross the road ( 80 zone ) in front of me. I slowed and she turned to go back into the bush, I didn't get back on the throttle thinking a fawn might appear, but the stupid doe ran back out to the road forcing me to stop, then she retraced her steps again,hopped the fence and ran back into the bush. Given the rut will be starting soon, the bucks will be out crossing roads at all hours.

The next risk is drunks. It seems there is a bad night time accident nearby almost weekly.

Third is that in the city there was lots of ambient light. Out here it gets very dark and as good as the lights on my bike are, my 60+ year old eyes aren't what they used to be.

If I find myself out at night, and am enjoying myself, I continue riding riding with the risks in mind. It's just not something I find myself doing near as much anymore.
 
Wingboy said:
What i have learned from falling down on the street.......Buy the best gear you can afford,and wear it.

What i have learned from falling down off road........not much,i'm still not very good at it.
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Do you think that if you are not very good at falling down. Please, do not practise to make it better. Lol.
 
nobbie48 said:
I wonder how many collisions are the result of an attitude of entitlement. "I'm important and have the right of way. People are supposed to watch out for me."
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There's an old nautical saying that applies very much to bikes in traffic.

"Here lies the body of Johnny O'Day
Who died Preserving His Right of Way.

He was Right, Dead Right, as he sailed along
But he's just as dead as if he'd been wrong"
 
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