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New bike crashed, pelvis smashed.

Glad the injuries are not as bad as they could have been - unfortunately it's just another of the classic cases. Even when they seem to look straight at you they sometimes don't see you at all.

Given that the other driver seems to have been negligent and the fact that your injuries are pretty severe I think the advice to get a lawyer is good.
 
Glad you are recovering and sorry to hear about the accident. Get well soon! I hope
everything turns out o.k.

To some of the other posts on here, I always had the idea that a panic stop is
not the ideal response to an obstacle. It is far faster and safer to swerve around it.
 
Methodician said:
... Friends and family are devastated and, naturally, shocked and appalled to hear that I haven't decided to swear off all riding. I may still but haven't yet. I really want a new NC700X! ...
Click to expand...

I had an accident last year that left me with 12 broken bones, stretching from my skull clear down to my right little toe (wearing ATGATT at the time!). My neck brace came off on Tuesday, September 18; I picked up my brand new NC700X on Saturday, September 22. I couldn't ride while I still had the neck brace on, after all...

No one I know (except my oldest son) could understand WHY I'd climb back on a motorcycle again. In fact, my youngest son sold his Harley shortly after my accident and hasn't ridden since. In the end though, I treated their opinions as interesting and no doubt useful to each of them, but inapplicable to me.

Whatever you decide, good luck. And sorry to hear about the painful stuff. Ouch!
 
Blackrider said:
I always had the idea that a panic stop is not the ideal response to an obstacle. It is far faster and safer to swerve around it.
Click to expand...

It just depends - sometimes you just don't have any room or chance to swerve to avoid.

A vehicle crossing your path in particular can leave you with very little options to dodge them.

The more you can do to buy space and time the better. Sometimes I can see them long in advance and I just know the bumhead who's going to pull straight out in front of me so I'm already acting before they've completed their stupid maneouvre. Other times they are so sneaky that you just don't see them until they've launched themselves into the middle of your right of way.
 
We need a lobby. No, not some money sucking organization that collects our dues and gives us a sticker for our helmet.

I'm talking about an organization like MADD that has clout and can get things done.

1 Things like changing motor vehicle education courses to include why motorcycles are different than 4 wheeled vehicles. (non-riders do not realize what is takes to stop a bike and remain upright)

2 Things like ordinances against blowing grass and lawn debris out into the street where it causes a hazard for bikes.

3 Things like preventing highway road crews from leaving 3 inch deep crevices in the roadway without a warning sign in place

I'm sure you can name a hundred other things that we could change if we had a friend in high places. Unfortunately though there are many of us more concerned with keeping up our bad-*** image in the way we dress and the racket we create. It makes it very difficult to get the general public in a cooperating mood.

Oops, I tripped while climbing down from my soap box.
 
I totally get the guilt thing when it's not your fault. I was in a crash just a few months ago. I was stopped, left foot on the ground, turn signal blinking, waiting to make a left turn. I was invisible to the car behind me. Didnt't even slow down till she hit me. Luckily, after being ejected forward, over the handlebars, I walked away, just a big bruise on my rear. For days, weeks, I went over the events in my head, thinking what else I could have done, how it could have been prevented. But the reality is I did nothing wrong, the automobile did.
Don't beat yourself up about it. I am glad you are not giving up on riding.
By the way, my crash occurred on my vtx1300. My new NC replaced it , and I never looked back !
 
If you decide to continue riding, I strongly recommend a thorough reading and understanding of every page of Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well: David L. Hough: 9781933958354: Amazon.com: Books

After a nearly identical accident as yours about 35 years ago, I took a little time off riding to reflect on what I could have done to avoid the accident, or to at least identify the imminent danger. One of the things I learned in David Hough's book, was to identify what a driver in a car may do, not by just looking at the face of the driver to see if they noticed you, but by also looking at the wheels for motion, or in which direction the wheels were turned.

If a car travelling in the opposite direction is slowing for no apparent reason, that is reason enough to become cautious. There is a treasure of information in the pages of his book that should help any two wheeled commuter stay acutely aware of their surroundings. When I ride in an area with a lot of intersections, I have my thumb on the bright switch at all times to flicker just enough to make an unwary driver notice my presence, while not giving an indication of a right of way for him. The horn? Well, in addition to it's sheer wimpiness, todays vehicles are more soundproof and have much louder stereos to drown out the sound of our horns. So, the light flickering will most likely get their attention before the horn will.

Whatever decision you make though, will be the right one for you. Take care and heal well.
 
Methodician said:
They stopped, looked, and went - having never seen me coming ...
Click to expand...

Very sorry to hear about this. I hope for the most speedy and pain free recovery possible for you. Thanks for posting your experience, even though it was bad. It will help to caution others to be more careful too.

Whenever friends or family ask me about riding, I try to discourage them exactly for reasons like this. Then they say, but you ride one! And I say yes, but I have been riding since I was 9 years old. I had my first crash that required a hospital at 10 years old. On dirt bikes many times you can walk away from a crash. But a concrete street absorbs no impact.

The ideal situation would be for all new riders to go through intensive training off the roads before they venture out in traffic.

Not good for a newbie to MC's to have to make emergency maneuvers.

Once you go out into traffic, no matter how well you master the bike, no matter how skilled you become, and no matter how defensively you ride ....

There are always going to be idiots in cars out on the road. Some of them just do not have the skills and brain power to safely navigate a vehicle, and never will. Others have the skill to drive, but are impatient, reckless, always in a hurry, and always willing to cause unnecessary risk to other people.

The simple fact is that a drivers license being handed to the average 17 year old with almost no safety training is a national disgrace. And the skills and attitude of many of these people does not improve over time.

From your story it sounds like you were braking hard and attempting to minimize the impact. Very smart. It shows that you had enough awareness to do everything you could. One safety class I attended a long time ago the teacher said "Drive till the end". Don't throw your hands up and cover your eyes. Do everything possible to minimize the impact. If you have a choice, hit something soft rather than hard. Crash in green grass instead of concrete, etc.

But almost all safety training is intended to keep you out of those "split second" emergency avoidance maneuvers. Even the best riders can make a mistake when pushing the bike to its limits of braking or turning, or some combination. That is why safety classes like the Smith system is the best and most proven safety program for drivers ever developed. It makes me mad that those who own the copyrights do not make the material freely available, but companies that employ professional drivers utilize them almost exclusively. I am a toolmaker by trade, but I took a break from that about 10 years ago and went to truck driving school. I drive a truck OTR for 3.5 years.

The system really does work if you use it every time you drive. Sort of like a helmet, if you don't put it on, it cant help you.

Statistics show that accidents and fatalities involving big trucks in the US are far lower percentage wise than cars. This is because the drivers have this training drilled into them. And those who do not retain it or follow it usually do not last in the industry.

To give an idea of what it consists of, here are the 5 "keys" to the system. Truck drivers are required to memorize these and more, and to repeat them ad-nauseum.

1. Aim High in Steering
2. Get the Big Picture
3. Keep your Eyes Moving
4. Leave Yourself an Out
5. Make Sure They See You

Keys 1-3 are about watching where you are going and analyzing conditions ahead.

1 means you look down the road ... far down the road. Most people look straight ahead and at most a couple hundred feet directly in front of their vehicle. If there is a huge pileup, or a deer, or any other type of obstacle in the road, you want to know it is there and plan how to handle it before you get there.

2 follows from 1. It means you constantly analyze all traffic around you ... not just in front, but who is behind you, are they paying attention, would they be able to stop quickly. Traffic lights ... most people wait until they get there, and ram through if it turns yellow, slam on the brakes if it turns red. knowing the big picture means watching the light ... sometimes through a couple cycles ... adjusting your speed so you hit it green and don't have to stop. Adjust your position in traffic as needed and constantly to maintain your space cushion.

3 is about scanning constantly. You don't just look ahead once or twice. Driving for hours means hours of analyzing the constantly changing conditions. Sounds boring but like most skills ... if you do it enough it will become second nature. That deer that "just jumped out of nowhere" was really grazing beside the road, and someone who had been watching would have seen it and its buddies from a mile away.

4 this is the one that might have worked in this incident. although I do not know all the details, if you see a lone car pulling out, getting ready to hop onto the road. drivers of cars being the idiots they are, are very predictable. going when they are not supposed too is what they do a lot of the time. In Indiana where I live, we have a "right turn on red" law that states you can legally make a right turn at a red light ... once all traffic with the right of way has cleared the intersection. Do you think drivers of cars always wait until they have the right of way? nope.

The only SAFE thing to do is to plan for them to do this. slow down ahead of time. be ready to take a safe lane, or to come to a complete stop if you have no safe way out. The key is to be ready before it happens. Please do not take this wrong, in no way am I saying this is the motorcyclists fault. The car that pulls out in front of a motorcycle is almost always legally at fault. But like an insurance guy once told us at another safety class, "when you are dead, it doesn't make much difference who had the right of way, or who was at fault". You have to look out for yourself. The idiots driving cars are not concerned about my well being or yours. They only seem to become concerned once they are forced to pay your medical bills.

5, have I always thought was the least important, but the main idea is to have lights on, use turn signals, avoid blind spots etc.

Riding a motorcycle on public streets is like Russian roulette. It is not a question of "IF", but "WHEN". Accidents are so predictable that insurance companies make huge profits by guessing how many there will be, what types of injuries, and how much those payouts will cost.

Your insurance company does not bother to cover your medical expenses if you ride a motorcycle. (for all practical purposes). My State Farm policy has a $1,000 medical cap. The only real value in this insurance is that it has uninsured/underinsured motor vehicle coverage. $1,000 doesn't last very long in todays hospitals and emergency rooms.

Do you know why they will not cover your medical expenses on a motorcycle policy? Because they KNOW with a high degree of certainty, based on real world statistics, that you will be in a crash sooner or later. And if you are on a motorcycle, especially in a state with no helmet laws, they want no part of that type of risk.

So every time we hop on our bike, we need to remind ourselves that the risk is real. Ask yourself, if today is the day that some jerk talking on a cell phone and not paying attention runs you off the road ... etc etc.

I got my safety training from the trucking industry. I really do not know how to advise people with safety training of this type for motorcycles. Are there any motorcycle safety schools that teach the smith system?
 
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I live in Michigan and thanks to our governor repealing the helmet law, motorcycle insurance went up. Law or no law, I will always wear a helmet.
 
Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope for a speedy recovery.

I am with you on the "Cars making a left turn". Mine happened 2 years and 11 months ago. I was riding down a city road on the right lane of a 5 lane road (2 lanes each way with a center turn lane). A driver, coming from the opposite direction, made a left turn from the center lane and t-boned me. The car hit the motorcycle right at the left engine, where my left leg is. The bike fell to its right side and broke the handlebar, right crank case. I landed on my right side, broke 2 right ribs (landing on my right elbow), broke and hyperextended tailbone, and torn a tandem in my left ankle (from being hit by the car).

I was back on the bike as soon as I was able to walk on my own and got a replacement bike. Every friend and family member asked me if I were to get back to riding. They were all a bit shocked when I say "definitely". Well, I should say all but my wife. The first riding related question she asked me was - "which bike are you going to buy?"
 
pahondafan said:
We need a lobby. No, not some money sucking organization that collects our dues and gives us a sticker for our helmet.

I'm talking about an organization like MADD that has clout and can get things done.

1 Things like changing motor vehicle education courses to include why motorcycles are different than 4 wheeled vehicles. (non-riders do not realize what is takes to stop a bike and remain upright)

2 Things like ordinances against blowing grass and lawn debris out into the street where it causes a hazard for bikes.

3 Things like preventing highway road crews from leaving 3 inch deep crevices in the roadway without a warning sign in place

I'm sure you can name a hundred other things that we could change if we had a friend in high places. Unfortunately though there are many of us more concerned with keeping up our bad-*** image in the way we dress and the racket we create. It makes it very difficult to get the general public in a cooperating mood.

Oops, I tripped while climbing down from my soap box.
Click to expand...

Got one... MRF.org - Motorcycle Riders Foundation - Ride with the Leaders

The only thing I am not a big fan of is their fight against helmet laws. That seems to be a high priority for MRF and I have always been a strong believer in protective gear.
 
I wouldn't want to start off a helmet law yes or no debate - but the general public will generally class those campaigning against helmet laws as not being the sharpest knives in the drawer. I'm afraid that will tend to damage their lobbying position on other topics.
 
Chris said:
I wouldn't want to start off a helmet law yes or no debate - but the general public will generally class those campaigning against helmet laws as not being the sharpest knives in the drawer. I'm afraid that will tend to damage their lobbying position on other topics.
Click to expand...

It seems to be a matter of principle to them. They usually also don't believe there should be seat belt laws for cars. In a way I kinda get it.... government telling you what is best for you. But since I think it's crazy not to wear a helmet or full protective gear it's hard for me to get very upset about the law.

I do have ONE friend who rides tens of thousands of miles a year that feels this way... he has been riding for more years than I have been alive. I have great respect for him. I do not understand why he would want to ride without a helmet and he is the ONLY rider I know that does major miles every year and WOULD ride without one if he had the choice. So I hesitate to criticise the choice to ride without a helmet in HIS case... although I do not understand the reasoning behind it.
 

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I am OK with others chosing not to wear a helmet, I just don't want to share the cost of someone else's decision through paying higher insurance. I think there should be an option in buying insurance. If I promise to wear a helmet I get appropriate discount in my insurance. If I choose not to wear one I pay more insurance based on my personal decision. If I promise to wear one and don't the insurance company would not have to pay for my head injuries.
 
speedy recovery bud.don't let one cager fool put you off biking or indeed your family.
you can get hurt by just making a cup of coffee. theres danger lurking every where.
best to wrap ya self up in cotton wool and don't venture out or do any thing.
;)
 
n30r3l0ad3d said:
I live in Michigan and thanks to our governor repealing the helmet law, motorcycle insurance went up. Law or no law, I will always wear a helmet.
Click to expand...

Not only did insurance go up, but statistics indicate that motorcycle accidents per se increased following the repeal of the helmet law.
 
Not only did insurance go up, but statistics indicate that motorcycle accidents per se increased following the repeal of the helmet law
Click to expand...

That seems odd. I wonder if that is because a single vehicle crash with a helmet might go unreported since the injury might not require hospitalization but without a helmet the chances of injury are much greater thereby causing a claim to be filed.
 
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