And then I was tumbling down the freeway

[agia]

Thanks for the thought agia. CHP was the first call I made from the side of the road. I know all about Felony hit and run - I was a motor cop for 15 years, and a police motorcycle instructor for over 10. Unfortunately the roadway was dark in the area where I got hit and I don't think there are any cameras on that stretch anyway. Oh well, at least I'm here to complain about it. I'm not going to dwell on whoever hit me, etc. The main thrust of my rant at the beginning of this was to describe my experiences with my equipment. If anyone can benefit from my description, I am content. Ride safe

OK...Retired LEO here myself. Kudos for being a former motor unit. Never wanted that job.

 

[wildeone]

rear camera for motorcycle would come handy, don't you think?

View attachment 24200

 

[MichaelJohn]

rear camera for motorcycle would come handy, don't you think?

View attachment 24200

That would be good. All Honda cars have them now. I have also been looking at the Reevu helmet with the built-in mirror but I'm leary of buying a helmet without trying it on.

 

[itlives]

I'm a long way away from Cali but from what I hear, there's a good percentage of accidents caused by illegal drivers (Mexican).
I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case , and why they didn't stop.
I too, am glad you are still around to complain. Hope everything turns out for you.

 

[JDE]

I'm a long way away from Cali but from what I hear, there's a good percentage of accidents caused by illegal drivers (Mexican).
I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case , and why they didn't stop.
I too, am glad you are still around to complain. Hope everything turns out for you.

I think that might be a lot of media hype. I've now been involved in two accidents in my life within the last 5 years, both on motorcycles. First was a Caucasian male driving on a suspended license with minimal insurance and the second was caused by a African American gentleman with no insurance. Maybe I was just lucky not to get hit by a Mexican.

 

[MZ5]

Sorry to hear of your wreck, calbigbird. Glad you're pretty much okay!

I've heard the same informal thing about modular helmets and Snell certification. The IS a Snell-certified modular or two, though, or at least there _were_. LS2 had a certified modular, and so did Zeus. Those were both M2010 helmets. LS2 no longer claims that model is Snell-certified, and I haven't looked for Zeus.

 

[MiG Angel]

Being rear ended is also one of my biggest concerns. I have gone down before all on my own and my SiDi boots saved my toes, I know because of the large amount of bruising and bleeding from my toe nails. I was also wearing race gloves with hard parts in all the right places that saved my fingers. I've been thinking about buying a bright yellow or white helmet but also doubt if it'll make a difference when people are on their phones...I'm glad you are okay bigbird. Being a motorcop is one of the jobs I've always been interested in.

 

[bduffey]

Glad to hear your not as dinged-up as you could have been. I wear Hi-Vis in both my jackets and my helmets. I definitely have noticed a difference in cage-drivers noticing me. But is there any guaranteed solution to inattentive drivers? NO!

Not to hijack the thread, but........ someone told me once that American helmet manufacturers conduct their own tests on their helmets and submit the results to the DOT to get rated, while European and Asian manufacturers must submit product samples to the governing agency to receive a SNELL rating. Don't know if that is true, but .............

 

[calbigbird]

I would rather this thread not sink to pointing fingers about any class of drivers. My intention was to point out my experience with the safety gear I was wearing.

One thing that I generally add to any bike is safety lighting. The back of my Nc had a "ghost light." It is a light used by many police/fire agencies to enhance conspicuity. It is a small LED light that is solid as a supplemental tail light and blinks rapidly 5 times when the brakes are applied. It is almost annoyingly bright. I think Stevie Wonder could have seen it. I also replaced the silver strips in the Honda top trunk with reflector tape and have reflective piping on my jacket. I think the other driver should have seen me if he/she had their head in the drive instead another location.

Ride safe.

 

[motard-menace]

Calbigbird, From one motor to another, glad you survived the ride. Proper riding gear sure can save our bacon. Like you said, if you would have had riding pants on, your injuries would be less most likely, but also look at the good. Riding with the gear you had on saved a lot of pain too. I think back on all the days I was on a motor with 3/4 helmet and gloves and nothing more. Feckin crazy when you think about it. I slid down the US60 here in the Phoenix Metro back in 2005 for 150 feet with nothing but my BP vest, helmet & gloves. Did quite a bit of damage that put me on desk duty for 6 months but still walked away from it. I think back if I would have had proper gear on that day it may have been less damage to me and yet as an agency we never wear it, still to this day they don't. I'll confess I usually only ride with a modular, a proper riding jacket, gloves and moto-boots. Might need to start throwing the pants on. Problem here is the damn heat in the summer, I wear them in the winter but its hard to put that extra layer on your legs when you know its 100+ outside. As for all the folks guessing as to who or how it happened, its all speculation. It could have been a drunk, it could have been someone's mother who knows. Bottom line is Calbigbird is still here to provide a little wisdom. Thanks for your time!

 

[Lou Wambsganss]

I had a very similar story a few years back (2007-2008ish?). Coming home on the interstate at night, I was rear ended by a car merging onto the highway. The headlights were rectangular and far apart, so I'm thinking old Caprice or LTD or something. Anyway, the driver hit me hard and never stopped. I remember seeing the support beams of a bridge over me as I was flying. I never lost consciousness. I had a leather jacket, but my elbows were still slightly scuffed just from the impact. My pants were just basic uniform service mechanic pants. I wore two round butt cheek holes through my pants and underwear. A truck driver saw the bike in the road and stopped to see if I was OK. A state trooper stopped a minute later. Despite my requests, he wasn't interested in trying to find the car. He insisted on calling an ambulance. I loaded myself into the back and just sat on a normal seat on the way to the hospital. Once there, a young nurse (male) rinsed my butt cheeks with some saline solution. I had to call my dad to bring me some new pants and underwear and take me home. The ambulance ride plus the ER visit added up to exactly $1,000.00, which is the coverage on my motorcycle insurance. That just shows you how wrongly the medical system works. They billed the exact maximum amount they know that my insurance would pay.

The bike was an 81 Yamaha Virago. It was totaled. The bad parts was I had just gotten the carbs jetted and synced to my liking and it was running the best it ever had in the 3 or 4 years I had owned it.

 

[Old Can Ride]

About 5 years ago, I got to talk to a guy that worked for Snell(the helmet evaluation guys). I asked him about modular helmets. His immediate answer was that no modular helmets had ever been given to them for an "official" evaluation. When i pressed him about it, he stated "unofficially" every one they had tested popped open on impact. Glad you are relatively O.K. Bikes can be replaced. We cannot.

You are correct in saying most modular helmets will pop open. The secret is in the locking mechanism. Most just have plastic, and are DOT rated. However, there are a few modular helmets from Europe that do have stainless steel locking mechanisms. Sharp even has Europe's highest rating. However, the Sharp is very expensive!

 

[MichaelJohn]

You are correct in saying most modular helmets will pop open. The secret is in the locking mechanism. Most just have plastic, and are DOT rated. However, there are a few modular helmets from Europe that do have stainless steel locking mechanisms. Sharp even has Europe's highest rating. However, the Sharp is very expensive!

I think you mean Shark, SHARP is the rating system. But thank you for posting this because I looked up my Shark Evoline 3 modular and it got a 5 out of 5 rating from SHARP so I feel a little better now.

Edit: I just dug a little deeper into the SHARP website and the 5 star rating for the Evoline 3 is for impact. There is another bit of info that gives the percentage of impacts where the faceguard remains fully locked and the Evoline is at 57% - not so hot. Just for comparison I checked some Nolan modulars and the ones I saw were all at 100%. I think I'll be getting another helmet.

 

[Old Can Ride]

I think you mean Shark, SHARP is the rating system. But thank you for posting this because I looked up my Shark Evoline 3 modular and it got a 5 out of 5 rating from SHARP so I feel a little better now.

Edit: I just dug a little deeper into the SHARP website and the 5 star rating for the Evoline 3 is for impact. There is another bit of info that gives the percentage of impacts where the faceguard remains fully locked and the Evoline is at 57% - not so hot. Just for comparison I checked some Nolan modulars and the ones I saw were all at 100%. I think I'll be getting another helmet.

Here is a picture of Shark EVO helmet with the stainless steel fasteners. Worked for me! Did not open up at a 65 mph impact. The entire front noise vents were ripped off the helmet, and it still did not open up!

 

[Fuzzy]

Read Web Bike or other helmet reviews. They comment on latches for flip up helmets. Not all are created equal.

I always double check mine is fully latched giving a tug after closing. Easy to close and not be latched on some flip ups.

Flip up has much more protection than open face. Less than a standard full face but at a huge convenience benefit. Lots of tradeoffs in gear selection.

 

[dduelin]

Wow that's a fantastic story and glad you posted it. Lots to mull over in post #1. In addition to armoured mesh and solid textile pants I have a pair of steel mesh reinforced jeans. I still feel like I'm taking extra risk in the riding jeans despite the steel in the knees and butt.

 

[SergeantChuck]

Most importantly, your Ok. I admit there are days I am lazy and I don't put my suit pants on. It's a chance I take and your story serves as a reminder as to what can happen. Thanks for posting.

 

[jtkirk]

Wishing you a speedy recovery. When I was hit 22 years ago I had a full face helmet, dress pants & shirt, and cowboy boots. Didn't fare as well as you. ATGATT all the time now. I was younger (physically anyway - mentally I'm still around 12 lol) then and more foolish.

 

[serge]

Being rear ended is also one of my biggest concerns. I have gone down before all on my own and my SiDi boots saved my toes, I know because of the large amount of bruising and bleeding from my toe nails. I was also wearing race gloves with hard parts in all the right places that saved my fingers. I've been thinking about buying a bright yellow or white helmet but also doubt if it'll make a difference when people are on their phones...I'm glad you are okay bigbird. Being a motorcop is one of the jobs I've always been interested in.

I had black helmets for 10 years but experience of a SUV driver looking straight at me and then making left turn just in front of me going 20 mph, made me rethink this. It took a while to get used to high-viz helmet, but now I feel good about being more visible and with the LED strobbing on a back of the helmet at night. More girls look at me with helmet on as well

The truth is that driving habits becomes subconscious after a while and if it does not look like a human or like a car, it can be filtered out, phone or not. Of course those drivers who have interest in motorcylces will not miss it

 

[BerndM]

Very very happy that you are basically OK after what could have been a much more tragic event.
I ride the 91 a lot since I live very near the 91 / 55 interchange and there are scary moments out there.
Where on the 91 did this happen?
I would be curious to know which insurance you had on the bike and how things eventually end up.
Take care
Bernd