Crash scene while riding

[patmahoney]

I was out enjoying a break from the rain today; riding the high I get from riding my Nomad. I came around a corner on one of my favorite routes and was stopped in my tracks by a LEO road block. As I pulled over I noticed two people being loaded into ambulances, I cut my engine to wait for the road to re-open. A woman standing by the side of the road said "you be careful on that motorcycle" Turns out the people being put in the ambulances were two riders that failed to make it around the next turn. Talking to one of the LEOs I found out the two were speeding and possibly racing when one went down and took out the other. All things considered they were lucky, some broken bones and banged up but both will be fine. LEO said they both just missed several trees.
This got me thinking, how many have witnessed or come across wrecks while riding? Have you ever had second thoughts about riding afterward? We talk about and read about other's wrecks and close calls but does seeing it first hand make you take pause. In my case I was thankful they were relatively okay then cranked up my Nomad and went on my way.

[pagemastr]

I have not come across one while riding, but driving home from work I have seen the aftermath of a bike getting rear ended. The car hit the bike so hard I could see where the hood of a 70's caprice was folded into a V half way to the windshield from the the girl passenger who died. Watch my mirrors pretty close while riding since.

[peterdarby]

Came across a big twin rider in Penn. He failed to make a curve. No helmet but he went into the grass. He looked like the typical middleaged rider who can now afford the bike he always wanted. But couldn't afford before. It was an easy curve so I suspect he didn't have a lot of experience, paniced and tried to turn the handlebars rather than lean and countersteer. It happens a lot with new riders Somewhere on the internet there is a picture of a Harley going off the side of a mountain in a curve and if you look close you can see the bike wiggling as he vainly tries to turn the front wheel. The guy in front leaned and negotiated the curve just fine.

[bennynomad]

I was on the Cherohala Skyway Saturday the 13th. Coming from Robbinsville going west about 8 miles into the trip I came across a very bad sport bike accident. It looked like the rider did not negotiate a curve, side swiped a minivan and the bike disintegrated into many pieces that I had to negotiate around after they let traffic through. The rider appeared to be up against the guard rail where EMS were working on him. The strange thing was you did not see the EMS scrambling around like you normally do, so he may have not made it. With the condition of the bike, I would have been surprised he did. There were many bikes and a few cars stopped, so I negotiated around the wreckage and went on my way.

I do have to say I thought about that scene all weekend riding the Carolina mountains, and even though I am not in it for the speed aspect, I was more careful than usual. It makes a person think what can happen if you lose one moment of concentration.

On a group ride I saw 2 bikes go down in a tight corner, they were just 1 bike ahead of me. One locked the rear tire which caused a high side fall and the other went into rear of the one falling. Definetly ruined our day, but they were ok with relatively minor injuries.

[dandolfn]

I've never seen a bike accident.

The worst case I heard of happened to a co-worker. She had a 17 year old son who asked to buy a bike. She said absolutely not!

Coming home from work one day, she drives past a motorcycle accident scene where the body was covered in the road with a blanket.

A couple hours later, the police came to the door and told her that he son had been killed in a bike accident. She said "that's impossible!"

But it turned out the son's girlfriend's parents had let him buy a bike with his own money but keep it at their house so his mother wouldn't find out about it. The accident wasn't his fault; an older driver had made a left turn in front of him.

Somehow my co-worker survived. I'm not sure I would have, if that had been my son.

And I KNOW I would have wanted to kill the girlfriend's parents!

[desertdog]

Many years ago, BIL and I were headed into town to run some errands in BIL's van. A bike with a rider wearing shorts, a tank top, and helmet was in front of us. As we watched him go into a turn, I told BIL, he's going too fast.

Just then a caddy came along in the opposite lane. Rider fixated on Caddy, and hit him head on, spun the caddy around, and he went flying.

BIL stopped our van, and I told him to go call help, (he does not deal well with blood). Rider was laying on the side of the road, blown out of his shoes.

Guy looked messed up, I did a quick check, he was breathing, leg was really bad, I spent the rest of the time till the cops and ambulance got there keeping others from trying to help him by moving him off the road, or taking his helmet off.

Found out a couple of days later all he got out of it was a broken ankle, and a concussion. Why he was not killed I don't know. He later sued the guy driving the Caddy.

My BIL sold his bike the next week and has never gotten on once since. I still ride.

[tazfl]

I've never come across a serious (as in fatality or severe injury) crash scene. I have been on two rides where we had a group of about 10 riders and on these rides one person went down both times. Each time the rider misjudged a curve and ended up going off the road and going down in the grass so I guess you could say they were lucky in that sense that it wasn't on the asphalt. They were able to get up and the bike was ridable although a few bent parts.

[cnc]

"This got me thinking, how many have witnessed or come across wrecks while riding? Have you ever had second thoughts about riding afterward? "

Quite a number of years ago My wife and I were headed up to our cottage and our (at the time) young kids were in the rear of the cab of our King-cab Nissan pick up.
As we rounded a gentle bend on a two lane highway doing about 100 kph, a car coming the other way and on the outside of the curve made a funny whirring noise as it passed. This caused me to look in my rear view mirror just in time to see the car cross over into my lane and smash head on into the car directly behind me. It seemed like every thing happened in slow motion. hoods flying up, pieces flying everywhere, the cars themselves spinning in some weird dance and other cars following taking to the ditch to avoid the crash. The two in the car that crossed over were killed and the two in the car behind driving a big old Ford galley 500 were in very serious condition.
This shock me so bad I could hardly drive and it bothered me for months after. I knew we would have all been dead had she hit my little Nissan and I am quite sure had I been on a bike that day I would never had ridden again.

[patmahoney]

cnc - without getting too spiritual or cosmic; your experience takes me to an idea that I always seem to fall back on when thinking about this kind of stuff... that is, when it is your time, it is your time. The circumstances don't matter; could be walking down the street, in your home, in a car, on your bike or having sex http://s2.images.proboards.com/shocked.gif. That car didn't take out you and your family because, thank goodness, it wasn't your time. Maybe that is why some people survive horrific crashes, while others are killed in relatively minor accidents.

[dandolfn]

when it is your time, it is your time.

I'm kind of a fatalist, too. A guy my wife worked with was heading home on I-595 in Ft Lauderdale, minding his own business, not causing any problems.

Someone on the overpass above him went off the road and landed on top of the guy's car, killing him instantly.

How could you foresee/prevent anything like that?

It was just his time to go.

[macmac]

This is common around New Hampshire this very week, so I have seen many more than my fair share of dead and baddly injured riders over the years, while laconia bike week is on.

A few years back 3 bikes ridden 2 up went down in 3 different places for moose, and one for bear, not to mention other crashes.

I saw a rider rear end a stopped other rider also 2 up and all 3 were killed dead right then and there. The stopped rider was stopped in traffic.

So long as it rains which is has, the death count will be low this year, but there have already been bad crashes since Friday.

[cnc]

You are right PatrickM, I guess when its your time its your time and while this was not bike related it sure did make me take pause. I once calculated the combined speed to be around 175 feet per second and the car behind us was probably less than half that distance.
Anyway good thread, I hope it reminds us all to be a little bit cautious even if you can not be defensive in all situations.

CNC

[barrynfla]

I came across a bike wreck a couple of years ago. I pulled over and found out a guy and gal on a sportbike ran into the back of a pickup. I saw the guy just lying there in the median not moving and nobody was paying attention to him. I reckon they were all working on the girl as the helicopter came to get her. They then covered him up with a blanket. I don't know if she lived or not. It bothered me for a while but I didn't stop riding. He must have been flying as the Yamaha was shattered in pieces.

[macmac]

LBW has 3 dead, and more injured now. It isn't easy compiling stats, because there is no unifomity in reporting.

This paper says what I just did but longer.
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Three+die+in+separate+motorc ycle+accidents&articleId=c33ce848-469b-4f4a-aa4e-6e92f50e8958

In my town there is a so far unreported bike accident, where I believe more than one bike was involved, but I don't know any details. I over heard this in a store, from the store police scanner.

Still colder and wetter, so accidents may be lower than normal.

If you like google Laconia Bike Week, and you may get more info that I know of...

Later today I may go investigate around some for kicks.

[ringadingh]

Ive seen a couple accidents in the past and although they were hurt, there were no fatality's. Ive also come off a bike at 70mph after hitting an oil spill on the road, I got up and was a bit stiff for a couple days, and the bike was a writeoff. I do beleive when its your time you could slip on a banana peel and it all over.

[jamiep24]

Nothing's gonna slow down my riding. Been waiting 45 years for this. Not gonna die worrying about it.

[pirate]

I've been fortunate not to be in or witness a motorcycle crash in my life. (I am now knocking on my wooden computer desk!) Hope that streak continues.

[schoeney]

Seen 2 motorcycle wrecks in my life. Both fatalities.

One ended up with a semi tractor w/flatbed trailer wheel sitting on the biker's head....gruesome.

The impact took the biker completely out of his boots and fortunately tossed his girlfriend about 100 ft through the air and over the trailer. She was fine with the exception of a few scratches and road rash. He was being stupid...popping a wheelie and going 80mph in a 40 zone. I felt bad for the trucker....not his fault but he was sitting on the step of his truck crying.

The other one was a couple leaving a bar...not sure if they had been drinking or who's fault.

[burkazoid]

when it is your time, it is your time.

I agree, but prefer to say "When the Lord calls you home, you don't question Him, you just go." And, I like to think of the death of loved ones in terms of "The Lord simply has more important things for them to do."