Survey - Motorbike crash experiences

ifah

Hi all,

as a fallout from the helmet/no helmet discussion and ensuing crash stats how about post details of their own experiences - any crash they were in, whose fault it was, what speed, what gear they were wearing, what road conditions were like and how much damage they took ?

I'll get the ball rolling -
Only one incident in 2.5 years biking.

Car driver coming from opposite direction did illegal right turn across two continuous white lines about 10m in front of me. I managed to bring the bike around the front of the car but lost the back wheel -
driving rain at the time, roads very wet.
My speed - 40kph (after traffic lights)
Gear - full face helmet, oxtar boots, weise jacket + pants (cordura,armoured), high-vis vest and leather/kevlar gloves.
Damage - to me - just sprained my shoulder
Damage - to gear - one glove shredded down to internal lining, stitching on one knee on pants worn, elbow + shoulder on jacket worn down past stitching, helmet just knocked a few times on road.
Impact on road - fell to side of bike after rear wheel slipped away. tumbled down road about 20 m.

KTRIC

This happened to me in 2001

Decided to bring the bike down to the local gas station for a quick topup. It was a very warm Sunday and I was just after polishing my first cruiser. So I just stuck on the helmet and off I went. Whilst turning a slow corner on to the street where the station was I hit some gravel and my back wheel spun out. I hit the ground. Alot of damage to me (see details below), bike was ok and all the confusion some guy tried to rob the bike !! :eek:

My speed - 20 - 30 kph
Gear - combats, boots, a t-shirt and helmet
Damage - to me - severe abrasion from the combats on my legs, skin torn from elbows and hands. Broken right leg in 3 places.
Damage - to gear - what gear ??
Impact on road - The road looked fine.


It was quite a strange expierience to say the least, they things that were going through my head at the time after the accident as i sat on the path is the I must look like the guy from Army of Darkness and how do I stop that guy walking away with my bike with my shattered leg.

Moral of the story lads , wear your bloody gear

Roddy23

One incident for me in three years driving an Aprilia sr 50.

Was making my way into work going up through dundrum about 7am. Was coming up the hill past Mount Carmel Hospital, only doing about 30mph, just at the top of the hill, when a car approaching took a swift left across me, that wasn't the problem, there was another car behind him who thought he'd make it too. He saw me coming and just froze, resulting in me ramming into the side of his car, flipping off the bike, over his bonnet, and onto my back on the ground. His passenger door of his car, was in bits, my bike was a total write off, but somehow I wasn't hurt as bad as it could have been. A lot of bruising, scratches, and a week off work.

The driver claimed full responsibility, and I had about 5 witnesses who said he was totally in the wrong.

seamus

One crash in four years of biking.

I'd had my 125 cruiser about three weeks, and I was heading into college. It had been raining that morning, but it had stopped (worst kind of roads, super slippy). I drove onto a roundabout, taking the last exit. As I approached my exit, a car pulled straight onto the roundabout without looking. I panic, and of course, slam on both brakes, but pull the front brake much harder than I push down on the rear. Wet road, me in a lean on a roundabout, predictable results. Wasn't doing much more than 15mph, so I only slid around ten feet.

Gear I was wearing: Helmet, gloves, jeans, runners, and a standard windbreaker jacket
Damage to me: Bruised ego, sore right thigh, sore right forearm
Damage to bike: Scraping and denting on the chrome.
Damage to gear: Jeans slightly torn, arm of jacket ripped open.

Of course it taught me a lot about gear very quickly. Despite the fact that my hand broke most of my fall, the glove protected it completely while the jacket and jeans were torn by what was a minor fall.

I was very lucky for that to be my only incident in 4 years. I had my fair share of "New trousers please" moments though

sutty

In 4 years (all with in the first 10months of that) I had 3 incadents. 2 drops and 1 crash.

The first was taking the corner into the road leading to Liffy vally from the N4. It was light rain (the stick to your visor type) and the light on the turn was out and it was dark. When taking the corner, I realised I was taking it to fast (about 30mph) and not leaning enough. I cliped the crub and was trown off the bike into the grass/mud

-My speed: 30mph
-Gear: Helmet, armored gloves, Ixon Armored jacket, Bike boots and Amored pants.
-Damage to me: All my nice clean gear got muddy
-Damage to bike: Right tear drop on Verago125 got scrached.
-Impacked on ground: Funky skid mark in the shape of my sholder

My second drop a few weeks later. Was driving in icey weather. Someone had poored water on the ground at the flats on wexford street beside mega bikes in dublin. Took corner at less than 5mph, one foot just off ground and no leaning. Back wheel spoon out and I dropped the bike. No real damage to bike or my-self (the gard who dropped his 10 seconds later was ok too and we both helped pick each others bikes up)

-Speed: less than 5mph
-Gear: Full armored again
-No damage done

The third was a full crash. Traveling into work on on the 5th of September 2003. Nice morning clear skys dry road and and sunshining. Just after going under the N4 walk over by liffy vally, coming up to the M50 roundabout. Traffic was moving but very boxy. Driver ahead falls asleep at the wheel (we are in the 3rd lane to go south bound on M50 or two go to dublin) Driver swerves and impacks with car in middle lane. This bounces him back into the third land and to a full stop. I start to brake but not on time. I impacted the back of his car and get flipped over the bike. My left arm gets cought in the bike and I end up getting slung onto the back of the car. Case went to court. driver of car insuracne company (they couldn't locate him after a few months I beleave) settled outside of court. Crash investagaters find him to be primary cause of the crash, and my distance/speed (40mph) to be secondary.

-Speed:40mph
-Gear: Helmet, Gloves, Ixon Jacket, combats and runners.
-Damage to me: Torn ligaments in left arm (loss of use of arm for over 2 months), Brused tale bone, Damage to both knees (this is permant damage) knees not longer absorb shocks/vibrations, cuts and brusing of grion from impact on fuel tank. (and lets just say I have a scar in an interesting place now), Right sholder brused and torn muscles.
-Damage to bike: Bike was a write off.
-Damage to Car: Dent/crack in rear bumper, dent in boot from body impacting on it.

Got a new bike a month later. Nearly 3 years on, not had any problems.

Kinetic^

A couple of small accidents and 1 big.

Travelling down the tallaght road away from the village, a car crossed my lane to go towards the Panny Black, didn't see me and my front wheel hit his back wheel and I went over the top and landed on the ground. My legs took most of the fall.

Speed: 30-40mph
Gear: Helmet & gloves and just normal clothes
Injuries: swollen knees but nothing major thank god
Damage to bike: write off
Damage to car: none

Was seriously afraid to get back on a bike for weeks after it happened.

I had a similar fall like sutty on Ice too, going about 5mph and the front wheel came out next thing I'm on the ground. No injuries or damage.

I've currently had my Burgman 125 for 2 years (at the end of this month) and I've had no crashes on it thank god *tough wood*

Garibaldi

Three crashes in 12 years.
Crash 1: Spent too long looking at the scenery, on a bright Summer's day, around Sally Gap in Wicklow, ran straight off the road and into a ditch. Mercifully very low speed, and damage consisted of mucky left-side fairing, and mud on the jeans. Luckily, there were no tourists with cameras to, ehh, preserve the moment.

Crash 2: An altogether different experience to the above. Absolutely lashing rain, riding up a side-street in Dun Laoghaire. As I was crossing a T-junction (I was on the horizontal part of the T, if ye get me), highly intelligent woman decides not to stop for the junction (it's only a side street, after all), and runs straight into my left side. The car had previously been crashed, so I was hit by the nice rusty jaggy bits on the front. I managed to move my left leg up, just before the impact, but not fast enough to avoid it being squashed. Head whacked off the ground and a parked car, and I wound up under the moving car.
My speed: ~30kph
Gear worn: Arai full-face lid, jacket with some kind of crappy foam-pad "armour", leathers, boots, padded leggings, soft gloves.
Damage to me: Bit of a headache, severe bruising to entire length of right side of body, left leg swelled up like a baloon (I believe the medical term used was "Extensive soft tissue damage due to blunt trauma"), crutches for a week, attended specialists for a month.
Damage to gear: Chin bar and upper right side of lid cracked, right glove torn.
Damage to bike: Very little, strangely enough. Broken brake lever, gear linkage, brake pedal, and scratched exhaust.

Crash 3: Lashing rain again. Riding through Drumcondra on a winter's evening. At that junction, just before the Guinness bridge (northbound), (stationary line of traffic to my right, my lane virtually empty, bus lane empty to the left) was taken out by a southbound car turning right, across my path. Car didn't stop, by the way. I went down hard on my right knee, tumbled down the road for about 10 metres, using my face as a brake, bike slid along the ground and managed not to hit anyone else.
My speed: ~40-50kph
Gear worn: Arai full-face lid, Clover jacket with articulated kevlar armour, Rev-It armoured leathers, Daytona boots, Held armoured gloves.
Damage to me: Bit of a headache, bruising to both hands, severe bruising to tuberosity around right knee area.
Damage to gear: Deep gouges in lid, small hole torn in jacket pocket, superficial damage to leathers' knees.
Damage to bike: Crash bars destroyed, handlebars bent, windshield cracked, telelever dented, steering lock stop sheared off, dented petrol tank, bent subframe, bent forks, numerous other bits and pieces knacked. Basically, it was written off.
I actually have to laugh about this one, purely because of the courier who stopped to help, immediately afterwards. He pulls up beside me as I'm stumbling around (note: don't stand up too fast after a tumble) and says "Well, he wasn't stopping, was he?" I know it doesn't translate so well in type, but the way he said it just cracked me up, and still does.

Countless near misses in 12 years.
Damage to inside of pants: Ahem.....

seamus

Keyser Soze 5 wrote:

My legs took most of the fall.

Ouch. I'd say you're weren't walking properly for a week or two.

Spent too long looking at the scenery, on a bright Summer's day, around Sally Gap in Wicklow, ran straight off the road and into a ditch.

Is it wrong that I laughed at this? Ultimate bruised ego crash

Kinetic^

seamus wrote:

Ouch. I'd say you're weren't walking properly for a week or two.

Yeah I could barely walk out of the hospital, cnuts wouldn't give me crutches.

Mr.B

Here's one for ye all!!

1 big one in 10 years.

Had it in 1998

Was driving on my second bike years ago, a new NSR125

Heading down main road at 60mph, 700m straight stretch in front of me, 9.20pm, lovely August evening.

Car comes to left junction and stops way in front of me looking to get onto the main road. As I come along, out he pulls in his Beemer.

I smash into him at 60mph per hour, flung into the side of his car, bounced over to other side of road, That was the ok bit. A bus travelling behind me swerves to avoid the accident and goes straight through me while I'm bouncing along the road!!!

Bike: Nsr125R
Gear: Arai Helmet, armoured jacket and gloves, Light pants and boots!!

Damage:

Bike: Complete write off and flattened
Gear: Hardly a mark on anything. The helmet had the smallest scratch. A lot to be said for paying a lot of money for an Arai helmet

ME!!: Clinically dead at roadside for 4 minutes & Declared dead at accident. Put into ambulance, but someone decided to give me another go and gave me a couple of jumpstarts. Rushed between 3 hospitals for emergency surgery.

Both knee caps popped from my leg. Smashed badly left upper thigh bone. Left wrist broken completekly in 2 places (but took them 2 weeks to find this!!) Left Hip Bust. Left arm from elbow to shoulder completely shattered to pieces. Left shoulder busted. Left shoulder blade busted. Thought my spine was cracked or broken. Lacerations all over.

Made an amazing recovery though. Was told to expect to be in hospital for 4 months & maybe have problems walking for ever. Was out after 13 days and walking (although barely & with assistance) 2 days after that.

Reminders: Steel pin in left upper arm from elbow to shoulder. Wicked looking scars on both knees.

And to top it all off, I wasn't in the wrong, but nobody was ever prosecuted even though investigating Gardai recommended procesution. Gotta love the Irish legal system!!

Was off bikes since then until last year, not through fear, just couldn't afford one with the car. Bought a lovely CBR600f last Summer and love every minute of it. People think I'm mad, but if you were in a car crash, does that mean you'd never get into a car again!!!
Sorry for the long message, but it was an interesting accident to say the least.
And no, before anyone asks... I didn't see any white light!!!

Roddy23

thats like one of those credit card add's:

a bike costing €10,000
fullbody armour costing €600
damage to car €2,000
time spent in hopsital €1500

one bloody eejit in a Beemer

Priceless!!

Pigeon Reaper

Seems to be a recurring theme with people pulling out. Had one bad crash and two minor incidents. Bad crash involved a truck on the wrong side of the road on a blind bend and gravel. I hit gravel avoiding the truck by going onto the hard shoulder on ended up skidding on my arse for 20M. The font of the bike had to be rebuilt as it hit the ditch. I was wearing cordura that was in bits afterwards. Truck didn't stop but a car behind me managed to stop after it drove into a driveway to avoid a headon collision. I had a slightly brusied hip despite padding.

Another incident involved a car hitting me on a roundabout. The guy pulled onto the roundabout into the side of me. I realised he was going to pull out and tried to avoid him but it didn't work. Bent the fairing subframe and cracked the fairing and bent hadlebar. Did the side of his car in and the bonnet. He claimed he didn't see me. Turned out he was 17 on his first provisional which he had received two weeks previously driving without insurance in a 17 year old car.

The third incident involved a deaf cyclist who decided to cycle in front of me. I managed to slam on the brakes and swerve to avoid him but he turned back across into the road to avoid on oncoming car and cycled straight into me. Broke the indicator and scared both of us sh*tless. I was going at 25kph before the guy decided to perform an illegal right turn without indicating or looking while I was passing him. He was in the cycle lane and swung out. If I had been in a car I wouldn't have avoided him due to the width of the car. Anyhow after a minutes cursing at him and asking what he was thinking I realised that he was deaf. It was funny as hell but I reckon he'll check before turning in future.

Since starting biking I've been wearing more protective gear and it seems most people on the site here do the same. I now wear leathers and a back protector as I realised cordura was grand at low speeds but wouldn't protect after around 80kph.

Pigeon Reaper

Roddy23 wrote:

thats like one of those credit card add's:

a bike costing €10,000
fullbody armour costing €600
damage to car €2,000
time spent in hopsital €1500

one bloody eejit in a Beemer

Priceless!!

you forgot one thing

clean underwear €5

sutty

Mr B gets the award for best crash so far! Glad to hear you are okish now.

Mr.B

Woohoooooo!!
So what do I win?

A future hip replacement and a spare shoulder!! ha ha

Any of you guys in here from the west side of Ireland - Galway, Clare, Limerick?

sutty

er.... prizes?!?!
ehhh.. yeah... QUICK LOOK OVER THERE! *points*



/me runs off laughing

Garibaldi

seamus wrote:

Is it wrong that I laughed at this? Ultimate bruised ego crash

The day we can't laugh at somebody for being a dumbass will be...ehhh.....a sombre day. Or something.

Garibaldi

seamus wrote:

Is it wrong that I laughed at this? Ultimate bruised ego crash

The day we can't laugh at somebody for being a dumbass will be...ehhh.....a day without laughter. Or something.

Raytown Rocks

Hi Guys

Have a story about a friend of mine involved in a bike crash a few years back.
He was coming down the tallaght bypass,( the part just after the m50 starts), when a car came across from the far side of the road to turn into the garage.
The car driver was crossing from the far side of the road and came straight in front of him. He hit the car then hit the deck.
He broke his collar bone, and had a few other scrapes and bruises.
Now this is where it all went a bit mad.
Another biker had come across to help him while waiting for the emergency services, saying he had seen it all.
The cops and an ambulance arrived. The ambulance crew gave him oxygen etc, while the cops asked their questions.
The 3rd party biker assisted the cops with details of the crash, he then told them he was a mate of my friend who had crashed. He said that they had both been going for a spin, he also said he would look after his bike for him, and also said that he only lived across the road from where the accident had happened.
So the cops took his details and headed away.( Of course these details were pure ****e)
My mate was brought to hospital,
He later contacted the cops to get his bike only to be told his mate at the scene had it.....!!!!!what mate he asks...I was on my own.
Needless to say his bike was never seen again.
Just shows that there are some amount of opportunist A-holes out there.

Sorry if its slightly off topic, but though you might find it interesting.

fish-head

Well that settles it then, I'm not getting a bike..

Just one incident so far....

Was riding my TDR into IT tallaght one morning and I went to go up on the kerb as i had done countless times before. A combination of some wet leaves, a slippy kerb and a more acute angle than usual resulted in the bike falling directly sideways on me. So it was bike, me, then kerb.

My speed - 15kpk
Gear - full face helmet, dainese leather boots, lookwell textile jacket and pants, both with armour, dainese textilekevlar gloves.
Damage - to me - massive bruising on my ass and hips, very strained back for about a week
Damage - to gear - Button on pocket ripped clean off, none apart from this. There was no forward motion. I literall fell straight down followed by the bike
Impact on road - Fell to the left of bike and hit my hip on a high kerb. Bike fell with on top of mw then which hurt like hell. Lucky it was a 125.

NiSmO

This post has been deleted.

It's not about looking cool Nismo! Wear your gear! I probably would have had a broken hip if I had no armoured trousers on.

Also, you should ride defensively. Most people in a car wont even bother to look out for you so you have to assume they are going to do something stupid like pull out in front of you or turn without signalling. You can do your bit by riding your ped sensibly too.

NiSmO

This post has been deleted.

Hotblack Desiato

It's crazy how so many people wear an armoured jacket (though often with no back protector, the most important bit!) BUT think they're grand wearing ordinary jeans and shoes, or boots not designed for biking.

Leg injuries are very common in bike accidents and they can be permanently disabling to a greater or lesser degree.

A car turning right drove into the side of my bike last year, hit me straight in the leg, without proper bike boots I would have had a lot of damage to my foot and probably a busted ankle, pretty nasty. As it was I had 3 broken toes but the rest of the foot and ankle was fine. I also had a simple break to my kneecap (no damage to the knee joint) which could have been a lot worse if I hadn't been wearing armoured leathers. I'd never ride without them now.

So my point is - don't think that the need for protection stops at the waist.

Yeah, I wear my draggin jeans (kevlar lines + knee armour) combats for short journeys but wear more substantial gear on longer trips. I read some guys were wearing runners too, not the most sensible! I heard a horror story (which may be an urban legend) about a guy who got the gear selector or brake twisted in with his laces.

Unfortunatley no matter whose fault the accident is, it's us who gets the short end of the stick. I think one of the problems that puts folk off is that many mightn't have a safe place for their gear when they get to college or work.

seamus

baz8080 wrote:

I heard a horror story (which may be an urban legend) about a guy who got the gear selector or brake twisted in with his laces.

That has happened to me a few times in the past. The existence of laces doesn't even register as a concern until you're doing 60mph and you're trying to unhook yourself from the gearstick. Moral: Get proper boots!

As for the pulling out thing, the problem isn't that driver's don't bother to look for motorbikes, but that they don't see them. Subconsciously, when most drivers look left and right, they're not just looking for anything, but they're looking for very specific traffic - cars, trucks, busses. You'll find that they don't see what they're not looking for - motorbikes, pushbikes, pedestrians, etc.

Hotblack Desiato

Unfortunately I've heard of a couple of people who crashed wearing Draggin' Jeans and got practically no protection from them. Kevlar stitching and armour is no good if the material isn't strong enough.

Laces - yes that does happen. If you don't tie them in a double knot, then you can pull your foot free if it does get tangled.

Also never wear steel toe caps on a bike, if hit hard enough the wrong way they can slice off toes...

Seamus - that sounds scary! I only wore them once with the bike and got so much of an earful from another biker that it was also the last time I wore them.

I'm not expecting miracles from the jeans myself but I figure they are better than standard pants for quick jaunts up and down the road. The average speed I'm doing when I wear them is about 40-50kph.

The steel-toe caps was one I wouldn't have thought about until i read it here, probably was yourself that said it a while ago. I rode out with my steel capped work boots a few times but luckily nothing happened.

Supercell

Once slipped on my ass in the snow in 2001 but that was at 5mph and neither bike nor me was hurt.

That said have sold the bike after about 7 years biking as i reckoned my number was up - everyone I know that has been riding a bike that amount of time had had at least one proper fall involving pain and damage to self and bike.
Last straw was on the turnoff to my road last autumn, the traffic was well backed up, when I made my way to the front, the cause was obvious, a wrecked bike and its rider lying on the road not moving..decided time to get out
Also someone else at the time posted that riders in their 30's are in the highest risk bracket for some reason (over confidance?)

So am now a car driver, but would totally love to ride a bike again..if only there were no cars on the roads!

To anyone thinking of starting biking..don't bloody drive riight beside the bicycle lane..sit in the middle of the fooking road even if its because your little vespa is revving like fook..own the road you drive on..don't let that car behind you be tempted to overtake and wipe you off the road (i'm an ex biker and see this all the time and and think the dumb fecker should have been driving in the middle of the road..besides you will fail your test driving like this)
Stay at the head of traffic...not ever in it..bikes have no place in a queue..stay ahead...and be ultra cautious at any entrance to the road ahead..right of way and yield means bollix to some drivers...you will always come off worse on two wheels than four.

Fair play to the lad that had a near death crash..m8, I think yer insane to be on the bike again, especialy if you have loved ones that would cry if you died.

Gurgle

ifah wrote:

the helmet/no helmet discussion

The only reason not to wear a helmet is a burning desire to be an organ donor.
Same with clothing: Kevlar if you can afford it, leather is a poor substitute but better than cloth.

This looks like I'm a terrible driver, but its over 50,000 miles of biking in 10 years all over the country.

My crashes:
1.
In 1997
Gear: leather jacket & leather jeans.
Speed: 0mph, stopped at a roundabout when the gobshìte behind me in a ford transit with a mobile stuck to his ear ploughed into me.
Damage to me - bit battered, not much.
Damage to Ford Transit - Great big dent in the bonnet, windscreen broken with the back of my helmet[/i]
Damage to bike - back light, mudguard mashed and rear wheel (alloy) split.
I made the mistake of agreeing to let him get the bike fixed. He had it a week, then gave it back saying it was all sorted out. The split in the back wheel became apparent a week later leading to #2

2.
1997
Gear: leather jacket & leather jeans.
Speed: 70mph - back tyre blew out (tube pinched in split alloy), bike went out from under me. I bounced and skidded for a couple of hundred yards.
Damage to me - shoulder banged up, couldn't use my right arm for a week, removed an old scar from my right hip and replaced it with a new one.
Damage to bike - 2 broken indicators.
Right sleeve ripped off my leather jacket.

3.
1998
Speed: 30mph
Gear: leather jacket & cotton jeans.
Speed: 30mph
Mud covered country backroad, 10" deep pothole full of wet muck and invisible. Front wheel went out from under me.
Damage to me - broken arm
Damage to bike - wing mirror broken

4.
2003
Speed: 0mph
Gear: Kevlar jacket & cotton jeans.
Speed: 0mph, stopped at a roundabout when the gobshìte behind me in a ford transit with a mobile stuck to his ear ploughed into me.
Damage to me - None
Damage to Ford Transit - Great big dent in the bonnet, windscreen broken with the back of my helmet[/i]
Damage to bike - back light & faring smashed.

Yes #4 is freakily similar to #1.
I've developed a phobia about Ford Transits, or their drivers anyway.

Hotblack Desiato

Longfield wrote:

That said have sold the bike after about 7 years biking as i reckoned my number was up

Are you the superstitious type? Your accident risk goes way down the more experience you have. Even better if you do advanced training.

Also someone else at the time posted that riders in their 30's are in the highest risk bracket for some reason (over confidance?)

Teenagers are at the highest risk (just like cars) but with insurance costs there's few enough on the road, and insurance and licensing restricts them to very small bikes so few of them would clock up much of a mileage. Relative to the number of them and the mileage they do, teenagers are at very high risk.

30 and 40-something born again bikers who had maybe a 125 years ago, then go out and buy a gixxer thou with no training are at very big risk. It's the years away from bikes, lack of training and huge step up in weight and power which gets them, not the fact their age doesn't begin with a 2.

That sounds eerily familiar to when I was waiting at a stop sign after taking the motorway off-ramp at naas. I had "stopped" at the sign because it said "stop" but a taxi driver, more fond of his rolling though stop signs style, hit me at about 3-5 mph and rolled me forward although i didn't fall.

When I looked back he was chatting to his passenger so I put the bike on the stand and went back to him. Only thing I got out of him was an insincere apology.

Steffano2002

Longfield wrote:

Fair play to the lad that had a near death crash..m8, I think yer insane to be on the bike again, especialy if you have loved ones that would cry if you died.

He actually died! Very lucky to be alive...

I am currently in the process of getting my A License and these stories aren't realy scaring me... They just make me realise that when I do start riding, I'll have to ride very carefully 100% of the time. You can't make a mistake on 2 wheels like you could in a car and you must assume the worse of other road users.

Still, I'm looking forward to riding!

And a little message to all of you who posted here: glad you all survived!

Black Swan

A couple years back, the boy next door died from a collision with a car that did not see him when turning. Head injury from not wearing a helmet was the reported reason for death.

sutty

Blue_Lagoon wrote:

A couple years back, the boy next door died from a collision with a car that did not see him when turning. Head injury from not wearing a helmet was the reported reason for death.

Do you know if he had one? It may have been to big for him or not sealed with the chin strap. This can result in the helmet coming off in an impacted. I cant stress enough for all the new bikers out there. Get a proper fitting helmet. If you can get one that has the british racing aprovel seal on it, all the better. I have to say, I've had 2 helmets. Frist one was a Arai SV. Then 3 (nearly 4 years on) I replaced it with a Arai RX7. It may cost an arm and a leg. But at least it wont cost me my head!

seamus

sutty wrote:

Do you know if he had one? It may have been to big for him or not sealed with the chin strap. This can result in the helmet coming off in an impacted. I cant stress enough for all the new bikers out there. Get a proper fitting helmet. If you can get one that has the british racing aprovel seal on it, all the better. I have to say, I've had 2 helmets. Frist one was a Arai SV. Then 3 (nearly 4 years on) I replaced it with a Arai RX7. It may cost an arm and a leg. But at least it wont cost me my head!

Not to mention the idiots you see on their mopeds (and couriers too!) driving along, helmetn perched on top of their head having a smoke or talking on the phone.

Darwin was really onto something...

Pigeon Reaper

Looks like most crashes are caused by someone else not looking. Is this due to the fact that bad riders are normally dead?

I do admit one incident that I caused. Cleaned the girlfriends bike and had it on the centre stand to lube the chain. I finished and took it off the centre stand and let go forgeting to put the side stand down. Her bike fell ontop of my one. Broke a brake level and bent a mirror stalk. Pure idiocy on my behalf.

Garibaldi

Worst crash I ever saw was a fortnight before I bought my first bike. Some poor unfortunate was heading down towards Strawberry Beds on his chopper. (If you know the old back road into Lucan, it was just before that 90 degree left turn over the bridge.) Some twat in a beemer overtook some other car, less than 100m from the brdige turn, and straight into the path of the chopper. Chopper swerves to avoid, leaves the road (there was a fairly wide grass verge there at the time, not sure if it still is) and loses all control/braking power. He went straight into the wall there, forks detached with the impact and, since the rider was still moving forward, the multiple fork braces cut him in half. Believe me, I'm not exaggerating. I read the next day that he left behind a wife and daughter.
Now that I think of it, this might actually explain my deep aversion to cruiser bikes.

lord lucan

have had 2 serious crashes in 2 years on my mojito custom 50,last year was riding in slushy conditions,snow had just stopped,was slowing towards a roundabout,quick glance in the mirror revealed car travelling at an alarming rate towards a now stationary me,5 seconds later i'm on my arse on the road looking at my bike on its side on the verge.driver admitted he braked late and car just kept sliding,wrecked the back of the bike along with a load of bodywork damage,bumps and bruises aside i was fine,he paid cash so i was happy enough. easter this year i was hit from the side by a women being impatient and trying to jump out to the main road from an estate,she saw the junction box free in gridlocked traffic and made a run for it,said she never even seen me despite headlight/hi-vis.bike got wedged underneath a stationary car in front,i got away lightly with a few bumps and bruises,went through her insurance and got sorted within 6 weeks.

Steffano2002

Just goes to show how bad car drivers are... Scary

Kinetic^

Last week a woman pulled out of a Statoil garage because the other way was clear. I has to almost stop to wait for her to cross and blew her out of it. She didn't even blink, I felt like following her to the traffic lights and screaming the life out of her!! :mad:

Steffano2002

Keyser Soze 5 wrote:

Last week a woman pulled out of a Statoil garage because the other way was clear. I has to almost stop to wait for her to cross and blew her out of it. She didn't even blink, I felt like following her to the traffic lights and screaming the life out of her!! :mad:

You should have! I am (currently) a cyclist and the other day one of these extra long single-decker buses passed me out in a bus lane with maybe 2 inches to spare! He nearly killed me! :eek: I kept going and caught up with him at the following set of traffic lights. I opened the doors from the outside and lashed the f*ck out of him! :mad:

He looked scared cos I was really going to punch the head of him! Dublin bus drivers (not all but 97%) are useless drivers IMO...

ANTO D10 DUB

this will make you laugh , first ever crash i had was'nt my fault it was my DOG'S "bouncer" named after the dog in neighbours , i know thats a joke in itself anyways ,
the ma's house is in a cul de sac with a small green which ye have to drive around to leave .

now from time to time the mutt used to run after me untill he got tired then head home . but one particular day he decided to take the short cut across the green i was halve way around as i looked back i saw him heading straight for me at full tilt , and i thought to myself this stupid bollox is run straight into me ,
as soon as he got to the edge of the green he jumped and landed right on me and knocked me flying .
looking back now i think the worst thing about it was trying pick up the 250 superdream (heavy basterd) and shouting at one of the neighbours with a WHAT THE F@#K ARE YOU LOOKING AT type comment.:D
as for bouncer not a scratch on the fecker but decide not to chase me anymore.

layke

Driving home from work one night, kinda rainy. Old woman decided to cross the road (and was looking at me). She obviusly expected me to stop and let her pass, which was not the case. 1 swerve later I was on my ass skidding down the road watching my bike flying off in a differnt direction.

Never got compensation from the aul bat, who hopped in her car and drove off.
Called the cops, they did nothing.

HelterSkelter

I was on my aprilia 50 coming through Chruchtown. The road was wet from some rain earlier in the day. As I passed over a yellow junction box (wasn't breaking) the bike just skidded from under me! Tore my jeans and cut my knee, luckily there was no cars coming from opposite direction as I ended up on other side of the road. Some woman asked me if I was ok. I said yes and jumped back on the bike, couldn't wait to get away. Stopped further up the road to access the damage to the bike and my knee!!

My speed - 35mph
Gear - full face helmet, gloves
Damage - to me - cut knee
Damage - to gear - Torn jeans
Impact on road -none

Supercell

Careful on the roads today lads, the fecking drizzle is leathal, i had a skid near Churchtown taking a corner in the car, was only doing about 10mph at the time too, couldn't help but think, thank feck I wasn't on the bike or i'd have been a gonner for sure.

Garibaldi

Completely OT, but I'd just like to take a moment to commend HelterSkelter for spelling Aprilia correctly. The number of people, owners included, who can't spell or even pronounce that name, drives me crazy. I suspect a few more therapy sessions are in order.

Supercell

Garibaldi wrote:

Completely OT, but I'd just like to take a moment to commend HelterSkelter for spelling Aprilia correctly. The number of people, owners included, who can't spell or even pronounce that name, drives me crazy. I suspect a few more therapy sessions are in order.

I second the additional therapy sessions needed

HelterSkelter

Garibaldi wrote:

Completely OT, but I'd just like to take a moment to commend HelterSkelter for spelling Aprilia correctly. The number of people, owners included, who can't spell or even pronounce that name, drives me crazy. I suspect a few more therapy sessions are in order.

LOL, I'm surprised I can still spell it as I got rid of the bike 8 years ago!!

Roddy23

now from time to time the mutt used to run after me untill he got tired then head home . but one particular day he decided to take the short cut across the green i was halve way around as i looked back i saw him heading straight for me at full tilt , and i thought to myself this stupid bollox is run straight into me ,
as soon as he got to the edge of the green he jumped and landed right on me and knocked me flying .
looking back now i think the worst thing about it was trying pick up the 250 superdream (heavy basterd) and shouting at one of the neighbours with a WHAT THE F@#K ARE YOU LOOKING AT type comment.
as for bouncer not a scratch on the fecker but decide not to chase me anymore.

Think that is one of the funniest things I have ever read on here. Something similiar happened myself when I was driving my Aprilia sr 50 a few years back, was driving down Cork Street just opposite the Coombe, a load of pigeons, didnt see one of them, came right across me and whacked the top of my helmet. Managed to stay on the bike, but when I told the lads up the pub later, they broke their ballacks laughing.

Have had a few close ones aswell with bees, got stung one time coming down from Glencullen, came into my helmet, and I crashed into a ditch. Another time was driving through Terenure, and a hive had fallen onto the road, went right through it, luckily my visor was down, but I was sh1ttin it when I realised they were bees.