Friday the 13th Hits Home

Groundhog66 · Jul 14, 2007

While commuting home yesterday in heavy traffic, I was splitting lanes at approximately 45 mph. A truck decided to change lanes at just the wrong time, I hit him broadside. At this point, I was sent sliding down 580 with traffic all around. I came to rest in the center lane, it took me a minute to gather my senses. I got up and moved my bike to the shoulder. Only the driver of the truck and ONE other motorist bothered to stop, everyone else went on their way once I was no longer in their path. You really gotta love compassionate Californians. I am fine, just bumps and bruises from what I can tell. The crimson was not flowing, and luckily I was not run over in traffic. I will get my bike fixed, and the commute will once again continue.

will · Jul 14, 2007

Most drivers do not see motorcycles in the first place. Splitting lanes? does that mean riding on the yellow dashes between the lanes? That is not a place where a driver would expect to see another vehicle.

Glad you are ok and it looks like you have some scratches on the equipment, those items are easily replaced or fixed.

greenlight · Jul 14, 2007

OUCH!! Did you get a ticket, too? Who's paying for the repairs?

What part of 580?

Groundhog66 · Jul 14, 2007

will said:
Most drivers do not see motorcycles in the first place. Splitting lanes? does that mean riding on the yellow dashes between the lanes? That is not a place where a driver would expect to see another vehicle.

Glad you are ok and it looks like you have some scratches on the equipment, those items are easily replaced or fixed.

I guess I should have stated that lane splitting is Legal in CA, cars are supposed to look for cycles there. And since it IS legal, no ticket would be given to the rider.

Tim

jch79 · Jul 14, 2007

Tim-

I'm glad to see you were wearing a helmet. It's scary to think of what that impact would've done to your head, had it not been covered! It's not a law here in Illinois (motorcycle OR bicycle), which is completely rediculous if you ask me. And I'll stop right there before I go way off topic.

Out of curiousity, were you wearing a jacket or pants?

I'm glad to hear you're alright man - that's always scary stuff!

john

Bullzaye · Jul 14, 2007

Sometimes, while stopped or barely moving in heavy traffic here in Phoenix, I envy CA lane-splitting laws. I'm not sure how often I'd have the guts to exploit it even if it were legal here, but I suspect I might occasionally if just to get past some particularly dense spots of traffic. But then I hear a story such as yours, and I find myself shaking my head in wonder that CA, that liberal nanny-state, would ever allow it's citizens to risk their skin in such a way.
I actually forgot it was Friday the 13th. I was riding my Triumph Sprint ST to work on Thursday, when my rear tire went flat. I managed to puncture my tire on something...again. I ended up missing the whole days work. In 30+ years of driving, I think I've had 1 puncture on a car tire, but in 6 1/2 years of motorcycling, I've had at least 4 flats due to running over some kind of debris. You'd think with only 2 tires, I'd have only half the chance of fnding something to run over, wouldn't ya?
I'm glad to see that you were wearing protective gear, and that it served it's purpose well. The bike doesn't look bad at all...is there much damage?
Hope you're back on the road soon. Stay safe.
Tim

will · Jul 14, 2007

Groundhog66 said:
I guess I should have stated that lane splitting is Legal in CA, cars are supposed to look for cycles there. And since it IS legal, no ticket would be given to the rider.

Tim

That is not Legal here in NY. The issue is one of safety more than anything else. To restate - most drivers do not see motorcycles, they should, but most drivers are looking out for other cars.

Groundhog66 · Jul 14, 2007

My bike is pretty much scraped all around, broken and bent pieces as well. But what is more troubling is that it doesn't start, not sure what happened there. I know the risk of splitting lanes, and I accept these consequences. I do not blame the driver of the truck, but I DO wish he would have looked more closely.

Tim

tedjanxt · Jul 14, 2007

TTL:

and I find myself shaking my head in wonder that CA, that liberal nanny-state, would ever allow it's citizens to risk their skin in such a way.

I believe the original reason for making lane-splitting legal was that 20/30/40 years ago, all motorcycles were air-cooled, which basically means if you're stuck in CA traffic, your bike overheats.

Now that most bikes are liquid-cooled, there is no reason for the law. However, as I understand it, CA won't change it because they want their cycle LEO's to be able to do the same. But, since they are LEO's, don't they have the right to do things that civvie motorists don't?

Not bashing the original poster, but I cannot *stand* having a cycle come out of nowhere and nearly kiss my mirror (or my elbow, which happened once) Also, as I understand it, if a lane-splitting bike clips your car, *you* are the one at fault, not the cyclist. That bothers me.

I could be wrong, I've only lived here a few years, and I don't ride anymore, so I haven't researched it heavily. If I am wrong, someone please correct me

unnerv · Jul 14, 2007

Glad your okay. My father rides, and I cringe everytime I see him split lanes, esp in bay area traffic. Drivers really need to be more aware of their surroundings. My weekend car is a low to the ground sports car. I only drive it once or twice a week and in the year and a half that I have had it I have almost been hit by 4 SUV's that just merged right into me, all of them either didn't check at all or just glanced out the passenger window and didn't see my rooflline.

Good luck with the bike repairs. My dad used to ride a CBR also (929RR) and they are wicked bikes.

Radio · Jul 14, 2007

Glad you are OK, Sell the bike, buy a car.

luxlunatic · Jul 14, 2007

Most drivers in Cali dont bother to use their mirrors anyway, unless they are looking at themselves. Most are too busy jacking their jaw into a cell phone to pay attention to their surroundings. I tend to glance at my mirrors quite often so I will catch that motorcycle (or cop!) coming up on me, and give the bike extra room by leaning toward to other side of my lane, and 9 out of 10 bikers are appriciative of that and give me wave as they pass.
Glad you are ok Gh66.

knot · Jul 14, 2007

Glad to hear you're ok.

It reminds me of a time (1980) when a box spring mattress flew off a pickup truck and followed me one (or two) lane over to the center lane of the San Bernardio (10) fwy and dropped right in front of me and my bike (I tried to avoid it by changing lanes from slow to center). I went down @ around 65mph. I remember doing a flip - heals over head and sliding down the fwy flat on my back feet first. All lanes came to a complete stop and cars were piling up behind me and one car was on two wheels sideways when I turned around sitting in the middle lane. I got up and ran to the shoulder. The cops found my wallet nearly a quarter mile back. Nylon jackets are slippery I guess.

The only scratches were my helmet face shield snap, and my butt. My elbow hurt quite a bit as well but no broken bones.

TigerhawkT3 · Jul 14, 2007

I'm relieved to hear you're okay, GH66 (and you other daredevils as well

)! I used to ride a bicycle a lot, so I'm always very courteous to them, as I remember what it was like. Since they're both cooler and more dangerous, I'm even more cautious around motorcycles, giving them lots of room. I always check mirrors and blind spots whenever I turn or change lanes, even in parking lots and situations like where you're in the left lane and want to move into the left turn lane and you just stick to the median.

Ride on, guys, and be safe.

jtr1962 · Jul 14, 2007

knot said:
It reminds me of a time (1980) when a box spring mattress flew off a pickup truck and followed me one (or two) lane over to the center lane of the San Bernardio (10) fwy and dropped right in front of me and my bike (I tried to avoid it by changing lanes from slow to center). I went down @ around 65mph. I remember doing a flip - heals over head and sliding down the fwy flat on my back feet first. All lanes came to a complete stop and cars were piling up behind me and one car was on two wheels sideways when I turned around sitting in the middle lane. I got up and ran to the shoulder. The cops found my wallet nearly a quarter mile back. Nylon jackets are slippery I guess.

The only scratches were my helmet face shield snap, and my butt. My elbow hurt quite a bit as well but no broken bones.

All I can say is you're really lucky to have not fared much worse. About 20 years ago I hit a pothole at 37 mph on my bicycle. I went down, and slid along the pavement for a good 100 feet despite digging my sneakers down as hard as I could to slow down. When I got up I felt some wetness on my head. I wiped it away but was almost too scared to look. Thankfully it was only sweat. I consider myself very lucky to have gotten out of that with only road rash, a trashed front rim, and a ruined pair of pants. Escaping a motorcycle accident at nearly twice that speed with basically only a few bruises is something I would consider almost a miracle, especially given the way your body flipped. In my case, I just didn't fight the fall so as to avoid striking my head, and dropped down flat on the pavement sliding head first with my arms outstretched (another instinctive thing I do in a fall to keep my head from striking the pavement). Still, had there been glass on the road, I could have sustained very serious injuries. Oh, and I once had my bike up to 65 mph. Frighteningly quick for a small, unenclosed vehicle. I don't even want to think of the consequences of a fall at that speed. Anyway, it sounds to me like you got a second chance.

BTW, my worst fall in terms of injuries was when I was only going about 22 mph. I fell "wrong", and probably pulled a tendon or something in one of my legs (forgot which one). It took a good six months before walking on that leg felt normal again. For various reasons, including safety, my next bike will be a recumbent. By its nature you'll end up feet first in accidents, which is much better than head-first with a regular bike or a motorcycle. And since you're closer to the ground falls are less likely to injure.

Regarding Friday the 13th, yesterday I hit a good-sized pothole at 25 mph. I didn't go down, but my front tire went flat within two blocks. I guess the curse is for real.

As for lane splitting, I can think of a good reason to allow it. A motorcycle has no air filtration system for the rider, so sitting in stalled traffic subjects the rider to exhaust fumes directly from the vehicles in front. Riding between lanes lessen this a bit. The onus should be on the motorcyclist to avoid hitting any cars changing lanes while lane-splitting since in many cases the drivers can't see them.

knot · Jul 14, 2007

jtr1962 said:
All I can say is you're really lucky to have not fared much worse. About 20 years ago I hit a pothole at 37 mph on my bicycle. I went down, and slid along the pavement for a good 100 feet despite digging my sneakers down as hard as I could to slow down. When I got up I felt some wetness on my head. I wiped it away but was almost too scared to look. Thankfully it was only sweat. I consider myself very lucky to have gotten out of that with only road rash, a trashed front rim, and a ruined pair of pants. Escaping a motorcycle accident at nearly twice that speed with basically only a few bruises is something I would consider almost a miracle, especially given the way your body flipped. In my case, I just didn't fight the fall so as to avoid striking my head, and dropped down flat on the pavement sliding head first with my arms outstretched (another instinctive thing I do in a fall to keep my head from striking the pavement). Still, had there been glass on the road, I could have sustained very serious injuries. Oh, and I once had my bike up to 65 mph. Frighteningly quick for a small, unenclosed vehicle. I don't even want to think of the consequences of a fall at that speed. Anyway, it sounds to me like you got a second chance.

BTW, my worst fall in terms of injuries was when I was only going about 22 mph. I fell "wrong", and probably pulled a tendon or something in one of my legs (forgot which one). It took a good six months before walking on that leg felt normal again. For various reasons, including safety, my next bike will be a recumbent. By its nature you'll end up feet first in accidents, which is much better than head-first with a regular bike or a motorcycle. And since you're closer to the ground falls are less likely to injure.

Regarding Friday the 13th, yesterday I hit a good-sized pothole at 25 mph. I didn't go down, but my front tire went flat within two blocks. I guess the curse is for real.

As for lane splitting, I can think of a good reason to allow it. A motorcycle has no air filtration system for the rider, so sitting in stalled traffic subjects the rider to exhaust fumes directly from the vehicles in front. Riding between lanes lessen this a bit. The onus should be on the motorcyclist to avoid hitting any cars changing lanes while lane-splitting since in many cases the drivers can't see them.

I may have "flipped" as a reaction due to many years of Judo practice, when I was a child, jumping forward then rolling. I did the same thing a few months ago carrying boxes down stairs. I lost my footing and ended up rolling at the bottom.

Sliding along pavement usually will only give you road rash (my experiences). It's if your body hits something...... or if you are thrown over your bike to the ground (you are still on bike skidding and tires find traction and flip the bike)

The cars behind me were pretty far back as they had brakes and I had my butt. Digging my heels in wouldn't have been a good idea at that speed.

A couple other times were running over a big rock along the Angeles Crest Hwy well over 100 mph - didn't crash but my rim was bent (wire rim) badly. I made it home hop-hop-hopping all the way! Another time on Angeles crest, another guy was over center and we smacked handlebars at, again, over 100 mph. I took up AFM motorcycle roadracing to cure some of my "need for speed" Back in '82-'83. I raced at Willow Springs and Riverside Raceway (now closed) in California. Won a couple, lost a couple. I ran open modified production class 1000cc Kawasaki (Eddie Lawson replica)

The issue with recumbent bikes are they are difficult to notice since they are lower to the ground.

toyopet · Jul 14, 2007

Groundhog66 said:
My bike is pretty much scraped all around, broken and bent pieces as well. But what is more troubling is that it doesn't start, not sure what happened there. I know the risk of splitting lanes, and I accept these consequences. I do not blame the driver of the truck, but I DO wish he would have looked more closely.

Tim

Good to hear you're all right. You know you'll need a new helmet. Your bike's engine is probably flooded since you laid it down. You might also want to check the fuel lines to the tank.

Groundhog66 · Jul 14, 2007

toyopet said:
Good to hear you're all right. You know you'll need a new helmet. Your bike's engine is probably flooded since you laid it down. You might also want to check the fuel lines to the tank.

Yet another $450 to replace the helmet, I have already started shopping.

Diesel_Bomber · Jul 14, 2007

GH66- I'm glad you're OK. Might I recommend kevlar skid gear? It's well worth the cost.

I can't fathom lane-splitting. Basic sheeple drivers are bad enough when you're in the lane, there is NO WAY I would even consider lane splitting. I don't even think it's necessary with an aircooled bike. Just shut the bike off. It doesn't take any effort to scoot forward a car length at a time with your feet and restart when you've got a decent distance to go.

:buddies:

(Long time rider, nearly killed by motorcycle crash.)

beach honda · Jul 14, 2007

Dude, not the F4i!!!!!!!!!!

I ride F4i and I feel your pain!

Glad all is well and let's get that arai replaced!
-chris

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