Well it's my turn now! Last Wednesday I was heading out with some coworkers at Cummins down in Seymour, IN to go grab a bite to eat. I just left the plant and was cruising down the little residential road no more than a block from the plant, and the next thing I know, the pickup in the oncoming lane decides he's got to make the left turn into a little grassy area. I swerved, but couldn't get over far enough and his front bumper connected with my left leg. Me and the big ol' DR tractor were down I don't remember a whole lot immediately following the wreck, but what I do remember is laying up against the curb. I heard a crunch on my leg when it was hit, and feeling it it was definitely broken, so i was doing my best to hold it up and level. The other driver ran up and said he's already called an ambulance, and then said something that still makes my stomach turn upside down..."Where did you come from?" :huh:huh:huh:huh me: "I was heading STRAIGHT in MY lane...I'm wearing a hi viz neon helmet and jacket...how did you not see me?" About that time my amazing coworkers showed up and started helping me get a bit more comfortable by putting a blanket under my broken leg to hold it up etc. and soon after, the police and paramedics showed up and took very good care of me. They took me to the hospital in Seymour where they took initial x rays and decided that they better send me up to Methodist in Indianapolis...here's the x rays: The bumper pretty much shattered my tibia about 6 inches down from the knee luckily for me though the joints and fibula were preserved without any real injury. The same paramedics who brought me to the Seymour hospital drove me to Methodist which was fantastic...really awesome people who deserve the utmost respect and thanks for the wonders they do. I went into surgery in the evening, and was in my room by about 11:00 that night. Everyone from the surgeons, nurses, custodians etc. at Methodist were absolutely fantastic and once again, these people deserve the utmost respect and thanks for the wonders that they do. The surgeon was not able to save the crushed bone, so I have a section of about 5 cm in my leg of missing bone. They inserted a nice bit of titanium through my tibia and filled in the gap with bone cement until I go in in a few weeks for a bone graft. I was able to go home 2 days after the surgery, and after about a week, i'm cruising around pretty well on my crutches. Here's the best pictures :) (I apologize for the blurriness) The other thing I forgot to mention was how awesome my coworkers were about the whole thing. I had coworkers by my side the whole time, riding with me in the ambulance, waiting with me in the ER, waiting in teh waiting room during surgery, and visiting me afterwards. I'm very blessed to be working with such a fantastic team of people. My 2 week old Kilimanjaro jacket has a few scrapes and a bit of blood on it where I bled (compound fracture), and my AFX FX39 helmet has some scrapes on the back. The bike unfortunately looks like it crashed down on the curb bending the frame, bars, wheels etc. and I believe it's a total loss. The other driver was found at total fault for the accident, and I'm currently working with their insurance company. Recovery should take about 6 months or so, and I'm feeling much better so here's to the best and a nice future of riding after everything heals back up! I'll try to get more details/pictures up as I can, but i'm 300 miles away from the accident now recovering :)
We really need a law change or something. When a motorist manages to completely miss a motorcycle and causes an accident like this, ESPECIALLY when you're wearing high-viz gear, they obviously are being inattentive AND SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED BACK ON THE ROAD. I say minimum one year license suspension and mandatory retraining. Heal quickly, man. That sucks!!!!! I would be talking to a lawyer too if you haven't already. Rob
And once they get their license back, restrict them to motorcycles only for three (?) years. If they survive, let them go back to driving a cage. They might have a different perspective then.
Damn good idea. I had been thinking the other day that I think ALL motorists should be required to learn to ride a motorcycle and have to do so for a certain amount of time. Rob
I had to laugh at this part. Having awesome coworkers help but some will do just about anything to get away from work for a little longer. :) I am glad they were there for you though.
I definitely can see that! It's an amazing group of people though...I moved down to southern indiana after graduation about 2.5ish months ago and really didn't know anyone down there :) Thanks for the support guys! Here's a picture of teh bike about a week before she met the bumper o'ford
Heal up fast, my man. I'll be down to Cummins Columbus next week on business, so if I see someone on crutches I'll stop and say hi!
Man that is a big bummer, I am glad you are in good spirits, and had all those great people around you! This is the part where I am suppose to say heal fast, but don't!! take it slow and do what they ( the Doctors) tell you and heal the correct way..... good luck....
Another new member of the Exclusive Titanium Club! I hope your leg heals up well. Inmate going south is right -- do what your orthopedic surgeon says and heal up the correct way. Don't do any weight bearing until you've been given the green light to do it. And once you start PT, keep with it. -Eyes Shut (member of the Exclusive Titanium Club since Dec. 2011 )
godwinmt, I hope your recovery is successful and complete! You're in for some fun with airport security! I read this thread to help me ride safer. (hope I don't get dog piled!) I had kind of a SMIDSY experience the other day that kind of scared me and made me think. In my truck 2 blocks from home - mid morning - on an errand but not really distracted - making a left I've made thousand of times (what can I say - we've lived her a long time). Just as I started to turn a young fellow on a scooter (Ruckus I think) APPEARED! I'm " holy crap - he's right here" and stopped - no real problem. He was moving fast and about as big as a postage stamp, with very little lighting, and just didn't register! I saw him in time and there was no issue except in my mind. I watch bikes approaching all the time and have noted that the the smaller the profile (sport bike, dirt bike) and the less bright lighting, the harder it is to judge distance and speed. Color makes very little difference, including hi-vis - in fact I think black is better because of better contrast. Big fat Harleys and Wings with lots of lights are easiest to see! So I did this: LED lights are cheap, bright, and take almost no power. It seems to help (I hope, anyway) I had a 2005 DRZ for a while, and I thought the headlight was completely lame! Godwinmt, don't get me wrong! I'm in no way saying you were at fault - driver was totally in the wrong. I'm totally on your side - I just don't want this to happen to me! Sadly, I don't think penalties would do much other than give us some revenge, unles the gomer is texting or something. We somehow need to work with bike designers to make the SMIDSY (so common it has a name!) a rare event. Ride safe out there
Glad you are healing Talk to a lawyer before giving ANY statements to the insurance co. Don't post anymore details of your wreck till after the settlement. Insurance companies are not your friend. You might have flashbacks of the wreck and wake up sweating. It's okay, TALK with other bikers about it. Things you thought were fine might not show up for 6 months to a year. Again, Talk to a lawyer. Heal well dude.
Half a century of crash free driving. My advice, if there are intersections, go slow. Plan ahead, to Avoid left turn lanes, as much as possible. Be aware of everything in the vicinity. Even then, on a bike, I may die tomorrow!:huh
Been riding almost as long. When I approach an intersection or someone planning on a left turn (assuming they are slowing/using their blinker) I weave back and forth in my lane. I use the whole lane for this. It definitely gets their attention. I've seen glassy stares snap to focus man times.
my wife takes a while to get why I start doing the weave thing. Then she remembers and says thank you.
I think I've posted this before but about 500m from my house is an intersection across the traffic and opposite a church. Well this one morning I'm on my KTM 640 adv, orange bike, yellow high viz vest, white and blue helmet, headlights on and as I'm about to make the turn, this old bullet and his blue head wife (maybe church goers fixated on a prime parking spot) cruises up to the stop sign, looks me in the eye I swear, and starts to pull forward into my path. Luckily I was watching him and was going maybe 20km/hr so was able to slow even more, hit the hooter and the AdvRider salute. He stops with a jerk and I make an exaggerated turn around him with a polite (yeah right!) verbal reminder to him to keep a better lookout. I was in disbelief. So, such drivers should definitely be made to ride a motor cycle if they cause an accident like this. If too old and infirm - no licence.
wiggle your headlight and small turns mahe a bike less of a dot . Fast healing to you. my arms are yellow n white n black leather and I flap my elbows wile doing the wiggles. must kook odd but every little bit helps,
thanks for the support guys! for what it's worth, this wasn't at an intersection... he was turning into a yard on my side of the road... I'm slowly getting more and more mobile each day, and am talking fewer and fewer painkillers so I'm moving in the right direction
No joke. This is a theory I have heard before. Similar to how a dragon fly gets its prey... it comes straight at it so it almost looks like it isn't moving. It's called motion camouflage. A little wiggle and maybe some aux lights to create a "light triangle" might just help. I have been trying it out. Here's a link: http://www.msgroup.org/forums/mtt/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12602
