Maybe someone should start a "crash discussion" section...move this thread right on over there.
Me and my '05 FJR had a collision with a guy driving a big Ford pickup today that pulled directly into my path at point-blank range from a gas station, I was doing maybe 30 in fairly heavy commuting traffic.
The thing is, I had already decided that this guy was going to stop and look before entering the road. I am still trying to figure out why I thought that, 'cause it never happened. Best I can figure is, maybe he slowed a little approaching the road in the gas station parking lot. Fact is, he never looked my way at all and kept going straight into the road at what seemed like just 10 feet in front of me. I stabbed the front brakes but it was already too late, I had nowhere to go(traffic all around) except into the left rear corner of the truck. At impact, our relative speed difference was very low, he was accelerating, I was decelerating madly, less than 10 mph by the time I hit him so the collision between our vehicles was not too hard. The subsequent fallover actually happened at about 15-20 mph, and caused most of the bike's damage. I couldn't even find any damage that could be attributed to the impact between our vehicles, but I haven't looked with a clear head yet. I still can't figure out where the orange size dent in my gas tank came from, it's opposite the side that was dropped. Unless it was my knee.
So far, I consider myself very lucky to walk away from a collision with a big pickup. I was wearing a first gear mesh jacket & gloves, a Schuberth helmet, Alpinestars boots, and the requisite Dockers commuting pants (I know, I know). I have a sore ass and a skinned knee and that's pretty much it. I've had worse carpet burns on my knees from, well, uhh, never mind. Tore up my Dockers, though. Maybe I'll use my moto pants next time...
Next time? Now I must re-consider the wisdom of daily commuting. Pleasure trips are one thing, but it's pretty scary getting one-on-one daily with all the commuting cages. I'm divorced, but I still have kids that depend on a live Daddy. I'm sure I'll hash and rehash those and other thoughts over the next few weeks. I'll also go through the accident over and over again in my head, and my friends will have to listen to all my various ramblings on the topic. That's what friends are for, eh?
Me and my '05 FJR had a collision with a guy driving a big Ford pickup today that pulled directly into my path at point-blank range from a gas station, I was doing maybe 30 in fairly heavy commuting traffic.
The thing is, I had already decided that this guy was going to stop and look before entering the road. I am still trying to figure out why I thought that, 'cause it never happened. Best I can figure is, maybe he slowed a little approaching the road in the gas station parking lot. Fact is, he never looked my way at all and kept going straight into the road at what seemed like just 10 feet in front of me. I stabbed the front brakes but it was already too late, I had nowhere to go(traffic all around) except into the left rear corner of the truck. At impact, our relative speed difference was very low, he was accelerating, I was decelerating madly, less than 10 mph by the time I hit him so the collision between our vehicles was not too hard. The subsequent fallover actually happened at about 15-20 mph, and caused most of the bike's damage. I couldn't even find any damage that could be attributed to the impact between our vehicles, but I haven't looked with a clear head yet. I still can't figure out where the orange size dent in my gas tank came from, it's opposite the side that was dropped. Unless it was my knee.
So far, I consider myself very lucky to walk away from a collision with a big pickup. I was wearing a first gear mesh jacket & gloves, a Schuberth helmet, Alpinestars boots, and the requisite Dockers commuting pants (I know, I know). I have a sore ass and a skinned knee and that's pretty much it. I've had worse carpet burns on my knees from, well, uhh, never mind. Tore up my Dockers, though. Maybe I'll use my moto pants next time...
Next time? Now I must re-consider the wisdom of daily commuting. Pleasure trips are one thing, but it's pretty scary getting one-on-one daily with all the commuting cages. I'm divorced, but I still have kids that depend on a live Daddy. I'm sure I'll hash and rehash those and other thoughts over the next few weeks. I'll also go through the accident over and over again in my head, and my friends will have to listen to all my various ramblings on the topic. That's what friends are for, eh?
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