Crunched by a Semi

[bhkfjr]

So I'm heading out of Lake Wales, FL. on hwy 60 mid afternoon. Temp. has gone up to 86 and I gotta get out of my base layer pants. There's my chance on the right; a brand new Macdonalds in a shopping center with a dedicated turn lane into the complex. Perfect! Mickey has these huge handicapped stalls with hooks, sinks and mirrors and they're usually clean. So I pull into the turn lane behind a tractor-trailer rig and stop to wait for the light. When the light goes green I start to inch forward but the truck doesn't move at first and then it proceeds to back up toward me. What? I start blasting my Piaas and trying to back up at the same time. Unfortunately I was fighting a slight incline and couldn't get out of the way. The truck bumper ran up my front fender, hit the forks and continued to push me back for about 5' before stopping.

The driver was Hispanic with limited English but indicated we could settle right now since it was just some fender damage. Yeah, right.

The cops were great. When they were taking statements for the report, the truck driver told them I ran into him! The officer looks him in the eye and says "there are cameras and probably witnesses that saw this. If I find out you're lying, you're going to a jail cell right now." The driver fessed up and said he was backing up to park a little out the way of traffic in the turn lane and leave the truck there so he could run into McDonalds for lunch.

A Wrecker took us to Sky Powersports in Lake Wales. Forks are bent, don't know about frame yet. Bike is 2015 less than a year old, spotless and perfect, 20k miles. I've never had an accident and never dealt with insurance companies so I have no idea how this will play out. I'll post up after all the initial assessments are completed. My primary concern is a bent frame (replace frame?) vs total the bike and also decreased value of bike since it's been in a wreck.

 

[RossKean]

If it is forks, front wheel and maybe some front plastics, it might get repaired. If it is into frame damage, I'm pretty sure the insurance company will total it. With frame damage, you also have to worry about damage to the engine cases and block (and radiator and header pipes etc.). Hope the insurance guys treat you right.

 

[Klubis]

Just be glad you're alive!

 

[rogdeb]

Just be glad you're alive!

Agree ^^^^ my 1st thought.

BUT !! My 2nd thought -- How close were you to the semi? You in his blind spot ?

 

[El Toro]

Of course he was in the blind spot. There's an acre of blind spot behind these behemoths.

 

[SouthernCruizer]

Since he lied, I'd find the most scumbag lawyer I could find and sue the crap out of him and his insurance. I'd claim an injury, the whole 9 yards. The older I get, the less tolerance I have for stupidity and human scum. With any luck, he'll get fired because of a law suit and never be hired again to drive on my roads.

Just my $.02 worth.

 

[CAJW]

Glad you're physically unscathed from this. Had a vehicle been up your butt, you'd most likely had to bail off and have a very "short" bike left.

 

[El Toro]

If they fire him, he'll go get a job driving a school bus.

 

[Geezer]

Glad you are OK. I might have hopped off and gotten myself out of the way in case he sped up, but it's impossible to say without being there.

Since the forks are bent and the frame is unknown I wouldn't be surprised if they total the bike.

 

[Cyclepath]

We shouldn't be too surprised about reports of this kind of thing happening. Like most humans, truck drivers are also on the clock. He should have set his hazards flashing, then jumped out and placed a couple warning pylons behind him - then chose to back up a little. Might have added 3 minutes to his day, but safety protocol in his own industry demands a spotter for things like that. If no spotter was available, then he's fully responsible for any bad judgement.

Back in 1985, my then 3 month old Yamaha XJ750 Seca RL was parked parallel to the sidewalk in a heavily congested part of downtown Toronto. I was in a butcher shop getting some steaks. I walked outside to see my baby laying on her side; an extended cab Dodge van had backed into her, knocked her down, then backed over it until the frame-mounted fairing was damaged (both sides). The police took our reports - his response was that I was parked in a Loading Zone for his family business. I went to municipal court as a witness for the Crown, and he was still charged with dangerous driving. Cost his insurance company about $1400 back then to fix my bike.

What if it was a mother and babe in a stroller immediately in his blind spot, and he just kept backing up, assuming all was well.

I never got paid for missing work to be in court either.

His argument revealed he was a moron. Perhaps the original poster's truck driver now wishes he'd taken that couple minutes [as a professional] to conduct himself more safely.

Good luck bhkfjr...

 

[NTXFJR]

Hmm...with the advent of relatively cheap back up cameras available these days, maybe they should be mandatory for solo truckers?

 

[redzgrider]

I bought my '12 from Sky Powersports, and during the 'delivery experience' the service manager couldn't be bothered to put his personal (not shop!) cell phone down to speak to a mere potential customer.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Scary stuff for sure, you're lucky the trucker stopped when he did.

Hope things work out with the insurance company!

--G

 

[Bugnatr]

Yea for the cops! Saved yer arse from some real headache.

 

[SacramentoMike]

You should have settled for the cash. About $10K would probably have done it.

 

[Bounce]

You should have settled for the cash. About $10K would probably have done it.

$40k if he wanted to keep it off the record.

 

[08FJR4ME]

One of the reasons I try to stay in the mirrors on big rigs. Never pull up behind them when they can't see you.

Dave

 

[RossKean]

One of the reasons I try to stay in the mirrors on big rigs. Never pull up behind them when they can't see you.
Dave

Absolutely!!!

If you can't clearly see the driver's mirrors then he can't see you! I do the same whether stopping behind a truck or riding behind one. When I pass, I do so quickly to minimize the time I spend in his blind spot (as well as minimize the risk of being taken out by a disintegrating tire).

 

[philter]

Someone from the forum mentioned a while ago {rbentnail I think} that stopping to the right or left side of the lane at a stoplight was a prudent thing to do. I have tried to train myself to do this and I remember about half the time.