"Driving with wheels off the roadway"

[LD1]

Yep, Here it is simply failure to maintain control.

BUT....excuses dont work. Swerve for a deer and go off road.....if there is no deer hide, blood, or a dead deer....then to the officer its just a made-up excuse and you get charged.

Same for any/all other excuses. Got ran off the road or someone coming at you head on.....better trade paint with them or have another vehicle to witness, or a camera. Or it is just an excuse.

 

[k0ua]

A long time friend of mine who has been riding for many years has had his second motorcycle accident in about two years. The first was a groundhog that ran in front of him while negotiating a curve. He put the bike in the ditch. All would have been well except for the large rock in the ditch caught the crash bar and overturned the bike. Some broken ribs etc. But he healed up fine. Now this last one with a 2 and 1/2 ton truck turned in front of him, is not so good. Some broken ribs, and a busted femur. The bone turned 90 degrees. They put a 14 inch rod up the bone. He is about 7 weeks in now to therapy, and still cannot walk without a walker. The Harley is totally trashed, and he says he is done riding. He is 64. Seeing the crash photo where the dual wheels of the truck were within inches of crushing his chest, I think it is time to put up the leathers and call it a day.

Motorcycles are inherently dangerous, so are guns. But unlike guns all of the disaster factors are not under your control. I had sense enough to quit riding them after several close calls all caused by "the other guy" doing something stupid. And as having been pointed out, you don't have the reflexes like you did when you are young. Time to admit you are getting old fat and slow. If I could convince anyone of "age" after seeing what this wreck has done to my friend, I would suggest you just sell the **** thing.

Quit while you are ahead, you are old now and have had a lot of great rides. Quit while you are ahead. I know the majority won't do it, but I think you should.

 

[Jstpssng]

A long time friend of mine who has been riding for many years has had his second motorcycle accident in about two years. The first was a groundhog that ran in front of him while negotiating a curve. He put the bike in the ditch. All would have been well except for the large rock in the ditch caught the crash bar and overturned the bike. Some broken ribs etc. But he healed up fine. Now this last one with a 2 and 1/2 ton truck turned in front of him, is not so good. Some broken ribs, and a busted femur. The bone turned 90 degrees. They put a 14 inch rod up the bone. He is about 7 weeks in now to therapy, and still cannot walk without a walker. The Harley is totally trashed, and he says he is done riding. He is 64. Seeing the crash photo where the dual wheels of the truck were within inches of crushing his chest, I think it is time to put up the leathers and call it a day.

Motorcycles are inherently dangerous, so are guns. But unlike guns all of the disaster factors are not under your control. I had sense enough to quit riding them after several close calls all caused by "the other guy" doing something stupid. And as having been pointed out, you don't have the reflexes like you did when you are young. Time to admit you are getting old fat and slow. If I could convince anyone of "age" after seeing what this wreck has done to my friend, I would suggest you just sell the **** thing.

Quit while you are ahead, you are old now and have had a lot of great rides. Quit while you are ahead. I know the majority won't do it, but I think you should.

I have a relative who works on LifeFlight, our helicopter ambulance service. He says that bikers are his biggest customers and calls them "donorcycles." The second most common are Jeep Wrangler occupants.

 

[MossRoad]

I knew a guy about 30 years ago that hit a groundhog and crashed his bike. Broke a leg and got otherwise banged up pretty good. About a year went by before he felt like he could ride again.... The very first day he got back on his bike after the recovery, another groundhog ran out in front of him.... he took it as a sign and sold the bike shortly and was quite comfortable with the decision.

I stopped riding my hopped up '77 Yamaha RD400 shortly after we had our first child. Figured I'd kill myself or someone else would kill me sooner than later. Now that the kids are adults and can fend for themselves, I'm contemplating tempting fate again. :laughing:

The thing that stops me is that there are almost, exactly, 100% more cars on the road today than there were when I was born. The population has almost doubled as well. Too many people in the same city space.

I used to be able to drive on our Riverside Dr. a couple miles on really, really nice blacktop and not see another car. Today, the road surface is crumbled, like marbles, with multiple 1" high ridges on cracks that have been tar patched dozens of times and it's an almost endless stream of traffic. Rarely a 1/4 mile gap. On a road that I used to take a large curve at 90+mph, my car's rear end bounces over a couple inches at 25mph on those multiple cracks. The state of our local roads is just awful. I suppose it's for the best, though. It's like nature's speed bumps to slow traffic.

 

[k0ua]

I knew a guy about 30 years ago that hit a groundhog and crashed his bike. Broke a leg and got otherwise banged up pretty good. About a year went by before he felt like he could ride again.... The very first day he got back on his bike after the recovery, another groundhog ran out in front of him.... he took it as a sign and sold the bike shortly and was quite comfortable with the decision.

I stopped riding my hopped up '77 Yamaha RD400 shortly after we had our first child. Figured I'd kill myself or someone else would kill me sooner than later. Now that the kids are adults and can fend for themselves, I'm contemplating tempting fate again. :laughing:

The thing that stops me is that there are almost, exactly, 100% more cars on the road today than there were when I was born. The population has almost doubled as well. Too many people in the same city space.

I used to be able to drive on our Riverside Dr. a couple miles on really, really nice blacktop and not see another car. Today, the road surface is crumbled, like marbles, with multiple 1" high ridges on cracks that have been tar patched dozens of times and it's an almost endless stream of traffic. Rarely a 1/4 mile gap. On a road that I used to take a large curve at 90+mph, my car's rear end bounces over a couple inches at 25mph on those multiple cracks. The state of our local roads is just awful. I suppose it's for the best, though. It's like nature's speed bumps to slow traffic.

Don't get another "murdercycle" Moss. Just say no. After seeing what this accident has done to my friend, I would advise against it. He has aged 10 years. in a few weeks.

 

[LouNY]

Dam* what a bunch,
at 67 I'm still riding, just the other day went for a ride with a couple of others so that one could pick up his new to him 2016 HD ultra,
we were out almost 9 hours and actively rideing for over 6 hours did a bit over 300 miles.
My 2014 Ultra Limited has 20,000 miles on her and last year only got 2500 miles because I had a couple of heart procedures and couldn't maintain my balance.

 

[3930dave]

I stopped riding my hopped up '77 Yamaha RD400 shortly after we had our first child. Figured I'd kill myself or someone else would kill me sooner than later. Now that the kids are adults and can fend for themselves, I'm contemplating tempting fate again. :laughing:

If you do decide to Get Crazy, Again.... here's my 2 cents.....

1) Stay with a manageable weight. I came up on similar sized Japanese bikes to your RD, so I'm probably preaching to the choir

2) As much as the bikes have changed (faster, lighter, better brakes, ABS......), the gear has changed at least as much. I'm an ATGATT guy - pants with armour, jacket with armour, full face lid, and a separate full-length back protector.

Challenging to do outside of certain riding meccas, but take the time to see as much of the modern riding gear as you can, before choosing. Struggling to find a back protector I liked, I ended up dropping into a BMW dealer - I expected the opposite, but I can't say enough good things about the BMW bike guys I dealt with - they lent me a one-sized too big back protector still plastic wrapped so I could make a final decision on the MC jacket I was buying somewhere else ! I did buy the one sized down Motorrad back protector from them shortly thereafter.

A lot of riders (all styles) buy their riding gear at BMW dealers. They have a soft gel armour (can't remember the tradename) in some of their products that is like slipping on a already broken-in pair of expensive leather shoes.

There is lots of really good gear to choose from now, compared to the jeans and jean jacket I rode with in younger daze.

3) Outside of single bike accidents, visibility is often a key factor in accidents. Moving or parked, some people have trouble seeing bikes on the road.

IIRC, you can't ride on many/most US military bases w/o a high-viz vest on - IMO, really important to use on the street too. Per item 2 above, there are great jackets available already done in HiViz material, negating the need for a separate vest. My next jacket will be one of those types; presently I ride with a HiViz vest.

I've posted this elsewhere, and it caused a lot of debate (even among former riders) - I run my Hi-Beam most of the time during the daytime. A leading cause of MC injuries/deaths is Oncoming Driver makes Left Turn in Front of MC, as detailed within these pages.

When I was 17, I had that exact type of accident. Car driver admitted to the cop "I just didn't see him", and admitted total fault. That experience is part of why I run daytime HiBeams on my MC.

Risk. Very little in life has zero risk.

My accident at 17? I was riding a bicycle.

If somebody knew nothing about Ag tractors, and only read the Safety section on TBN, they would never buy a tractor.

Rgds, D.

 

[k0ua]

Oncoming Driver makes Left Turn in Front of MC,

Yep, that is how my buddy got it.

If somebody knew nothing about Ag tractors, and only read the Safety section on TBN, they would never buy a tractor.

Probably true, BUT if you do something stupid on a tractor, killing or injuring yourself, you don't have much to blame except your self.

You can be totally guiltless on a donorcycle and still buy the farm because someone killed you. The visibility vest/jacket sounds like a good idea. My buddy might not be hobbling around with a walker now looking 10 years older if he had been wearing one. . The guy didn't see him. Headlight and all.

 

[Jstpssng]

I still don't understand the charge from the OP's accident. Compare to this one, which happened in ME this weekend; another case of a motorist pulling in front of a motorcyclist-

...The pick-up was turning at the peak of a knoll and couldn't see the motorcycle coming northbound.
The two vehicles collided head-on.
Authorities say the motorcycle driver was life-flighted to Bangor and the passenger was transported to a nearby hospital.
The extent of their injuries is unknown.
Police say no one was at fault and that no charges are pending


Two are sent to the hospital after an accident in Lubec

 

[KYErik]

My dad sold his motorcycle about 20 years ago after a group of deer ran across a rural road directly in front of him and he layed it down. No major injuries.

Nine years ago, I had a little 305cc twin cylinder Kawasaki and was doing the 35 mph speed limit on a highway on the edge of town and a car pulled out from a side street on my right to make a left turn across my lane. He obviously didn't see me and turned into my path just as I was approaching. I braked and swerved hard to my left as he pulled out but it wasn't good enough. My right lower leg was crushed between the car bumper and the motorcycle's engine block and my right knee was pretty mangled as well. Laying there, I guessed that it was broken but one of the witnesses that saw it happen and ran up to me told me not to look at my leg so I didn't. They loaded me on the medivac helicopter and I ended up at Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville. As soon as I arrived, I was surprised when someone told me that they might have to amputate. I ended up as a right side above the knee amputee. I still ride a dirt bike every now and then but won't ever ride on the highway again. I don't understand it when I see a motorcyclist not wearing a helmet. I was wearing one and if not for my helmet, I'd probably be dead or drooling my life away in a nursing home right now. I am very grateful that I wasn't more seriously injured and I am thankful that I lost a leg and not an arm. Still having a right leg, I can work the clutch on our older ag tractors. I just had to add a hand lever to the brake pedal.

I will say that modern prosthetics are advancing by leaps and bounds. There have been lots of advances in the last 9 years since my first one. Last October, my wife and I vacationed to the Grand Canyon and we day hiked down the Bright Angel trail to Indian Gardens and back up again- about a 9 mile hike with about 3000 feet change in elevation. It took us about 7 hours.