Fazer Owners Club - Unofficial
General => General => Topic started by: spoonlamp on 13 November 2012, 02:55:03 pm
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My first motorbike accident was entirely my fault and happened on September the 11th;
So after tearing across country in the morning to make an appointment I'm now looking forward to a nice, relaxed ride back home on a beautiful sunny day. I've had an early fish and chips for lunch and headed off for the motorway. Just before joining the M3 at Junction 4, going uphill on what was at first a nice sweeping right hander, then straightened out a little then cut back to almost 90 degrees left, tightening as it went. Hadn't noticed how much speed I'd picked up going into the left hander and had to brake very hard which stood the bike up just as I'm exiting onto the M3. Just as an artic truck is passing. Initially it looked like I was going to go right under the middle of him, but I almost got far enough back ...almost. Everything was going in slow motion. What must have happened in seconds seemed to go on forever but with unstoppable, palpable inertia. The artic was now speeding past me on my right and we're nearing the end of the slip road, just when I get some small hope that I might miss the back end it clips the right side of me with a massive bang and I go flying. The bike is pulled out from under me and somersaults, I come down behind it in a mess on hands and knees and roll. At this point I become acutely aware that I am wearing denim trousers. I spin and roll a couple of times, the back of the helmet smacks off the ground, the small of my back loses some skin as my leather jacket rises, my legs pound into the ground. I hear the bike crash and bang ahead of me and it starts to over-rev. I come to a stop in a lot of pain and immediately look up for following traffic; one car has just come round the corner quite wide but has seen me and I can see the surprise on her face. Petrol is pouring out of the bike but I can't stand back up. I try to get to the bike to shut off the engine but can't put weight on my leg - I look down at my right knee and it's just like white hamburger with large flecks of road grit in it, some red flesh, a bit of bone - is that my kneecap sliding out? I push it back in and pull myself off the road somehow and get onto the verge and lie down. I'm starting to feel light headed so try to control my breathing...time does funny things, I see a face with a phone pressed against her ear; she tells me not to move, gives me a thumbs up and moves out of my vision. I see a pale blue sky. 2 small airplanes high in the sky. My knee is agony, my arm begins to throb, my back is sore against the ground. The woman comes back and I ask her to get my phone from my topbox and give her the key. I try to elevate my leg onto the metal rail but it's too high and I'm at an angle, half on the curb. Off duty policemen. Reassurances. An on duty policeman. I give him details. Ambulance, paramedics, checks... I get cut out of all my clothes and put on an immobilizer board which is when my ankle starts to feel sore. They give me gas for the pain which is increasing. In the ambulance the policeman wants to breathalise me but the medics want to get going - I tell him to give it here, it only takes a second. My ankle starts to get sore...we get to hospital.
They gave me morphine which helped a lot and then a few shots of local around the knee before pulling out the grit and cleaning it and cutting out bits of dead flesh. They tell me it will heal but I'll have a scar, I'm thinking "you don't say?". X-rays show a broken ankle but no bone damage to the knee thankfully.
At least I'm still here and able to learn from all the mistakes I made that day - I really did think I was going under that artic truck...
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That on-ramp caught me by surprise the first time I used it too, though not to that degree!
Glad you're OK.
Well written piece,you've really conveyed the shock of the incident... feeling a bit wobbly myself after reading it. :lol
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You are a lucky little camper - you could so easily be hamburger meat.
A couple of lessons in this one regarding your gear which I'm sure you are already aware of. Wear armour on your knees and elbows and back, and have something that zips your trousers to your jacket to stop it riding it up.
We all make mistakes. I was once told not to bother getting a bike if I thought I would never come off it, so I expected to come off (and have done a few times, though nothing like this).
Apart from the change in gear, I would advise some advance riding course(s) to help you identify risky situations sooner and compensate <- this has saved me from a *lot* of grief.
It sounds like you are still a biker though, no talk of giving it up or anything :D
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sounds so exciting i wish it had happened to me :lol
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On the plus side, you write so well..! Go on now and write a book about your experience, so that other road users can connect to us bikers a bit more.
Glad you were not badly hurt - you must have accumulated enough good karma.. Keep rocking, safely.
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its mad how quickly things can go from good to bad
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Reminds me of my big smash up (pics here (http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,5147.0.html))
Its so surreal seeing it in slow motion, even at speed, right?
Man I'm glad you're ok :)
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Good luck on the mend boyo!! it was good to read the real life tale,,,we all know its out there,,even if its not our fault,,,its the ending we all want if the time comes,,
Chin up biker.
Billy
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Great detail reading just sorry to hear what I'm reading about.
Hope you mends ok bro .
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Glad to hear you're ok, but certainly a case of ATGATT!
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Real good, but scary story. It's good your knee wasn't broken, or torn. Ankle should heal. You'll know when it's going to rain in the future! :)
How about the legal stuff? Bike insured? Did they give you some fine for "causing an accidend"?
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Thanks for the kind replies :)
Definitely lots learned from that day. I'd left in a hurry and hadn't bothered to take the time to put on the only knee pro trousers I have, I'd relaxed so much after the mornings furious trip to the extent that I wasn't paying enough attention to the road...
I was very lucky with the injuries. I was out of the cast and putting weight on the foot within 2 weeks. On Monday (5th Nov) I started physiotherapy to get all the movement back again as everything is obviously very stiff and has limited range of movement.
Legal stuff is all good - because there was a lot of grit on the outside of the curve the policeman said that probably contributed to the crash. As the artic continued on his merry way and probably never even knew I'd clipped him there was no third party, so there's no "causing an accident" or anything like that to have to respond to. He was actually very helpful and managed to get in touch with my wife and work to let them know what had happened. Bike was insured fully comp with a £200 excess, no clothing included. After a bit of wrangling they've coughed up £1,600 (minus the excess) for it so I think I did well enough there. The good news is I've already spent the insurance on another FZS600 - same year, in silver and been riding to work this week :D
But I have to ask - what does ATGATT stand for??!!
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In my lovely country, when you fall of your bike and injure yourself, you get fined for causing an accident and injuring one person! Seriously. If speed limit is say 50 km/h, you drive 40 km/h and fall in a bend on some spilt oil, it's your fault. You should have "adapted your riding to the road conditions, regardles of the speed limit". That's why most people run away before the police arrive and if they have to go to the doctor, they lie, falling off stairs, etc. Fines are above 100 euros (to several hundreds).
The good point is you can ride motorcycle as fast as you like, not stopping for the police, even if they try to pull you over and not paying any motorway fees (just ride past the ramp).
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That sounds bad :eek But at least you're up and about again. Good to hear you've not given up on biking too, just learnt something from the experience :)
But I have to ask - what does ATGATT stand for??!!
All the gear, all the time ;)
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Interesting wee read.
Glad you are on the mend.
Yeah I sometimes ride wearing jeans, but aye nae good if you hit the tarmac.
Somebody mentioned knee armour, something I haven't been able to wear for over ten years due to patella tracking/sensitivity issues.
Will her indoors allow you to purchase another bike, do you want to?
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Will her indoors allow you to purchase another bike, do you want to?
Three posts above yours matey! ;)
Back on two wheels already! 8)
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But I have to ask - what does ATGATT stand for??!!
All the gear, all the time ;)
Only wimps wear protective gear.. but then again, I am the spawn of chuck norris! ;)
...and i wear leathers every time i ride :)
I know its no consolation, but if your leathers arent covered - at least you dont need to shell for new trousers this time, and finger crossed, there wont be a next time.
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A good read for all the wrong reasons. It's good to know you are on the mend and riding again.
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But I have to ask - what does ATGATT stand for??!!
All The Gear, All The Time! :)
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Good to hear you are OK but reading your post it sounds like you had the hard shoulder on your left to avoid the truck?
I stepped off the train yesterday, came down the stairs and was confronted by all manner of flashing blue lights. The little step through used by the cafe for deliveries had been bulldozed by some dozy bint in a 4x4 who turned right in in front of him. He had a suspect broken arm and the owner said it was the second time it had happened at the same junction.
BE CAREFUL OUT THERE.
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Good to hear you are OK but reading your post it sounds like you had the hard shoulder on your left to avoid the truck?
Yes, I was joining the M3 so the lane was disappearing into the M3, the truck was in the slow lane and I came in beside him. Really bad timing. If he hadn't been there I would have got away with it and this would be a post about how I nearly got me knee down wearing jeans on the motorway :eek
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Sounds really nasty mate but it must have taught you a lesson in a way, and that would be to concentrate on your enviroment and how you are handling it. I had a nasty accident when my bike fell on me and badly broke my right leg through....you got it!....not concentrating on what i was doing. Its cost me around £5000 so far in lost earnings, medication, repairs to the bike, loss of profit on the bike because i got her to an immaculate condition before dropping it and also in the end has cost me my job as i wasn't fast enough any longer to continue with it. Just for a lack of concentration....as you say my friend, shit happens!
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To spoonlamp thank god you're ok but feeling sore, from a learner point of view your post shows how important it is to all wear proper kit at all times and to trust nothing and no one while on the road!! :eek :eek :eek :eek :eek
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Thought I'd chuck a final update on here for those kind enough to show interest. Both knee and ankle are pretyt close to being back to full range of motion now, I can run for short periods, cycle and do some other low level stuff as well so I'm getting back on top of the fitness. I With a bit more physio and some heavy strecthing/manipulation sessions I should be right as the mail ;) Hoping to be 'injury free' by the end of the month!
Now riding ATGATT :D
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good news! keep riding.
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well done matey a long old road but sure its worth it
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How can you remember every detail!
When I had my "biggie" all I can remember is thinking, this is going to hurt, and then afterwards laying in the gutter surrounded by onlookers, paramedics and big French policemen waving their arms.
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Makes you wonder, eh?
There are some folk who say you should be free to ride in anything you want to, any time.
Me, I'd rather give myself a fighting chance by wearing something protective.
I've got a few scars and lumps and bits and pieces out of me as I used to ride off road, not always in the right gear,,, or clothing.
I'd rather now, 35 years later, spend an extra 2 mins and an extra few bob (at the risk of feeling mildly uncomfortable if it's hot or whatever) on keeping my skin on and bones mostly in the right places.
I still like to ride like a loon occasionally but as safely ~(blah, blah, blah) as possible to enjoy another day riding out.