Rider down

My buddy was out for a ride today and an idiot kid decided to turn in front of him forcing a head on collision. My buddy flew over the handle bars and over the car skidding 30 ft. He got lucky he only suffered a broken left ankle, 2 fractured vertebrae, road rash, 4 staples in one knee, and 6 staples in the other knee. Kid said he wasn't paying attention and didn't see him. Oh I'm sorry I could have killed someone's dad, friend, brother because I don't know how to pay attention when I'm driving. Should kids really be allowed to drive. Sorry it just doesn't make me real happy that I could have lost a great friend because someone didn't pay attention while operating a motorvehicle. My friend has to wear some kind of brace over his chest and back for the back fracture and will have to have surgery on his ankle. Thank God he's still here with us.

Everyone please be careful out there riding and keep a close eye on the cagers.

 

Amen to that,let your Buddy know we are thinking about Him.There go I but for the Grace of God,that could happen to any of us.
You take it steady youve had a big shock to see that happen to your Friend,remember metal mends easier than people,we've still got your buddy.

 

Your buddy is in my prayers. I hope he has a quick recovery and can get back on a bike.
People in cages really dont pay attention to us at all. I have more close calls then i want to count. I live in the city and i thought thats where i would have the most issues. But amazingly its outside of the city where i have poeple attemping to pull out in front of me. It can be quite unerving at times.
Im really starting to take to heart what some of you have said to me. "ride like we have a big target on our back" It seems at times we do.
A few poeple on this forums have said 2010 will be one of the most dangerous years for us. We have poeple with cell phones an phones like the iphone where they can access the internet and everything else like that. They divert their attention to these devices instead of on the road and looking for us where it should be.

It is a shame about your buddy but again he is in my prayers and i pray for a quick recovery and that he can eventualy get back on a bike.

 

Glad to hear your buddy made it through. It's a dangerous world out there, and as our cars and phones get smarter, it seems that some of us get dumber. I've ridden next to plenty of people behind the wheel, but not driving. Scary stuff. Ride like you're invisible, because sometimes, it seems like you are..

 

I was behind a car just the other day that was weaving (not between lanes, thankfully) slowing down and speeding up, all at the same time. It had a MADD (mothers against drunk driving) bumper sticker. She might not have been drunk but she sure as H**L was having a ball on her cell phone!!!

skillet
BTW Sure glad your friend is gonna be OK

 

Here's an update: Buddy is in a lot of pain (that's a given) he's scheduled to have surgery on his ankle tomorrow should probably go home sometime in the next day or two. Will have to wear a "turtle" brace for his back for a while (some kind of plastic brace that goes over his chest and another part that goes on his back).

Now my wife is freaking out and trying to get me to sell my bike and get something with 4 wheels :-( . So far she's not winning that fight.

I had to run some errands tonight and watched some idiot get tired of waiting at the 6 way red light and decide to just run it while traffic was crossing in front of him/her. Cars were screeching, swerving and slamming on their brakes to avoid this idiot. Thankfully they did cause an accident. Funny thing is about the time they cleared the other lane of traffic the light were they had been sitting turned green. Some people should not be allowed to drive..........

 

Ill put on my prayer list God speed. We ll pray for full recovery.

 

Give your bud my wishes for a speedy recovery. A buddy of mine was in one of those weird looking braces for a few months a couple of years back, thing is he busted his back by falling off a ladder taking down Christmas lights.
You don't have to be on the street for a mistake to F**K up your life for a while.
What happened to the kid that wasn't paying attention? Tell your bud to get a damned good lawyer, on the bright side, in a while he could be the owner of a stable full of really nice XJ's! Not worth the pain now, but a year from now he may just be in the best place he's ever been in.

 

go to the kids house and cause the same amount of damage to his vehicle and him he caused your friend. i have to yell at my girlfriend all the time while shes driving because she stops looking at the road, starts swerving, almost misses lights, etc. it drives me nuts. stay safe out there.

 

My buddies bike after the wreck. I brought it home for him today he's still in the hospital but, will hopefully get to come home today.

 

Ouch,
Your buddy sure is lucky...
I go out of my way to scare stupid drivers, to let them know that their driving habits can and may one day kill some innocent person.
As someone said above, ride as you are invisible...
I do my best to always ride "Passively Aggressive" or is it Aggressively Passive? Stay ahead of the pack. I am lucky that I live in the sticks and my typical ride does not have much other traffic around. I cannot imagine riding in or near a big city.
Prayers and much luck to your bud for a speedy recovery

 

Sorry to hear about your friend.

Just yesterday here in MD a car rearended a semi truck that was parked on the shoulder of I-95. Killed the car driver. If they missed seeing a parked semi truck there's no chance they'd have seen a bike.

 

Sorry to hear about your buddy. Hope he has a speedy recovery.

Scary thing is over the weekend a freind of mine was cycling (not the motorcycle kind) and got hit by a person not paying attention. She was charged and was at fault. He is probable going to be in the hospital for the next 2-4 weeks, got hurt pretty bad.

Andrew

 

Idiots in cars!! Why is it these guys NEVER see the bike. Two years ago in Ottawa a guy pulled out in front of my brothers Harley Road King. He hit the guys front fender and went right over the hood he wasn't hurt but the bike was a right off.
the best part was the cop refused to charge the driver of the car for failing to yield right of way. My brothers insurance company went ballistic on the police department and the guy got charged and the cop was in deep S**t. Seemed he had a problem with bikers.

 

That seriously sucks. Really sorry to hear about anybody going through that.
Some thing are completely uncontrollable like what some jerk-off or lame ass soccer-mom is doing behind the wheel... usually texting or talking on a cell phone about absolutely nothing important enough to justify wielding a vehicle while doing so. When i am in my car and see people driving like garbage due to cell phone use, I let them know how I feel about it. Usually with a gesture and a facial expression.

That poor bike... poor guy...

This goes out to anybody on a bike...
ALWAYS assume that the vehicles around you either don't know you are there or they don't CARE that you are there. Always expect the minivan at the intersection is going to pull out in front of you. Always expect the jerk-off in the mitsubishi eclipse with the $35 fart can on the exhaust pipe is going to blow the stop sign. Always expect the blind old lady in the buick to change lanes without so much as checking a mirror. Always expect the car in front of you is lost and may be slamming on their brakes even though they already passed the turn they were supposed to make. Always expect to be in danger where there are other cars. Seriously. This is a perfect example of a guy doing what he has a right to do, doing it the right way, and doing nothing that should, by right and common courtesy, endanger his health and life but it happened. We always only hear that it happened to someone else until it's you with the horror story.
It can happen to any of us because we can't control what the next vehicle on the road is up to. And on a bike there is no fender bender. You can't afford to have an accident when you have 2 wheels and a saddle.

 

Sorry to hear about your friend - here's to a speedy and full recovery.

I watch a show here in Canada called "Canada's Worst Driver". I'm sure some of the Canadians on the forum have caught it. It showcases some of the worst drivers in the country and let me tell you, it is so disgusting! that I sometimes can't even watch - I just get too upset that those people can even own a vehicle.

Too many kids with 5 liter mustangs, too many 80 year olds that haven't updated their skills (assuming they still have some) and too many people fresh off the boat that are handed a license because they rode a yak in Nepal!!!!

Sorry - that's my rant. Peace.