First Crash, Survived

[Cycle Enthusiast]

Well, it shouldn't have happened, but what accidents should?


I was in a town near my home, riding on main st. I was doing the speed limit (25). There is like a Y in the road, where you can turn a 45 degree right, or follow the road bend to the left. My intention was to bend to the left, to go to a gas station a couple miles farther down. There's a few cars to my right, waiting for me to go by so they can turn onto the road I was on (main st.). It was a red car at the head. They creep foward a few inches, and stop. Far as I can tell they're going to obey the law. Well they didn't. They pull out in front of me. My first thought was to bang hard left, cut into the other lane, and hope I can cut back in time without hitting the curb or another car comes. I realize it's too late for that. I pull my clutch, hit my horn, and hit both my brakes. It became a question of hit the car, or risk a lowside. Instinctly, I chose the right choice. Risk a lowside to stop in time. Well, I lowsided. I saw in captcrash's video on braking that a good riding can stop from 25mph in ~20ft safety. Well my front tire locked up, and the bike slid across the ground, and from where I remember being, I'd guess the car pulled out less than 15 feet from me. In my mind they started pulling, I hit my brakes, and went down. It all happened instantly. my bike ended up parallel to their front bumper, about 4ft away.

I remember it vividly, and keep going through my mind what I could have done better. Considering even hitting my brakes that hard and then the friction from sliding on the pavement, I still ended up in their path, I don't think I could have stopped better. I mean better if I had stayed up, but I though I would have hit them (how was I to know they would stop in the middle of the road?). I kept relaxed as best I could in that kind of situation. The only thing I see that I should have done, was when I first saw their tire move an inch then stop, I should have slowed down a bit. maybe to 15 or 20 mph.


This part I really don't understand. The cop on the scene said that it was my fault. No tickets to either side since I didn't hit the other car, but I have to pay for the damages myself. I can't comprehend this. He said I was speeding (I wasn't), that I should have turned on my left blinker (to follow a road that the lines bend to the left, and there's houses on the left? How the heck do I signal a turn into their driveways? Not to mention, they still cut me off. if i had signaled, nothing would have changed at all), and that a dual set of amber flashing lights, apparently mean "the people who have a stop sign have the right of way. your amber lights mean stop. you should have been ready to stop". This is what the cop said to my father and brother (they were about 3mi from the scene, so I called them after I got to the sidewalk and sat down). Now, there were a good dozen witnesses, if not more. and all the chatter from them was "the car cut him off. It was their fault". but the cop is claiming it's solely my fault. I had the right of way 6 ways to sunday, but it's my fault that a car cut me off, and to avoid hitting them I lowsided. So someone's stupidity is no longer their fault. It's my fault. If I want to do something stupid, it's not my fault. It's yours. That's what this cop is saying.


In the end, I got rushed to the ER. they checked me out, nothing broken. 3 bad spots of road rash, some scrapes. Sprained my ankle, so they put a splint on it. I have health insurance so it's not going to cost me a fortune for that. My bike isn't too banged up. mirror got bent, but I think I can put it back in place. Left foot peg got bent, but I got it back into its spot I think. Left turn signal is a little limp, but still flashes. Handlebars aren't broken, and engine/side looks ok (it was dark and I'm drugged, so I have no idea if that is really all there is). some scratches I couldn't see I know are there as well. Hopefully not too much to fix. I started her back up without much of a struggle.

I still don't understand how the cop can get that conclusion, but I don't really know what to do about it. Never been in an accident before, my fault or someone else.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Especially on how I handled the situation. I got off fairly easy compared to what could have happened, but I don't know if I did what I should have or not. That's one of the top things running through my mind. What could i have done better? I'm not afraid of the bike right now, but with the amount of drugs they put me on, I doubt my frame of mind is on straight. Still shaken up somewhat. I don't want to be afraid of bikes, I want to keep riding. But it was scary. It really was.

Also. After I got myself out from under the bike, I spread my arms out, looked towards the red car, started screaming through my helmet, "WHY". again and again. Probably not the best thing to do, but with the about of adrenaline, it was my reaction. It just made me so mad that they cut me off like that, and the harm they could have caused, and did to an extent. At least it was a friendly town, so the people who saw it came over right away to help me.

[Gereke]

I'm having a hard time comprehending why the cop placed you at fault..

What did the car driver have to say? Did they pull out the "But Officer, I didn't see him" card?

Without seeing what the intersection actually looks like, it's hard to say to be perfectly honest. I have a theory, but it could be completely off base since I don't know exactly what the intersection looks like.

Basically, I could understand the point about the turn-signal if it wasn't completely obvious to the car driver that you weren't going to follow the split to the right, which caused them to make a bad choice as to when to pull out from the stop. If it should have been completely obvious to the driver where your intended path of travel was- disregard what I just said.

Sometimes it is good to signal even when it seems silly to do so. If the person didn't "see" you, perhaps the little blinky light could have made a difference. I could be wrong of course, just trying to throw out ideas.

[Dodsfall]

It sounds like that there was no contact with the other vehicle, making that a single-vehicle accident in the eyes of the cop.

I'm not sure what story the driver gave to the police at the time, but if they failed to give the right of way, I think they should have been cited.

[4Raven]

Surprised that someone who wasn't even there could come to any conclusion...But glad you are okay...

[porange]

For CYA purposes, if it's a lower speed accident and your right of way is violated then I would much rather smack into a person's car than lowside,(assuming that stopping in time isn't possible). That way it is obviously their fault and it isn't just you panic-breaking and laying it down.

I say this because in my accident a dude completely cut me off by trying to drive laterally across my lane, so basically I almost broadsided him. I tried hard to stop and skidded a few feet before hitting him. If I would've laid it down and not hit him, he may have driven off oblivious and I'd be there like a fool on my back in the middle of the road. I'd walk away with no dignity, and lots of repair costs, which is much worse than having his insurance cover everything and then some.

Obviously the ideal situation is to just to be able to stop in time, but with only precious milliseconds before impact that isn't always an option.

[cbdallas]

I know this is a difficult situation, but here's a parallel situation for which you would also have to take the blame:

Pretend for a moment that you were in a car instead of on a bike. Same scenerio...a car pulls out in front of you, forcing you to take action. If you jerk your car left, and hit an oncoming car, or a curb, or a house....the accident is your fault. If you had hit the car that pulled out in front of you, it would've been their fault. See how that works? The offending car didn't technically force you to lowside your bike. In a perfect world with perfect decision making and perfect motorcycling skills, the theory will be that you could've stopped or found a way to steer around them.

If you're in a car and something like that happens, hit the offending car if you're surrounded by other perils. Unfortunately, on a bike, we may seldom choose to hit a stationary object when there are other options, which is probably why you elected to make the move you made. There's no telling what kind of injuries you would've sustained if you'd hit him.

Sorry you got screwed. Some wrecks turn out this way despite our best judgement when we have .000001 seconds to make a decision.

[Cycle Enthusiast]

almost everyone uses their blinker if they turn to the right, but i'd say 50% signal left and 50% don't. The reason I didn't signal was because of those houses. To me, a left blinker there would say "i'm turning into a driveway", not following the road bend.

According to my dad, the cop told him that because the car was in the intersection, I should have stopped for them. They were on the crosswalk for people (their front tire), but they weren't in the intersection until they cut me off.

The cop is just out of his mind as far as I can tell. He told my dad I said I panicked. I said nothing like that. All I told the cop was "they cut me off. I hit my brakes, and the bike lowsided". I can see how that could sound like panicking, but to say then "he said he panicked", is wrong. My dad couldn't believe the cop when he told him that. He knew I never would have said that, or even admitted it. I'm guessing that the car gave him a fake story, or he just hates bikers. With how many people saying their fault, not mine, and he blames me :/

That was pretty much the thought that happened before I went down Cbdallas. It was all instinct at that point.


I can walk without crutches today, and the road rash is healing up fairly quick. I'm just sad that my brand new scorpion helmet is going to need to be replaced. Not scratched much, but since it was in the crash..

[Biker Dash]

Too bad that you did not get names and numbers of witnesses. That way, you could have taken this to a lawyer and gotten retrubution for damages and injuries. Considering that it is concevable that there is more damage to the bike than initially realized, there is a hospital bill that will effect your health insurance rates, and replacement of any other gear (helmet). Plus, let us throw in the pain and suffering caused by the accident.

From the sounds of it, the road veers left, and heading right puts you on a differing road. That tells me that you should not be required to use turn signals. Just like following a curve on a normal road. On the same token, the car id exiting one road to enter another. He is entering your lane of traffic. By definition of the law, the person entering the flow of traffic in an accident with a vehicle already in traffic, the person entering IS at fault.

As you have stated, there were numerous witnesses to this accident, and they all seem to be in agreement that it was the operator of the car that was at cut you off.

If you could get ahould of at least a few of those who witnessed the accident, then you might have a case.

[Squisher]

It sounds like you were the victim of a SMIDSY ("Sorry mate, I didn't see you"). Glad to hear you're healing quickly in any event.

For future reference, the SIAM (SMIDSY Identification and Avoidance Maneuver) -- Not saying that it would have necessarily helped here, but I found references to this video on this site somewhere else and it might apply a little bit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqQBubilSXU

[Cycle Enthusiast]

It sounds like you were the victim of a SMIDSY ("Sorry mate, I didn't see you"). Glad to hear you're healing quickly in any event.

For future reference, the SIAM (SMIDSY Identification and Avoidance Maneuver) -- Not saying that it would have necessarily helped here, but I found references to this video on this site somewhere else and it might apply a little bit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqQBubilSXU

Saw that before, and wanted to find it again. thanks.

I really think she saw me, because if she hadn't have seen me, and drove like I wasn't there at all, she wouldn't have caused me any problems. She waited until I was almost to her, THEN pulled out. Pretty sure I saw her look at me as well. It just was a really screwed up situation.


As to me.. Foot is fully healed. can walk fine, and starting to run again. Road rash is entirely healed, and bike is all fixed up. A lot more edgy while riding, but my nerves are starting to calm down.

I'm just happy to be walking again. The whole event made me a lot more grateful of life.

[Squally]

It sounds like you were the victim of a SMIDSY ("Sorry mate, I didn't see you"). Glad to hear you're healing quickly in any event.

For future reference, the SIAM (SMIDSY Identification and Avoidance Maneuver) -- Not saying that it would have necessarily helped here, but I found references to this video on this site somewhere else and it might apply a little bit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqQBubilSXU

Isn't it obvious that the cause for the accident in the video has to do with the fact that they are all driving on the wrong side of the road???? Jeeez. :biggrin::biggrin:

I am glad that you are just a little dinged up, and didn't have any major damage to you or the bike. The way I see it, you walked away from it, so you did the right thing.

[ClassicVW]

I think you chose the correct move. I was involved in something similar many years ago and chose not to go left and cross into the oncoming lane. My result was striking a dump truck, he was too close when he pulled into my lane, so laying it down wouldn't have been a better option, it all happened so fast.

I have been a crash investigator in NJ for many years. From what you tell us, you were definitely not at fault. Does anyone have a stop or yield sign? Is the other vehicle mentioned in the accident report? Are any witnesses mentioned or quoted in it? The officer probably either didn't know how, or was too lazy to include the other car's info. Just because contact wasn't made, that doesn't mean the other car can't be cited as causing an accident. It should go in the narrative, not in the boxes where VEH 1 and 2 go.

Another possibility is the other car never made it into your lane of travel so the officer is thinking you over-reacted? And for that reason he doesn't feel it was their fault? It all depends on where the other car was when he arrived. But he SHOULD HAVE listened to and recorded what witnesses said.

You can have the report amended usually within a week. You can file an amended report yourself with the state even after that date, if you want to. It sucks that this accident will be reported as an at-fault accident to your insurer.

[Squisher]

Saw that before, and wanted to find it again. thanks.

I really think she saw me, because if she hadn't have seen me, and drove like I wasn't there at all, she wouldn't have caused me any problems. She waited until I was almost to her, THEN pulled out. Pretty sure I saw her look at me as well. It just was a really screwed up situation.


As to me.. Foot is fully healed. can walk fine, and starting to run again. Road rash is entirely healed, and bike is all fixed up. A lot more edgy while riding, but my nerves are starting to calm down.

I'm just happy to be walking again. The whole event made me a lot more grateful of life.

Glad I could help, and I'm glad you're healing well.

She may have seen you, but something they mentioned in the video I linked I think was the "looming" effect, since a motorcycle has such a small visual cross section it can look farther away than it actually is, especially for someone not paying 100% attention to the task at hand (lots of people drive on "autopilot" so to speak).

Whatever it's called that was part of the reason for the weave in the SIAM, to basically make the bike look bigger and closer sooner.

In any case, good luck in the future, and don't forget to relax a bit and have fun (just remain vigilant, which it already sounds like you're good at)!