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God-damn Tailgaters (Bike accident on the way to work)
14 years ago
(These events are from yesterday, 11/3/2011, and don't worry, I'm not injured)
My bike, for reference: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5488178 (this picture was taken before a few other upgrades were made, so it's a bit old)
And the day started out so well too
Well, sorta. Had to wake up early for work in the morning. So I got some sleep, woke up, got a small breakfast in me, did the usual shave and toothbrush routine, and got dressed for the ride into work. It's getting chillier now, but not chilly enough that the full body suit is needed each trip. So I just put a thermal layer on beneath my shin-guards, pants, and riding jacket.
It was also just cold enough that I wore the heavier riding gloves I have, that are electrically heated by hooking up to the bike's power supply.
Traffic really wasn't anything major. I actually was making better time than I expected, given it was a weekday morning and the beginning of rush-hour was starting up. But the lights were cooperating today, and some of the ones I usually end up getting stuck at let me ride through without a pause. So it was looking like I would make it into the hotel for the morning shift early.
3/4ths of the way into the city I picked up a tailgater. Some guy in an SUV. Not an aggressive tailgater, mind you. But he was closer than he should have been, even in rush-hour conditions. We weren't exactly doing stop-and-go driving. Everyone on the road was moving pretty smoothly, which meant we were moving faster than you'd normally see that time of day. Coming around a curve I came up on an intersection I know has a red-light camera. I also know what my bike's braking distance is at different speeds, and when I saw the light switch to yellow I knew I wasn't going fast enough to make it through the intersection before getting flashed. But besides that, I knew I had way more than enough distance to safely come to a halt. So I squeezed on the brake, timing it so I'd come to a stop at the white line.
That tailgater behind me? Yeah, he didn't do that. He must have thought I'd try to breeze through the intersection, and he could follow behind me. When I came to a stop I heard that nasty 'SKEEREACH' of brakes going on behind me.
You know that 'life flashes before your eyes thing' that people talk about when something really unexpected is about to happen? Nah, didn't happen in this case. When I heard the sound of the brakes I knew what the tailgater had done, and what went through my head first was "Oh, you bastard.
He had braked hard though, and he swerved to the left at the same time, so he smacked into the rear-left side of my bike. Since he'd braked so hard and done the swerve the impact wasn't enough to knock me out of the seat. It was enough to knock the bike forward and tip the bike on its left side, skidding across the ground a few feet. The driver went past a bit further, guided his car through the intersection (I think he got flashed by the camera in the process, which is hugely ironic), and pulled over when he got to a shoulder.
I'd heard the sound of breaking plastic trim when the car first hit me, so I already knew the bike was damaged. But as I pulled my foot from under the saddle and stood back up I was mostly grateful that the bike hadn't fallen directly on me, and that the car had swerved to the side (grateful or not, I was also pissed, and cursing pretty vividly inside my helmet).
As an interesting twist to the event, the car directly behind the guy that hit me was a police officer. He turned on his lights and blocked the lane while I picked myself up, unplugged the electric gloves from the wire connecting them to my fallen bike, and flicked off the ignition switch, killing the engine.
The driver of the car jogged back right around then too.
No, I didn't fly into a rage at him. And thank all that's holy, he wasn't one of the dipshit types who like to start in with 'Why'd you stop infront of me like that!?'. He was immediately apologetic and wanted to help as best he could. He knew pretty well that the crash was his fault, and he was doing the honorable thing in trying to go by the book now. My leg was hurting, so I asked him and the officer to stand the bike back up. Once it was upright I hit the electronic lock for the two front wheels, and it stayed standing on its own. Looking it over I could see the damage to the trim now, the twisted license plate holder, busted lights on the back end, and you could tell the engine cover had been knocked loose. It was laying in the street somewhere, but since it was still dark outside it wasn't all that easy to spot in the intermittent flash of headlights going by. I picked up the torn-loose saddle-bag, and when the traffic stopped for the next red-light I pushed the bike over to the sidewalk and up the small corner ramp, then set the parking brake.
I didn't talk to the guy who hit me too much. The officer who was there stayed to make sure that there weren't any serious injuries and to make sure the information exchange took place. The guy who hit me turned out to also have State Farm as his insurance provider, so it made the information exchange a lot quicker. My leg also hurt a bit less than it had upon standing up, so I let the officer know that I wouldn't need an ambulance.
After the information was exchanged the other guy went on his way. He'd have to wait or State Farm to call him for follow-up details. His SUV was likely only mildly damaged, and still quite drivable. The only thing that I can imagine having been wrong with it would be damage to the front bumper or the headlights, so he wasn't in need of a tow. I, on the other hand, had to start making calls. I had camp out on the side-walk for a bit, first calling the Piaggio road-side emergency service company to report the accident and have them send a toe truck out. The bike still ran, but I didn't trust the stability of the engine or the other sensitive parts of its system after that sort of damage. There was no way I'd risk driving it across the bridge into the city in that shape. I also had to call up the insurance company and report the incident, so they could get their own paperwork going. Then I called into work, and let them know what happened, and that I'd likely not be coming in today. Because of the pain in my foot I didn't need an ambulance (I could still walk, after all, and I really didn't want to deal with the additional headache of trying to arrange the towing of the bike via phone while either in the ambulance or in the hospital) but I'd be taking a trip into the city's VA center to have my foot checked out. Then I called up the scooter service center in Virginia that I usually took the Piaggio to for maintenance, and let them know the bike would be coming in for repairs, courtesy of the insurance company and the towing service.
After all that was in motion, and the tow-truck was on the way, I called home, aiming to catch my mom before she left for work herself.
I let her know right away that I was mostly ok, aside from the sore foot, and that everything for getting the bike taken care of was already started up. So she didn't panic about me suddenly having been crippled or the like. She took care of getting everything ready for my brother to go to work, called her office and let them know that she'd likely be coming in late, and drove out to pick me up at the intersection I was waiting at.
Timing-wise, things came together pretty well. The tow-truck driver showed up after about an hour and was quick to help with getting the bike strapped up (he also said that the other guy was an idiot, and that my bike was one of the coolest he'd ever seen, both of which I agree with). While he was strapping the bike to his truck's bed my mom pulled up to the intersection.
The tow-truck guy was actually helpful in reassuring her that I was mostly ok, and let her know that based on what he could see the bike was repairable. After he had the address set for the bike's drop-off I was finally able to bid farewell to the intersection I'd been camping at for the past few hours, and we went on our way. My mom drove me to the VA hospital while the driver took the Piaggio to the service center.
The hospital visit was, thankfully, straightforward. An x-ray of my sore foot showed the soreness was due to a bad bruise and not much more. My foot was really stiff and the joint was very painful to work, but it was workable at the very least. I'm limping a bit still, but in the next few days it should be back to normal. But the heavy duty boots and the shin/knee guards I wear under my pants when riding did their job and kept me from getting badly banged up.
Now I'm just waiting on word from the service center and the insurance people. My coverage is great and it'll certainly be fine for handling the repairs, any bill from VA (if there even is any. I do have to pay them a small copay every now and then, but my Iraqi Freedom veteran status keeps my medical bills way down), and not only that, it should cover my lost wages too. So the next day or so is just going to be recovery time for me.
My bike, for reference: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5488178 (this picture was taken before a few other upgrades were made, so it's a bit old)
And the day started out so well too
Well, sorta. Had to wake up early for work in the morning. So I got some sleep, woke up, got a small breakfast in me, did the usual shave and toothbrush routine, and got dressed for the ride into work. It's getting chillier now, but not chilly enough that the full body suit is needed each trip. So I just put a thermal layer on beneath my shin-guards, pants, and riding jacket.
It was also just cold enough that I wore the heavier riding gloves I have, that are electrically heated by hooking up to the bike's power supply.
Traffic really wasn't anything major. I actually was making better time than I expected, given it was a weekday morning and the beginning of rush-hour was starting up. But the lights were cooperating today, and some of the ones I usually end up getting stuck at let me ride through without a pause. So it was looking like I would make it into the hotel for the morning shift early.
3/4ths of the way into the city I picked up a tailgater. Some guy in an SUV. Not an aggressive tailgater, mind you. But he was closer than he should have been, even in rush-hour conditions. We weren't exactly doing stop-and-go driving. Everyone on the road was moving pretty smoothly, which meant we were moving faster than you'd normally see that time of day. Coming around a curve I came up on an intersection I know has a red-light camera. I also know what my bike's braking distance is at different speeds, and when I saw the light switch to yellow I knew I wasn't going fast enough to make it through the intersection before getting flashed. But besides that, I knew I had way more than enough distance to safely come to a halt. So I squeezed on the brake, timing it so I'd come to a stop at the white line.
That tailgater behind me? Yeah, he didn't do that. He must have thought I'd try to breeze through the intersection, and he could follow behind me. When I came to a stop I heard that nasty 'SKEEREACH' of brakes going on behind me.
You know that 'life flashes before your eyes thing' that people talk about when something really unexpected is about to happen? Nah, didn't happen in this case. When I heard the sound of the brakes I knew what the tailgater had done, and what went through my head first was "Oh, you bastard.
He had braked hard though, and he swerved to the left at the same time, so he smacked into the rear-left side of my bike. Since he'd braked so hard and done the swerve the impact wasn't enough to knock me out of the seat. It was enough to knock the bike forward and tip the bike on its left side, skidding across the ground a few feet. The driver went past a bit further, guided his car through the intersection (I think he got flashed by the camera in the process, which is hugely ironic), and pulled over when he got to a shoulder.
I'd heard the sound of breaking plastic trim when the car first hit me, so I already knew the bike was damaged. But as I pulled my foot from under the saddle and stood back up I was mostly grateful that the bike hadn't fallen directly on me, and that the car had swerved to the side (grateful or not, I was also pissed, and cursing pretty vividly inside my helmet).
As an interesting twist to the event, the car directly behind the guy that hit me was a police officer. He turned on his lights and blocked the lane while I picked myself up, unplugged the electric gloves from the wire connecting them to my fallen bike, and flicked off the ignition switch, killing the engine.
The driver of the car jogged back right around then too.
No, I didn't fly into a rage at him. And thank all that's holy, he wasn't one of the dipshit types who like to start in with 'Why'd you stop infront of me like that!?'. He was immediately apologetic and wanted to help as best he could. He knew pretty well that the crash was his fault, and he was doing the honorable thing in trying to go by the book now. My leg was hurting, so I asked him and the officer to stand the bike back up. Once it was upright I hit the electronic lock for the two front wheels, and it stayed standing on its own. Looking it over I could see the damage to the trim now, the twisted license plate holder, busted lights on the back end, and you could tell the engine cover had been knocked loose. It was laying in the street somewhere, but since it was still dark outside it wasn't all that easy to spot in the intermittent flash of headlights going by. I picked up the torn-loose saddle-bag, and when the traffic stopped for the next red-light I pushed the bike over to the sidewalk and up the small corner ramp, then set the parking brake.
I didn't talk to the guy who hit me too much. The officer who was there stayed to make sure that there weren't any serious injuries and to make sure the information exchange took place. The guy who hit me turned out to also have State Farm as his insurance provider, so it made the information exchange a lot quicker. My leg also hurt a bit less than it had upon standing up, so I let the officer know that I wouldn't need an ambulance.
After the information was exchanged the other guy went on his way. He'd have to wait or State Farm to call him for follow-up details. His SUV was likely only mildly damaged, and still quite drivable. The only thing that I can imagine having been wrong with it would be damage to the front bumper or the headlights, so he wasn't in need of a tow. I, on the other hand, had to start making calls. I had camp out on the side-walk for a bit, first calling the Piaggio road-side emergency service company to report the accident and have them send a toe truck out. The bike still ran, but I didn't trust the stability of the engine or the other sensitive parts of its system after that sort of damage. There was no way I'd risk driving it across the bridge into the city in that shape. I also had to call up the insurance company and report the incident, so they could get their own paperwork going. Then I called into work, and let them know what happened, and that I'd likely not be coming in today. Because of the pain in my foot I didn't need an ambulance (I could still walk, after all, and I really didn't want to deal with the additional headache of trying to arrange the towing of the bike via phone while either in the ambulance or in the hospital) but I'd be taking a trip into the city's VA center to have my foot checked out. Then I called up the scooter service center in Virginia that I usually took the Piaggio to for maintenance, and let them know the bike would be coming in for repairs, courtesy of the insurance company and the towing service.
After all that was in motion, and the tow-truck was on the way, I called home, aiming to catch my mom before she left for work herself.
I let her know right away that I was mostly ok, aside from the sore foot, and that everything for getting the bike taken care of was already started up. So she didn't panic about me suddenly having been crippled or the like. She took care of getting everything ready for my brother to go to work, called her office and let them know that she'd likely be coming in late, and drove out to pick me up at the intersection I was waiting at.
Timing-wise, things came together pretty well. The tow-truck driver showed up after about an hour and was quick to help with getting the bike strapped up (he also said that the other guy was an idiot, and that my bike was one of the coolest he'd ever seen, both of which I agree with). While he was strapping the bike to his truck's bed my mom pulled up to the intersection.
The tow-truck guy was actually helpful in reassuring her that I was mostly ok, and let her know that based on what he could see the bike was repairable. After he had the address set for the bike's drop-off I was finally able to bid farewell to the intersection I'd been camping at for the past few hours, and we went on our way. My mom drove me to the VA hospital while the driver took the Piaggio to the service center.
The hospital visit was, thankfully, straightforward. An x-ray of my sore foot showed the soreness was due to a bad bruise and not much more. My foot was really stiff and the joint was very painful to work, but it was workable at the very least. I'm limping a bit still, but in the next few days it should be back to normal. But the heavy duty boots and the shin/knee guards I wear under my pants when riding did their job and kept me from getting badly banged up.
Now I'm just waiting on word from the service center and the insurance people. My coverage is great and it'll certainly be fine for handling the repairs, any bill from VA (if there even is any. I do have to pay them a small copay every now and then, but my Iraqi Freedom veteran status keeps my medical bills way down), and not only that, it should cover my lost wages too. So the next day or so is just going to be recovery time for me.
Also...
Iraqi Freedom?
You're ex military?
Here's to good fortune, and a quick return of your bike. *raises a glass of cola*
I had all my pads on then too, which was a good thing. A lot like the accident with the big bike I got launched off, and the pads on my knees and built into my riding jacket took the impact.