All goood things must come to an end.

[BAMBY]

Well, as ironic as it is, one of the last threads i remember reading through was hppants' pants on the ground...

I just got back from a 2 week stay in the hospital after telling my father that i was going out for a short ride, and would be back not much later on the evening of may 5th. Needless to say, an hour ride turned into two weeks, and my father was visiting me that night after i got out of surgery.

I was going straight, and a pickup truck in an oncoming left turn lane crossed my path at the very last moment. I t-boned the car at 40mph (skid marks on the road proved i applied my brakes, though how much it decreased my speed i have no idea), and came to a dead stop, without even leaving the bike or flying over their truck. The last thing i remember was wondering to myself whether i would be able to stop in time, then my memory skips to me being shoved inside the back of the ambulance and the wheels of the stretcher folding up and hitting the bottom of the stretcher. All the details in between where my memory blanks, i learned from police that were on the scene, and some pictures.

As for the damage to me: I have pics of all that, but i'll save the forum from that gruesome-ness.
Broke my right femur, and one part of it was protruding out the top of my thigh.
Broke my right knee cap into more than two pieces.
Broke both bones completely in my left forearm.
Fractured my jaw on the left side of my face.
I will completely recover from this, though it will take a large chunk of this summer.

As for the damage to my first motorcycle ever, my 84 Hawk S... Not so good at all.
Forks definitely showed a front head on collision by bending back and the front rim bent, but the amazing part to me, is that the triple trees, along with the forks, front wheel, handle bars, everything, completely ripped off the front of the bike!!! I took a close look at the pics, and the pipe that slides through the steering neck and bearings completely sheared and separated from the actual triple trees. That I will never understand, but it did indeed happen. Also, the tank and seat were strewn about and not attached to the bike after the crash, though i am positive the tank was bolted tightly, and the seat was installed correctly, even those pain in the butt tabs at the back of the seat were in their slots. Now, my poor hawk now rests in a junkyard rusting away in a heap... I know there were probably many good parts on it to be had, but since i am moving to texas in a week, and dont have storage for a bike i cant even roll to move, it wasnt going to happen. The first pic is the one you will be able to see the steering neck damage in fyi.
Edit: just realized from one of the pictures that the crash broke an engine mount also! Jeesh! (pic 3 shows it well)

[Brittles]

Wow, sorry to hear all that. I guess you should be thankful to still be alive. Your young and should heal relatively quick though it sounds like it will be a long progress.

[NightHawked]

Very sorry to hear of this. From the pics it is extremely good news that you will be back to 100%.

[Burgi]

Really glad to hear you are going to heal up OK. Sorry about the accident. Did the other driver, at least, get a ticket?

[Bumblebee]

Oh sheesh!

Looking at the wreckage and you staying on the motorcycle after the hit..no wonder you got busted up.

Were you wearing a FF helmet or an open face helmet? What other gear? And yes, I know this is one of those situations where gear will do little more than reduce some of the inflicted damage, not eliminate it.


Take it easy for a while and do what the doc's say so you can recover properly.

[fortyhourdays]

Wow, you and your bike took a serious hit.  Glad to hear you're going to make a full recovery. 

[JB1290]

So sorry to hear about your wreck, BAMBY. I'm glad you came out of it alive and relatively in tact. I'm sending you some good Ju-Ju for a speedy recovery.

[HandsomeSteve]

So sorry to hear of your injuries.  Glad you are healing and will have a full recovery.

Hope the summer healing ticks by fast for you.

[sleepycow]

That SUCKS man. I wish you a speedy recovery.

[BAMBY]

Guys and Gals, Thanks for all the good wishes, and yes, I am lucky to be alive, not to mention being on the long road to 100% again. It is easy for me to imagine what small amount of variables could have changed to turn this from what it is, to a much worse accident. I almost feel like my poor bike got the worst of it, as weird as that may seem.

Burgi, Yes, the other driver did indeed receive a ticket, and every time i talk about that i laugh to myself about what a price to pay that is. hahahaha

Bumblebee, I was wearing all the gear i use on any other occasion which for me is:
FF hjc helmet, mc jacket, gloves, jeans, my only pair of shoes- steel toed boots.

Of all the things that happened, looking back, the things i have trouble wrapping my mind around, is still the damage to the hawk. I mean crimany, the forces involved must have been insaneee.

[Bumblebee]

It is easy for me to imagine what small amount of variables could have changed to turn this from what it is, to a much worse accident.

Do not let yourself go there. Move forward in life, do not stop and what-if yourself into the nutter farm. Learn objectively anything you can from the crash like the NTSB does then let it go. Same goes for those really scary near miss situations. Overthink that kind stuff and even the nutter farm workers will put you in the special needs wacko section of the fruitcake wing of the building.

Yes, the other driver did indeed receive a ticket, and every time i talk about that i laugh to myself about what a price to pay that is.

Tickets are pathetic attempts at making people feel good about themselves when they've done something wrong. Paying a fine of any price is dribble when considering what you've been through in the last two weeks and will have repercussions from for the rest of your life in one form or another. Turning in front of you was the equivalent of pulling a shotgun out and blasting you yet a ticket is essentially saying that taking you out with a car is mostly socially acceptable behavior. But that's a philosophical discussion for another time.

Get better this summer and find another ride. You'll be a better rider in the long run because of this.

And, um, welcome to the Faceplant Club, it suck to no end.

[2muchfun]

 I wish you a speedy recovery.

 BTW, will you ever ride again?

[luckylindy]

 I wish you a speedy recovery.  You were a victim of the "But I didn't see the motorcycle" mouth breathing moron driver.  I can say I feel your pain because the exact same thing happened to me in '09 and the only reason I wasn't busted up as bad as you is because I slid sideways into the idiot. Heal well Bamby.

[DesignFlaw06]

Here's to a speedy recovery! Glad you're still with us.

[gammer]

All the best BAMBY and glad you are still alive. Hope you recover quickly.

[JordanA]

I wish you the best.  That stuff must have hurt!  I hope you will consider getting back onto a bike, but no one could blame you if you choose to stay on 4 wheels in the future.

[BAMBY]

I didnt mean for it to come across that i worry about what could or might happen in the future, which would be no good for anything. It would only put a damper on things like you say.
The only thing i can learn from this (someone tell me other lessons if you can see any) is to be even more of a defensive rider... I saw the car sitting there waiting to turn, but it was at the last moment that they pulled out in front of me. I wish my brain didnt go dead after wondering whether or not i would be able to stop in time, so that maybe i could have executed a last minute swerve or something other than straight line braking, but such was not the case. oh well.

I still have a burning desire to get back on two wheels, that is one sure thing. I dont know what form that will take, or how soon it will become a reality though, seeing as i'm trying to pay for school right now, and consequently lost my job a bit early, though it was coming because i'm moving anyway.
I see BBee and I see eye to eye on that ticket nonsense, oh well, maybe they are human enough to at least feel awful for a while because of it. And thanks for the OFFICIAL Faceplant Club welcome... though i had been in it already, i never would have thought it would ever be to this extreme.

[Bumblebee]

The only thing i can learn from this (someone tell me other lessons if you can see any) is to be even more of a defensive rider...

There are too many variables however if you're going to hit and avoidance isn't possible, straight line maximum performance braking will dump as much energy as possible prior to impact. Every mph slower is a bit less damage when things suddenly stop. Sometimes like you found out, you can run out of distance before running out of energy.

More lessons from the crash will present themselves when you start riding again. Just a guess: Lane or lane position. Using other cages as moving barriers. Fingers over the brakes constantly. Downshifting at intersections. Dumping speed a the first sign of a cage that might pull out in front of you. Standing up to make yourself more visible though that takes away from braking capability. Many hours of maximum performance braking practice in the parking lot can cut yards then feet then inches off stopping distances. (I can still surprise myself every month about how quick the motorcycle will stop when I put it at the top of the friction curve)

(Disclaimer: I'm not a cold blooded crazy when it comes to crashes and injury. I'm compassionate however I just sound like the NTSB because I've been trained since I was a kid to be objective about things. So if I sound like the NTSB or someone working in a physics lab, don't take it personally)

[geemann]

 
glad you are recovering bamby!

cheers,
-g

[jerjohn]

Get well soon bud.

[FearThis SC]

Sorry to hear about your accident.  Sending prayers for a speedy recovery! 

[OhCrap]

Holly crap, that's a bad one 

I never say it out loud, but normally when I read about people going down I always feel kinda bad for the bike. But in this case, screw the bike! Even though you're busted up pretty good it still sounds like you got lucky to be with us and still able to talk about it. I wish you a speedy and full recovery man, and don't do this again please 

[HandsomeSteve]

Suppose many of us have had people pull out right in front of at an intersection.  I've had eye-to-eye contact (seemingly) with drivers that have pulled out in front of me.  Somehow they look right through us and past us.  Fortunately to this point I've been able to avoid that type collision.  I have been tapped from the side as a cager merged right into me on a freeway though.

One thing I do now as I approach an suspect intersection is to do this little swerving back and forth thing.  My hope is that extra movement brings the bike to their attention.  I may of even read of this technique on this NHF.

[LOKi]

Wow your one lucky little motorcyclist. Glad your going to recover 100%.

While thinking how it could have gone worse isn't going to help thinking how it could have gone better will help in the future. Two things I can think of. And this says nothing of your riding ability. But at the moment you thought "can I stop in time" if ever presented with that question again you will know the answer and perhaps could launch yourself upward to fly over the car. If you get caught under the bars they pen you down and as you know break leg bones. It might seem like a spider man type move but jumping up can save a lot of damage to your person. Even if you don't completely clear the car your trying to jump over. If you get just your knees over the bars the force of impact could have sent you tumbling over the truck instead of the instant stop into it's side. Ari managed to do this in his head on collision. Even better would be to make the driver see you. I'm going to sound like a broken record here but when I see someone trying to cross my path of travel in any way I swerve back and forth in my lane. If you have ever seen a bike do this they really stand out. Probably piss people off because it's obvious what your doing. LOOK AT ME!!! SEE ME?!?! LOOK! LOOK! I'M RIGHT HERE! SEE ME!?!? But you know what they don't do? Pull right out in front of you. I do this regardless if they look like they see me or not.

[JordanA]

I've always imagined launching myself over a car if presented with that situation.  I didn't know it was common practice!