Laid her down today
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,277
Likes: 1
From: Haney, British Columbia
Shoulda, coulda, it only takes a sec to make a critical decision. When I hear stories of those that had to "lay her down" I wonder what were the exact circumstances and if I could learn from it to see if things might have been done differently.
I once came to a four way stop and there was no one in the intersection, I moved forward and saw a truck from my right approaching over the rise that was just before the intersection. The guy was flying, and in a flash I noticed he was looking down. I suspect it was his phone and there was no way he was going to stop. My heart jumped into my chest and in an instant I thought this was it, but something made me hit my throttle instead of laying on my brakes and I cleared the intersection in a flash.
Not saying this can apply to all, just glad you are ok and I'm sure your family had a major scare watching you go through it.
I once came to a four way stop and there was no one in the intersection, I moved forward and saw a truck from my right approaching over the rise that was just before the intersection. The guy was flying, and in a flash I noticed he was looking down. I suspect it was his phone and there was no way he was going to stop. My heart jumped into my chest and in an instant I thought this was it, but something made me hit my throttle instead of laying on my brakes and I cleared the intersection in a flash.
Not saying this can apply to all, just glad you are ok and I'm sure your family had a major scare watching you go through it.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 4,933
Likes: 11
From: Kentucky
The useful lesson there is to stat paying more attention. If you are watching for it, it's easy to see when somebody is about to run the light or sign. They only come "out of nowhere" when you were watching straight ahead or not paying attention to the places danger can come from.
Advanced
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
From: MN
If you mentally prepare and rehearse your response in various situations, you will perform that way when the time comes. If you mentally rehearse "If I start pulling forward and a car drives thru this light, I'm going to do XYZ" and go over that in your head over and over, and see yourself doing that, you will naturally do it when the time comes.
How do I know? As cops we do this. If I drive past a liqour store, I'm thinking "what would I do RIGHT NOW if someone just ran out of the building lobbing rounds", etc.
How do I know? As cops we do this. If I drive past a liqour store, I'm thinking "what would I do RIGHT NOW if someone just ran out of the building lobbing rounds", etc.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 28,843
Likes: 16,583
From: Wisconsin, USA
I love the posts where people say you could have avoided the accident if you were perfect like me. BS. If you ride, you must accept the fact that sometimes accidents are unavoidable. You can minimize the risk with
situational awareness, but you can't predict everything.
Who could have seen this coming? Red light runner is screened by RV/small bus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtRRu2Mv4sE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
situational awareness, but you can't predict everything.
Who could have seen this coming? Red light runner is screened by RV/small bus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtRRu2Mv4sE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Last edited by Ron750; Oct 27, 2012 at 06:06 AM.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 4,933
Likes: 11
From: Kentucky
If you want to sit at a light daydreaming with your bike in neutral, or roll through an intersection without knowing what the cars on the left and right are doing, and then call that unavoidable, that's on you, but an ordinary person can avoid those accidents very easily. Like snubby said, I learned a lot of it as a cop and observing and knowing where trouble could come from is just as normal as breathing.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 25,310
Likes: 2,446
From: Eastern NE
Any crash, lay-down, tip-over, slide, etc...you walk away from is a good one. Glad to see you weren't hurt and bike survived fairly unscathed as well. Currently I'm doing my college English essay on red-light runners so your post gave me more creativity for my term paper - thanks!
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 27,097
Likes: 4,676
From: Frozelandia, Minnysota
I love the posts where people say you could have avoided the accident if you were perfect like me. BS. If you ride, you must accept the fact that sometimes accidents are unavoidable. You can minimize the risk with situational awareness, but you can't predict everything.
...
...
I was just lucky the one time I had nowhere to go, I was in a car. 16 year old kid snapped a left turn in front of me, traffic on my right, going left would have just hit him quicker, so nothing to do but brake and minimize the impact when we hit head on (he never had a prayer of making it, don't know what he was thinking). I hardly felt his Nissan bounce off my Ford, and fortunately he wasn't hurt, but I'll never forget the aw sh*t feeling that this time I couldn't escape. The Ford just had some cracked plastic (the Nissan didn't drive away, not that I cared); if I'd been on the Harley I'd have probably gone over the bars as the bike was driven backwards, and we all know that never turns out well.
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
6 Weirdest Harley-Davidsons Ever Sold to the Public
Verdad Gallardo
7 Times Harley-Davidson Chucked Tradition Out the Window
Verdad Gallardo
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Verdad Gallardo
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
Thread Starter
|
Novice
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
From: Georgia
Thanks everyone for the advice!
I actually did look right and left before turning. That's actually why I'm always in neutral at a light to give me that extra few seconds to shift and go in case someone does run it. I rolled out and began to look into my turn and that's where the "she came out of nowhere" came into play. My peripheral caught her and at this point she's on me. When I hit the brakes, in the middle of a slight left lean, I'm on the ground. No time to steer in another direction or avoid. Luckily, she finally saw me at the same time I saw her and slammed on brakes as well. Definitely a lesson learned and again, all the advice given is appreciated whether I agree with it or not, it's all food for thought. By the way, after a drink or two to relax last night, I decided to take a refresher motorcycle safety course again, just for the hell of it.
I actually did look right and left before turning. That's actually why I'm always in neutral at a light to give me that extra few seconds to shift and go in case someone does run it. I rolled out and began to look into my turn and that's where the "she came out of nowhere" came into play. My peripheral caught her and at this point she's on me. When I hit the brakes, in the middle of a slight left lean, I'm on the ground. No time to steer in another direction or avoid. Luckily, she finally saw me at the same time I saw her and slammed on brakes as well. Definitely a lesson learned and again, all the advice given is appreciated whether I agree with it or not, it's all food for thought. By the way, after a drink or two to relax last night, I decided to take a refresher motorcycle safety course again, just for the hell of it.
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,926
Likes: 56
From: Knoxville, TN
Are you saying your insurance or the other driver's? My orignal quote was about laws not insurance coverage.