speed wobble crash
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Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,664
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From: P.E.I. Canada
speed wobble crash
So not to bring you all down, I want to tell you about my ride Sunday. There were 9 of us coming home from a weekend getaway, and one of the guys lost it. We were going down the highway (maybe a little to fast) and going around a gentle turn, and my buddy right in front of my hits a little dip in the road and his electro-glide classic starts into a speed wobble. He held it for a while, but it got to be to much and he completely lost control. As he got to the shoulder of the road the bike went into a slid/flip and hit hard into the ditch. He flew 100 feet, the bike flew up in the air and into the woods. Anyways, to save you from the rest of the details, he's doing fine. After a few minutes of not being so sure, he woke up and got shipped off to the hospital. X-rays showed nothing broken, and he got home last night with nothing but a few bruises... Don't know how he survived. So the reason I'm telling you all this is that part of what saved his life, and for sure what saved his face, is that he was wearing a full-face helmet. Wasn't even his. One of the other guys asked him if he wanted to try it for that morning until we stopped for lunch because he was thinking of getting one himself. I'm not saying we should all be wearing full-face helmets, but it's something to think about. It might have saved his life.
Club Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4,806
Likes: 12
From: In a house down by the river
Hit a culvert at about sixty mph, broke my 3/4 helmet in three pieces, broke my collar bone and pinched my sciatic nerve. The helmet saved my life, of that I have no doubt. I wore it 'cause it was the law but I hated it then and here in KS. I don't have to so I choose not to. Can't donate organs either, Hep.C, guess I just don't learn good.
wow..glad he's doin ok...where did the accident happen? i passed a bike accident on my way back from Delmarva and it looked exactly what u described...bike off the road etc..looked crazy...but like i said, glad ur buddy was ok man
Road Master
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 831
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From: Delawere
I want to add a few things to this.
FIRST, I hope your friend is doing OK and all is well and he is extremely lucky.
Second, I am not bringing this up to start opinions and do NOT want to get into a huge debate but helmets do and do not save lives. Your friend is extreamley luckey having flown 100 feet threw the air but a majority of the time the cause of death in a bike accident is blunt force trauma to the chest and so on. nine times out of ten there is a rupture of the aorta due to the blunt force trauma.
There are three accidents to every accident if you will.
An example would be:
First. a car hits a wall at 50mph
Second is the person hits the dash, steering wheel, seat belt at 50 mph.
Third is the organs also hit the inside of the chest cavity at 50mph and that is where the problem is.
I have worked as a Chief Deputy Coroner for 11 years and have been to ( sadly) around 30 or so motorcycle fatality over the years. At that time in the state where I worked helmet laws were still in effect untill my last year working in that position but in my unofficial opinion and from what I have seen ( also working in a level 1 trauma center at the time and getting every motorcycle MVA for 200 miles) helmets really do not help much in a motorcycle accident. I am not saying to use or not to use a helmet and never would but just wanted to add some personal experience with you. This is one reason you are seeing helmet laws dissipating slowly in states.
Again, I hope your friend is up and back in the saddle again soon and I am glad is is doing well. I do agree that in THIS situation ( from what was posted) the helmet helped protect him from a possible bad outcome or facial fractures and so on.
Just my little 2 cents.
Ride safe!
FIRST, I hope your friend is doing OK and all is well and he is extremely lucky.
Second, I am not bringing this up to start opinions and do NOT want to get into a huge debate but helmets do and do not save lives. Your friend is extreamley luckey having flown 100 feet threw the air but a majority of the time the cause of death in a bike accident is blunt force trauma to the chest and so on. nine times out of ten there is a rupture of the aorta due to the blunt force trauma.
There are three accidents to every accident if you will.
An example would be:
First. a car hits a wall at 50mph
Second is the person hits the dash, steering wheel, seat belt at 50 mph.
Third is the organs also hit the inside of the chest cavity at 50mph and that is where the problem is.
I have worked as a Chief Deputy Coroner for 11 years and have been to ( sadly) around 30 or so motorcycle fatality over the years. At that time in the state where I worked helmet laws were still in effect untill my last year working in that position but in my unofficial opinion and from what I have seen ( also working in a level 1 trauma center at the time and getting every motorcycle MVA for 200 miles) helmets really do not help much in a motorcycle accident. I am not saying to use or not to use a helmet and never would but just wanted to add some personal experience with you. This is one reason you are seeing helmet laws dissipating slowly in states.
Again, I hope your friend is up and back in the saddle again soon and I am glad is is doing well. I do agree that in THIS situation ( from what was posted) the helmet helped protect him from a possible bad outcome or facial fractures and so on.
Just my little 2 cents.
Ride safe!
Last edited by coronerrpm; Sep 21, 2010 at 08:39 PM.
Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,442
Likes: 3
From: Bel Air Md
Helmets are not cool, BUT, I use one. Twice in my live I have bounced a helmet off the pavement from a bike crash, I was very happy both times to be alive. If not for a helmet, me thinks I would not be here. But, I believe, to each his own. The world needs organ donors.
Also kind of insulting.
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Joined: Mar 2007
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About helmets, they work in my opinion. I've had two accidents, they work. About the speed wobble, tars snakes feel like the speed wobble. Just sayin'.
Glad your friend is O.K..
Glad your friend is O.K..
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Road Master
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 831
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From: Delawere
True and also there are not many organs left from a blunt force trauma mva that are viable. I have only seen ONE harvest over the years. Now this is just me and in my area but if there is blunt force trauma then the harvest teams are not interested and rightly so and I agree with them.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2005
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From: Clermont, GA, CSA
I believe when it's your time to go there's not a damn thing you can do about it. ( I also believe you can hasten your demise by keep doing stupid stuff till the man upstairs says, "Well, I was gonna give ole Mal 80 years, but he keeps doing stupid stuff so he's goin out at 57.)
My Dad was a motor cop in the 50's and 60's, hated helmets. He crashed more than a few times and only went to the hospital once.
Me? Never wrecked a motorcycle. I did get hit by a car when I was 12 riding a 'Sting-Ray' bicycle. Landed on my noggin in a driveway barely big enough for 2 cars. When I hit the driveway I slid on my back too, taking every inch of skin off. I woke up in the hospital and couldn't see for another 12 hours or so.
The wreck was the cagers fault and when he brought me a box of candy while I was in the hospital I threw it at him. (Even at 12 I was a smartazz. Mom thought I was rude. Dad just smiled at me.)
Anyways, it wasn't my time back then. 9 out of 10 kids that get hit by a car while riding a bicycle are killed.
Four months later I walk through a closed sliding glass door, back in the days before safety glass. Same 9 out of 10 odds and I get once little scratch on my wrist.
I've also been shot at and totaled out a couple of cars.
Like I said when it's your time there ain't a damn thing you can do about it!
My Dad was a motor cop in the 50's and 60's, hated helmets. He crashed more than a few times and only went to the hospital once.
Me? Never wrecked a motorcycle. I did get hit by a car when I was 12 riding a 'Sting-Ray' bicycle. Landed on my noggin in a driveway barely big enough for 2 cars. When I hit the driveway I slid on my back too, taking every inch of skin off. I woke up in the hospital and couldn't see for another 12 hours or so.
The wreck was the cagers fault and when he brought me a box of candy while I was in the hospital I threw it at him. (Even at 12 I was a smartazz. Mom thought I was rude. Dad just smiled at me.)
Anyways, it wasn't my time back then. 9 out of 10 kids that get hit by a car while riding a bicycle are killed.
Four months later I walk through a closed sliding glass door, back in the days before safety glass. Same 9 out of 10 odds and I get once little scratch on my wrist.
I've also been shot at and totaled out a couple of cars.
Like I said when it's your time there ain't a damn thing you can do about it!