KymcoForum.com
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: AVGuy on November 19, 2013, 07:59:33 PM
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Was waiting yesterday morning for some oncoming traffic to clear so I could turn left off the street into work. Heard a screech, followed by a BANG and a THUD and I was flying through the air. I landed on my right side in the street. The driver came out of her car with her phone to see if I was ok. I was still trying to process things and make sure I could move everything. I stood up and seemed to feel ok except for my head was kind of ringing and my right arm & shoulder were hurting. I had on all my gear from my head to my feet, so no scrapes.
Another fellow stopped to check on me. He was driving in the opposite direction and saw the whole thing. He said she just wasn't paying attention. Maybe her phone in her hand had something to do with that. I'm hard to miss with a high-viz jacket and lots of extra lights on my bike, but I guess you have to actually be looking at the road to see me. A couple of guys helped move the scoot into a parking lot and a deputy came to fill out an accident report.
My wife took me to the hospital to be checked out. Several CT scans and x-rays later the doctor said everything looks ok and sent me home. I'm pretty sore today and taking the meds they gave me at the hospital. We called our insurance agent and they've started a claim. I saw one of my doctors this morning who's gonna keep on eye on things with me and made an appointment with my ortho doc so she can check out my shoulder and arm. I'd been given a shot in that shoulder about a month ago to reduce some pain and inflammation.
In thinking what I could have done to avoid this, I guess I should've been checking my mirrors, but I was looking more at the oncoming cars, waiting for them to clear. She wasn't going very fast, as we had just left a stoplight about 200 ft before my turn. If I'd glanced down at my mirror, I might've seen she wasn't slowing down and goosed it to just keep moving down the street.
My wife isn't thrilled. She said this is the 2nd crash I've had. The other was two years ago when I laid it down to avoid hitting a kid on a bicycle. She thinks maybe it's time to hang it up. I have a different opinion, of course. My bike is at the dealer for an estimate. If it gets totaled out, I'm thinking of what I can replace it with.
Everybody be careful out there!
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Holy crud. Glad you're OK...
Here's a reason to pull to the right when you stop.
http://youtu.be/GBNkimjiaDA (http://youtu.be/GBNkimjiaDA)
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AVguy, I am so sorry this happened. Creak around and get better, please. Glad it was not worse. I disagree with your other half. You have had the worst of it and should be smooth sailing for a while. Better to wear out than rust out!
Cosmo, that clip was breath taking. What was the guy in the pick-up thinking? Probably not about the situation, huh!
Karl
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I keep an eye on the mirror, and leave my motorcycles in gear. I've had friends get rear ended before, so I don't take chances. Even in a car I watch my mirror.
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AVGuy,
Just very glad things were not worse for you! The first improvement I made to my new scoot was get better mirrors to see behind me.
I swear, I spend as much time checking my mirrors as I do watching ahead - there are times I just don't like what's happening behind me so I decide not to wait out the oncoming cars and make the left turn. I just go on down the road and circle back.
We've even seen cars barely slow behind us when turning right. There'sonly so much you can do.
But one cannot always be looking at your mirrors when in situations like yours.
One small idea : I have a set of long stemmed mirrors and have swung them more to the front- than to the side.
The idea is to get them closer to my forward line of vision.
Anyway - glad you came through this as well as you did - and hope that you have no long term issues from this.
I rec'd my BESTEM case yesterday - I don't like how big it is but I do like how many LEDs it has to the side and rear. Purchased just with your experience in mind.
PS: since she'll be buying - pick out something pretty!
Stig
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Sorry about your bad luck AvGuy glad you're still walking. Inattention by car drivers is the biggest danger we face as scooterists. Hope the scoot come through too! ;)
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I spend a lot of time imagining what-if scenarios such as happened to you, thinking through an escape plan... heck, I'm such a nerd I go out and practice the emergency maneuvers. However when it comes right down to it I honestly don't know if I could pull one off, or just freeze and get smooshed. That video posted above shows just how suddenly a situation can develop.
Again, I'm glad you're OK AVGuy. Hope you get back in the saddle.
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Sorry to hear that AVGuy.. I hope everything will be fine... all I can say is... accidents happen... ride safe guys...
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Sorry to hear this AVGuy. I'm glad to hear you were not seriously hurt. Get well soon.
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Been reading about way too many of these type of incidents as of late from our forum members! :-\ You just can't be too safe when on two wheels. Glad you came out of it relatively unscathed AVGuy. Keep on a scootin'! ;)
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Been reading about way too many of these type of incidents as of late from our forum members! :-\ You just can't be too safe when on two wheels. Glad you came out of it relatively unscathed AVGuy. Keep on a scootin'! ;)
... and it's mostly a SHE driving with a CELLPHONE...
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AV Guy....I know your set-up. My bikes are extremely visible as you know. This is a valuable reminder for me to stay on the defensive. I keep far to the left on the left turns for on-coming traffic. never afraid to use my air horn. Last week a very good friend (51 yrs. old) was killed in a head-on with a drunk driver. She had ridden across the US with her husband several times on their Motorcycles. And this was on a Sunday afternoon.
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I try to always look in my mirrors until other cars have safely stopped behind me at the light/intersection etc. Not much you can do in your case though, be safe, be careful, hope you recover.
I think my first hit will be my last.
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Glad your OK. Chalk up another life to ATTGATT!
Being hit from behind is one of my worst fears. :(
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Got the repair estimate - $1600. Dealer said they didn't find any mechanical damage, just needs a lot of new plastic and misc. parts. Kymco makes some tough scoots.
My riding gear performed as advertised and saved my skin. I must not have slid on the pavement as there's no scrapes on my jacket or pants.
Looking at helmet choices. Think I'll go with a modular since somebody else will be paying.
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Wow AVGuy! that's great news...sort of... glad your Kymco still is repairable... the force was absorbed the the plastics so less were transmitted to the inner steel... So, how's the hip bone, collar bone, and other bones... them ok?
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AvGuy, Hoping for quick healing. I have considered getting the flashing brake light for this reason. Out of habit I flash my brake light at all stops and also spend equal time looking forward/reverse.
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So glad to hear that everything turned out well for you and also that you are riding again. I was involved in a hit and run by a drunk idiot last month, so I can empathize with you in many ways. It was a head on crash, but I was able to jump off before impact,so no real damage done to me, but the scoot was totaled. It's important to get back on the horse (scooter) and not let these dingbats in cars keep us from what we love - riding scooters. Hope you can get your scooter fully repaired, and congrats for wearing all the right gear! Wish more people would understand how important it is to be fully protected while riding. Happy trails!
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Got the repair estimate - $1600. Dealer said they didn't find any mechanical damage, just needs a lot of new plastic and misc. parts. Kymco makes some tough scoots.
My riding gear performed as advertised and saved my skin. I must not have slid on the pavement as there's no scrapes on my jacket or pants.
Looking at helmet choices. Think I'll go with a modular since somebody else will be paying.
Glad your gear protected you !!- scoots are replaceable.
I have an HJC flip-up full-face helmet....these are called 'modular'?
I bought it because I wear glasses, and it is the only type of full-face that works for me. Flip it up and put it on with my glasses already on my face - no issues!
But, also have come to like it because it is so handy to flip it up, and have some coffee while the scoot warms, flip it up while fueling - or going in to pay for the fuel - and the folks at Tim Horton's are no longer shocked to see me at 5 AM at the counter still wearing my helmet!
2 Caveats : 1) Modular helmets may not have passed both the Snell and DOT safety tests.
2) Did read an after-accident report involving a rider wearing a modular helmet - his friend claimed the side head injuries were due to the hinge at that place on the helmet. He was not and is not a fan of the flip-up helmets that his friend wears.
I love my modular - and would not be able to wear a full face helmet if these were not available.
Stig
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Thanks everyone. They'll make me stop riding when they pry my handlebars from my cold, dead hands. Oh wait, that's another hobby of mine. ;D
Healing slowly but well. I'll be 100% before my bike is.
Yes, you can bet I'll be wearing my gear all the time. As far as modular, I need to start wearing my glasses more often and I can't get them on with my regular full face. Several friends have modulars and really like them.
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I love modulars... I can drink, eat, talk, wipe my face, blow my nose, etc. without removing the helmet... ;D ;D ;D
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Well, I'm not healing as well as I had hoped. I landed on my right shoulder and arm and I'm still having pain there. I've seen my ortho doc 2 times and this week she said we can either do an MRI to see if it shows any damage or she can do a scope procedure to look for any damage directly and fix anything if she finds any. I told her since this is accident related lets go ahead and do the scope, that way we'll know exactly what's going on.
I videotape depositions for attorneys, many of which are for personal injury cases, so I know documentation is very important and once you settle with an insurance company, that's it, you get no more money if another medical problem comes up later.
My bike's still in the shop, but we've had so much snow and ice I wouldn't be able to ride anyway.
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Well, I'm not healing as well as I had hoped. I landed on my right shoulder and arm and I'm still having pain there. I've seen my ortho doc 2 times and this week she said we can either do an MRI to see if it shows any damage or she can do a scope procedure to look for any damage directly and fix anything if she finds any. I told her since this is accident related lets go ahead and do the scope, that way we'll know exactly what's going on.
I videotape depositions for attorneys, many of which are for personal injury cases, so I know documentation is very important and once you settle with an insurance company, that's it, you get no more money if another medical problem comes up later.
My bike's still in the shop, but we've had so much snow and ice I wouldn't be able to ride anyway.
Hello there scooter friend,
Thanks for the update - lots of us are following the progress of all of our injured scooter riding folks.
This should have been the season during which you worry about what to do with another fruit cake - rather than dealing with pain from an assault on you and your scooter.
I hope it all works out for you - and good idea to get a scope on the shoulder.
Thanks also for the info on how to handle some of the aftermath stuff.
Best wishes for your complete recovery & season's greetings to you and yours.
Stig
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Today is a good day. My bike repairs are complete and I rode it home from the dealer today. It felt great to be on it again. I also picked up a new helmet, a cab yellow Nolan 104 modular. I've only worn it on the one ride, but I think I'm going to love it. It has a huge viewing area compared to my other helmets and is pretty light.
Hopefully I'll have some good weather days to get some more rides in before my surgery in a few weeks. ;D
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Today is a good day. My bike repairs are complete and I rode it home from the dealer today. It felt great to be on it again. I also picked up a new helmet, a cab yellow Nolan 104 modular. I've only worn it on the one ride, but I think I'm going to love it. It has a huge viewing area compared to my other helmets and is pretty light.
Hopefully I'll have some good weather days to get some more rides in before my surgery in a few weeks. ;D
Good for you!
But I have to smile.....we're happy to get back on our scooters for a few more rides "before the surgery" !
Don't go saying stuff like that around non scooter riders - they'll toss a net on you!
That's a pretty helmet ! I googled up an image of the 'cab yellow'.
{I see people talking about buying a used scoot ,"with helmet!"
Must just be my goofy shaped head - because I had to try on a truck load of helmets before I found the correct shape helmet. It took a combination of correct size AND shape to fit my noodle properly. The size was almost secondary to get a proper & safe fit.}
Enjoy.
Stig