close. real close

Just buzzing down Irving after wolfing down a Pasquale's pizza with some
friends...
7th ave....6th ave....at 5th a U-Haul Van bolts from a stop sign directly in
front of me....ohshit...25 feet and closing at 20-25 mph...lotsa
brake....front tire washes out on wide crosswalk marking strips but I manage
to avoid becoming part of U-Haul van, sliding to within about a foot of said
vehicle.

ouch..but nothing a few days won't cure, I get and approach U-Haul before he
can bolt from scene...."license, please"...it goes into my backpocket as I
flip phone 911 and request some flashing lights with blue suited public
servant types...
I pick up bike and am amazed at how little damage is there...impressed with
frame sliders that previous owner thoughtfully installed.

Still a few minor booboos, and my thumb has had better days. If only I
hadn't slid on the crosswalk markings, but was grateful for strong brakes
and lack of serious damage...

police arrive and take my side immediately ( the U-Haul was at fault, even
if there was no contact), call an ambulance with two jovial technicians who
discover I am ok except for elevated blood pressure ( Doh!!)

Anyone ever have this sort of thing happen, where another driver causes an
accident without a collision? And still bend over their insurance company
for the damages?
My adjuster says their insurer will try to weasel based on the fact that
they never hit me. Of course the police report clearly indicates the
U-Hauler as "at fault", but I was rear ended once and was still found to be
49% responsible by Farmers Ins. I never did quite understand that but I am
sure it made sense to them.

Still grateful for the lack of drama and that I won't be sporting any
plaster fashions or flashy orthopaedic hardware.
Mr. R1 should be good as new with a new stator cover, frame slider and
mirror. Ronayers had them all for under 100.00 shipped, so if they let me do
the damage repairs myself, it shouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

--
Jim Stinnett
VTR1000
R1100RS
YZF R1
http://moto-rama.com

 

Jeez, Jim! I am glad you are OK.

 

Yes, twice. Three times counting the guy who drove away before I got up.

In both cases I went directly at the malefactor's insurance company.
Once, because the bike was not insured for collision and the other time
because I just thought I'd be better off. One's own company is content
to just blame you both and up your rates! I had witnesses both times,
and the other party, each time, was "incredibly guilty". I described my
injuries (slight), hinted that I ought to have them checked out more
thoroughly, presented receipts for orthopedist (in one case) plus moto
repair bills/estimates (both times), asked for 3 times with no further
claims. Got what I wanted both times with no arguments. When the
guilty party's insurance company can get away with minimal medical
bills, they are _absolutely delighted_ to pay three times what's left.

-r

 

Thanks Holly. I am still amazed at two things, first the incredible braking
power of my R1's Brembo brakes, and how those frame sliders kept my body
panels from getting rashed.
I took a ride by the accident site today and realized that there was little
more than 20 paces between the place where I hit the brakes and where the
van stopped in front of me. At 25mph, it almost seems impossible that I
could've avoided a collision with that van.
I do routinely keep a couple of fingers on the brake lever in traffic
though, so it wasn't a big lag in response time.
I believe that had there not been those slippery vinyl crosswalk markings,
it might not have been more than a routine SF moto moment.

Nice to be vertical , at any rate!

--
Jim Stinnett
VTR1000
R1100RS
YZF R1
http://moto-rama.com

 

<snip>

Glad you're OK, Jim -- could easily have been worse, and often is,
alas...

Al Moore
DoD 734

 

Thanks Al.
Sometimes they sort of broadcast those " I'm gonna do something stupid"
vibes. I tend to watch my velocity in SF because it seems like them vibes
are everywhere...
Jim

 

You'll be back in the saddle soon enough, so heal well and start picking out
a new bike.
I hope it won't take long.

I am now at "get off" number 5 since 1967, so my average ain't too bad
considering the total miles I have ridden is close to the 1,000,000 mark.
I almost want to make this one a near miss, but I will still count it...

the others are:

<<blew a turn on '67 BSA in Oakland hills, 1971 or so, went off roading
until sticker bushes pulled me off the seat and in to space

<<a "no traction on a cat" crash in about '84

<<Clotheslined by a low hanging cable tv wire in '01

<<made stupid pass attempt on two cars ,shoreline highway south of stinson
beach, was forced into ditch by first of the two cars. ouch. knocked out,
broken thumb, bike had a few pricey booboos..

I still like to think that riding is a relatively safe thing , in spite of
whatever anyone says.
I try my best to be mindful that I need to make every attempt to stay out of
harm's way, and anticipate those "out of my control" situations as best I
can.

Let's all be careful out there...and lucky!

--
Jim Stinnett
VTR1000
R1100RS
YZF R1
http://moto-rama.com

 

Glad you are Okey-Dokey (whatever that means!).

I've always wondered though: what would have happened if the driver of
the uhaul had just driven away? And you weren't able to recover,
upright the bike, and chase him down (or have the wits and eyesight to
get his plate)? I've heard lots of news stories like that. And it
happened to a friend in FL about 5 years ago. His insurance co. said he
was 1/2 at fault because there was no "proof" another vehicle had even
been there and how did they know he didn't just crash/lose control of
his bike?

I'm guessing most riders, like me, have had a few bad incidents like
that that *almost* resulted in a drop/crash. But in my experience,
drivers just go on their merry way. I can recall a ton of crash reports
where a driver caused a bike to run off the road or crash, then just
drove on. If they are ever caught (rare), they just plead ignorance ("I
didn't see anything") and are *never* cited....

 

BigKahuna wrote"
<I'm guessing most riders, like me, have had a few bad incidents like
that that *almost* resulted in a drop/crash. But in my experience,
drivers just go on their merry way. I can recall a ton of crash
reports
where a driver caused a bike to run off the road or crash, then just
drove on.>

Yeah, you know it's so fucked up to me that people can just create and
cause a crash which can literally cause thousands of dollars and just
drive off. I had this happen to me in LA. One woman, three cars, almost
all rear ending each other and yet I was the one who ended up with the
damage and the crashed bike. She left. The good news is one of the guys
in the chain of cars actually tried to chase her down and then came
back to me to give me somewhat of a description. Nice try, but it
failed due to no info that really would have done anything. The good
news is some people still out there care. Ride safe.

 

At least someone tried to help, these days it's like no one cars about
anyone else. I keep a camera[1] with me all the time now for situations
like this.

[1] one of the cheap one-use with flash.