A buddy of mine was on his way to a HOG Christmas party on Friday and was involved in a serious accident. He's been in the hospital since Friday night and they think he can go home sometime around Tuesday. He'll need surgery to get him straightened out again.

The bike is totaled, ('07 Wide Glide for those interested).

Its got me conflicted and worried about safety and whether I want to keep riding or not. I always thought it was more dangerous than driving, but I always thought that if I ride safe and alert and have my gear, I'll be fine. In his case, the lady just didn't see him and pulled out right in front of him, (despite his headlight shining her right in the face).

He had a helmet/jacket/gloves/boots on. He was only wearing slacks though and got a little rash on his leg. One of his knees was chewed up pretty good and the kneecap is destroyed.

I'm still processing the whole thing and I think it would help to just talk about it with people who may have experienced something like this before.

 

I am sorry to hear about your friend and am glad he is doing well. I don't have much experience on this subject but, I know there are a lot of people on this site that will be able to talk about it with you. Just blocks away from my house a guy (I didn't know him) t-boned a 66 yr old woman pulling right out in front of him. I know the intersection well as I ride through it all week. Well he didn't make it and he wasn't in the wrong she just didn't see him. But I did have some of the same thoughts your were thinking. I love riding and I won't stop because of idiot drivers out there. Life is short and I believe you have to live it to the fullest. Good luck.

 

I wrecked in 1988. It could have been very much worse, but, as it happened, I ended up only tearing up my left knee, breaking my right foot, and general bangs and bruises all over. I blame myself entirely for the accident, even though a truck pulled across my lane. I was going way too fast (in excess of 100 mph).

If anything, it has made me worry less about crashing, as it showed me you can go through some pretty horrendous stuff, and survive.

I know of a wreck on a mini-bike, at less than 10 mph that resulted in the rider dying too.

The bottom line is - living puts you at risk of dying or being seriously injured. It could happen on a bike, in a car, in the bathtub... I enjoy riding. I love riding. There are few things in the world I enjoy as much. I am willing to take the associated risks in order to enjoy that pleasure. Likewise, I am willing to risk being one of the 40,000 people who die every year in car accidents, in order to do whatever I need or want to do in my car.

 

Well....ya either ride or ya don't. It's not a shot in any way. It makes no difference in the end to anyone but yourself. I had a very bad wreck that was completely beyond my control. I (and my wife!) will never be the same. I still ride, she does not. Maybe she will again some day, but I don't push her. What do ya say when someone you talked into riding gets hurt....again? So I just let it go....time will tell.

 

many of us have those thoughts from time to time. it is especially hard when we see an accident or worse, we know somwone who was involved in one. I can certainly understand why you would have second thoughts. we continue to ride because we enjoy it so much as optimisically hope for the best. To put in perspective, my wife's cousin, Dr John, 52 years young, just passed away after falling ill in 1 week. He was a great man. Turns out he had esophegeal cancer and had nasty infection. So, you never know when your time is up. If it is meant to be on a bike, then so be it. if not there, then surely somehow else. Be safe and follow your heart. me? I dont want to look back and say, gee i really wished i kept riding. all the best.

 

It was weird - last night I was seriously considering selling the bikes and paying of a chunk of the house and stuff. I asked my wife what she would do and she said she'd prolly sell them too. She mentioned though what I was like before I had the bikes and how I would just spend all of my time in the house on the computer and never go out and be social. She likes me better now that I like to do things.

I feel a little better after seeing my friend and sleeping. I rode the bike around this morning. I'm probably going to upgrade my gear and get an armored cordura jacket and pair of paints. I'm hoping that works really well in the summer as far as breathing goes. I'm also going to get some reflective tape and fix the passing lights on the glide. I'm going to also try and get up earlier and go to work so that I don't have to ride home in the dark.

I'll have to figure out what to do with the sporty to make it more visible.

 

Well, as a rider for 38 years, the most important thing to remember is you are not indestructable. Many of my fellow riders who have crashed, were usually riding way too fast and never believing the old left turn, I didn't see him could happen to them.

You have to ride smart, especially in crowded streets, watch and assume that bastard is going to pull out in front of you, judge your braking distance in case, and be observant.

I continue to ride when I want, but I do ride less, as, I simply don't take the bike to the bar anymore, (ok the odd time I do) I really prefer open roads and freeways to busy city streets.

I believe the key is in maintaining your speed to minimize any collison that might occur, and drive defensively. Kinda like flying an airplane, can't be non TOO alert can ya? Or you'll definitely ask for trouble.

You'll enjoy your bike for many years if you keep your wits about you and don't think you are invincible, just because you are on a Harley.

 

I took a motorcycle safety course and thought that helped out tons with rider awareness and confidence. There are too many people on the road that don't pay attention to bikers, I find after taking the safety course I am more aware in the car as well as on my 2009 Fat Bob. I am fairly new to biking and this is my first HD.

 

I took the Rider's Edge once when I got the bike, and a year later when my wife took it. I've also taken the SRC that Harley does and I try and hit the range every week to practice turning and stopping. (I'm not a total nerd, I just want to do well in a biker rodeo).

I generally drive defensively and so does my friend. I didn't mention this in detail before, but other than being ridiculously more visible, there wasn't a whole lot he could do. He could have swerved left into oncoming traffic, or attempted to stop as fast as possible. He chose option #2 and was able to slow down a bit before the collision. In that case, there just isn't much you can do when somebody pulls right out in front.

I guess what I'm trying to realize is that I want to ride a bike even though, despite my best effort, some nut will try and take me out like that - and there wont be anything I can do.

 

Your apprehension about safety will make you a better rider, you'll pay attention more, take less stupid chances and never trust the other guy. You will never be 100% safe no matter what. I got seriously racked up in a car when I was 18 not my fault just wrong place wrong time. Took a good while before I could even sit in the passenger seat comfortably. Last year I got forced off the road on to lawn and had to go down or go head to head with a brick wall. 35 years and never had that happen. Took my lumps, picked the bike up ad rode it to work. All day long I started the same train of thought you are having now. I rode to the club that night directly from work,and told my story to the delight of the membership, run off the road by a semi trying to avoid a hay wagon and dropped the bike on someones front lawn, couldn't stop because the grass was wet and slid the bike down or hit the wall. But, all in all I learned a lesson, follow far enough away to give yourself enough room to make your move when you need to and give yourself the distance to be able to see around the vehicle in front of you. Examine the accident your friend had, there is a lesson from it for you. He looks like he protected himself the best he could with his gear but did he take every precation, speed, position, etc. Riding a motorcycle is a dangerous thing and sometimes and in some places it more a defensive ride then it is an enjoyable ride. If you fear the bike that much and what it can do to you then it's best you get off it untill you can get your nerve back or else you will make the wrong move in a panic situation because you will be thinking about the worst possible outcome and not what you need to do to avoid the worst.