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I'm a bit shaken this morning...

Started by rscottlow, April 26, 2017, 05:59:08 AM

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rscottlow

I received not one, not two, but three calls this morning from family members to make sure I was okay. Apparently there was a head on collision between a white Ford Ranger and a motorcycle this morning not far from my house, on my way to work, at the time that I would normally be heading to work. The motorcyclist was "partially ejected" according to the local news article, and aircared from the scene. No word on his condition. I just got off the phone with my mom who lives right down the street, and she was told by another neighbor that the motorcyclist was thrown over the truck and wasn't moving. They didn't even wait for an ambulance, but put him in the back of a truck and drove him to the nearest location where aircare could pick him up.

Thankfully my employer gives us the opportunity to work from home, which I usually take advantage of on Wednesdays to kind of split up my work week. I heard the sirens while I was still laying in bed this morning. My sister called to make sure I was okay because she saw the truck, and thought it was mine. My mom and my mother-in-law called because they heard about the motorcycle. And apparently my mom got a call from someone we go to church with because she drove past it this morning, too.

It always scares me when I hear about stuff like this, especially being so close to home. I was a passenger in a car accident that put me in the ICU when I was 18, so "it can't happen to me" doesn't even cross my mind anymore.
Scott - Cincinnati, Ohio
2009 GS500F

qcbaker

Seeing or hearing about a serious crash really close to you or on the same roads you regularly ride on can be a pretty sobering experience for sure.

I was a witness to a collision last weekend (no bikes were involved, and thankfully neither driver was seriously hurt) and my girlfriend and I were pulled over seeing if we could help in any way until police got there when my gf's brother drove by and saw me helping to try and push one of the cars to the side of the road and he called to make sure we were okay. Luckily it wasn't us that had gotten into the wreck, but it had happened literally right in front of us. Kinda scary.

rscottlow

Update: it looks like the guy was on a silver SV. I don't know anyone that rides one, and apparently his injuries are not life threatening, so that's good. I assume he was ATGATT, otherwise it surely would've been catastrophic. The speed limit is 45 right there, but it's at the end of a 55 MPH stretch at the bottom of a big hill, so it's easy to still be going 55+ through there. No word yet on what actually happened, but I've been asking around. The road was shut down for over an hour this morning, though.

You're right QC, it's definitely sobering. Having lived in the same small community for most of my 28 years, it's not unlikely that we know at least one person involved when major auto accidents happen around here.
Scott - Cincinnati, Ohio
2009 GS500F

dominickbuff

where i live there is a intersection where cars hit bikes all the time because the cars never stop(4 way stop sign intersection).... i have been rear ended there myself but in my car.... i hate hearing about motorcycle accidents like that near me but there sadly more common then i would like to admit

Watcher

Its sad to hear about, and it seems to be more frequent where I live since it's riding season all year long, but I treat every accident I hear about as a learning experience.

Setting aside the obvious tragedy, I like getting to the meat and potatoes, so long as the details of the crash are available.

What were the weather conditions, time of day/night, path and intentions of the driver, speed and behavior of the rider, road conditions, even heading if available, and I try to apply that all to my own behavior in traffic.

I haven't had a close call in years, not even from cell users and such, I've gotten so good at reading the signs it doesn't ever catch me off guard.  Not saying it won't ever happen, but if I keep a sharp edge mentally and keep applying new situations and new risks to the catalogue of "what could happen" in my mind the better I'll be able to deal with anything coming up.
"The point of a journey is not to arrive..."

-Neil Peart

rscottlow

Quote from: Watcher on April 26, 2017, 07:28:55 AM
Setting aside the obvious tragedy, I like getting to the meat and potatoes, so long as the details of the crash are available.

What were the weather conditions, time of day/night, path and intentions of the driver, speed and behavior of the rider, road conditions, even heading if available, and I try to apply that all to my own behavior in traffic.

It doesn't look like the news article will be updated with any new information, but I'm sure I'll hear more about it sometime this weekend. The weather was good this morning, the crash happened about 15 minutes before sunrise, and the news reported it to be a head on collision. If you're going the direction that I believe the motorcycle was traveling, he had just come to the bottom of a hill, and the speed limit dropped from 55 MPH to 45 MPH, and then the speed limit drops down to 35 MPH in about another half mile from where the accident occurred. The bike was likely slowing, and the driver of the truck accelerating. Unfortunately, that's about all of the facts I know. I saw a video clip of them loading the bike up onto a flatbed, and it looked like a silver, second gen SV650. The bike didn't look totally mangled or anything, but the nose fairing and windshield looked to have significant damage.

Quote from: Watcher on April 26, 2017, 07:28:55 AM
I haven't had a close call in years, not even from cell users and such, I've gotten so good at reading the signs it doesn't ever catch me off guard.  Not saying it won't ever happen, but if I keep a sharp edge mentally and keep applying new situations and new risks to the catalogue of "what could happen" in my mind the better I'll be able to deal with anything coming up.

I like to think that I'm cautious and aware enough to not be surprised by most idiot drivers. I was taught to drive defensively, and that has definitely carried over into riding my GS.
Scott - Cincinnati, Ohio
2009 GS500F

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