[FZ6_Rider]

Well...unfortunately, I have moved from "those that will go down" to "those that have gone down"

Friday morning on my way home, I was cruising down a twisty country road (doing about 45mph) when things as I know them changed for the worse. I was scanning the sides for animals or other obstacles while enjoying the ride, when I saw a white Pacifica approaching from a side road to my right. I covered my front brake and kept trying to make eye contact or at least get some indication that the woman saw me. Well, she didn't slow down and didn't yield right of way and turned left in front of me onto the road I was travelling on. As the car began to move into my path I blasted my horn and quickly decided to go to the right (I figured heading left would have caused me to T-bone her car). The result was I BARELY missed a large sign and went into the roadside ditch. The bike wedged against the rocky hillside adjacent to the ditch and came to a stop. I got off my bike and as I looked back toward the car, I saw her brake lights go off and the car head in the opposite direction.

Damage was pretty much all the plastic on the right side of the bike:

Right Inner Front cowl actually snapped in 2 places
Front outter cowl is rashed up pretty BAD from the rocky slope of the hillside
Right mirror rashed up pretty bad
Corner of windshield is cracked and scratched
Right rear frame cover is rashed
Right passenger hand grab (ie rt side of rear cowl) is rashed up BAD
Oh....and the small dent in the LEFT side of the tank from my knee slamming into the bike

Damage to me consists of:

Left wrist is sore (from handle bars getting pushed back when they hit the hillside)
Left knee is sore (from above described encounter with tank)
Right ankle is tweaked - the peg tore into the thick leather of my hiking boots in 2 spots. X-rays dont show any breaks, but bruising and possible soft tissure damage (tendons/ligaments) is still unknown.
Right forearm has slight rash due to riding without my jacket
Right side of helmet (near face shield and on chin bar) is scratched
Right shoulder is sore from impacting hillside.

Luckily, I was able to get the bike upright and ride the 5 miles home before "shock" and realization of what happened actually set in. Already saw the doctor and time will heal my injuries - unfortunately, I train in Kenpo Karate, and am supposed to belt test in 2 weeks Hopefully, I can pull it together on time (I'm doing the "RICE" routine on my ankle), since this test is the culmination of a years hard work and I cant try to test again for 6 months.

The bike is easily repaired. All the cowlings and W/S will cost just under $500 OTD (with dealer discount).

Lessons learned:

A quality riding jacket is worth it's weight in gold - I would have avoided the forearm rash and sore right shoulder if I had been wearing my JR mesh (with pads). Also wearing proper foot gear is IMPORTANT - I cant even imagine what would have happened to my leg if the peg tore into skin instead of the leather of my boots. I am also a firm believer in my hiking boots for riding - the added ankle support (I lace them TIGHT) is what probably saved me broken bones - according to the doctor. And lastly - NEVER trust a cage to slow/yield - they truely are out to get ya.

~~Bruce "Crash" Lutz or Redding, CA

 

[YZFjeremy]

man thats illegal that she just drove off... I hope you called the cops..

 

[SlowCBR]

Sorry to hear about your wreck, but glad that you're okay. I used to think riders would exaggerate when they said cars don't see you, but it is an unfortunate fact. It is especially true in this day where driving is always one part of multiple tasks that people always find the need to do (driving while: talking on the phone, eating, reading, etc.).

Also, the car is a Chrysler Pacifica, not Nissan.

Hope you heal up quickly.

 

[muppet1]

Glad you survived the crash relatively intact. The fact that she drove off after seeing you burrow into a cliff is inexcusable. These idiots don't realise how deadly their ignorance can be, lets hope she fails to spot an 18 wheeler next time and finds out first hand what it's like to be the small guy on the road. Hope you heal before your belt test matey.

Alex aka. muppet :twofinger

 

[FZ6]

Glad things were relatively minor. Is it the kind of situation where you might trace where she was coming from and find where she lives in order to hold her responsible for her negligence? Hospital visits arent cheap, even if you have decent insurance.

 

[FZ6_Rider]

I filed a police report and have gone back to the scene (kinda creepy to show my wife the tire path in the dirt). There are only 7 houses back along that road, but none had the Pacifica parked outside (cops weren't real excited to go house by house looking in the garage). I'm planning on going to the same spot on Monday and Tuesday to see if it's someone on a "normal" routine of picking up/dropping off kids. Hopefully I can figure out who it is, cause the damage to the bike is gonna eat up my budget for the Vanson leather jacket I been saving for (and now really realize how much it's needed). Lucky for me, I train in Karate with a bunch of doctors, so my x-rays and check-up were freebies

FWIW - I believe the other driver broke 2 laws:

Failure to yield right of way and leaving the scene of an accident (with injury and over $500 in damage - at least pre-dealer discount).

Thanx for the well wishes....

 

[kdk1899]

Sorry to hear that. Im glad your alright and its nice that the bike isnt totaled. Heal up fast and i hope you find out who drives that Pacifica!

 

[Hams51]

I'm glad to hear that nothing is broken. But I am sad to hear that the one responsible for the accident didn't have a care in their heart to see if you were still alive.

 

[jcaesar]

Sorry to hear that man. Glad you made out mostly okay. I got ran off the road in my Trailblazer down in Florida, when another car was in my lane heading the wrong way (most likely a drunk driver). I got the make/model/color/the first three digits of the license plate/and other good descriptions. I filed a police report, and never heard anything back from the police department as many time as I called them trying to get a status. Bascilly got a story that they don't have time to hunt down non fatality hit and runs. What a bunch of crap. Luckily I was on the upside of my loan, but it still caused my insurance to go up. I hope you have better luck with the police tracking down the white Pacifica.

 

[Spike]

Drivers in Florida are absolutely F-ing crazy! I've lived here for the last 5 years and it amazes me at the ridiculous lacking of driving skills, common sense, concern for others, and complete arrogence and attitude people drive with.

 

[stephygee]

Man, sorry to hear about your accident. Yeah, sometimes even when motorists see you, they don't really "see" you. Case in point, a few months back I almost got creamed by a lady that was riding next to me in a RAV4, looked over at me as if she were checking behind me for oncoming traffic, then proceeded to change lanes. I hit the horn and she looked over as if it was the first time she noticed I was there. Unlike your cager tho', at least she waved apologetically at me, started to pull over in case I was hurt, be after I waved her off, she stayed behind me for awhile. Eventually she passed me again and waved as she went along her merry way.

Ride like they don't see you and pray that they do.

 

[2000NinjaZX6R]

Florida drivers suck. Just today I had a lady almost run me off the road just cause her lane was going a tiny bit slower so she wanted to dart into my lane. I was riding with my wife on back and had to swerve a bit into the center lane. Scared the heck out of her though. At least I knew she felt bad. She would not get within 100 feet of my bike from then on and wouldn't pass at all until she had to cause I was turning. Anyway, I hope you find out who it was. Glad to hear your ok for the most part.
Later

 

[RACER X]

sorry to hear about the accident

i think that if she is not physically part of the accident, your gonna have a hard time getting any $ out of her or any fines.

 

[steeltoe]

Eye contact is absolutely worthless. I pretend I'm invisible and the idiots can't see me at all. Not surprised she drove off either. Someone wrote that sportbikers are now viewed like the old harley guys. More and more I see this with the hatred from motorists and harrassment from cops. I don't believe we cause as much damage as SUV drivers on cell phones. It's not deserved regardless of how squidly some riders are. Riding in the mountains this summer I had a passing motorist in a SUV toss their drink right my path. People in cars don't look for us and some don't even like us. Hope you heal up soon brotha.

 

[kimbo59]

sorry to hear about the prang Bruce but then as they say, any prang you get to walk away from are the best sort!

best wishes .... kimbo

and lets hope karma has its way with a certain lady driver ....

 

[Patpuma]

Sorry to hear about your accident, Bruce! I'm glad you're (mostly) OK and your bike is fixable. Hope you have a speedy recovery and can put this behind you and get back to riding.