Did your accident change you and how so?

[Shadow Kat]

It took me 9 mo to fully recover from my accident. I broke 11 bones, 7 in two places.
I don't remember it, I was told some details but other than that & just a real uneasy feeling w/ something coming from the right.
My accident was in July the next June I was back in the MSF course. Took a year to rebuild my bike and before I would get in the street on my own bike. I was OK in parking lots & I had no problem riding fender fluff w/ my husband.
I was always careful & yes, still, slower & more careful.
I tell folks that have experienced this is: do things at your own pace. If it's not right yet, wait until it is. Don't let anyone push you. Some quit riding after an accident- and that's OK. no one has anything to prove you have to go w/ you gut.
And yes, the enjoyment is there & getting better. Sometimes I amazed how comfortable I am.

[HardRock]

Did it change your enjoyment level? 1st and 2nd not at all 3rd not at first but after I rebuilt the bike that I had the accident on I was jumpy the first couple times out after that the enjoyment level was better than before. I did have another bike in the years it took me to rebuild and I had no change enjoyment on that one.

Did you learn something from it that would prevent the same exact accident from happening again? 1st watch out for litter bugs that crap doesn't help with traction. 2nd cars are out to get you. 3rd cars don't see you.

What are you more cautious about now? Not much honestly, I was already pretty cautious just got caught by dumb luck and motorists.

Any other words of wisdom? Cars don't see you, and even when they do they usually don't care because your smaller then them.

Lastly, I'm also curious how many accidents you've had if you're willing to share. 3, 1st one I was in a big sweeper when the car in front of me threw trash out of the window (it landed right in front of the front rim). I almost had control back then hit the gravel on the side of the road, low speed lowside. 2nd riding in a small pack, 6, when old lady pulled across road in a turn saw that she pulled infront of vehicles and stopped and froze blocking both lanes of traffic. Bikes scattered one hit the car I ended up in the ditch and tipped over because I had no footing. 3rd I wrote about as one of my first 3 posts but it boils down to, I was rearended because the other driver "didn't see me."




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[puckothewilde]

Not counting dirtbikes and playing Evil Kneivel, I've had several wrecks over the yrs. A couple of cars and two deer. It never really bothered me. If you ride 100 miles a day commuting on freeways and at night you kinda expect things like that. I try hard to pay attention to what's going on around me, but you can't see everything. Crap happens. I do wear full gear.

[wallyjordan]

Head and eyes. My son and I were riding staggered through a crash scene, and I saw a guy I knew directing traffic. Northbound lanes shut off due to crash so we were northbound in a southbound lane, and wouldnt ya know it, right after I saw him and waved it was time to go back in the northbound lanes. By this time the curb was right in front of me. OK. First lesson learned...never ever turn your head and eyes where you do NOT want to go. Second, I taught my son where to be but wasnt checking my 6 and was not about to dip to avoid the curb and hit him.(Turns out he was exactly where he was supposed to be) I hit the curb and went flying through the air which was ok but I landed on my left ribs..splat.. broke three..spent 8 weeks recovering from that. I got right back on and kept going. Ride Like A Pro is a great video. Practice those maneuvers. Look where you want to go and not where you dont, and always check your six... Oh, and I try not to ride at night very much cos we have tons of critters.

[kokopellioh]

id it change your enjoyment level? No

Did you learn something from it that would prevent the same exact accident from happening again?Jury is still out. Slow speed was and is very, very nerve racking even if it is just me in the parking garage.

What are you more cautious about now? I try to just anticipate things more. Traffic, grease spots, wetness, weather, pedestrians, etc.

Any other words of wisdom? Some brands of tires, even when brand new, have ZERO braking traction.

Lastly, I'm also curious how many accidents you've had if you're willing to share. Three. Two and the Shadow within the first month, as I kept finding wet and grease spots. One on the Roketa with a jammed throttle cable. Go figure.

[tilly3@frontier.com]

These comments are all fascinating to read and tell a cautionary scary tale for all of us vulnerable riders. One major bias here, though, is that there will not be responses from those who were killed or from those who stopped riding and therefore don't monitor such websites. I am certainly going to buy this DVD Ride Like a Pro for myself and hopefully find out what everyone means by "low speed maneuvers". Good luck everyone.

[Bneal]

I hit a deer three years ago punctured lung, four broke ribs, rod and nine screws in my shoulder. Four months later I was riding again to the objection of my wife never looked back. Seen a lot of deer since and mail boxes on foggy still make me jump a little.


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[Wingnut74]

I personally have not had an accident on my Shadow, But i did witness 2 accidents in a weeks time that made me step off my bike for 2 months and think about my 1yr old daughter and all those thoughts that go with it. Seeing that i feel has made me a more cautious rider but i also still get enjoyment from riding whenever i can.

[iamsofaking]

I've been in 2 accidents over 20 years. I don't count anything that happens in the dirt or a driveway. First time I wasn't paying attention and rear-ended someone. I was fine, but the bike was pretty boned. The second time I was side-swiped by someone who ran a red light and sent me skipping down the pavement. The guy got out holding a huge map. Witnesses had to restrain me, physically. The bike and I were bruised and scraped.
Getting on the first time after that was terrifying, but the bike was my only transpo, so I had little choice. The fear faded quickly. Now, I am always focused on riding when I'm riding and I don't treat stoplights like drag strips. I take a look.
I firmly believe that some cagers are out to hurt me for no good reason and the rest just aren't paying attention.

[rpartsman]

On june 21st 2012 I hit a deer at 7:45 am he came running from the left as I was running about 60 and had nowhere to go I hit him square in the side after thinking S**T that's going to hurt every time I hit the pavement I watched the deer die in the ditch and was thankful it was not me! I broke one rib banged both knees and left elbow but what laid me up for 7 weeks was the busted spleen.

Did it change your enjoyment level? Since the last one I have yet to put the bike I bought together yet am looking forward to getting back on!

Did you learn something from it that would prevent the same exact accident from happening again? I will always dress for the ride like I will be going down.

What are you more cautious about now? I know I will be as I was last time for the first few rides!

Any other words of wisdom? ride like you are invisible to every one and your eyes wide open !

Lastly, I'm also curious how many accidents you've had if you're willing to share. This is the second one on the road the first was a stupid move on my part road 30 miles to work every day in the Fla sunshine and on this day we had liquid sunshine was soaked within the first mile got almost home and it had only sprinkled I always dropped a gear and leaned in to a 90 degree ( had done it everyday for 2 months ) curve well me and the bike started to do the fandango down the road it was more embarrassing that hurtful but a learning experience and made me more aware of conditions.

Thanks,

Craig[/QUOTE]