• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

Accident Report. Crash ends a great trip in the Mountains.

SCOUT6

Member
Hi Folks.

I thought I would give you an update on Skip’s and my accident last week. At this point, I am fine (sore from stiffening up prior to impact, and impact). Skip is still in the hospital in Billings, Montana, but on the mend.

The accident occurred when a motorcycle parked on the right side of the road (in the same direction as our travel), turned left in front of us, appearing to head to the parked motorcycle on the other side of the road. He later confirmed that was where he was going, and he had come back to see why his riding partner had pulled over.

He and I collided (his front wheel and my engine guard made the first contact. I was able to continue through the crash, and pulled over. Upon hearing Skip cry out over the intercom, I turned around and rolled back to the crash site, where he was on the ground. The rider of the bike I made contact with, had gotten out of the way, but his bike was blocking the lane in front of Skip. Skip ran into this bike, and was thrown over the handlebars, impacting the road, causing damage to his pelvic girdle and his arm. His bike was totalled. Mine is being looked at by an adjuster this week (I brought it home on the trailer from Montana).

Skip has gained a few more plates and screws, and is done with all medical procedures. He is currently working with the rehab folks to get him ready to fly home (potentially 7-10 days). Skip is in good spirits, talking about what a great trip we had up to this point, and what bike to get next.

We are both with USAA insurance, and have been in contact with our reps, who seem to be doing a great job of communicating with us.

Blue Cross, Blue Shield is working to get Skip the best care, while keeping him comfortable. I stayed with Skip until Wednesday, and then headed home. One of his sisters is with Skip now.

We expect that Skip will live with us while he rehabs, until he is able to move back to his apartment. Our house is set up for invalid use, with rails, and modifications due to Susan’s rehab several years ago.

Lessons learned
Wear good gear. Skip’s helmet is a mess. He had no neck or head injuries. His spine is intact. His limbs have injuries due to impact, but none of them major. The Motoport mesh kevlar pants, First Gear Jacket, boots, gloves, and Scorpion full face helmet all protected him.

Trust no one on the road. We had passed dozens of motorcycles on the sides of the roads. They were waiting for one another, waiting for traffic to pass, taking pictures, or just looking at the scenery. This guy decided to cross the road without looking. He claims to have signalled, but neither of us saw tail lights, or signals.
Drive farther apart. While Skip was not close behind me, he was unable to come to a stop, even with ABS when the lane became blocked with a fallen motorcycle. Not sure how far back he would have had to have been to miss it, but that might have helped. Of course, two lane roads have a speed limit of 70MPH in most of Montana.

Keep a list of meds/medical conditions on you, or in your tank bag. We could not find Skip’s, and it turned out to be locked in a saddle bag.

Be sure to have good insurance, both medical and physical (auto/MC). USAA has been in communication with us almost every day, handling Skip’s totalled bike claim by Thursday. BCBS has been working to get Skip the best care, allowing him to worry about getting better.

HAVE SOMEONE WITH YOU when you travel. Skip was not really able to speak for himself once he had gotten to the ambulance. They loaded him up with meds, and he was out of it. I was able to help with some of the administrative tasks while they were taking care of Skip. At the accident site, the paramedics where going to try and remove Skip’s helmet, being pretty sure he did not have any head/neck/upper spine injury. I vetoed this, and had them strap his head, in the helmet to the backboard. I was also able to talk with the surgeon and nursing staff to ascertain what Skip needed.

SUBSET of Have someone with you. Have a note with you that allows your riding partner to talk with the medical staff for you. Skip was awake and was able to tell them that I was allowed to be totally involved. This saved me from having to take over the hospital ;-).

Pick up medical coverage that will cover the costs of getting you and your bike home. I have MEDJET, and if our roles were reversed, I would be at our home hospitals, and Mary Free Bed rehab by now. This coverage is not much, and adds to our piece of mind.

USE a tracking system. When the bikes where on the tow truck, the investigation completed, and the officer drove me to the hospital, Susan was able to see that we were headed to the incorrect branch of the hospital. She got us headed in the correct direction. While we had good phone coverage, we could have sent an alert/emergency signal to get help if our phones did not work.

USE the forums and boards to get help as needed. An MOA member gave me a 4 hour ride from Billings to Great Falls to pick up our truck and trailer. Another member offered a place to store bike(s), trailer, or truck as needed. Both Skip and I recieved messages of support, offers of help, and basically folks willing to do whatever we needed to help us get through this.

There are more, however, these are the highlights.
Thanks for all of your thoughts, help, and concern. We both look forward to seeing you on the road. The roads around Great Falls, are wonderful, and the scenery phenomenal.

Rob
 
Thank you so much for sharing this valuable information.

Good healing!

Voni
sMiling
 
Sorry to hear about the accident.
Thank you for the good info and reminders.
Why is the other rider's insurance not paying the bills?
 
other insurance bill pay

Sorry to hear about the accident.
Thank you for the good info and reminders.
Why is the other rider's insurance not paying the bills?

The other rider did not have any insurance. Not required in Montana. Also, we are still working on who is at fault. We are at the he said, he said stage. We will see how that all works out. Skip and I have good insurance with full coverage and good medical as well. They will figure out how to charge others if necessary. Thanks.
Rob
 
The other rider did not have any insurance. Not required in Montana. Also, we are still working on who is at fault. We are at the he said, he said stage. We will see how that all works out. Skip and I have good insurance with full coverage and good medical as well. They will figure out how to charge others if necessary. Thanks.
Rob

I was afraid no insurance would be the answer. Insurance is required in Iowa but plenty of people go without it.

You mentioned the turn signal. Even if the rider turned on the turn signal, that does not give them the right to turn into your path.
Good to hear you have good insurance.
I had a uninsured driver turned into me once while riding my wife's scooter. My insurance agent told me not to worry about, they would cover me.
This thread is a good reminder for everyone to have uninsured driver and under-insured driver insurance.
 
While Skip was not close behind me, he was unable to come to a stop, even with ABS when the lane became blocked with a fallen motorcycle. Not sure how far back he would have had to have been to miss it, but that might have helped.
Rob

Thanks Rob..... glad you and Skip are on the mend.

Now here's my rant:

ABS does NOT allow you to stop quicker. Proper braking technique, using threshold braking, will allow you to stop much quicker than ABS. This is the biggest misconception with ABS. ABS only saves you if you have a brain fart and grenade the brakes too quickly. As we grown older and our reflexes fade.... the only thing that will save us is Time/Space....

End rant:......

Carry on!
 
Glad to gear Skip is on the mend.

I ride solo a lot. I use Road iD when I travel. My bracket has important names and phone numbers in the event I cant speak. They also have a option for an 800 number to provide first responders with more information.
 
USAA insures your MC's? I have been with USAA for 40yrs. told me they don't insure MC's and passed me off to Progressive.
 
Back
Top