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Helmet and protective gear

fog820

New member
My new 2019 R1250RT was rear ended by a drunk driver early this morning while on the way home from work. I was on the bike and wearing a helmet and a kline jacket with armor. Temperature was 32 degrees and we had snow while I was at work. I had found some icy patches and the bike handles fine on ice. The impact was fairly severe and may have totaled my bike. The truck that hit me was only able to get another 2 to 3 miles before it was unable to continue. The driver was drunk and arrested. I went to the emergency room and was found to have sustained no broken bones and just some soft tissue damage, actually a pretty fair amount.

This was a hit and run accident and the perp was caught and charged.

I am just posting this to let folks know something I learned many decades ago. Dress for the crash not the ride. I firmly believe that the protective gear saved me from very serious injury. If my bike is a total loss I will be getting another just like it, my thoughts are it is at this point but I will check it out on Monday with the deputy that is conducting the investigation. As a former police officer and accident reconstructionist I am quite proud of the work done by the deputy in this event, he exhibited great professionalism and work effort. The same thing with the 911 dispatcher who handled the call. Further the Emergency room staff, as well as DRs and Nurses did a great job as did the EMS folks that transported me to the hospital. In this collision I firmly believe that I would not be in better shape had I been in a small car but have some different but equally significant injuries.

I was going to take the bike in for its first service tomorrow and was really looking forward to that. Instead I believe I will be having it hauled in to the dealer to see if it is a total loss, Then I will see about getting a 2020 model to replace it. I have not yet made the first payment for crying out loud.

I will continue to post and enjoy this board and the excellent community here.

I wish to add if you are on the fence about protective gear and helmets I really recommend good safety gear and wearing it, you might some day be glad you did.:thumb:wave:bikes
 
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Glad to hear that you are ok. I don't want this to come out wrong but the bike being totaled may be the best thing in the end, good luck.
 
Glad to hear that you are ok. I don't want this to come out wrong but the bike being totaled may be the best thing in the end, good luck.

Thanks for the kind words. I understand your point about total loss. I found out that my insurance will replace my bike with a new model in the present year for 5 years. The guy that hit me has insurance according to the deputy so I will see how it goes. I am likely to need at least a week to get my mobility back enough to go to work and maybe another week or two to be able to ride. Just took another load of pain killers and I think I might be able to sleep now.:thumb
 
Good to hear you are ok. Been there, done that, my gear saved me. And I just got the new Dainese airbag vest for the next one.
 
Wow, glad to hear you are a survivor after that ordeal! You'll get the bike stuff sorted out, at least your family isn't sorting out your arrangements. Good on you for wearing the proper gear! Get well soon.
 
Glad to hear you're going to be okay with no apparent permanent injuries. ATTGAT is where it's at on US roads today. :thumb
 
Like others have said, congratulations on having sustained no worse injuries than you did. I know several people who have been rear-ended, and they were wearing ATTGAT, but did break some bones. Good preparation combined with good luck makes for better outcomes.
 
I join the others here in expressing my sincere gratitude that you were not more seriously injured. I also wish you a speedy recovery from the injuries you did sustain. I'm with you on wearing proper gear ... never leave my house without it even if just going two miles down the road. Best of luck with replacing (hopefully) your ride!
 
I'm glad you're OK and I appreciate the manner in which you delivered the synopsis of events. The other driver was at fault, no doubt, but you attribute your survival to the gear, LE, EMS and Hospital staff. As others have said, it was the preparation of yourself and the emergency personnel. The availability of those emergency personnel is a large part of the luck.
 
Get yourself a good lawyer. Drunk drivers make my blood boil...almost as much as their insurance companies and lawyers who will do everything they can to minimize their lost.
 
Kowabunga! I'm so sorry that you got walloped but so glad that your gear/first responders/treatment is minimizing the damage. Best of luck with your recovery and the replacement/repair of your formerly brand new bike.

I, too am an ATGATT guy. Although I would never consider riding without the rest of my gear, I must confess I occasionally consider just wearing jeans instead of my riding pants if I'm going somewhere where I will be mixing with people while off of the bike. My own opinion is it's the pants that make the total outfit look kind of dorky. I NEVER end up doing this because:

1. I remind myself that I look rather dorky no matter what pants I'm wearing.

2. If this is the day that I go down I know I'd never stop blaming myself for leaving the gear on a hangar in the closet.

To jump to another issue about your incident: because this is a family-friendly site I can't enumerate the bad things I hope happen to the guy who hit you.

Again, best of luck with your recovery!
 
Sorry to hear about your accident and glad you are for the most ok. As others have said I hope they total the old new bike and you get a new one. Now get a lawyer and nail that drunk driving sob.:)
 
When you trust a company to self certify that something is safe and meets standards you are trusting them to not cheat. My opinion is that such trust is often misplaced. Ask Boeing how that's working out for them.
 
... I, too am an ATGATT guy. Although I would never consider riding without the rest of my gear, I must confess I occasionally consider just wearing jeans instead of my riding pants if I'm going somewhere where I will be mixing with people while off of the bike. My own opinion is it's the pants that make the total outfit look kind of dorky. ...

I have a few pairs of riding jeans (two with armor and one without) and they all look pretty good and are rated much more highly than normal demin for abrasion resistance. They definitely bridge the gap in my wardrobe between of bike clothes and hard core riding gear. I can wear these jeans when I'm doing a customer visit for work or other social event where I'm using my RT more as transportation than "fun".
 
I dumped my 07 RT on a rainy road down in Texas several years ago. I walked away without anything serious, but all those zippers I liked for getting leather clothes on easily popped and left my skin exposed. Now I curse my less zippered clothing to put on but know that its less likely to fail. I was lucky like you and nobody ran me over, something that no amount of clothing would have helped with. I also got a fast lesson in liability as the insurance company's first questions were about whether I had a legal drivers license, properly registered bike, and whether any law enforcement was involved. All of these were calculated to find a way for them to deny coverage due to my negligence. It all worked out OK in the end and the bike was totaled, which frankly I was glad about since repairs would have been extensive. Put a kink in my trip but I considered myself lucky regardless. You can always get another bike, but human body damage is another matter, something you can't buy your way out of.
 
Assuming that you were wearing KLIM protective gear, you should be aware of their gear protection guarantee.

I've been involved in a few unplanned "get offs" in my day. In all cases insurance covered my gear, no matter who the manufacture was. This also included my helmet.
 
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