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Crash Chronicles (Crashes and Near Misses)

Harry,
you have any additional lighting on your bike for conspicuity? Wouldn't stop the intersection violation here, but presents a larger outline for you to oncoming vehicles. Sometimes people are just not paying attention...job one fail on their part we often pay for.

Yes, besides the LED headlight on my wethead R1200GS, I had the dealer install the BMW auxiliary LED lights at the "600 mile" service. Those lights are on all the time during daylight hours. I also wear a white full-face helmet for added conspicuity. I also have the hi-viz BMW Airshell mesh jacket and will sometimes wear a vest with hi-viz yellow panels.

Harry
 
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Highest high

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day here. The temp was about 60 degrees when I left home around 9 am. I was following a car , maybe 6 car lengths or so behind them. We had just started up a hill on a nice wide 3 lane when a deer came out of nowhere, jumping from the wooded hillside onto the side of the road. In a half a second it did a 90 degree turn and me and my 1988 R100RT missed it by a few hairs. If it hadn't turned at the last second, I would have plowed right into it. It all happened so fast ! It was a very large doe and would have been the end of my R100 and maybe even me. After the close call, I felt so good, so good to be alive and well and riding a great old motorcycle on a beautiful day. I want to say thank you Lord for watching over me and keeping me safe.
 
Nice to have good outcomes from these stories, especially the non "near miss" with the fawn.

The local news had a story about deer collisions which are becoming more common due to the continuing sprawl of San Antonio and Austin. They said quit swerving to the car folks as it causes bigger issues.
Not that they were not already an issue...our only bright spot are that TX Whitetails are not a large breed...but we have cows in the road as well at night on some state roads. Don't do night driving if possible these days.

And...ruttin' season soon is making stupid critters dumber. :banghead

On my three deer strikes, happened way too fast to do anything but figure out what just happened as well. Saw one coming and slowed a bit ...the other two broadsided me with no warning as well as the one who crapped all over me with a side hit leaving my house one dark commuting morning.

And following distance between spouses/mates/buddies is a big item to review at times . Stuff happens.
 
It is bad enough to hit/get hit by a deer, but it is really bad when the thing craps on you too! :D

Yeah...and dark enough on commute to not see the extent of it until pulling into work...luckily was ATGATT for sure until I hosed myself off:hungover

I have better chances predicting what humans with their heads up their tail feathers are going to do than any free ranging animal. I get visual clues to upcoming stupidity with humans...the darn wildlife I have no clue if i even see them to begin with.

And the time I almost ruined my gear from my side in Montana near Glacier Park when rounded a corner at speed to a lane full of those asphalt colored Bighorns with my elder sister riding with me. She didn't see them until we on a dime stopped in the middle of the road, then she freaked out:eek
 
Avoiding crashes

Several things I guess we all know:
1. About half of all motorcycle accidents involve the rider sliding off the road in a curve. This ALWAYS is because of too much speed for the conditions - conditions meaning cow poop, sand or gravel on the road, a car partially in your lane, or simply inadequate skills. I think good observation, a somewhat conservative approach, and good bike handling skills keep most experienced riders out of trouble almost always on the curves. Not always, but close.
2. Experienced riders are also good at handling traffic - predicting and preparing for stop sign runners, left turners, etc. Probably you wear brighter gear and add some lights, but you don't trust them to fend off all evil. If you are not comfortable with heavy freeway traffic, you do your best to avoid those roads. If your night vision isn't what it used to be, you don't ride at night.
3. Have NO CLUE how you can avoid striking an animal (mainly deer.) "Only ride in broad daylight where deer could be present" does reduce the risk a bit. "Slow down when the growth on the sides of the road closes in" is probably good advice. "Brake hard when you see a deer" is also good advice. But I have read too many accounts of deer being hit, or hitting the bike, by experienced attentive riders who never had the chance to touch a brake lever before the collision.
If you are an experienced, skilled and rather conservative rider, I suggest that deer are your greatest threat to extending your riding career. There is some hope that an epidemic will eventually decimate the population. Not likely to happen soon. A sorry and scary state of affairs all across the continent.
 
Maybe the old saying, "Don't worry about the bullet that misses you" applies here, but your mention of the Bighorn Sheep reminded me of a recent "experience", maybe a what if or near miss, I'm still not sure how to classify it. I was riding the "River Road" as the locals call the stretch of Highway 50 between Canon City and Salida CO. I had just made it around a big truck pulling a 5th Wheeler, when I'm looking eye to eye with a ewe foraging in the ditch up against the rocks. I literally could have reached out and touched her. All I could think was, "please don't move." If the collision didn't get me, the truck three car links behind me probably would have finished the job. I wonder in hindsight if I was lucky it was a sheep and not a deer. I figured (or hoped) if the sheep did run it would probably be up the rocks and not in front of me. Maybe too a sheep has a semblance of a brain unlike a deer. I have never seen a road kill sheep if that means anything.
 
1. About half of all motorcycle accidents involve the rider sliding off the road in a curve. This ALWAYS is because of too much speed for the conditions - conditions meaning cow poop, sand or gravel on the road, a car partially in your lane, or simply inadequate skills.

I am convinced that what happens is that the rider, when facing a tight turn at speed, panics. Instead of counter-steering harder to make it through the curve, he panics and gets on the brakes, the bike straightens up, and over the cliff he goes. There is only one way to negotiate the curve - counter-steering, and for whatever reason, he fails to do that. I believe he panics and does everything wrong from then on.

Harry
 
I was in The Yukon last week for the 25th Dust 2 Dawson gathering. This rider drifted off the road on the only ten mile section of paved road on the Top of the World Highway. The rider broke a leg and ankle. Evidently he was rubber necking......

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There were two other riders that also ran off the road for reasons that are unclear. One one the haul road and one on the ALCAN. Both were Alaskans, recently retired (District Attorney and City Manager) and on bucket list rides. Both died.
 
Me again

Well, yesterday was a great day, a wet day, a bad day,and a good outcome for me. As Visian has stated in an old thread after a get off on his HP2, the skid demom lurks:banghead

I was asked if I could put together and lead a GS ride during the Weekend Getaway in Kerrville. I agreed to do a mix of paved road and gravel backroads, nothing needing three guys to get over obstacles. Most of the dual track,single track in the area is on private property on large ranches...and I don't go any further when I hit a locked gate or purple postings.We stayed on county and state roads.

Anyways, Kerrville is an hour away from home and I left at sunrise with cloudy skies and some light fog the closer to the host hotel I got.The forecast was for clouds but no precipitation...it started drizzling on us about an hour into the three hour planned route. At the lunchstop in Utopia it was a steady drizzle and made the call to delete the next leg of loose stuff and continue back to hotel on paved routes...a seemingly unanimous head nod from all.
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Most of the eleven bikes had more off road tires than I was running, Anakee 3's, so didn't push the speed limits which averaged posted 65 to a safer 5-10 under and less in spots, especially the tighter curves. I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable on unfamiliar roads needing to keep pace.I had reiterated the technical sections of Hwy 16 north of Medina were ahead of us
while gearing up in Utopia.

I entered a right hand tight sweeper, after a few before this in my mental rain mode and as I entered the curve noticed an oncoming BMW coupe slightly cross the double and slide the rear as they entered the curve. I think I rolled off the throttle thinking WTF and was preparing to deal with possible scenarios when I lost the front end...like an ice patch and immediately went low side on right side. Luckily the car had cleared the space as I slid for what felt like 10 seconds...in slow motion into that space.

I was ahead of bike after it spun around and had my hands on my chest trying to ball up as best I could and sliding on my
back thinking please do not come over me and please no one coming the other way on curve I would meet as I slid to other side of shoulder. One of those slow motion sounds of scraping metal on rough chipseal and the damp surface both helped and hurt the slide process at 45mpg. I did not hit my head and nothing felt damaged on me.

My new riding partners who were spaced at least 6 seconds apart quickly pulled to shoulder and while some went to either
end of curve to warn traffic, some picked up pieces and helped me right G'Selle back on wheels. The guys said the corner was very slick to walk on and had more tar than chip. One asked me several times if I was hurting as the adrenaline calmed and I could tell him I was fortunate and fine except for a elbow that has been an issue for awhile now matching a tear in my jacket at the armor.

We ziptied foglight back in place, tightened mirrors and put lower engine guard and handguard in my sidecase.My brake lever was bent, but usable, my right cylinder head guard was scraped and bentbut no oil leak.

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I was asked how I felt a few more times and said let's roll after I felt ready.:thumb

The next few tighter downhill turns were taken slower by all, helped out by a very slow Lexus ahead of us who took the turns at 10 which is a bit slow for these to keep upright on a bike...I didn't cuss them this time.
Arrived back at hotel, said my goodbyes after folks thanked me for the ride and tour...and hit sun near
Luckenbach:banghead
I count the armor in my gear , the only worn thru holes are at my elbow and minor on lower back, the longer jacket saved my BMW pants and the luck chance of not getting pinned under bike as well as the quick scene management by the group for a good outcome of what ifs .I had a good day in the bigger picture.

Raining this morning and sending positive thought for the attendees on their way home.I think I will work in shop and watch some motorsports on TV.
 
We are all glad you are ok Steve. This is why we must be a family; a tight knit fraternity, because what we do comes with inherent risk and we are not guaranteed or next ride. Again... Steve, i am very glad to hear you are not hurt and the MOA riders you were with were experienced and professional and able to quickly take charge of the situation.

Stay safe out there brothers and sisters.
 
Scary stuff, Steve. The fact that it happened to you proves is can happen to anyone. I am thankful that the only real damage was to stuff and not you.
 
Thanks guys:wave

It never feels good, but dang, sure hurts more at 60 then it did at 16 or 30. Will repair and ride...just breaking in at 131K.

It's just dealing with the reality and understanding I had as as much of a " near miss" as one can have without worse results.
And dang it happened so fast :eek

I told several folks if I had been running the posted speed,I would have been guilty of poor decisions on my part for ignoring conditions. I thought I was being as cautious as possible and WHAM.

I thought if anything, the dual sporting we were doing would have had me on my butt while flat tracking a sketchy gravel corner a few times before lunch or stirring up the deer this time of year, they were skittish which kept the Kenny Roberts roll ons to a minimum. My age and better sense usually has me not doing that as much anymore already:ha
 
Things can go bad very quickly, even when being careful.

Glad you are OK and good enough to share the experience so others can learn from it.
 
So that's why you emailed me "Getaway could have been better...". Glad your all together and back home! See you in a few days.
 
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