those that have crashed before...

itgirl · 08-20-2008, 11:08 PM

what thoughts go through your mind right before you lose control and go down? with the recent passing of my husband's uncle it has gotten me thinking. i wonder what his last thought was? did he know it was gonna be bad? did he think 'oh shit'? did he even have time to think anything? i can't seem to wrap my head around what it'd be like to live your last moment on your bike, so i wanted to see what those of you that got to walk away have experienced.

BobTheBiker · 08-20-2008, 11:10 PM

my experiences have always just been that it happens much too fast for you to really comprehend the fact that you're going down until it happens. then its just FUCK! I'm crashing!

OneSickPsycho · 08-20-2008, 11:11 PM

"oh shit" about sums it up... I think for me it was, "Oh shit, here we go!" Pretty much the exact same feeling/thought process as when you get into a car accident, trip and fall down the stairs, or get hit in the face with a brick... You sorta see it coming, but then it's right on top of you before you can really react...

Dave · 08-21-2008, 12:46 AM

nothing at all, it was pure reaction until it was over

CW AF 03 · 08-21-2008, 12:50 AM

Something along the lines of "Son of a bitch! This is going to be expensive..."

Mudpuppy · 08-21-2008, 01:08 AM

can't really remember any thoughts it all just is so surreal.. i might of thought something like this isn't going to turn out good.. i wish i could tell you my crash count but i can't recall all the crashes i had - on a street bike my crash count is 2 and was geared up so i had no injuries, etc. - the worst that happened to the bike was a broken mirror which i replaced, a few scratches which are still there and a broken foot pedal bracket that i had my friend weld.. i will try to recall some of my crashes on other forms of transportation..

besides numerous crashes stunting on a bicycle my main crash was a chain popping on my bmx bike riding down hill at about 35mph - my foot caught and i slid 100 yards on the pavement on my face.. was knocked unconscious.. woke up when they were putting me in the ambulance and was in shock so i passed out again.. woke up at the hospital when they were cutting my jeans off so they could treat my wounds.. suffered a major concussion and spent about 6 months in serious pain with migrane headaches, etc. moral of the story kids - always wear clean underwear because you never know..

dirt bikes crashed a whole lot of times - broke my collar bone twice, broke 3 or 4 ribs, broke both arms - actually broke my left arm and kept riding crashed again and broke the other arm, broke my leg and foot in another crash.. still have a fractured bone that will never heal in my left hand..

cars i have been in 3 rollovers - 2 i was driving 1 i was not.. smashed my first car at 15 when i snuck out the parents car at like 1am - slammed into a wall of bricks at about 85mph in an industrial park and took out the front fender, suspension, tire, etc. i had a 72 nova that was ultra bad ass decided to race a mustang when i was drunk, missed a gear, lost control and plowed into a telephone pole totaling the car.. was driving a thunderbird supercoupe doing about 110 in a 45mph zone, got the cops attention, in my attempt to outrun them in the rain i lost control and took out like 5 or 6 reflector poles trying to get on the freeway fortunately i was so far ahead of them i was able to gain control shoot back onto the ramp and head home but the whole side of the car was trashed.. borrowed a trans am drove it from ypsilanti to toledo completely out of my mind drunk and honestly i blacked out next thing i knew i looked up and saw welcome to ohio so in my intoxicated state it seemed like a good idea to do a u-turn through the median of the freeway and then park it about 2 blocks from the party.. when i got out of the car it was smoking profusely and had several dents - don't try this at home kids.. i could probably write a novel about all my 4 wheel vehicle accidents.. i had 17 points on my license by the time i turned 17.. all in all at last count i think i racked up about 48 points but never once lost my license or got it suspended.. had a good lawyer and paid him alot.. plus the old laws were if you had 12 points they would suspend and i had 17 for like 29 days and then 6 for drag racing came off leaving me with 11..

so who wants to go for a ride with Mudpuppy? lol.. its been a great learning experience and i drive much better now.. you have to push the envelope to learn the limits right?

and of course anything illegal discussed here is for entertainment purposes only and all untrue besides the statue of limitations is up..

NONE_too_SOFT · 08-21-2008, 01:14 AM

to be honest, its nothing really striking. after every time i've taken rubber from the road its been a sort of return to reality. Almost as if you are floating on a euphoric cloud, and as you loose traction you suddenly realize you are in the real world. But honestly, because i've always been geared up, its been an exhilerating moment.

I've never expected to crash, it just happens. And when it does it seems as though the real world has a chance to catch up with you... and in retrospect you can find a thousand things you did wrong and ignore everything you did right.

No two crashes are the same, But in my opinion there are a few kinds.
1. Crashing because of another vehicle
2. Crashing because you are a retard
3. Crashing because you ride too hard on the streets.

luckily most of my get offs have been becasue of number three.

t-homo · 08-21-2008, 01:25 AM

I haven't been in an accident but came damn close. It seemed to go into slow motion.

I was riding too hard on a road I had never taken before. The turn was a right hander at the bottom of a hill that went up to the top of the hill and cut back left as soon as you crest. I got to the top of the hill expecting it to straighten out or keep turning, got tunnel vision to the right side of the road. I went off of the road about a foot and a half into some 3 foot tall weeds, with the ditch about another foot to my right, but felt like I couldn't do anything about it. I knew I had tunnel vision as I went into a tank slapper about about 70 mph. My only thought was to break it, so i looked as far as i could to my left. At about 40 mph i started accelerating again and pulled out of the tank slapper and back onto the road. I was in my onesy, so I was confident my body would be alright. Scared the shit out of me though.

DLIT · 08-21-2008, 01:41 AM

I was convinced I woulda been able to ride it off road and save it. Before I knew it I was tumbling around. This was only 3 months after I started riding and it was all my fault. Tried to pas someone late and entered way too hot, but proly could make it every time knowing what I do now. There was a few times on the track I felt my tire slip and my first thought was "I hope my leathers hold up."

Gunther1000 · 08-21-2008, 01:55 AM

I have had countless "Oh shit this is it" Moments but have been lucky. I almost lost my head sliding at a street sign about 70 when I was 17. And many more since then.

You do kind of have that feeling of confusion as you try to put your mind around just what is going on and how can you fix it. But we are talking about fractions of seconds here. It is mostly handled by the subconcious and habit. Your body just reacts I think.

Most times I have had plenty of gear on and it isnt that tramatic of an experiance, just an oh shit this sucks. Wonder if my bike is going to make it kind of moment. Then there are the higher stakes, Wow it was almost the one kind of moments that make you slow down and think about how you could possibly avoid something like that in the future. I get that way when it is out of my control. Like your Uncle's case probably. It scares me more when You didn't do anything out of the ordinary and someone is just trying to kill you with there car.

But I would say it happens so fast that in the end I dont think you get much farther than "this is bad".

Sorry for your loss, I think about this all the time since your post.

08-21-2008, 12:46 AM	#4
Dave Chaotic Neutral Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cherry Hill NJ Moto: GV1200 Madura, Hawk gt Posts: 13,992	nothing at all, it was pure reaction until it was over __________________ TWF Post whore #6

08-21-2008, 01:08 AM	#6
Mudpuppy South of Heaven Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Michigan Moto: 2006 Yamaha R1 50th Anniversary Edition Posts: 1,491	can't really remember any thoughts it all just is so surreal.. i might of thought something like this isn't going to turn out good.. i wish i could tell you my crash count but i can't recall all the crashes i had - on a street bike my crash count is 2 and was geared up so i had no injuries, etc. - the worst that happened to the bike was a broken mirror which i replaced, a few scratches which are still there and a broken foot pedal bracket that i had my friend weld.. i will try to recall some of my crashes on other forms of transportation.. besides numerous crashes stunting on a bicycle my main crash was a chain popping on my bmx bike riding down hill at about 35mph - my foot caught and i slid 100 yards on the pavement on my face.. was knocked unconscious.. woke up when they were putting me in the ambulance and was in shock so i passed out again.. woke up at the hospital when they were cutting my jeans off so they could treat my wounds.. suffered a major concussion and spent about 6 months in serious pain with migrane headaches, etc. moral of the story kids - always wear clean underwear because you never know.. dirt bikes crashed a whole lot of times - broke my collar bone twice, broke 3 or 4 ribs, broke both arms - actually broke my left arm and kept riding crashed again and broke the other arm, broke my leg and foot in another crash.. still have a fractured bone that will never heal in my left hand.. cars i have been in 3 rollovers - 2 i was driving 1 i was not.. smashed my first car at 15 when i snuck out the parents car at like 1am - slammed into a wall of bricks at about 85mph in an industrial park and took out the front fender, suspension, tire, etc. i had a 72 nova that was ultra bad ass decided to race a mustang when i was drunk, missed a gear, lost control and plowed into a telephone pole totaling the car.. was driving a thunderbird supercoupe doing about 110 in a 45mph zone, got the cops attention, in my attempt to outrun them in the rain i lost control and took out like 5 or 6 reflector poles trying to get on the freeway fortunately i was so far ahead of them i was able to gain control shoot back onto the ramp and head home but the whole side of the car was trashed.. borrowed a trans am drove it from ypsilanti to toledo completely out of my mind drunk and honestly i blacked out next thing i knew i looked up and saw welcome to ohio so in my intoxicated state it seemed like a good idea to do a u-turn through the median of the freeway and then park it about 2 blocks from the party.. when i got out of the car it was smoking profusely and had several dents - don't try this at home kids.. i could probably write a novel about all my 4 wheel vehicle accidents.. i had 17 points on my license by the time i turned 17.. all in all at last count i think i racked up about 48 points but never once lost my license or got it suspended.. had a good lawyer and paid him alot.. plus the old laws were if you had 12 points they would suspend and i had 17 for like 29 days and then 6 for drag racing came off leaving me with 11.. so who wants to go for a ride with Mudpuppy? lol.. its been a great learning experience and i drive much better now.. you have to push the envelope to learn the limits right? and of course anything illegal discussed here is for entertainment purposes only and all untrue besides the statue of limitations is up.. __________________ Mudpuppy Redline Superbike http://www.redlinesuperbike.com/ Learn about photography: ATP Members

08-21-2008, 01:41 AM	#9
DLIT Clit Commander Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Las Vegas Moto: 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale S Posts: 4,189	I was convinced I woulda been able to ride it off road and save it. Before I knew it I was tumbling around. This was only 3 months after I started riding and it was all my fault. Tried to pas someone late and entered way too hot, but proly could make it every time knowing what I do now. There was a few times on the track I felt my tire slip and my first thought was "I hope my leathers hold up." __________________ Dress for the crash. Not the ride.

08-21-2008, 01:55 AM	#10
Gunther1000 Jesus Christ! Join Date: Jul 2008 Moto: (The Chi's lover) Posts: 801	I have had countless "Oh shit this is it" Moments but have been lucky. I almost lost my head sliding at a street sign about 70 when I was 17. And many more since then. You do kind of have that feeling of confusion as you try to put your mind around just what is going on and how can you fix it. But we are talking about fractions of seconds here. It is mostly handled by the subconcious and habit. Your body just reacts I think. Most times I have had plenty of gear on and it isnt that tramatic of an experiance, just an oh shit this sucks. Wonder if my bike is going to make it kind of moment. Then there are the higher stakes, Wow it was almost the one kind of moments that make you slow down and think about how you could possibly avoid something like that in the future. I get that way when it is out of my control. Like your Uncle's case probably. It scares me more when You didn't do anything out of the ordinary and someone is just trying to kill you with there car. But I would say it happens so fast that in the end I dont think you get much farther than "this is bad". Sorry for your loss, I think about this all the time since your post. __________________ FTP

08-20-2008, 11:10 PM	#2
BobTheBiker too much time on my hands Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: the northern district of god damn Moto: 01 ZX6R, looking for more now. Posts: 1,802	my experiences have always just been that it happens much too fast for you to really comprehend the fact that you're going down until it happens. then its just FUCK! I'm crashing!

08-20-2008, 11:11 PM	#3
OneSickPsycho Ride Like an Asshole Join Date: Feb 2008 Moto: nothing... Posts: 11,254	"oh shit" about sums it up... I think for me it was, "Oh shit, here we go!" Pretty much the exact same feeling/thought process as when you get into a car accident, trip and fall down the stairs, or get hit in the face with a brick... You sorta see it coming, but then it's right on top of you before you can really react...

08-21-2008, 12:50 AM	#5
CW AF 03 Ducatisti Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Las Vegas Moto: 1098, Hypermotard S Posts: 93	Something along the lines of "Son of a bitch! This is going to be expensive..."

08-21-2008, 01:14 AM	#7
NONE_too_SOFT Chopstix / \ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Akron OH Moto: 03 CBR RR Posts: 5,350	to be honest, its nothing really striking. after every time i've taken rubber from the road its been a sort of return to reality. Almost as if you are floating on a euphoric cloud, and as you loose traction you suddenly realize you are in the real world. But honestly, because i've always been geared up, its been an exhilerating moment. I've never expected to crash, it just happens. And when it does it seems as though the real world has a chance to catch up with you... and in retrospect you can find a thousand things you did wrong and ignore everything you did right. No two crashes are the same, But in my opinion there are a few kinds. 1. Crashing because of another vehicle 2. Crashing because you are a retard 3. Crashing because you ride too hard on the streets. luckily most of my get offs have been becasue of number three.

08-21-2008, 01:25 AM	#8
t-homo WSB Champion Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Springfield, MO Posts: 7,146	I haven't been in an accident but came damn close. It seemed to go into slow motion. I was riding too hard on a road I had never taken before. The turn was a right hander at the bottom of a hill that went up to the top of the hill and cut back left as soon as you crest. I got to the top of the hill expecting it to straighten out or keep turning, got tunnel vision to the right side of the road. I went off of the road about a foot and a half into some 3 foot tall weeds, with the ditch about another foot to my right, but felt like I couldn't do anything about it. I knew I had tunnel vision as I went into a tank slapper about about 70 mph. My only thought was to break it, so i looked as far as i could to my left. At about 40 mph i started accelerating again and pulled out of the tank slapper and back onto the road. I was in my onesy, so I was confident my body would be alright. Scared the shit out of me though.