237/101 North Mathilda GSXR high side.

[Mudge]

I went to MSF about 9 years ago and actually got a perfect score on the ride test. However, this is an accident that could have been avoided. I was coming off of 237 during the morning commute on friday (5-23), we got the green light so I took off pretty much as I normally would. I was in the far right lane, and someone from 101-South Bound came right onto North Mathilda (where the DO NOT ENTER sign is) pretty much right in front of me and then he proceeded to brake. I'm watching while I'm under hard braking wondering why he is still slowing down!

I may have had enough time to veer to the left, and in the future I should be checking my mirrors not long after take off to see what my '6' looks like so that I know what I can safely do if needed. This person showed up, as best I can remember, maybe 10 feet in front of me with me doing about 35/40 MPH by that time and him going slower, and not just slower but actively braking as he saw oncoming traffic. Now normally if you swerve out into oncoming traffic you get your ass on that gas pedal quickly to get out of the way but he responded by braking so hard that he beat me by about half a foot. I got to see his bumper just about half a foot from my visor as I did kind of an endo/high side right off my bike.

I am also probably very guilty if not using enough rear brake in relation to my front.

Things I've learned.

1) Get boots, no more tennis
2) if I'm riding into something totally blind, I probably shouldn't - but I need to be aware of what things look like behind me so I can have an escape plan.
3) Need to get to a parking lot and practice my hard braking (I've had this bike about 8 days before this happened)

I don't feel completely at fault, however I could have avoided this issue if I were more aware. So while I thought generally I was a very safe rider, being hyper attentive on my 68 mile commutes to Sunnyvale, I made a couple mistakes here that left me with some walking discomfort (swollen right foot). After I hit the ground I basically clutched myself in pain for about 7-8 minutes before I was comfortable speaking, I had a rub mark on my right nipple and some minor damage to my right arm (very minor, I had a leather jacket on).

I was also very lucky to be able to rest slightly more over the long weekend. I slept a bit extra and I know that is contributing a little towards my recovery, I walk slowly because of the swelling but at least I'm mostly in one piece with nothing broken. I'm about 270 pounds so I hit the ground hard! ugh.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.403...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sQODccNtCO67lABa-HPqLYQ!2e0

 

[Outta Control]

...

Things I've learned.

1) Get boots, no more tennis

Don't want to be a dick but it took you 9 years to figure that out?

2) if I'm riding into something totally blind, I probably shouldn't - but I need to be aware of what things look like behind me so I can have an escape plan.

What's behind you is negligible. You should focus on honing your evasive action skills such as Stopping Quickly, Stopping quickly on a Curve, and Swerving. There are other advance evasive maneuvers techniques but that's a another story.

3) Need to get to a parking lot and practice my hard braking (I've had this bike about 8 days before this happened)

There are more to practicing hard braking than going 30-35 mph and just applying the brake till you scare yourself as you are learning it the wrong way. I see it all the time across my lot when I work. Funny thing is most riders don't want to listen to some advise and just repeats their own way.

 

[Aerodude]

Did you take off from the light pretty quickly? Seems like a pretty short distance to be going 35-40 mph already. I try not to take off on a green light too quickly -- especially if I'm first in line. I'm a relatively new rider and I'm wary of someone trying to beat the light in the crossing direction.

 

[Mudge]

Aero, yes I did, you don't see the whole area but it was about as good as I could do with Google Maps. I am not racing obviously but a bike doesn't take as long as a car to get up to speed, the speed limit on that road is 45 with many people (I commute by car as well) doing 50-60 regularly. It is a very short distance if at or near the speed limit, so I will not be riding the right hand lane any longer.

OC, thank you for the honest advice. I've never had an accident, I'm almost 40 years old, so yes it took me an incident like this to realize I really do need to protect my feet better. Shame on me.

Stopping quickly in a curve, been there done that, the problem is stopping quickly when someone is doing less than half your speed and you don't have enough distance to stop. He came out right in front of me, if I knew what was behind me I could have perhaps made it to another lane in time. I need to improve my braking in all manners. If I were to swerve left obviously that puts me in someone else's sights, if I were to swerve right I would have hit the curb - that may have been better. I wanted to avoid screwing up my forks, honestly I should have just hit his bumper, it would have saved me a lot of hassle and pain.

As for #3 I'm a little confused. I'm totally open for advice. I am not scared of 35 MPH although, after this, I'm fully aware I can still get hurt pretty badly (my right foot became infected). I've gone sideways into the dirt at Thunderhill well over 100 MPH (470 HP car, let off the gas too quickly), I'm not afraid of 35 MPH by any stretch, but my braking and planning on a bike obviously is lacking as this could have ended differently.

Thanks all for the feedback

 

[Outta Control]

Mudge #3 is more about my observation when new riders attempt to hone their skills. My point was not about a cage but more on a motorcycle. Planning to find an escape route is an acquired skill that in most cases is difficult to accomplish even for the most season riders but progressive hazard avoidance plan is much more important and is also an acquired skill. It is managing the risk on what ever hazard avoidance technique you decide and be prepared for the inevitable and have proper protection.

 

[Mudge]

Thanks for the explanation. I do feel I could have done something differently, some of that being better aware of how close other vehicles were behind and besides me, but I wasn't watching my mirrors after takeoff, so I feel I did myself a disservice there. Turning my head during the braking I don't think would have been safe or really possible, it really happened, /that/ quickly.

I would have been better aware of how safe it were to go left. Memories get distorted especially in times of stress, but I'm guessing I had maybe 2 seconds from spotting him until I went down, he very suddenly appeared in front of me.

From now on, along with the boots, I'll simply try to avoid far right lanes where there is a risk of someone blowing a yield and red light for the sake of saving themselves 5 seconds.

 

[Outta Control]

:thumbup

 

[Projekt]

Rear brake followed nearly immediately by front and hard. Vooooop and you are at a standstill.
Otherwise, swerving hard to the left would have yielded a lesser of two evils regardless of the circumstances.

 

[Mudge]

Thanks all, I'll be better prepared next time for sure

 

[danate]

If you're looking at how you could have emergency braked or swerved, you're already behind the count for keeping out of an accident. From the vantage point you gave, there's no reason you shouldn't have seen that car coming and already been prepared to avoid the entire situation.

I think problem #1 was that you were accelerating pretty heavily in a congested area. This is probably the #1 reason I've seen people crash in traffic. It's so easy to get going on a bike, but your reaction time reduces dramatically and more important your ability to see hazards decreases.

If you are in the right hand lane, you should be expecting people to pull out in front of you at every intersection and be prepared. Know what's to your left and make sure your speed will allow you enough time to react. If I were in the right hand lane with the wall to my right reducing my vision, I would already be reducing throttle and moving to the left of the lane, same way I do if going around a car that's about to turn right (since I've seen so many who feel they have to swing half way into the lane to their left to make their right turn). This would have given me a better view on the intersecting street and the ability to quickly move into lane splitting position or the next lane over (funny how if you get closer to the line, any car near there will usually give you space) in case there was nowhere else to go.

Once again, most of this has little to do with actual ability to operate the bike. Certainly that should be practiced, but most traffic incidents come from lack of vision and excess speed.

Hope that helps. Glad you aren't too damaged.

 

[Mudge]

I'm back on the bike for about a full week now and riding a lot more cautiously. Still getting to work in about the same amount of time and a little less stressed from being so hyper attentive to traffic and drivers so I feel good about my commutes now.

While I was not at all over the speed limit, looking back I was going too fast for the intersection where it was partially blind to me coming out the other end - plus I didn't pro-actively check the corner of my eye as I should have. I would have been doing 45-60 feet per second, leaving only reaction time, no real stopping time.

Still have some scabs but I can bend my foot without it bleeding everywhere, and I can wear shoes again. I was in sandals for about 2 weeks straight because of the swelling (foot got infected, yay), and the huge amount of scab tissue. Anything you see red, became thick scab.

If the bike had not landed on top of me after I hit the pavement, it may not have been as bad but who knows.

Thanks for the feedback all

 

[etxxz]

damn dude sucks to hear.

Anything that involves shaving speed think FRONT brake. 95% of your stopping power is right there on your right hand. Learn to use it properly. Do a track day. Rear is merely a stabilizer and up-hill take-off hand-brake. Practice on your bicycle, it also has a front brake that will outperform the rear brake by 10x. Ouch..

 

[Twistaholic]

Thanks for the explanation. I do feel I could have done something differently, some of that being better aware of how close other vehicles were behind and besides me, but I wasn't watching my mirrors after takeoff, so I feel I did myself a disservice there. Turning my head during the braking I don't think would have been safe or really possible, it really happened, /that/ quickly.

I would have been better aware of how safe it were to go left. Memories get distorted especially in times of stress, but I'm guessing I had maybe 2 seconds from spotting him until I went down, he very suddenly appeared in front of me.

From now on, along with the boots, I'll simply try to avoid far right lanes where there is a risk of someone blowing a yield and red light for the sake of saving themselves 5 seconds.

I am sorry you had to learn the hard way but am glad you learned that riding in the right lane in the front of traffic is the most hazardous spot you could be in period. Yes, you shouldn't have been accelerating so quickly, should have been more aware of your surroundings, and should have been able to break in time but the simple fact is that if you were in the center or left lane this would have never happened.

Also, while not ideal, do remember that we are small and maneuverable on motorcycles, thus, even though you were not aware of your left, chances are you could have split the lanes avoiding whats in front of you while also avoiding what's to your left.