Ducati Monster Forum

Yesterday on 1-5 in Portland I came across a bike wreck.There was a BMW  rider who had just looked over his shoulder before he changed lanes ..............and when he turned his head back to the normal position the car in front of him had almost stopped.He jammed on his back brakes and the rear of the bike shot our from under him.He landed on his helmet face down on the blacktop.His helmet and faceshield took the entire impact of the crash.
I parked my car, and rushed over to him.Another guy called for the authorities and within 5 minutes we had fire/ambulance etc there.I did not move him at all.I noticed that his eyes looked good and was able to speak to me.I kept him talking and watched for signs of shock.His pulse and breathing were good ,but elevated.I felt really bad for him .............
He was around 50 or so and was wearing a heavy nylon cortech jacket, heavy boots, thick pants and gloves and most importantly and good helmet.He could move his toes and legs but not feel his arms until the paramedics got him on a backboard.Must have relieved some pressure somewhere.Like most motorcyclists he asked how his bike looked...............I told him bloody horribel.He was saddened to hear this news, but then I told him most BMW's do............he started to smile and I figured he'd be ok.
I would imagine he'll be ok,and I cannot stress enough to you all,please wear the proper clothing when you ride,even if its hot out.
I reckon this guys Arai saved his life yesterday,can you be that confident with your helmet?If not get your head measured and a new helmet fitted properly.
Cycle gear offers this service and it just may save your life.How about getting a list going of bike shops that go the extra mile for their customers that offer this service, so that others may benefit from this info and get their helmets fitted properly.
Just a side note.............its funny how one will try on a dozen pair of bike boots before we find the ones that fit and look like they will work for us but spend 13 seconds on buying a helmet.How much is your brain worth?Apparantly not as much as ones toes!

geez, best wishes to the unknown rider, and
 [clap] to you for stopping and helping.  i hope there's someone like you around if i have a big day.
to you and those like you, damn few left.  [beer]

I'm glad you mentioned the most important thing. Do NOT move the patient. Also, do NOT attempt to remove the helmet.

Glad you stopped squidwood, most people don't...

Nice work bro.

I'm going to move this to GMF.

It has moto content

Thank you for helping out a fellow rider. [thumbsup]  Best wishes to him for a quick and full recovery.

Way to be there and react.  [thumbsup]
I hope all is well with the gentleman
I just found out this past weekend how important gear, especially a high quality helmet is.

Thanks for the post and even more thanks for helping the rider [thumbsup]

kudos to you man!

did the driver that caused the accident stop?  i guess he must have if he had a bmw implanted into his trunk...

Sounds to me like it was the rider's fault. He didn't see the vehicle stop because he had his head turned...

Hope the BMW rider recovers quick, excellent to know there are people like your good-self out there who will stop.
I don't see why doing a quick head check would be his fault and causing the crash. He may have been following too close,
but aren't we all guilty of that to some extent.
And yes it is your most vital bit of gear your lid should be the item that has most attention and budget dedicated to it.

My 2c's.

Squiddy- good for you for stopping and doing your best.  I hope I could live up to doing that well in a situaton like that.

Hope the bimmer rider fares well.  We need a happy ending to this one.

Any chance for a follow-up?  Does anyone have contact info for him?

J

I'm in SoCal, and have ridden here for more than 20 years. Not proud to admit that I've crashed numerous times. But I have to say, I've always been helped by passers-by such as you. Reinforces my faith in us humans. Seems like there are plenty out there -- like you -- who step up when called upon.

So from one who has benefited from others like you, thanks, squidwood.  [thumbsup]

i think the important thing is that the helmet was a dot approved FULL FACE helmet that mattered and probably saved him... so that is good.. probably any good reputalbe brand (expensive or budget) of full face helmet would be called for bc like you said the guy face planted and a 3/4 or 1/2 helmet would have been practically useless.

wow... thanks for sharing your story... you make a very good point about proper helmet fitting  [thumbsup]

There are only 2 types of riders those that have crashed and those that are going to crash... all you can do is hope that someone will stop to help you out mad props squid.

Just because we all do it doesn't make it okay. If he was following so close that during a quick head check a car stopping (no matter how fast) caused him to run into said car, then he was *way* too close. While I hope the rider is ok, I would blame the rider for the accident in this case.

After a face fall after a short flight on my Arai RX7 (US Market lid) I shall not buy another brand lid.. well worth the money and I have an Arai shaped head.

Thank you for helping the rider, thank you to the people who helped me recently. It is nice knowing you´re not alone in a shitty situation like that.

An exc. article by Motorcyclist magazine came out a few years ago, and surprising with the exhaustive testing, survival with some of the cheaper helmets was actually better, it seemed the plastic helmets disintegrated more in a crash and absorbed/dissipated the energy much like modern race car design,

any rate an exc article worth the read:

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/index.html

That said tho, I did just buy a shark foggy commemorative helmet! ;)

Chris

Thanks for the comments guys,I'll see if I can find out how the Beemer rider is doing.
How about getting the helmet/shop list started not only for us here in the USA ,but for all riders globally?
Would that need its own thread?
Names of shops and addresses/tel numbers would be good.