Second Crash in Three Months

I crashed again yesterday.
I was coming from the outside lane of the M8 into the middle lane in rush hour traffic. A guy in a 4X4 flashed me in to a (fairly small) gap. I gave him a quick flash of my hazards by way of thanks (normally I'll wave to be honest).

My hazards are at my right hand and as I tried to switch them off I couldn't find the switch and looked down to do so (idiot), as I shifted my grip to cancel the switch I grabbed a handful of throttle. The bike lunges forward towards the back of the car in front and I panic and slam the brakes. The front wheel digs in and I lose the front end resulting in the bike chucking me off.

The really scary thing was I landed in the outside lane of the motorway, but fortunately the traffic stopped ok and I wasn't roadkill.

Almost identical damage to the crash I had in the summer, but I'll find out the full extent of it when the mechanic comes round tonight.

I'm cool though, just a few bruises and a bit of road rash on my side and a apparently I looked like I'd seen a ghost for a few hours after.

Gutted.

[TheRamJam]

OMG Sorry to hear about your off!!

That could have been serious, good job the cages all stopped in time. Make sure you get checked out at A&E just in case. Two lives down Five to go

Am sure you'll get the bike fixed soon enough, it may be a wise idea to invest in some advanced training in future or try and familiarise yourself with your bike controls when not in busy traffic

Sorry to hear about your crash. Glad to see that you're ok however.

[SoulKiss]

Glad you are fine and the bike is too.

However, I have to say that one of my pet peeves is the use of Hazard Lights as "Thank You" lights.

Or White Van Man parked at the side of the road with them on, but the one at the kerb obscured by the car parked in front or behind him (as relevent) making it look like he is indicating pulling out.

I don't know how the practice started, but something should be done about it as they are a signal of a Hazard, not a "Thank You" signal, or a "Free Parking Facilitator"

Thanks for the comments guys.

RamJam, i actually have an IAM course sitting in the house which Quedos donated to me. I was going to let the Mrs use it once she got her license, but I think I have to use it now, especially as it transpires I'm not very good at staying on the bike.

To be honest SoulKiss, I probably agree with you, I never use my hazards as a thank you, even in the car, but I accept it's commenly used for this purpose and for some reason I figured I'd give it a shot yesterday.

AAAARGHHH!!! SK, I HATTTTEE when people use "magical park anywhere you like" lights! Does my nut in!!

Anyway, good to see you are ok mate! And yeah, the IAM training might be a good idea!

only 2 pifff, i binned a bike after owning it 20 mins not to mention every other time ive been run off the road or tried taking off on a raf runway
dont worry mate its all a learning curve, now you know not to **** about with hazards when nagotiating a busy situation, any accident you survive and learn from is a good one
just dont do it again, and remember
on the org i crash so yous dont have too

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by Milky Bar Kid

AAAARGHHH!!! SK, I HATTTTEE when people use "magical park anywhere you like" lights! Does my nut in!!

Anyway, good to see you are ok mate! And yeah, the IAM training might be a good idea!

No they are 'I have my forcefield switched on lights', meaning you cannot damage me when I have them illuminated

[Stu]

As an IAM observer, I don't know how I would teach someone not to use there hazard lights incase they grabbed a hanful of throttle & locked up the front brakes on a Motorway
We're not miracle workers you know.

Sorry to hear about your crash, in all seriousness I hope IAM training gives you confidence to cope with bike control.

Urgh.. sorry to hear about this.

If I feel like I've got enough time and awareness of what is going on I'll nod or stick my boot out, or I will wave on open stretches where traffic has moved over for me to pass etc, but I never mess about with hazards and lights and the such - especially on the motorways.

Lesson learnt the hard and painful way me thinks.