Rider down - make you think??

On my way into work this AM the traffic was jammed up more than usual (if that is possible!! ) got to the front of the queue and it was evident that there had been an accident ... ambulance, police etc etc.

I then saw a bike being wheeled to the side. It was the exact same bike as I was riding (Curvy SV) even the same colour.

Policewoman waved the traffic in my direction on now and I went past the scene. Sure enough lots of yellow jackets crouched round a body on a backboard.

As they were using a blackboard I can presume he wasn't a fatal, which is good.

Anyway!!! I can't say I am unaffected by such scenes, but I think I have become a bit hardened over the years as, well I still rode like a t1t when I got to my fave backroad bit of my ride

How do other people react in such circumstances? Do you pootle for the rest of the ride/day or water off a ducks back??

I came across a few bikers down when I was commuting into London last year and they really did make my stomach flip and I felt really bad for them, but once past the scene I tended to carry on riding as normal.

The only one that affected how I was riding was the biker I saw knocked off. It was pretty shocking. 'Filtering' up the inside on commercial road, a jag decides to take a turning on the left to get out of the traffic at the last second, no indicators. I watch as the car clips the aprillia in front of me sending it ricocheting up onto the pavement (luckily there weren't any peds there at the time) and the rider flying through the air.

It was just like when you throw a rag doll. Arms and legs all akimbo and then he hit the deck bounced and spun a bit more before coming to a stop by the curb.

Not entirely sure how I managed to see all that AND execute an emergency stop to avoid plowing into the side of the jag myself, funny how these things work I guess...

Well, that shook me up and I rode like a granny all the way home.

Originally Posted by Ping

I a jag decides to take a turning on the left to get out of the traffic at the last second, no indicators.

Another bloody Jag. Did it stop? Hit & run? Was it silver?

I've only come across one. Seriously shook me up for days.

I've posted on the forum about it before, so I won't go into detail now. But it did affect my riding for days afterwards, and I still think about it every time I ride that section of road.

Originally Posted by Kinvig

Another bloody Jag. Did it stop? Hit & run? Was it silver?

To their credit, they stopped. I seem to remember it being an older model, pale metallic green colour.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Baph

I've only come across one. Seriously shook me up for days.

I've posted on the forum about it before, so I won't go into detail now. But it did affect my riding for days afterwards, and I still think about it every time I ride that section of road.

Only ever seen it in my pre-biking days (ie anything over 3 months ago)

I dont think it would make me ride any different - I think my own "mini-off" has more bearing than what happened to anyone else.

as the saying goes "cack happens" (thanks Kinvig now I know that word doesnt get filtered :P) and I could get knocked down crossing the street.

I did see a bad one where a guy came out of a petrol station decided to pull a wheelie going past a crossroads where 2 old people in a Honda Civic pulled in front of him. The biker and two car occupants all died instantly. That was really horrific, the driver of the car pretty much lost his head. It was terrible to sit there and watch 3 people die and have absolutely no control over it. But it only made me think how stupid that rider was to do such a thing, he must have been doing at least 60 -70 mph when he hit the car (which he never saw). Made me realise how safe a rider I am.

Originally Posted by sv_dan

I did see a bad one where a guy came out of a petrol station decided to pull a wheelie going past a crossroads where 2 old people in a Honda Civic pulled in front of him. The biker and two car occupants all died instantly. That was really horrific, the driver of the car pretty much lost his head. It was terrible to sit there and watch 3 people die and have absolutely no control over it. But it only made me think how stupid that rider was to do such a thing, he must have been doing at least 60 -70 mph when he hit the car (which he never saw). Made me realise how safe a rider I am.

Wow that is horrific!! I am pretty sure if I saw that then at least the rest of my ride would be a slow one!!!

I’ve raced bikes for a few years so I’ve seen fatals and lost count of how many crashes I’ve witnessed, some right in front, some just yellow-flags ... others red-flags and seen the consequent ‘scrape ups’.

So a normal ‘scrape up’ is water off a ducks back, but a fatal is always more sobering.

The worst thing about your story is that there were others involved. I have always accepted I might ‘top’ myself on a bike, but taking someone else with me is not a nice thought!!! I think worse still is taking someone else and living yourself i.e. living with the guilt!!

I was walking back from the garage when I saw that fatal accident. Just went to get some milk. I felt sorry for the old couple, they were someones parents/grandparents and some selfish twit of a biker just felt like killing himself (apparently he was known for wheelieing across junctions to 'see what happened'). Well he got his answer.

Originally Posted by sv_dan

I did see a bad one where a guy came out of a petrol station decided to pull a wheelie going past a crossroads where 2 old people in a Honda Civic pulled in front of him. The biker and two car occupants all died instantly. That was really horrific, the driver of the car pretty much lost his head. It was terrible to sit there and watch 3 people die and have absolutely no control over it. But it only made me think how stupid that rider was to do such a thing, he must have been doing at least 60 -70 mph when he hit the car (which he never saw). Made me realise how safe a rider I am.

That's awful.