Why you should pay attention while driving...

[Revhead]

I've posted lower quality pics to keep file sizes down, so sorry if they look a bit dodgy.

A mate of mine T-boned a Commodore on his recently-purchased R6 - the guy pulled out of a side street and he had nowhere to go. The guy in the Commy was completely uninjured, but my mate has a broken wrist, sprained ankle, a few stitches in one shoulder and numerous grazes, bruises, cuts etc all over him. The police apparently measured the distance he was thrown - 9 metres before he hit the ground. He's actually very lucky that he landed mostly on his head, as he wasn't wearing leathers at the time, and his helmet absorbed a lot of the impact. There is a hole left around where one of the plastic vents used to be, but other than that it's remarkably intact. The guy got out of his car and the first thing he said was the almost cliché'd "sorry mate, I didn't see you" Bright blue bike with the headlight on, in the middle of the day... right...

When we went to the holding yard for these photos, they couldn't believe he wasn't either killed or, at the very least, still in hospital... and this coming from people who see crashes all the time. Looking at the pics, it's easy to see why. He is one VERY lucky bloke.

Please PLEASE keep your eyes open for other vehicles (particularly bikes) on the road. I'm sure anyone who rides bikes will tell you that they've had near misses very similar to this at least once or twice, it's unfortunate that sometimes it ends like this.

As the police are still making their investigations I won't be commenting further on specifics.

Ride/drive safe people.

[Revhead]

More pics

[Revhead]

Last few. Needless to say, the helmet will be used as a lounge room ornament from now on...

[dale]

Lucky it didnt turn out worse, best of luck for a full speedy recovery.

I im looking to buy a bike was wondering if you could PM any helpful info as I dont think here is the appropriate place to ask (just noting your signature) Im looking to spend 5-7k on a bike, that is learner permitted ie not over 600cc, probably around 250 im lookin4. Thanks

[ferni]

I always try to be curtious to bike riders, ie move to let them by if they are trying to pass inbetween cars etc...

They have enough trouble keeping on the road without careless drivers

[sammus]

****! 9 metres.

ps. i see an r33 in the background

[strutto]

I always try to be curtious to bike riders, ie move to let them by if they are trying to pass inbetween cars etc...

They have enough trouble keeping on the road without careless drivers

Glad everyone is OK Marc...

[matixx]

Im selling my R1 cause of this kinda stuff. U can t really comeout ontop with any bike accident, even slow ones. I love my bike but I cant keep it. Got an Arai helmet just like your mates one too, ouch.... lucky he had a good helmet on i guess...

[Mazinger]

thats real shitty man, glad your freind came out alive.

this gives me more of a reason not to drive a bike on public roads, leave them for the race track really sad consedering how fun bikes are.

[hippy]

the other night right in front of me as i stopped at a red light .. some woman turning right didn't give way and she hit a guy on a bike going in the opposite direction ... he went flying 5 meters or so... i went out with a couple of other people and helped him ... called the ambulance ... didn't look like he was very hurt but he couldnt' move ... gave him my details and he called me up the other day ... said he had a broken shoulder, shattered kidney, his liver was torn and some other things ... he wasn't really wearing much protection gear either ...

[Kinks]

very lucky man. i am pretty mindful of people on bikes. a lot of people aren't, tho.

and dale, you were right... this isn't the place, post a new thread if you want bike advice.

[LaL]

I have a R1 , big bore kit,Yoshi RS-3 Pipe,better rubber,clear indicators all around etc..

i hardly ride it now since its cold.. but i am no the person who rides one in the backstreets. i usualy love riding on highway its allot more safe.. people just dont even look out whenyour riding a bike.. they are real dumbasses..

i have all the gear but only wear it sometimes lol..

Rossi Helmet ( was like 800$ )

Rossi Hard jacket ( 1100$ ?? )

rossi gloves ( $???)

rossi pants ($$???)

Alpinestars boots ($??)

anyway.. you need all the gear when riding a bike its for safety not for looks..

when you come off a bike without gear you can rip apart your stomach and even break bones.. i hear with the full gear you have like 70% less chances of getting injured as bad..

RIDE SAFE... bikes are the most fun things around .. ( BESIDES GO KARTS ) hehe

[slayer_1971]

Nasty....how fast was he going???

I always wear my protective gear when riding (Dri-rider jacket+ Pants and a back protector)....

[Guest RedLineGTR]

shit man crazy stuff,,good to see he is okay

[Revhead]

This all happened in a 60 zone - goes to show how much damage can be done at even a relatively low speed. He wasn't speeding, we're confident that recently installed traffic surveillance cameras (it's a bit of a black spot) and the acco investigation people will prove that, so he'll be right in that regard.

Please don't look at this as a reason not to ride a bike! I've worked in hospitals for the past six years and I've seen some horrific injuries, but I'm still perfectly happy to ride a bike. Why? Partly because I think life would be pretty boring if you wrapped yourself in cotton wool all the time, partly because I accept the increased risk as a part of riding a bike, and partly because many of the bike-related injuries are self-inflicted. That doesn't make them any less severe of course, but it does mean that they were, more than likely, preventable.

In general, riding a bike is only as dangerous as you make it. Cases like this prove that you can't always predict when something is going to happen, but you can reduce the chances of coming off by your own fault by making sure you look after #1. I always try to predict what other drivers are going to do, look at sidestreets and set up and escape route just in case someone pulls out without looking, make sure I have a way out if the Volvo beside me suddenly changes lanes, the list goes on. I've found that this is by far the safest way to ride, and I think it has improved my (car) driving too.

There are always ifs and buts in this situations, but it's certainly not going to stop me or anyone I know from riding.

Thanks for your concern guys, I'll be passing them all onto him. Although he's OK, he's still pretty shaken about the whole thing (he spewed on the ground a few times when we went to look at the bike) so these kinds of messages will help him get over it

PS I was wondering how long it'd take for someone to notice the 33

[Merli]

What happened to the R33 in the background?

[sammus]

mines_datsun... not again

[Revhead]

Dunno, it was just in the same holding yard as my mate's bike. It had backed into something fairly solid (like a power pole) at a decent rate of knots, just to the right of the centreline. The rear bar was almost level with the back of the parcel tray at the point of impact. Ouch.

[Yotis]

Hrmm.. yer hope the dude recover well..

There are some really stupid/crazy people that drives on the road, so far I've had a lance n a magna tried to wipe me out *sigh* There must a something about mitsubishi cars against mine..

As to giving extra care to motorbike riders I just treat them like any other motor vehicle, tho some motorbike dudes are just plain silly. ie. going high speed between cars, riding with just a T-Shirt. *shakes his head*

Just my 2c worth.