Could this have been avoided?

[Blue Cat]

I think I've not recovered from my accident yet. Had horrible flashbacks after watching this, for 1st time. It was so similar to mine, damm!

Thank you for the thoughtful response. I read about your accident, that's terrible. So sorry about the bike and the timing of this post . . . I'm glad you're ok, hopefully you'll soon be as good as new physically and mentally. I've been in a car crash (passenger) and it took me a couple of months to be comfortable on the road again, every single unexpected move from other drivers was scary for a while. I harbor no illusions about how I'd do in a situation like this, but as I just passed the 1k mark on two wheels, I now know I love riding and will do so as long as I can, as safely as I can. Godspeed.

 

[vyshtia]

Hello everyone, this is Dawn Champion. BlueCat found me on Facebook and invited me on here to address this thread personally. I'll be glad to answer any questions. I have 8 motorcycles, but none are FZ6R's - still have my race R6, my street R1 (the same one as in the video), and my YZ250F, so hopefully, I have enough Yammies to qualify me this bit of time on this forum.

Just FYI, I had a huge write-up on this accident with full analysis. This video and the analysis is used by the US Army and Navy - both of which contacted me directly asking for permission. They both have huge problems with motorcycle crashes and they use this in their motorcycle safety program. There are many other MTC centers that use it as well.

Those who are confident that things would have gone differently - answer me this - how many times did you watch it, replay it, slow motion the video - before you came to this conclusion? Because to be fair - I only had 2 seconds from when the tire first smokes to impact. Watch it again and watch the 2 seconds count down. Now what is your reaction time? If you watch the video, watch my shadow and you'll see when I first react. I react a split second after the car swerves. This video has been analyzed by many people more talented, intelligent, and skilled than myself - and they all came to the same conclusion - It's actually amazing that I'm alive. So the fact that I was not really injured in this - that has to say something, no?

Anyways. Just dropped in because of the invite, thank you, Blue Cat! Good to "see" you again. Glad you are doing well and taking motorcycle safety seriously. One thing is for sure - there is no such thing as too much preparation!

Ride Safe everyone!
Dawn.

 

[BKP]

Thanks for taking the time, Dawn, and for sharing the analysis, and responses...

...helps *everyone*... and *very* glad you came out of it intact!

-Ride safe...

 

[Nastybutler]

Thanks for the response Dawn. Glad to know you're not only alright, but still riding! Keep the rubber side down. :thumbup:

 

[vyshtia]

Oh, yes, I'm still riding and still loving it. That's the great thing about wearing proper gear - I can have spectacular crashes and just keep on riding!!

 

[buzzbomb]

Just FYI, I had a huge write-up on this accident with full analysis. This video and the analysis is used by the US Army and Navy - both of which contacted me directly asking for permission. They both have huge problems with motorcycle crashes and they use this in their motorcycle safety program. There are many other MTC centers that use it as well.

If you don't mind me asking, what are they teaching from your video? Is it simply that sometimes an accident can't be avoided and one should gear up? Or are they using it to teach some form of avoidance of the situation?

And welcome to our little family!

 

[vyshtia]

Way back when I had put this video on the internet so that the police and insurance could see it - this is back when I used a bulletcam connected to a tape cassette video recorder. No one else did this and no one else had footage like this. The situation is unique, and it's the first time people this from a first person perspective. This was so new that most people thought it was faked. I think that was the first reason it is used in motorcycle safety. You get to see something no one else had seen of a very unique situation that should never have happened.

Safety wise - there are a lot of lessons that can be taken from this.

1. Wear proper safety gear because it's not always possible to just not crash. In life, there is always ups and downs. To expect to Never go down is pretty unrealistic.

2. From when the smoke comes from the tires (the first clue something is wrong) to impact was 2 seconds. I actually bought 1 second by swerving to the other lane, otherwise impact would have been in 1 second - the time it took for him to cross into my lane and I not swerved out of the way. Some people find that very interesting. Most people's reaction time is 1.5-2 seconds.

3. We analyze what were the other alternatives. Swerve left? Why would you swerve INto the direction that a car is swerving away from? What if he was swerving away because of actual debris?

a. Just brake - on my R1 I can outbrake any car. True. And after I land, you see which car was behind me in my lane. It is a black Hummer. Sure. I can outbrake that Hummer and promptly get run over by it. Or do I outbrake him and hope that he can brake in time to not squish me?

b. Swerve MORE to the right. There was that car there that kept blocking me. To not ride over your allocated traction - if I'm swerving 80%, I can brake 20%. If I'm braking more - I'm swerving less. The amount I did was the angle I deemed appropriate to shoot through that gap. I did not expect him to continue the 180 degree spin on the fwy. The odds was greater that he would somehow regain some kind of control of his car before that happened.

Unfortunately, the odds were wrong in this case. But I had 2 seconds of live time to analyze, react, and choose a path of action - not too bad. 2 seconds if faster than most people can comprehend. Do some exercises to prove to yourself how fast 2 seconds is. This video's greatest gift is to prove how fast it is - yet show how much can also be done. So the point is, run scenarios in your head and practice. Muscle memory and reaction time by instinct will save your life. Running scenarios like this can save your life. Do not succumb to problems of panic like:
1. Target Fixation
2. Giving up
3. Tuck the front by grabbing too much front brake
4. Slide out the rear with too much rear brake
5. Overall losing control of your mind and your bike and therefore defeating yourself.

Then there is what happened when I realized impact was inevitable. I had posted pictures of my bike which was t-boned on the left side from the left front panel of his car (you see his light is broken and hanging). He hit my left side frame slider and would have actually crushed my left leg. I actually stab the front brake at the very last minute to drop the front end and then I let go to let my momentum carry me straight up and over the impact. You see the somersault in the video. Therefore, the only impact I suffered from was the impact of being thrown off my bike at that speed - speed which I had taken 2 seconds to scrub down quite significantly from freeway speeds. The car never touched me. He took out my poor R1 - but I was saved. Many people get scared and have a death grip on the handles - you can tell who these people are because they'll always have broken wrists and broken arms. Impact force will travel through your bike and onto you - same in car accidents too - this force will break bones. This is fact.

Just things like that. Was this accident avoidable?
Hmmm...Yes...if I was a better psychic.

You will see that very beginning, I'm passing cars. At one point I stop and actually slow down (you can hear engine slow down too). You see that I stopped passing cars and I hover. Why? Spidey sense. I sense something is wrong, but don't know what and from what direction. As soon as spidey sense came on - should I have sped up instead of slowed down? Should I have started swerving around? Should I have stopped on the freeway? I slowed down and waited to see what was going to happen - then I reacted the best way I could. To me, that's the best I could have done. If I was a better psychic or better rider, maybe yes, I could have pulled off something more fancy with the 1 second I had. But as it is, all I did with my 1 second was:
1. double it
2. scrubbed off speed
3. minimized damage (bike isn't totalled)
4. stayed alive...and actually, no real injuries on this one.

You want more than that? LOL I think some people expect too much without having any real life skill or ability to back up those wishes with. I'm a realist. For me to leave this scene with what I've got - hey, I'll take it - I'm not the best rider in the world and I'm not a lucky person - so to me, I probably should have just died. And now I have very valuable footage that has helped many, many other riders across the whole world (this video when viral). Pretty cool. If interested, you can look at the YouTube video "TLC - That's gotta hurt" that I posted.

Anyways. I in no way claim that what I did is the ONLY way. There is never just 1 way, that's the beauty of life. That's the beauty of this video. Watch it and play all your what if's. Then think of other scenarios and run them all in your head so your body and mind have an understanding before hand of how you want to react when the shit hits the fan. Practice what 1 second feels like. What does 2 second feel like? Do you panic? Learn to control it. If you can control your panic, you can slow down time. People go - "there's no way you thought all this in the 2 seconds before impact and had all this planned out". You're right, I didn't. Most was already built in - the rest, yes, time slowed down - thought sped up and I did have choice.

It's not game over just because you cannot avoid going down completely. That is naive to think in such black and white manner. There are many shades of grey. Reduce/minimize damage.

Anyways, I write too much already and most all this you all already know. My apologies. I stop boring you all now.

 

[Chevyfazer]

It's always easy to look back at a situation and say what should have been done, what could have been done, but it's already done and no one knows for sure how they will react in a certain situation until they are put there. I know I've replayed my wreck in my head over and over thinking about what I should have done, but the fact is that when I went down I had less that 5,000miles seat time and wasn't really thinking about a accident. I've got well over 40,000 miles seat time now and think about accidents every time I get on a bike, not about getting in one but the what it's and how to avoid it, or avoid the situation to begin with. So even though I also had suggested things that could have been done, I still think you handled yourself great for what happened and how quickly it all went down.

 

[buzzbomb]

Thank you for answering vyshtia. That's kind of what I figured, minus the details of your thought process and actions. Very interesting and informative. I can kind of hear the instructor now "Sometimes stuff happens. Don't lock up and try not to die." LOL

 

[SAFE-T]

I think some people expect too much without having any real life skill or ability to back up those wishes with.

:thumbup:

I liked your point about having 2 seconds to react when most people's reaction time is 1.5 - 2.0 seconds to begin with.

I used to work with an instructor who had a car inexplicably make an illegal u-turn directly in front of him. He was not so fortunate as you. It cost him his life.

 

[SAFE-T]

I had the misfortune of another vehicle pulling across the path of my F-150 a few years ago on the highway.

Bright sunny day with light traffic. Guy in blue Toyota Tacoma 4x4 stops at intersection, looks right at me and then drives across the road.

I have a matter of seconds to figure out:

* Who's behind or beside me ?
* How hard can I brake and maintain control ?
* Do I go left, right or straight ?
* If I am going to crash into him, what do I need to do to minimize the danger to myself ?

If you spend enough time thinking about what you might do if you had to do it, it really does help when something actually happens.

 

[Deathdiesel]

I know this is an old thread, and has been said already. But in all honesty I agree with the rider. Very little time to react, very little time to even move the vehicle.

There was MAYBE one or two other solutions that I could come up with after viewing the vid several times, and thats in my chair, doing nothing but that.

Imo rider tried one of the few good solutions and it simply didnt work out as nicely as one can hope, but she crashed the bike, and managed to not get pinned between the vehicle, that alone is an achievment.

Its all very hard to say without being there and doing the exact scenario. Im glad people got out quickly to check on the rider though.

 

[tzrox]

I'm big on *always* having a contingency plan (knowing if there's a lane open, watching for texters, make-up mongers, passionate cell-rats, and just the certifiably blind) -- which has served me well in avoiding situations like this:

Todays learning experience.wmv - YouTube

However, I watched this frame by frame, and without the reaction time of the Flash, I don't really believe there was any telegraphing of the situation, or time to avoid it...

It was definitely (IMHO) the Kobayashi Maru scenario...

Nice, was that a finger in the end? Cuz it definitely deserved a finger.

 

[BKP]

Nice, was that a finger in the end? Cuz it definitely deserved a finger.

Yep, that was a finger at the end...


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