The First Crash is The Hardest

[Teh]

The outcome of the incident and CHP report

Once again, thanks to everyone (buzzbomb, nismos14, b_who, Spunky99, leem00, jocampo, Invader Jim, MiltonDorkenhoff, a may be a few others) at FZ6R forum for your kind words of support, advice, suggestions, positive and/or negative opinions. I am now taking all your advise seriously while riding, no more taking chances, no more following too close, etc. I got a replacement bike and have been back riding, commuting to work since Feb. 20th. I am just about 100% back to my normal self.

As for the outcome of the case, I got an email from my insurance saying that I am the primary at fault person, and someone in this accident is seeking medical treatment (which I assume was the limo driver).

I also saw a CHP traffic collision report which I can summarize the report that P1 (myself) was travelling in the lane #18 at approximately 60 mph (that was what I told the CHP). He observed V2 in the lane directly ahead of him suddenly slowing. He applied on the brake but was not able to stop before the front of his vehicle collided with the rear of V2. The impact caused P1 to fall of V1 onto the asphalt roadway. Following the collision, he stood up and walked to the center divider that separates the #17 and #18 lanes and waited for CHP arrival.

As for the V2 driver, he was driving V2 (Lincoln) on I-80 westbound, at 20-25 mph in lane #18. He needed to move to the left from the #18 lant to the #17 lane across the asphalt divider. He slow to approximately 10 mph and suddenly felt the impact from the rear of his vehicle from the front of V1. Following the collision he pulled into the asphalt divider and waited for the CHP arrival.

Witness#1 was driving in the #19 lane behind V2 and in front of V1. He observed the driver of V2 abruptly slam on brakes and nearly come to a stop into the #17 lane. He related that it appeared that V2 need to move left from #18 lane across the asphalt divider into the #17 lane. He observed V1 collide with the rear of V2. The impact caused P2 (I think the CHP meant P1 which was myself) to fall off V1 and hit the asphalt roadway.

I hope this posting is helpful and beneficial to our FZ6R community. Thank you all for your support. Please feel free to watch or repost the link below for educational purposes. I am truly thankful that I was not seriously hurt.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_E3sINm0fM]First Crash Is The Hardest - SF Bay Bridge Toll Plaza February 6, 2013 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[bloodypulp]

Glad you are ok brother. You sure made me change my thinking on distance. Oh by the way, he didn't look too hurt in the vid.and surely wasn't worried about ur health after impact. How much damage could a 6r do at 12mph anyway. Good luck to u.

 

[Fizzer6R]

Once again, thanks to everyone (buzzbomb, nismos14, b_who, Spunky99, leem00, jocampo, Invader Jim, MiltonDorkenhoff, a may be a few others) at FZ6R forum for your kind words of support, advice, suggestions, positive and/or negative opinions. I am now taking all your advise seriously while riding, no more taking chances, no more following too close, etc. I got a replacement bike and have been back riding, commuting to work since Feb. 20th. I am just about 100% back to my normal self.

As for the outcome of the case, I got an email from my insurance saying that I am the primary at fault person, and someone in this accident is seeking medical treatment (which I assume was the limo driver).

I also saw a CHP traffic collision report which I can summarize the report that P1 (myself) was travelling in the lane #18 at approximately 60 mph (that was what I told the CHP). He observed V2 in the lane directly ahead of him suddenly slowing. He applied on the brake but was not able to stop before the front of his vehicle collided with the rear of V2. The impact caused P1 to fall of V1 onto the asphalt roadway. Following the collision, he stood up and walked to the center divider that separates the #17 and #18 lanes and waited for CHP arrival.

As for the V2 driver, he was driving V2 (Lincoln) on I-80 westbound, at 20-25 mph in lane #18. He needed to move to the left from the #18 lant to the #17 lane across the asphalt divider. He slow to approximately 10 mph and suddenly felt the impact from the rear of his vehicle from the front of V1. Following the collision he pulled into the asphalt divider and waited for the CHP arrival.

Witness#1 was driving in the #19 lane behind V2 and in front of V1. He observed the driver of V2 abruptly slam on brakes and nearly come to a stop into the #17 lane. He related that it appeared that V2 need to move left from #18 lane across the asphalt divider into the #17 lane. He observed V1 collide with the rear of V2. The impact caused P2 (I think the CHP meant P1 which was myself) to fall off V1 and hit the asphalt roadway.

I hope this posting is helpful and beneficial to our FZ6R community. Thank you all for your support. Please feel free to watch or repost the link below for educational purposes. I am truly thankful that I was not seriously hurt.

First Crash Is The Hardest - SF Bay Bridge Toll Plaza February 6, 2013 - YouTube

what a bunch of BS. guess next time i want a new car, all i have to do is slam on the breaks on the highway, wait for someone to hit me, and score...

 

[Teh]

It probably wouldn't hurt to talk to lawyers before you settle anything with insurance. I got hit in the eye with a pumpkin years back and my attorney (Tabor law) did right by me. They started as attorneys against truck drivers but have expanded their fields. You may want to check them out at

Tabor Law Firm Attorneys - Indianapolis, Indiana - Indiana Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Lawyers

Show the lawer the video too, it will probably help.

PM me and I will give you my name as a reference.

Thank you for your advice. I talked with my wife and we decided that we'd rather let it go and continue our living in peace.

 

[foreign.concept14]

First off. I hope your okay man, never wish that soon anyone. I cannot believe that someone would be such an a-hole to get out and start yelling at you about whos fault it is. Thats unbelievable. Dude I was getting pissed off just watching it. I feel for you man. I hope the cop shut him up and you shut him up in court I'm assuming.
Woah. Just woah

 

[JT]

Thank you for your advice. I talked with my wife and we decided that we'd rather let it go and continue our living in peace.

yea I know what you mean somethings arent worth fighting. and its up to you to draw the line between what is worth it or not. glad your better

 

[SpawnXX]

Glad you are safe man, sorry it turned out the way it did. Seems like the only injury the driver could get treated for is removal of the remaining bull(%$# that came out of his mouth at the scene and I am sure in his report to his adjuster. In reflection for the future just be careful coming up to choke points or merges like that. You never know what the person in front of you may do. Always leave yourself an out. Ride safe and have fun bro! :thumbup:

 

[III PETE]

I don't know if anybody mentioned this because at this point in time I don't have time to read through all the comments...

What that limo driver did is called a "swoop and stop". It's a staged car accident. Someone did that to me about 10 years ago.

 

[MiltonDorkenhoff]

I don't know if anybody mentioned this because at this point in time I don't have time to read through all the comments...

What that limo driver did is called a "swoop and stop". It's a staged car accident. Someone did that to me about 10 years ago.

Did you watch the video? At 0:59 the limo driver moves from the right lane to the left lane. At 1:01, OP moves from the right lane to the left lane. A second later, the limo hits his brakes.

Did the limo driver have ESP and know that OP was going to move to the left and preemptively moved there so he could get hit? Seems like if he's got ESP he could make more money at a blackjack table than he can staging accidents.

But seriously, what kind of wuss gets hurt in a 4000 pound car when it's hit at 12 mph by a 475 pound motorcycle.

Teh - did you post this in BARF's Crash Analysis section? There are some good people there.

 

[Schybrid]

But seriously, what kind of wuss gets hurt in a 4000 pound car when it's hit at 12 mph by a 475 pound motorcycle.

the limo drivers tie got shifted upon impact.:zombie:

 

[Teh]

Glad you are ok brother. You sure made me change my thinking on distance. Oh by the way, he didn't look too hurt in the vid.and surely wasn't worried about ur health after impact. How much damage could a 6r do at 12mph anyway. Good luck to u.

Yes, me too. I leave more space/distance to have more time to stop.
A situation like this often shows truth about people.

However, I think there was a momentum behind a 12 mph. My white FZ6R forks were bent back badly.

 

[Teh]

what a bunch of BS. guess next time i want a new car, all i have to do is slam on the breaks on the highway, wait for someone to hit me, and score...

Fizzer6R, I was told that someone did that a couple times and got enough money to buy a condo?! What a shame. These kind of scams cause the insurance fees to go up.

 

[SurfJunkie]

Sorry to hear about you and the bike.

It looks like you had plenty of space to split right next to the red S2k next to you, or brake and fall back into the right lane.

Do you think target fixation / focusing on trying to stop vs swerving out of the line of fire may have played a part in the accident ? Ive watched the video several times and notice you head LEFT while breaking which is the path the limo was taking, vs RIGHT to avoid the collision.

Ive had this happen a few times to me on the freeyway. Been cruising along in the carpool, traffic is very slow outside of the carpool and the carpool began to slow. Someone maybe half a car length away from me decided to bail out of the lane over double yellows into STOPPED traffic. I had to brake HARD and swerve all the way left from the right lane position and missed with inches to spare.

Stay safe out there everyone. Rubber side down and keep your head on a swivel ! Do frequent mirror checks and always be aware of whats around you for an escape.

 

[III PETE]

Did you watch the video? At 0:59 the limo driver moves from the right lane to the left lane. At 1:01, OP moves from the right lane to the left lane. A second later, the limo hits his brakes.

Did the limo driver have ESP and know that OP was going to move to the left and preemptively moved there so he could get hit? Seems like if he's got ESP he could make more money at a blackjack table than he can staging accidents.

But seriously, what kind of wuss gets hurt in a 4000 pound car when it's hit at 12 mph by a 475 pound motorcycle.

Teh - did you post this in BARF's Crash Analysis section? There are some good people there.

You don't need ESP to see two cars behind you. Then again, I've never driven a limo...

 

[MiltonDorkenhoff]

I think you missed my point.

The limo moved to the left FIRST, then the bike moved over. In a swoop and stop, a car pulls in front of you and stops. See the difference? In OP's case, he moved over and was suddenly behind the stopped limo. In swoop and stop, the limo would have moved over in front of OP and hit the brakes. It's a subtle difference, but kind of significant.

Sure, you could argue that the limo saw the OP move over and then hit his brakes, but that seems less likely than the limo driver was just in the wrong lane and being stupid about getting over to the correct lane, no?

 

[Scott_Thomas]

I think you missed my point.

The limo moved to the left FIRST, then the bike moved over. In a swoop and stop, a car pulls in front of you and stops. See the difference? In OP's case, he moved over and was suddenly behind the stopped limo. In swoop and stop, the limo would have moved over in front of OP and hit the brakes. It's a subtle difference, but kind of significant.

Sure, you could argue that the limo saw the OP move over and then hit his brakes, but that seems less likely than the limo driver was just in the wrong lane and being stupid about getting over to the correct lane, no?

I agree, Sucks that he can't be held accountable for being stupid (the limo driver). I think the outcome of this scenario would vary by state. Sucks that on cali it was deemed your fault. Thanks for posting and updating the thread.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Teh]

Sorry to hear about you and the bike.

It looks like you had plenty of space to split right next to the red S2k next to you, or brake and fall back into the right lane.

Do you think target fixation / focusing on trying to stop vs swerving out of the line of fire may have played a part in the accident ? Ive watched the video several times and notice you head LEFT while breaking which is the path the limo was taking, vs RIGHT to avoid the collision.

Ive had this happen a few times to me on the freeyway. Been cruising along in the carpool, traffic is very slow outside of the carpool and the carpool began to slow. Someone maybe half a car length away from me decided to bail out of the lane over double yellows into STOPPED traffic. I had to brake HARD and swerve all the way left from the right lane position and missed with inches to spare.

Stay safe out there everyone. Rubber side down and keep your head on a swivel ! Do frequent mirror checks and always be aware of whats around you for an escape.

Yes, it may be possible to swerving out of the line of fire to the right, but at those few seconds it probably was just my reaction to brake instead. And I did not check the traffic on my right as I was merging onto the left lane ready to pass all slower traffic on my right. So I probably checked the merging traffic on my left instead.

Well, this conversation made me think of another video which I did swerve the same way you described your experience. Yes, it was very scary to be inches from the middle concrete barrier.

Vicious Driver - Cold Winter Close Calls on Carpool Lane - SF Bay Area I-80 - YouTube

This video is less than 2 minutes long.

 

[SurfJunkie]

Yes, it may be possible to swerving out of the line of fire to the right, but at those few seconds it probably was just my reaction to brake instead. And I did not check the traffic on my right as I was merging onto the left lane ready to pass all slower traffic on my right. So I probably checked the merging traffic on my left instead.

Well, this conversation made me think of another video which I did swerve the same way you described your experience. Yes, it was very scary to be inches from the middle concrete barrier.

Vicious Driver - Cold Winter Close Calls on Carpool Lane - SF Bay Area I-80 - YouTube

This video is less than 2 minutes long.

I can attest to people up north driving a bit more crazy than people down south. ( California only ) Ive seen solo drivers in the carpool, but they seem more infrequent down here.

Again, sorry to hear about your accident. Heal up quickly and maybe go naked with the FZ6R if shes not complete scrap ! Will you be returning to 2 wheels or taking a break for awhile ?

 

[Teh]

I can attest to people up north driving a bit more crazy than people down south. ( California only ) Ive seen solo drivers in the carpool, but they seem more infrequent down here.

Again, sorry to hear about your accident. Heal up quickly and maybe go naked with the FZ6R if shes not complete scrap ! Will you be returning to 2 wheels or taking a break for awhile ?

SurfJunkie. I've been commuting to work on I-80 to/from San Francisco for almost 3 years, rush hours are the most dangerous time to ride in my opinion. Carpool cheaters cut in and out as they know all the middle freeway spots where CHPs would park and wait.

Thank you, I am blessed with good health and been back riding, however very carefully now.

 

[Teh]

Sorry man. I hope your ok. The bike can be replaced, your body is another story.

Thankfully, you had the camera on

Thank you, Applejax. I am fully recovered now. Yes, I have my camera on 99% of the time during all my ride, especially morning and evening commute to/from work. I actually feel naked without it.