A New Way to Crash (for me anyway)

[DouglasR]

I stopped on the way home tonight to gas the GS up at my favorite gas station. It was real busy, cars at every pump, so I stopped about 20 feet behind a car to wait. A young woman came out of the C-store, passed between me and her car, got in and proceeded to back away from the pump turning to the right, looking over her right shoulder. I had the bike on, headlights shining, wearing a bright red jacket, she had just walked ten feet from me and SHE BACKED RIGHT INTO ME!!!! Since she was turning to the right as she backed, she just grazed my front wheel with the driver's side door and the bike tipped over onto the crash bars............... Other people were yelling and waving as she backed, but she never even heard them. I didn't have time to even reach for the horn button or take evasive action.

 

She got out of the car and helped me pick the bike up. I wasn't hurt and the bike only got a minor scratch on the bottom of the Hepco-Becker crash bar, no big deal. There was a smudge on her door but no damage. After helping me get the bike up she burst into tears and I ended up comforting her!! I said you need to look behind you as you back! She said I was!! I said obviously not well enough! Not angry, she was truly shocked that she had done this and was crying her eyes out. As I moved the bike to the pump she got back in the car, bawling still. I parked the bike and went to the car and said again there was no damage to me or the bike, everything was fine, I hoped she would look more carefully for motorcycles in the future. She assured me she would.

 

That's the first time I've ever been hit by a car that was moving backward while I was at a complete stop. Sheesh.

[dancogan]

Thanks for how you handled that. I'm not sure I could have been as composed, but you managed to make all of us on 2 wheels look good!

 

[RFW]

I said you need to look behind you as you back! She said I was!!

Yeah, sure. They all say that. Either that, or "I just didn't see you".

[Mike O]

Doug,

 

Good for you. I had an incident once where someone rear-ended me and she completely freaked out. I had to calm her down enough to call 911 (I was trapped in my car). Had I (like you) just begun yelling at her, it would have accomplished zilch, zero, nadda...

 

Good for you.

 

(and glad no other physical damage was done to you or your ride).

 

Mike O

[kioolt]

A woman backed into my parked bike in a strip mall parking lot. There was a witness that said she looked liked she was wanting to drive off except she noticed my witness watching her. She found me in the restaurant where I was eating to tell me she had backed into my bike. She didn't want her insurance to handle it for some reason. The left saddlebag latch came off the bike, the saddlebag lid was scratched badly, the left mirro was knocked off and broken, the upper fairing was cracked, the side stand was bent so badly that it was unusable, the bar end weight was scratched, and the left crash bar was scratched. I took the bike the next day for an estimate and was told $2900 dollars to repair it. Needless to say the lady didn't want to pay for it then. After all it's just a bike. I really don't know why she just didn't let her insurance pay for it. I told her I would turn it over to my insurance ant just let them sue her for the money. She sent me the check in a couple of days. And yes I did repair the bike.

[stu650]

I was once reversed into by a thirty ton truck.

 

All I could do was to get off and drop my bike and watch as it stuck behind the rear wheel of the trailer unit and was pushed backwards along the road - the scraping noises are sickening to listen to.

[marcopolo]

Hey Doug, glad it wasn't more serious. I know you have a way with women, so it was nice to see you used your ample skills to calm her down.

[subvet]

Many years ago, A woman backed into my Yamaha 650 in a bank parking lot one night while I was getting cash at a walk-up ATM. She bumped into the rear tire/fender and basically pushed it forward knocking it off the side-stand and over it went...I watched it hit the ground on it's left side. Not alot of damage...a few scratches here and there, but it broke the clutch lever clean off. The woman was stunned that I would even think to ask her to make good on the repairs. "what's the problem, it's just a motorbike" she says.

I didn't say it in so many words, but after talking to her nicely, and sort of putting myself between her car and an easy escape route, it finally dawned on her that she'd just caused an accident and I might call the Police if she tried to drive off.

I managed to get it in gear and make it the few miles home with alot of creative manuevers at stop lights, but that was it for my riding for the evening.

The next day after checking things out thoroughly, I told her I'd settle for her paying for the parts and I'd do the repairs. Worked out to less than $100....she made good and we were both happy.

[HappyMan]

It just goes to show you that there is nothing you can do when an idiot is in a cage.....one way or another they're gonna get ya!! Glad your o.k.

[NORCALP]

I was on a two lane narrow MTN road and pulled up behind a guy on a slight downhill who had stopped to chat with a neighbor. He had a large ford truck with a topper and I stopped maybe 6 feet from his bumper.

 

Well, I was on my KTM Adventure and noticed he put his backup lights on and much to my suprise began to back right into me. I could do nothing but drop my KTM and watch as the truck gobbled up my shiney Adventure!

 

He was pretty embarassed, the bike came away with just a few scratches and a mauled fender. I will never get that close to a potentialy blind area again. He paid for the damage and we laugh about it today.

 

P

[DouglasR]

Hey Doug, glad it wasn't more serious. I know you have a way with women, so it was nice to see you used your ample skills to calm her down.

 

Oh thanks, that's kind of you!

 

Mark!! Glad you made it home OK!

 

Best to your lovely fiance! I'm gonna crash your wedding....

 

Thanks for the good thoughts, everyone. I'm sure I wouldn't have been so accepting and calm if she had schmucked me a good one. She was absolutely mortified that she had hit me, she THOUGHT she was looking!

 

Doug

[Carnadero]

"what's the problem, it's just a motorbike" she says.

Sheesh. If I was mad enough, I probably would have put a boot right into her door - "What's the problem? It's just a car."

 

I pray I never have the misfortune to cross paths with someone like that.

[Francois_Dumas]

Glad you don't have more damage to you or the bike, Doug.

 

These things happen, amazingly.... I know there is a word for it, but I forgot. People sometimes only see or hear what they somehow EXPECT to see or hear. Weird, but unfortunately true.

 

Over in the US it seems to pertain more to cars vs. bikes than in Europe..... (judging from the various stories on this board, which might not be a good source). Main problems here are

1. truck drivers making coffee and overturning their trucks (casuing day-long traffic jams)

2. people drinking and ending up in a ditch or on the wrong side of the highway (#1 isn't bad, as long as they are alone, #2 is !)

3. street racers in little old VW Golfs, having NO IDEA what life is about

4. 16-year olds with too much tostesterone on souped-up scooters, no helmets, no brains to damage

 

(just my personal little list of annoyances )

 

I DO hope the little lady actually learned from it.... but some people just have a nack or total lack of talent for driving, situational awareness and such. I know one close to me... <cough>

[jgrant]

Over in the US it seems to pertain more to cars vs. bikes than in Europe..... (judging from the various stories on this board, which might not be a good source). Main problems here are

1. truck drivers making coffee and overturning their trucks (casuing day-long traffic jams)

2. people drinking and ending up in a ditch or on the wrong side of the highway (#1 isn't bad, as long as they are alone, #2 is !)

3. street racers in little old VW Golfs, having NO IDEA what life is about

4. 16-year olds with too much tostesterone on souped-up scooters, no helmets, no brains to damage

 

We have 1 - 3 here too. I don't see #4 as is written (helmet laws prohibit it). I think drivers are the same world wide.

 

Glad to hear that you and the bike are OK. I am really glad to hear how shaken up she was because hopefully this act will cause her to change her behavior (a guy can dream, right?).

[AdventurePoser]

Good for you, that you remained composed. The world is full of enough short fused people who talk (or yell) before thinking.

 

Glad your bike is ok, and I am sure the woman in the car learned a tremendous lesson.

 

cheers,

Steve

[bmweerman]

Thanks for how you handled that. I'm not sure I could have been as composed, but you managed to make all of us on 2 wheels look good!

 

 

What he said!!

[Kitsap]

In 1987 I was in my brand new, less than 1K mile old, Honda Civic. Stationed in the left turn lane awaiting a green light the guy in front of me decides to back up. The reverse lights signal impending doom as he throws his arm over the passenger seat and fixes his blank expression in my direction. No amount of honking, waving and yelling can wake this man as he calmly eats up the five feet of blacktop and parks on top of my hood. As the comprehension of his deed sinks in our eyes lock. If I wasn't so angry I might have laughed at his Marty Feldmon impression. The gentleman in the adjacent auto is laughing is *ss off but is kind enough to serve as a witness. The offender states he didn't see me and that if I had been driving a decent full size American car none of this would have happened

[tallman]

Glad you're OK.

I had a guy back into me as I pushed a shopping cart out of a grocery store.

He literally backed up all the way w/out looking, my shopping cart hadn't even cleared the automatic door completely .

A daughter was about 5 at the time and between me and the cart as we pushed it out the door.

Grabbed her up and pivoted, trapped by the guide rails that led up to and out of the doorway.

He hit the cart into me wrenching my knee, threw it into drive and sped off.

[Joel]

Hey Doug, glad it wasn't more serious. I know you have a way with women, so it was nice to see you used your ample skills to calm her down.

 

Oh thanks, that's kind of you!

 

If not for dinner on Thursday at the UN, the humor in that would have sailed right over my head.

 

Glad you and your GS are OK, Doug, and kudos for how you handled the situation.

[Ken H.]

Nicely handled Doug.

 

I'm not sure I would have held my cool so well.

[RTRay]

Last week while riding down the interstate at 75 mph in the left lane I had a couple in the right lane in a Chevy SUV change lanes right into me. I quickly honked and swerved on to the shoulder just inside the buzz strips as he yanked the Suburban to the right to miss me. I don't know who was more shocked, me or him, but I just waved at him and flew by as fast as possible before he did something else stupid. I saw his significant other smack him on the shoulder as I went by so I'm sure he was punished for his thoughtless act of changing lanes without looking first.

 

By the way--I had on a bright red riding jacket and a headlight modulator and he STILL didn't see me. I wasn't in his blind spot--he just didn't look.

 

Glad to hear you weren't injured!

 

Terry

[red baron]

I had a girl back into ME last year . Not my bike, ME (then my car)

 

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