Drifting, and its painful after effects....

[dnyman]

I would have told you guys about this before, but I'm only just able to type with any reasonable expertise.....

 

Last Wednesday, on my normal commute to work, I decided to avoid the main road works on the 'straight line' route, and took another more scenic trip. There is a roundabout on this route, which cambers the wrong way anyway, and which I normally take at about 40k/h for that reason, I noticed some shiny black stuff on the road about 1/3 the way round. Rolled off throttle, stood bike up straight heading for grass/gravel verge, probably doing about 20 k/h by this stage, but not slow enough. Bike falls away under me, hit ground, slide, many expletives. go to bike, on side in gravel, turned off ignition (funny, I thought they had auto cutout), try to pick it up, and notice there's something funny with my right shoulder (I later found out it was dislocated, and stayed that way for 5 hours before they could manipulate it back in - also slight fracture of the glenoid I think). A couple of truckies helped me pick the bike up.

 

When the cops arrived, the took one look at the road and said 'dirfting'. We seem to have a group of brain-dead indivuals now who purposely coat roundabouts with oil - lots of oil - and then perform 'drifting' around these slippery surfaces, presumably because they have so little talent they find it impossible to perform such stunts without the oil. When they're finished, they just drive away, leaving the mess for the next unsuspecting rider/driver. Lucky I hadn't seen one on Wednesday after the fall - I'd have throttled him/her single handed.

 

The shoulder will heal (slowly, I think), and the bike can be fixed, but the first thing I asked myself was 'what did I do wrong there?'. I'm always on the lookout for slippery stuff, but this was sort of out of site as I approached it. Any comments on what I should have done better?

 

(Sad) Dave.

[JayW]

Wow, I have never heard of people purposefully putting oil on a curve just for fun. What idiocy and selfishness.

 

Sorry about your mishap. How frustrating, but it sounds like you'll heal to ride again.

 

Jay

[dnyman]

Wow, I have never heard of people purposefully putting oil on a curve just for fun. What idiocy and selfishness.

 

Sorry about your mishap. How frustrating, but it sounds like you'll heal to ride again.

 

Jay

 

Yeah, makes you wonder about the state of our society, doesn't it.

 

They won't stop me riding, they'd have won if they did that. Mind you, I may approach roundabouts with a degree of trepidation in the future....

 

Dave.

[E30TECH]

I would have never even thought of such a thing. Hopefully this wont catch on.

 

Glad to read it was not as bad as it could have been.

[Baba_ORiley]

Wow. I'm sorry to hear of your crash. (accident just isn't the right word to describe the trap that was left for you to negotiate)

Wow, I have never heard of people purposefully putting oil on a curve just for fun.

It wasn't just a curve, it was a roundabout (traffic circle), which apparently the drifting idiots treat as their own personal skidpad.

 

[MotorinLA]

I have found that it is often easy to become locked into certain habits of thinking/riding. Most of these habits are useful to us, as they make us safer to the people around us, as well as to ourselves. These habits include following rules like driving on the correct side of the road, staying on the road, not riding on sidewalks, etc. These rules tend to become so ingrained in us that it is hard for us to break them, even if it would lead us to a safer outcome. As a police officer it took me quite some time to get used to the idea of sometimes driving against the on-coming flow of traffic during emergencies, or riding my police motorcycle in other places that are usually forbidden to motor vehicles.

 

However, sometimes doing something that we normally wouldn’t do could save us. I obviously don’t know the exact circumstances or layout of your traffic collision, but during the decision making part of your incident did you decide, “I have to stay on the road”? What if you had made the bike even more upright and ridden it into the gravel on the side of the road?

 

Part of the problem is that in an emergency you will do what your brain/body is already programmed to do, which means you will follow the rules. The only way to avoid this is to practice and/or prepare mentally ahead of time.

 

Now, I don’t encourage people to go out and ride against all the rules of the road in preparation for some unforeseen event, but you can prepare mentally by creating various scenarios in your own head. If you make yourself go through a lot of “What if…?” scenarios on a regular basis, it will help you think outside the box, so to speak, during an emergency situation.

 

Just some food for thought…

[catattoo]

Roundabout Drifing

[philbytx]

Feckin' Eejuts

These people have IQ's similar to that of a small earthquake!

I would love the local constabulary to find this moron and use the video against him....

[Wooster]

The shoulder will heal (slowly, I think), and the bike can be fixed, but the first thing I asked myself was 'what did I do wrong there?'. I'm always on the lookout for slippery stuff, but this was sort of out of site as I approached it. Any comments on what I should have done better?

 

(Sad) Dave.

 

While my optimism holds that potential crashes can be avoided with correct technique and response, oil on a curve is beyond me. I dropped an airhead in a curve with oil and other than steering around the oil spot, I cannot think of any successful strategy other than sliding on my backside (most padded part of me).

What do you suppose those miscreants (polite for for A-holes) do to keeps their bikes (if that's what they drift with) up rite while travelling thru the oil ? I know of no successful intervention.

Sincere condolensces and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

Wooster w/o a clue

[ncsonderman]

I would have never even thought of such a thing. Hopefully this wont catch on.

 

Glad to read it was not as bad as it could have been.

 

Really glad to hear you're O.K.! I will be very frustrated if this catches on as our city is now including these in most new constuction.

 

Hopefully the news media doesn't run any stories on this as it will surely create a wave of new interest in trying what they are attempting to discourage

[ncsonderman]

Great link! I guess we don't need the news media to exploit these things with the internet doing this.

[E30TECH]

Great link! I guess we don't need the news media to exploit these things with the internet doing this.

 

Being that this was done in the movie "Dukes of Hazzard", a lot of kids are probably trying. I remember trying to slide across the hood of mom's T-bird when I was a kid....

[AviP]

When the cops arrived, the took one look at the road and said 'dirfting'. We seem to have a group of brain-dead indivuals now who purposely coat roundabouts with oil - lots of oil - and then perform 'drifting' around these slippery surfaces, presumably because they have so little talent they find it impossible to perform such stunts without the oil. When they're finished, they just drive away, leaving the mess for the next unsuspecting rider/driver.

That sucks! Hope your shoulder heals fast without any arthritic problems.

[AdventurePoser]

Ouch! J and I give our best wishes and prayers that your shoulder heals up quickly without complications.

 

In my mind, what else could you have done? Probably nothing..you saw the oil and tried to react correctly. Anything else might just be 20/20 hindsight, IMHO.

 

Heal up,

 

Steve in So Cal

[dnyman]

Thanks, everyone, for your concern. And yeah, I think the only real way to avoid the problem would have been to avoid the oil. I'm just really glad I wasn't on my bicycle - I'd probably have been going faster, and lost MUCH more skin, and the possibility of infection from all that oil doesn't bare thinking about.

 

The current prognosis with the shoulder, BTW, is not real good. Went to the clinic today and saw the CT scan. Doc tells me the break is large enough to cause instability in the shoulder joint. Only time will tell, and I should know more in a couple of weeks.

 

If you hear of a Tasmanian being suspected of GBH on a mindless idiot, you'll know where to send the authorities

 

Dave.

[bmweerman]

First of all, sorry to hear about the spill and your current prognosis. Will be wishing you well.

 

Secondly, if you need any help kicking those fools a..es just let me know. Would be worth the trip.

 

Take Care

 

Cameron

[dnyman]

First of all, sorry to hear about the spill and your current prognosis. Will be wishing you well.

 

Secondly, if you need any help kicking those fools a..es just let me know. Would be worth the trip.

 

Take Care

 

Cameron

 

Thanks, Cameron. That flamethrower looks like it could come in handy.

 

Dave.

[USAF1]

OK, ok, ok....this is the last Dadgummed accident I want to read about....for the rest of the year........EVERYBODY HEAR ME?? THE LAST ONE!!!

 

Pat

[ncsonderman]

OK, ok, ok....this is the last Dadgummed accident I want to read about....for the rest of the year........EVERYBODY HEAR ME?? THE LAST ONE!!!

 

Pat

 

C'mon, it's only January and we haven't had Torrey, UN Rally, .....

[dnyman]

Here's the followup I was hoping not to have to write.....

 

Good news is that the bike will be fully repaired this week some time. Insurance was a breeze, the company is to be commended on that. Mind you, the damage was pretty minor. So the bike's well, but......

 

I visited the orthopaedic clinic again yesterday. They showed me the 3D images compiled from the CT scan. Talk about scaring your pants off. The fracture to the glenoid is MUCH worse than I had imagined, with a lot of splintered bits of bone floating around, two about the size of a 10 cent piece (Australian, that is ). The risk of recurrent dislocation appears to be the main concern, and given the very restricted movement I have in my right shoulder, I suspect their fears are well founded. It is also weak, which is to be expected. The eventual physio will strengthen it up, I suspect, but that won't be happening for some good time yet. Seems I have to let the soft tissue 'scar' over, and then attempt some rehab. Going to be a long process, probably 4 to 6 months at least.

 

The upshot of all this is I'll have to sell the bike . You can imagine how I feel about this as a passionate rider. I finally found a bike that was exactly what I had been searching for in almost all aspects. This bike was my sole form of transport, and I now have to get rid of it and buy a cage!! I just can't think of any other solution - there's no public transport to speak of in rural Tasmania, I can't even cycle to work on one of my push bikes, and probably won't be able to do that for another couple of months.

 

Can you imagine how much this is going to cost me, too. The bike is only 6 months old. What sort of a price am I going to get for it. I guess it's only money, though. It could have been much worse, but I can't help feeling sorry for myself just the same.

 

Just thought I'd update you on the situation. Sympathy will be readily accepted

 

Dave (depressed).

[bross]

Man, that really sucks Dave. Sorry about the shoulder, bike, everything. Will be praying for a speedy and complete recovery.

[bross]

I have found that it is often easy to become locked into certain habits of thinking/riding. Most of these habits are useful to us, as they make us safer to the people around us, as well as to ourselves. These habits include following rules like driving on the correct side of the road, staying on the road, not riding on sidewalks, etc. These rules tend to become so ingrained in us that it is hard for us to break them, even if it would lead us to a safer outcome. As a police officer it took me quite some time to get used to the idea of sometimes driving against the on-coming flow of traffic during emergencies, or riding my police motorcycle in other places that are usually forbidden to motor vehicles.

 

However, sometimes doing something that we normally wouldn’t do could save us. I obviously don’t know the exact circumstances or layout of your traffic collision, but during the decision making part of your incident did you decide, “I have to stay on the road”? What if you had made the bike even more upright and ridden it into the gravel on the side of the road?

 

Part of the problem is that in an emergency you will do what your brain/body is already programmed to do, which means you will follow the rules. The only way to avoid this is to practice and/or prepare mentally ahead of time.

 

Now, I don’t encourage people to go out and ride against all the rules of the road in preparation for some unforeseen event, but you can prepare mentally by creating various scenarios in your own head. If you make yourself go through a lot of “What if…?” scenarios on a regular basis, it will help you think outside the box, so to speak, during an emergency situation.

 

Just some food for thought…

I agree with you. I believe that's why there's so many accidents (other than the fact that people just don't pay attention and have horrible driving habits). I have always told those in my family that drive, if you have another car coming at you in your lane, just take the ditch, the curb, or their lane! Any of those choices are better than a collision with another vehicle. I have even made our 16 year old son drive his pickup truck in the ditch just so he could see what it was like. Must have worked because this winter he was driving home when he approached an icy intersection. He knew he couldn't stop without running into the car in front of him, so he steered for the ditch and got stuck in the ditch! He was only about a mile from home so we went to pull him out, but another driver had already pulled him out by the time we got there. No damage to either vehicle and I told him he did the right thing and that he did good.

 

Not sure if you had that choice Dave, I know our traffic circles have curbs which would have meant going down no doubt anyway.

[dnyman]

 

Not sure if you had that choice Dave, I know our traffic circles have curbs which would have meant going down no doubt anyway.

 

My choice was very limited, bross. The roundabout was off camber, I was approaching it from 'behind' the center, the oil covered the entire lane. On reflection, I could have taken the left exit if I had seen the danger earlier. If I had attemped that manouvre at the instant I noticed the danger, I would have low sided on the left side, rather than the right (which might have meant I could still write ). The only other option would have been the center island of the roundabout, where I probably would have high sided, I reckon, trying to get onto it - and I don't want to go there.

 

Dave.

[pmdave]

Trying to imagine what any us would have done in similar curcumstances is impossible. When we're confronted with a sudden hazard we react based on habits, and think about it later.

 

While you're hurting and grateful for sympathy, I believe we should use crashes as learning experiences, so that others will hopefully avoid the same thing.

 

One principle I try to follow is to control speed so I can always stop within my sight distance. That's not always possible, because riding slower than traffic on a twisty road creates an unnecessary hazard.

 

That's why it's very important to get your eyes up and scrutinize the surface far enough ahead to give you time to react to hazards. Oil on the surface--whether splashed intentionally or dribbled from leaky seals--can be difficult to spot, especially on blacktop (tarmac, macadam). In many parts of the world, commercial trucks and busses (coaches) dribble streams of lube and diesel oil, and it's very important to predict where the spills will occur. For instance, the first on-ramp or roundabout after a truck stop is likely to be slippery.

 

Here in the USA, there are twisty mountain roads overpopulated with dimwit bikers who think it's a constitutional necessity to run loud pipes. After a few hours of blatting pipes and obnoxious riding, locals have been known to dribble motor oil on the pavement. Not different from just lubricating a roundabout for fun, but the outcome for innocent motorcyclists is the same.

 

As I grow older (and hopefully wiser) I get much more conservative because I've seen so many strange hazards. I want lots of traction "in the bank". I watch vehicles ahead of me for clues about what's happening. Was there a car going through the roundabout ahead of you that was slipping/sliding? Were there people standing alongside the road gawking at something? Was there an odor of oil? Were there suspicious tire tracks? Was there a difference in the color of the surface?

 

It's a bummer to have to give up riding because of the dumb stunts pulled by fellow citizens, but you can take some satistfaction that wearing a good crash suit allowed you to survive.

 

For those who have yet to get felled by someone else's selfish stupidity, you might think about more serious gear with armor that is both abrasion resistant and impact absorbing.

 

And, if anyone gets so paranoid about slick surfaces that giving up the bike is an option, remember that adding a third wheel solves the "falling down" problem. I really appreciate the sidecar outfit on rainy days because I don't have to pucker up for every slick spot, railroad (railway) crossing, or gravel spill.

 

pmdave