I'm no stranger to wrecking motorcycles. In fact I'd say I'm pretty good at it. However it's pretty rare to have a street wreck that's not my fault. As always it happens when you least expect it. Allow the picture to set the scene.
I just tore out of my driveway on my WR450F. There's multiple nice turns on my way out of the homestead. Above is a picture of just prior of the incident location. Take note of the dirt shoulder on the right side. I came around the first bend and was heading into the next bend in the picture. A white car was coming towards me. As I approached the turn the car started drifting over the double yellow. In all honesty it happens all the time so I didn't think much of it. Theres no sense in getting pissed at drivers anymore, it's not like I'd win in a collission.
The driver didn't stop drifting over the double yellow. Before I knew it the whole car was now in my lane, coming at me head on. I could see the driver clear as day, an elderly woman. She was looking right at me but made no effort to adjust her position. I had a split second to choose my fate. I was already hugging the shoulder to give her stupid ass room around the turn. Naturally I went for the shoulder. But then things got freaky. As I swung onto the shoulder so did she, as if she was mirroring my movements. So this is what murder feels like. A final moment gave me an opportunity to choose once more. I could shoot off into the yard and end up in the tree line. From my experience trees don't move and they hurt. Or swing back onto the road and hope she doesnt suddenly realize whats happening and meets me head-on anyways. I chose the road and almost made it. Her car was already off onto the shoulder and angled so when I got back on the pavement I made contact with the rear quarter panel area of the car. It made a resounding thud. I was now past the car however my bike was sideways. Wreck mode initiate. Go limp and take a ride.
The left skid is my front tire and the right skid is my rear tire just to give you an idea of the orientation of my bike. I held on until the last second then released. Tumbled a few times and ultimately landed ontop of my bike in the bushes.
Final resting point. I quickly assessed my limbs and felt good enough. Pulled myself out of the bushes and got up to the road. My bike was still running, how nice. The old lady was now parked on the shoulder, which as I came to find out was her intentions. Parking on the outside of a blind turn facing traffic is not only illegal, its dumb. Purely. She looked sorry. And I made her feel sorry with some select words. As I was yelling I approached her and realized I was limping. Adrenaline is a beautiful thing.
Impact zone. Turns out most of the damage was done by my right foot/leg that was sandwiched between my bike and her car. Hence the limp. After a few minutes I could feel something was wrong with my foot. After some personal assessment I concluded I'd be fine as there was no open wounds or major swelling. I politely informed the lady about who she just hit.
A police report was made, she was appropriately ticketed and I yanked my bike out of the bushes. I rode home to assess the bike damage. I took some pictures but I'm not going to post them cause it really was that minimal. Another reason why I love supermoto. If I was on my CBR it would've blown up in a huge fireball and killed a kitten somewheres. My foot took awhile to heal, per usual Nate behavir I never got it professional checked. I've broken that foot twice already and quite familiar with the sensation. It wasn't broken but it definitely took some damage. It still doesn't feel quite right but then again a lot of my body parts don't feel quite right anymore. I might be a really sore 50 year old man someday.
Now onto my ass and covering it. See the pictures above? I had to submit them to fight an insurance case. I didn't make a claim for the damage to my bike cause really it was maybe $25 worth of parts, I didnt really care. I got a surprise phone call from my insurance agent saying she needed to talk to me about the incident because the old lady's insurance company is charging mine with the damage to her vehicle, specifically stating there was no police report and no one was ticketed. Forgive me insurance agent for yelling "the FUCK there wasnt!". I explained to her everything that I pretty much wrote here. I gave her the case number since I've already looked at a copy of the accident report. I told her specifically what the lady was ticketed for. I told her exactly what happened which she then requested that I tell her again so she can record it. Afterwards I told her I even took pictures which she said she would need.
After some review my agent called me and told me she has no idea what the other party is thinking as its more than obvious who is at fault and why they would lie about there being no report and no tickets being issued was beyond her. Unbelievable.
Moral of the story is, no matter how minor the incident may be, have a police report filed. I've seen first hand multiple incidents where minor fender benders turn into he said/she said battles between insurance companies. NY doesn't require a police report for damages under $1000 so often people skip out on it cause they dont want to deal with it. People are dishonest, you give them an inch they take a mile. Some people wonder why I'm so wary and not trusting of people. I don't live in a happy little bubble in make believe land.
