Raine
05-12-2008, 10:38 AM
I apologize for this long post but you all are the most likely to understand this mindset of mine....
Yesterday was interesting for me as it helped illustrate how, I believe, I have grown on many levels.
I was riding my motorcycle northbound through downtown Dallas and it was a beautiful afternoon. As I approached the Symphony I saw a car in the southbound turn lane and he turned left but there were no worries because there was plenty of space between us.
The car behind him held a woman, wearing glasses but not sunglasses, she pulled up, stopped and right as I got to the corner she accelerated to turn.
By the grace of God, I went into reactionary mode and turned my bike just enough so that the engine guard took the impact. (The engine guard is a chromed piece of steel that comes from the bottom of the bike up and around and affixes just under the gas tank. Not everyone has them because they think they look stupid. I have one because in case the bike is ever dropped, it would protect the motor from being damaged -- turns out it also works on low speed car impacts!)
I remember bits of plastic flying past me, and just like I used to do when I rode horses, I rode that bike the whole way. My bike toppled to the right and the engine guard kept it at about a 45 degree angle. Lots of people were walking to the symphony and some came over to help me. By that point I had managed to get the bike back upright and thankfully she fired right up! Some of the people were telling me, "That was an amazing save - how did you do that?!"
I put her into neutral and got her over to the sidewalk which was just a few feet away. The lady pulled her car up and was writing down her insurance info. The first thing I asked her was, "Did you see me?" She said no.
The scary thing is that I looked right at her before she turned and she was "looking" right at me but didn't "see" me.
I had asked her that question because when I was editor of a motorcycle magazine we had done a story on how the majority of wrecks between bikes and cars were the result of women drivers because women aren't conditioned to "see" motorcycles.
I kept looking at my bike and couldn't see anything major and her car obviously was going to need some work done on it's plastic bumper.
After I got her info, I went over to a friends loft as I was still a bit shaken (I've never been hit before on a bike!) and he gave the bike the once over also. Aside from the engine guard being a bit out of alignment and the handle bars being just ever so slightly out of alignment, the bike appears to be in great shape.
I'm going to take her to a mechanic for a once over but if I'm right, I am beyond grateful that my bike is good.
NOW, here is the scary part....
A handful of people who have heard about this run-in have given me truly scary advice and I realized that 10 years ago, I would have probably taken some of them up on it. But, karma is real, doing the right thing is real and it does me no favor to take advantage of a situation.
One person told me that I could now have my tank fixed as I have a slight dent in it due to a road trip last year. I said the tank didn't appear to be harmed in this situation. They said, "So? Just get the tank fixed."
Another person chastised me for not going to the hospital immediately. I said, "What was I supposed to do? Leave my bike on the sidewalk and hitch a ride in the ambulance for a few bruises on my leg?" They were adamant that I should have had Xrays, etc.
It went on like that until the finale when someone suggested that I sue this woman. When I asked, "What possible grounds would I sue her under?" The response: "Attempted Involuntary Vehicular Manslaughter".
It was a MINOR accident, my bike appears to be ok (I'll know for sure after the mechanic gives it the once over) and my leg has a few bruises.
I am so GRATEFUL that I had that engine guard because otherwise my left leg would have taken the impact, my motor would have had a direct impact, she could have been a fraction of a second faster and taken out the front wheel of the bike or a fraction of a second faster and hit the back of the bike which would have spun me slightly.
Why do people act so silly like borderline insurance fraud and unnecessary lawsuits are the only option? Sometimes, just doing the right thing is the right course. I would hope that if I made a minor error in judgment that the person on the other side would be as forgiving and calm.
At the end of the day, I'm glad I can look back and see how I have grown on many levels in dealing with a situation like this. It feels good to do the right thing - I don't need to stress about insurance claims, lawsuits, etc. I can just focus on being thankful for me and my bike being safe.
Yesterday was interesting for me as it helped illustrate how, I believe, I have grown on many levels.
I was riding my motorcycle northbound through downtown Dallas and it was a beautiful afternoon. As I approached the Symphony I saw a car in the southbound turn lane and he turned left but there were no worries because there was plenty of space between us.
The car behind him held a woman, wearing glasses but not sunglasses, she pulled up, stopped and right as I got to the corner she accelerated to turn.
By the grace of God, I went into reactionary mode and turned my bike just enough so that the engine guard took the impact. (The engine guard is a chromed piece of steel that comes from the bottom of the bike up and around and affixes just under the gas tank. Not everyone has them because they think they look stupid. I have one because in case the bike is ever dropped, it would protect the motor from being damaged -- turns out it also works on low speed car impacts!)
I remember bits of plastic flying past me, and just like I used to do when I rode horses, I rode that bike the whole way. My bike toppled to the right and the engine guard kept it at about a 45 degree angle. Lots of people were walking to the symphony and some came over to help me. By that point I had managed to get the bike back upright and thankfully she fired right up! Some of the people were telling me, "That was an amazing save - how did you do that?!"
I put her into neutral and got her over to the sidewalk which was just a few feet away. The lady pulled her car up and was writing down her insurance info. The first thing I asked her was, "Did you see me?" She said no.
The scary thing is that I looked right at her before she turned and she was "looking" right at me but didn't "see" me.
I had asked her that question because when I was editor of a motorcycle magazine we had done a story on how the majority of wrecks between bikes and cars were the result of women drivers because women aren't conditioned to "see" motorcycles.
I kept looking at my bike and couldn't see anything major and her car obviously was going to need some work done on it's plastic bumper.
After I got her info, I went over to a friends loft as I was still a bit shaken (I've never been hit before on a bike!) and he gave the bike the once over also. Aside from the engine guard being a bit out of alignment and the handle bars being just ever so slightly out of alignment, the bike appears to be in great shape.
I'm going to take her to a mechanic for a once over but if I'm right, I am beyond grateful that my bike is good.
NOW, here is the scary part....
A handful of people who have heard about this run-in have given me truly scary advice and I realized that 10 years ago, I would have probably taken some of them up on it. But, karma is real, doing the right thing is real and it does me no favor to take advantage of a situation.
One person told me that I could now have my tank fixed as I have a slight dent in it due to a road trip last year. I said the tank didn't appear to be harmed in this situation. They said, "So? Just get the tank fixed."
Another person chastised me for not going to the hospital immediately. I said, "What was I supposed to do? Leave my bike on the sidewalk and hitch a ride in the ambulance for a few bruises on my leg?" They were adamant that I should have had Xrays, etc.
It went on like that until the finale when someone suggested that I sue this woman. When I asked, "What possible grounds would I sue her under?" The response: "Attempted Involuntary Vehicular Manslaughter".
It was a MINOR accident, my bike appears to be ok (I'll know for sure after the mechanic gives it the once over) and my leg has a few bruises.
I am so GRATEFUL that I had that engine guard because otherwise my left leg would have taken the impact, my motor would have had a direct impact, she could have been a fraction of a second faster and taken out the front wheel of the bike or a fraction of a second faster and hit the back of the bike which would have spun me slightly.
Why do people act so silly like borderline insurance fraud and unnecessary lawsuits are the only option? Sometimes, just doing the right thing is the right course. I would hope that if I made a minor error in judgment that the person on the other side would be as forgiving and calm.
At the end of the day, I'm glad I can look back and see how I have grown on many levels in dealing with a situation like this. It feels good to do the right thing - I don't need to stress about insurance claims, lawsuits, etc. I can just focus on being thankful for me and my bike being safe.