Accident Reflection NYC

[abitadrift]

Hey Guys -

Never really posted before but figured I would give my story.

I live in NYC, in SoHo to be precise. I bought a 2008 Candy Plasma Blue 250R in March and have been a very happy person for the last 6 months.

Monday I was hit by a car.


To expand on this - I was at an intersection on broadway and prince in the right hand turning lane at about 10pm at night, waiting for the red light to change, completely stopped. While waiting, a lexus LS400 Slammed into me at about 30mph, and lets just say I now know how superman feels. Luckily the bike slid on its left fender and front headlight fairing and isn't too awful oddly enough.

I slid in my leather jacket - shredding the arm, and cracked a shoei helmet, but not my head thank god. My left arm was completely skinned and is all wrapped up currently.


Now to the driver: He was/is an 88 year old man, who genuinely says he didn't notice me or the red light. Admitted fault quickly and seemed super concerned about my well being. He went with me to the hospital, and made sure his insurance (and the police) understood who's fault it was. Do I want to sue him? No. Do I want him to get checked for vision and reaction time? Of course - and i told him so.


As this was my first rough and tumble on a bike, I am a bit shaken up. The insurance company totaled my bike - but i bought it back from them right away as it was cheap and I love it.

I will post photos when I get home from the hospital later of the bike, but suffice to say I have to replace:

1. Left Fairing Lower
2. Front Cowling Upper Headlight and Wheel Cowling
3. The Kickstand Spring (How that got away... I still don't know)
4. The Kickstand Cable was shredded - so the bike won't go on, Need to replace.
5. The Stock Left Hand turn signal
6. My Helmet T_T
7. My Skin.
8. Potentially my front tire, as it had some rash that I am worried About.




That being said - I am a relatively new-ish rider with only 1-2 years experience. Here is my thoughts:

1 - I should wear more reflective clothing. Even with a Candy Blue bike, having all black clothes and a matte black helmet was a stupid Idea - at least without reflectors.

2. I need more reflectors for the rear - Regardless of the guy being old, I want people to know I exist.

3. Even though I am not a speed oriented person, When stopped or going slow people can still miss you. Me sitting in the Middle of a lane in a city that has 25mph speed limits still got me seriously hurt. I am getting a dayglow jacket.

4. Old people need to get there licenses checked more. This I can't emphasize enough. After 60 every 5 years we should have mandatory re-checks or re-licensing tests.

5. Candy Blue Plasma is NOT Sufficient for visability on its own. I need to increase mine.

Sorry for the long post, but figure any advice or questions or even flames may help me or others.

Oh and if anyone knows where i can get a set of Candy Plasma Blue Fairings I will forever be in your debt <3


-Abita

[Panda]

Sucks man. Glad you are ok though.

When at a red light, keep the bike in gear, and watch your rear views mirrors.
When I see traffic approaching I'll blink my brake light a couples times to make sure they are slowing down.

The only time I'll take the bike out of gear and stop watching is if I know there are a couple cars behind me.

I wear a neon yellow helmet with a reflective halo band. Even with that you have to act like you are invisible.

[DEFY]

Brighter colors is great idea, at night everything just gets darker. Some ride in all black cause they think it is a good visual representation of how cool they are, but dark colors have been shown that they are more easily missed when glancing quickly around. Why do you think red cars get pulled over more, lol?

[isuoboe]

Glad to hear you are relatively OK, and also glad to hear proponents of visible clothing. I try to be as visible as possible and then act as though I am invisible. I wear hi-viz helmet and jacket. I got a better deal on my used 2006 250 because people didn't buy it when they found out it was yellow. Not my favorite color either, but it's what I wanted because it was the most visible. I also have modulating headlight and brake light that flashes 5 times when activated. I also filled in the 2 "dummy" lights on either side of the tail/brake light. My license plate is "B SEEN". I also have a Bad Boy air horn which I seldom get to use. (I don't like the idea of loud bikes for safety. It may help in some situations, but it also makes people hate riders. It's also pretty telling that those who like noisy bikes for safety don't do anything else for safety, especially here in Iowa where helmets are not required.)

Although I may not admit that drivers need to be checked as young as 60 (I'm 68), older drivers do need to be checked. In some state you can turn in questionable drivers to the DMV and they will have them tested. We did this with my father (in California). A bunch of us did it so if he asked who did it, no one person would be responsible. He didn't ask. They did take his license; let him have essentially a "learner's permit." He tried to take the test again, but fortunately did not pass. He was in his 90's.

Good luck with your recovery and bike "rebuild!"

[LittleRedNinjette]

Originally Posted by Panda

Sucks man. Glad you are ok though.

When at a red light, keep the bike in gear, and watch your rear views mirrors.
When I see traffic approaching I'll blink my brake light a couples times to make sure they are slowing down.

The only time I'll take the bike out of gear and stop watching is if I know there are a couple cars behind me.

I wear a neon yellow helmet with a reflective halo band. Even with that you have to act like you are invisible.

^^ This!

Heal up, you and the bike.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by abitadrift

........

Monday I was hit by a car.
........

Now to the driver: He was/is an 88 year old man, who genuinely says he didn't notice me or the red light...............Do I want him to get checked for vision and reaction time? Of course - and i told him so.
........
Sorry for the long post, but figure any advice or questions or even flames may help me or others.

Very sad to read this, Abita !!!

I could have been that driver.
My vision has been deteriorating badly as I have aged.
Due to that, riding or driving at night is very problematic now.

Even when I was 20 and had good eyes, close calls like yours made me believe that riding in any city at night, specially during weekends, was a very dangerous idea.
Maybe that realization helped me keep riding busy city streets for the last 45 years.

Fighting traffic in daylight is hard enough; fighting crossing pedestrians against incoming headlights, substance abusers, Diesel spills and drivers with poor night vision increases our risk of accident exponentially.

Even aged persons with healthy eyes suffer from reduced vision in terms of amount of light reaching the retinas, contrast and color perception:

Copied from
http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/ligh...s/agingeye.asp

"The human visual system deteriorates throughout adult life. This is quite normal. The visual system is often characterized as "young" until it reaches about 40 years of age. After that, normal changes to the aging eye become more noticeable as visual capabilities decrease.

* Reduced accommodation (Presbyopia) - This is the eye's decreasing capacity to focus at close range. Hardening of the crystalline lens capsule and, perhaps, atrophy of the ciliary muscles are the primary causes of lost accommodation. This process is continuous with age, but by age 45 most people require positive diopter lenses (reading glasses) for close work. By age 65, variable accommodation is nearly impossible and multi-focal lenses are required.

* Reduced retinal illuminance - The retina receives less light as one ages because pupil size becomes smaller (senile miosis) and the crystalline lens becomes thicker and more absorptive. It is estimated that for the same light level, a typical 60-year old receives about one-third the retinal illuminance of a 20-year old.

* Reduced contrast and color saturation - The crystalline lens becomes less clear and, as a result, begins to scatter more light as one ages. This scattered light reduces the contrast of the retinal image. This effect also adds a "luminous veil" over colored images on the retina, thus reducing their vividness (saturation). Reds begin to look like pinks, for example.

* Reduced ability to discriminate blue colors - The older eye loses some sensitivity to short wavelengths ("blue light") due to progressive yellowing of the crystalline lens."

Copied from
http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/eye...ng-on-the-eyes

"The muscles that work to regulate the size of the pupils weaken with age. The pupils become smaller, react more sluggishly to light, and dilate more slowly in the dark. Therefore, people older than 60 may find that objects appear dimmer, that they are dazzled initially when going outdoors (or when facing oncoming cars during night driving), and that they have difficulty going from a brightly lit environment to a darker one. These changes may be particularly bothersome when combined with the effects of a cataract.

Other changes in eye function also occur as people age. The sharpness of vision (acuity) is reduced despite use of the best glasses, especially in people who have a cataract, macular degeneration, or advanced glaucoma. The amount of light that reaches the back of the retina is reduced, increasing the need for brighter illumination and for greater contrast between objects and the background. Older people may also see increased numbers of floating black spots. Floaters usually do not significantly interfere with vision."

Enjoy your vision while you are young.
My best wishes for full recovery !!!

[adouglas]

VERY happy you're ok.

Food for thought:

Neon helmet



SOLAS tape (this is with just the LED flash on an iPhone)



Bright gloves



Jacket (which I still have but do not wear... it's mesh and I'm all leather, all the time now... decided that with sportbike ergos, most of it isn't visible anyway. The helmet is what pops)



I suspect that some think going all-black looks bada$$. I think they're missing the point. It's you that's bada$$, not your clothes.



FYI this helmet is great -- a premium lid that just happens to be on closeout at Revzilla right now. Since you've been down in a way that I (thankfully) have never experienced, you may have recalibrated your feelings about how much gear costs. This is a steal:

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/s...-hi-viz-helmet

[greg737]

This thread conversation reminds me of riding motorcycles on Air Force bases.

Over the years that I was in the Air Force, motorcycles were a constant "problem" on base, but it wasn't the riders' fault at all.

If you were never in the military you probably don't know this but the services that are available on a medium to large sized military base attract a rather large community of retired (former) military members who settle in the local area and drive out to the base on a regular basis. Whenever a "motorcycle accident" happened on base it always involved a retired person.

The Base Safety Office always responded to these accidents by putting new restrictions on the motorcycle riders. First we had to wear light colors, like white or silver. Then we were advised to ride with all lights on day or night. Then we were required to take a Base-approved rider's safety course (even if we'd already passed the MSF). Then we had to wear Base-approved reflective and fluorescent colored vests while riding on base.

And as you may have already guessed, none of this prevented the retired folks from running into motorcycles.

[abitadrift]

Originally Posted by Panda

Sucks man. Glad you are ok though.

When at a red light, keep the bike in gear, and watch your rear views mirrors.
When I see traffic approaching I'll blink my brake light a couples times to make sure they are slowing down.

The only time I'll take the bike out of gear and stop watching is if I know there are a couple cars behind me.

I wear a neon yellow helmet with a reflective halo band. Even with that you have to act like you are invisible.

Your right. I make the mistake of taking the bike out of gear on most longer lights, because I want to relax my hand a bit. I will try not to do so further in the future. Thanks for the well wishes!

[abitadrift]

Originally Posted by adouglas

VERY happy you're ok.

Food for thought:

Neon helmet



SOLAS tape (this is with just the LED flash on an iPhone)



Bright gloves



Jacket (which I still have but do not wear... it's mesh and I'm all leather, all the time now... decided that with sportbike ergos, most of it isn't visible anyway. The helmet is what pops)



I suspect that some think going all-black looks bada$$. I think they're missing the point. It's you that's bada$$, not your clothes.



FYI this helmet is great -- a premium lid that just happens to be on closeout at Revzilla right now. Since you've been down in a way that I (thankfully) have never experienced, you may have recalibrated your feelings about how much gear costs. This is a steal:

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/s...-hi-viz-helmet

That helmet looks great! I am in total agreement on gear, I spent a good deal on my helmet before, but now going with a high-viz one is my top priority (aside from healing and fixing the bike!)

Thanks for the well wishes.

PS - where did you get the solas tape?

[abitadrift]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Very sad to read this, Abita !!!

I could have been that driver.
My vision has been deteriorating badly as I have aged.
Due to that, riding or driving at night is very problematic now.

Even when I was 20 and had good eyes, close calls like yours made me believe that riding in any city at night, specially during weekends, was a very dangerous idea.
Maybe that realization helped me keep riding busy city streets for the last 45 years.

Fighting traffic in daylight is hard enough; fighting crossing pedestrians against incoming headlights, substance abusers, Diesel spills and drivers with poor night vision increases our risk of accident exponentially.

Even aged persons with healthy eyes suffer from reduced vision in terms of amount of light reaching the retinas, contrast and color perception:

Copied from
http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/ligh...s/agingeye.asp

"The human visual system deteriorates throughout adult life. This is quite normal. The visual system is often characterized as "young" until it reaches about 40 years of age. After that, normal changes to the aging eye become more noticeable as visual capabilities decrease.

* Reduced accommodation (Presbyopia) - This is the eye's decreasing capacity to focus at close range. Hardening of the crystalline lens capsule and, perhaps, atrophy of the ciliary muscles are the primary causes of lost accommodation. This process is continuous with age, but by age 45 most people require positive diopter lenses (reading glasses) for close work. By age 65, variable accommodation is nearly impossible and multi-focal lenses are required.

* Reduced retinal illuminance - The retina receives less light as one ages because pupil size becomes smaller (senile miosis) and the crystalline lens becomes thicker and more absorptive. It is estimated that for the same light level, a typical 60-year old receives about one-third the retinal illuminance of a 20-year old.

* Reduced contrast and color saturation - The crystalline lens becomes less clear and, as a result, begins to scatter more light as one ages. This scattered light reduces the contrast of the retinal image. This effect also adds a "luminous veil" over colored images on the retina, thus reducing their vividness (saturation). Reds begin to look like pinks, for example.

* Reduced ability to discriminate blue colors - The older eye loses some sensitivity to short wavelengths ("blue light") due to progressive yellowing of the crystalline lens."

Copied from
http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/eye...ng-on-the-eyes

"The muscles that work to regulate the size of the pupils weaken with age. The pupils become smaller, react more sluggishly to light, and dilate more slowly in the dark. Therefore, people older than 60 may find that objects appear dimmer, that they are dazzled initially when going outdoors (or when facing oncoming cars during night driving), and that they have difficulty going from a brightly lit environment to a darker one. These changes may be particularly bothersome when combined with the effects of a cataract.

Other changes in eye function also occur as people age. The sharpness of vision (acuity) is reduced despite use of the best glasses, especially in people who have a cataract, macular degeneration, or advanced glaucoma. The amount of light that reaches the back of the retina is reduced, increasing the need for brighter illumination and for greater contrast between objects and the background. Older people may also see increased numbers of floating black spots. Floaters usually do not significantly interfere with vision."

Enjoy your vision while you are young.
My best wishes for full recovery !!!

Hey Hernan -

I hold nothing against those with vision issues, just those who don't take it into account or don't get off the road when they have surpased their ability to continue driving a 2500+pound motor vehicle. It really is a case by case, but there does need to be some legislation to protect both drivers and everyone else.

Thanks for the well wishes!

Abita

[allanoue]

I would like to see yearly tests for teens and octogenarians, and every 5 years for every one else

[akima]

There is a lot of wisdom in this thread!

My Grandpa is a pretty wise dude. He acknowledges his reduced vision and acts accordingly. He no longer drives in reduced visibility conditions and he is careful to maintain his car to ensure everything that could help him will help him.

@Abita: I'm very glad you're mostly ok and that you've learned so much from this. I'm still a relatively new rider and am trying to learn as much as possible from other peoples mistakes so I don't have to experience them myself. Also: I like your name - something about it is nice.

-Akima

[algs26]

Originally Posted by adouglas

VERY happy you're ok.

Food for thought:

Neon helmet

Is it true that high-viz fades?

I went with a glossy yellow helmet. I don't ride much at night.

["A"]

I'm glad u survived without more permanent injury, 30 mph impact from car is no joke.

I would have stayed on the pavement until the ambulance showed up and put me in a gerney, especially when I am hit while standing still at a red light.

In NYC, I always make myself known when coming to a red light, I filter to the front of the traffic light, I make sure the driver behind me when I come to a stop at the light know that I am in front of him. I leave bike in neutral so I can dump the bike and run the other direction when I spot vehicle approaching seem unavoidable, only get into 1st gear when I observe the pedestrian crossing light is flashing and turning solid.

My helmet is covered with reflective (SOLAS) tape and I turn my head left to right, bob up and down just to attract attention from other vehicle operators.

My pre-gen Ninja is bright yellow, but I don't count on the color of the bike to make me more visible. I weave left to right in my lane just to attract attention of other drivers, not continuously, but enough to let other drivers know to give me extra distance on the road.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by abitadrift

PS - where did you get the solas tape?

West Marine store. You can also find it online. FYI, SOLAS tape is different from garden-variety reflective tape. It's super-bright and puts the stuff you usually find to shame.

It's expensive but you don't need that much.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by algs26

Is it true that high-viz fades?

Yes but it'll take a long time if you do common-sense things like storing it out of the sun. Even faded it's a lot more visible than most other colors.

Besides, you should be replacing your helmet regularly anyway. If you've worn it so long that it's fully bleached it's long past time to get a new one.

["A"]

I buy SOLAS tape on eBay, 100 ft. roll usually less than $20 free ship.

[InvisiBill]

I'm not sure there's much more that could've been done in your situation. It sounds like the guy was so oblivious that he would've missed a firetruck with all its lights going.

As pointed out in the SMIDSY video, bikes are smaller than cars and tend to be made up of a number of small, random panels as opposed to the huge sheets of metal that give cars a fairly solid appearance. While I'm sure a yellow bike is going to be more visible than a black one generally speaking, and the fairly large, solid area of a sportbike's full fairing will add some substance, I wouldn't rely on the color of the bike for being visible. In the US, motorcycles are still a minority, and most drivers are subconsciously looking for cars rather than any vehicle that might be on the roadway as well; they look directly at a bike, but their brain says "no car in view" so they pull out in front of it.

More lights and reflectors will help in general (again, I'm not sure if it would've helped in this particular case). If you can put them further out on the edges of the bike, it will also help it appear bigger, making it easier for people to see and recognize it as a vehicle. Even cheap rim tape can be quite reflective while remaining stealthy (but doesn't add much visibility directly behind you).

Flashing your brakelights at approaching cars will help make you visible, by adding some activity to the view. An actual flasher circuit with LED lights will add to that with a very fast, attention-getting flash sequence. And unfortunately, we just have to keep our head on a swivel and always be watching out for ourselves. While waiting at a light, you should be keeping an eye out for approaching traffic.

I have a Scorpion EXO-500 in the hi-vis Oil pattern. I used my leftover rim tape to add some reflective stripes to it. The unnatural hi-vis color also has the benefit of nearly glowing at dusk. I'm not sure what it is, but neon colors like that really pop when other colors are starting to fade as it gets dark. Urban Survival has lots of good ideas and pics for being more visible.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by "A"

I buy SOLAS tape on eBay, 100 ft. roll usually less than $20 free ship.

never seen real solas tape that cheap. link please.


Genuine solas tape is gray (not silver like DOT truck tape) and has a distinctive hexagon pattern that you can see in the non-flash photos of my helmet.

[abitadrift]

Originally Posted by InvisiBill

I'm not sure there's much more that could've been done in your situation. It sounds like the guy was so oblivious that he would've missed a firetruck with all its lights going.

As pointed out in the SMIDSY video, bikes are smaller than cars and tend to be made up of a number of small, random panels as opposed to the huge sheets of metal that give cars a fairly solid appearance. While I'm sure a yellow bike is going to be more visible than a black one generally speaking, and the fairly large, solid area of a sportbike's full fairing will add some substance, I wouldn't rely on the color of the bike for being visible. In the US, motorcycles are still a minority, and most drivers are subconsciously looking for cars rather than any vehicle that might be on the roadway as well; they look directly at a bike, but their brain says "no car in view" so they pull out in front of it.

More lights and reflectors will help in general (again, I'm not sure if it would've helped in this particular case). If you can put them further out on the edges of the bike, it will also help it appear bigger, making it easier for people to see and recognize it as a vehicle. Even cheap rim tape can be quite reflective while remaining stealthy (but doesn't add much visibility directly behind you).

Flashing your brakelights at approaching cars will help make you visible, by adding some activity to the view. An actual flasher circuit with LED lights will add to that with a very fast, attention-getting flash sequence. And unfortunately, we just have to keep our head on a swivel and always be watching out for ourselves. While waiting at a light, you should be keeping an eye out for approaching traffic.

I have a Scorpion EXO-500 in the hi-vis Oil pattern. I used my leftover rim tape to add some reflective stripes to it. The unnatural hi-vis color also has the benefit of nearly glowing at dusk. I'm not sure what it is, but neon colors like that really pop when other colors are starting to fade as it gets dark. Urban Survival has lots of good ideas and pics for being more visible.

A flasher circuit huh? I didn't think of that. Did you rig one up custom or do they sell an Aftermarket one? Anyone use this?


And yes, to be quite honest, I could have swiveled my head more, but i was at a stop and complacent.. one minute looking towards where i was going to turn when the light went green next minute supermaned about 20+ feet..

Thanks for the advice.

[abitadrift]

Sorry Guys for the Delay - Here are Bike Images.

[abitadrift]

And here is part two of some images i took of the bike. notice the crack in the upper fairing stay -_- thats gonna be a pain in the ass to replace.

["A"]

Originally Posted by adouglas

never seen real solas tape that cheap. link please.


Genuine solas tape is gray (not silver like DOT truck tape) and has a distinctive hexagon pattern that you can see in the non-flash photos of my helmet.

Just do a search for "solas tape roll" on eBay.. simple enough.

From the damage photos, looks like a candidate to go naked with the Ninja.

[abitadrift]

Originally Posted by "A"

Just do a search for "solas tape roll" on eBay.. simple enough.

From the damage photos, looks like a candidate to go naked with the Ninja.

Naked Ninja? Links?

[InvisiBill]

Originally Posted by abitadrift

A flasher circuit huh? I didn't think of that. Did you rig one up custom or do they sell an Aftermarket one? Anyone use this?

http://www.3rdbrakeflasher.com/brake...-flasher-c-65/
Back when I made my purchase, you could get the $20 one for $15 each if you bought 2 (if you have a friend or other vehicle that needs one). Looks like it's $17 each now. It's beefy enough to handle incandescent bulbs, but they can't physically flash as fast as LEDs, so I think it loses some of its effect.

I don't like the ones that just change the light to always blink instead of being solid. One of the Syclone guys made custom LED taillights that flashed a few times for a fraction of a second when you first applied the brakes, and I really liked them. It catches people's attention when you first apply the brakes, but then is completely normal after that. While stopped at an intersection on a bike, you can release and reapply the brake too, to make it flash again to catch someone's attention if they seem to be approaching too quickly.

This is a good example of the variety of speeds and lengths you can configure for the flashing.

Link to original page on YouTube.

I've been (sort of) working on a custom LED taillight, so I haven't actually installed my flasher yet. The EX500 has two separate bulbs (or LED clusters in the Clear Alternatives part), so I need to modify that or splice the flasher into the harness upstream a bit. As is common with me, a bit of paralysis by analysis...

Originally Posted by abitadrift

And yes, to be quite honest, I could have swiveled my head more, but i was at a stop and complacent.. one minute looking towards where i was going to turn when the light went green next minute supermaned about 20+ feet..

We all make mistakes. There's always something we could have done better. For you, it just happened to be the moment you got a tiny bit complacent that disaster struck.

But it sounds like this wasn't a case of the guy missing you at the intersection (intending to stop where you were instead of behind you) as much as completely missing the intersection (not planning to stop at all). Unless you happened to noticed him quite a ways back and realized that he wasn't going to stop at all, I'm not sure you'd have been able to get out of the way. We expect people to follow the basic rules of the road, and it simply takes a bit of time to realize that they aren't doing so.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by "A"

Just do a search for "solas tape roll" on eBay.. simple enough.

From the damage photos, looks like a candidate to go naked with the Ninja.

Yep, that's the stuff. But.....

That's a six-foot roll for $18, not a 100-foot roll for under $20 as posted earlier.

This is in line with the costs I've encountered.

Thankfully you don't need a whole lot of it.

["A"]

Originally Posted by adouglas

Yep, that's the stuff. But.....

That's a six-foot roll for $18, not a 100-foot roll for under $20 as posted earlier.

This is in line with the costs I've encountered.

Thankfully you don't need a whole lot of it.

Well, it's been over 5 years since I've need to purchase another roll of 100 ft.

Still much cheaper than getting rear-ended.

["A"]

Originally Posted by abitadrift

Naked Ninja? Links?

Naked Ninja