Very foggy and fell

[kcaja1]

It is a very foggy morning today in DC and when I was about to turn left out of my street, this white van suddenly appeared. I panicked and locked my front brake! I fell and the bike tail pinned my left foot. Trying to recall what happened, I think I was not in my full attention at that time and did I mention it is hell foggy. First fall after 7k miles and hopefully my last. It was also on my freakin' street!
The left fairing was cracked and the lever was bent. I straightened the lever, check for other damages and I still rode to work.

[EthioKnight]

Fogs blow, falls suck, trick is to get back up and keep on riding, which you did, so kudos to you
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[flynjay]

I treat fog the same as a very light rain. The streets are super slippery.

Glad you are alright.

[NDspd]

glad you are ok man...I have to be really careful here on the coast with the constantly wet roads.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by kcaja1

......I think I was not in my full attention at that time and ........... It was also on my freakin' street!

That one is a very common accident; your tires were still cold and the front brake too grabby.

Overconfidence is what causes more of the accidents happen close to our headquarters.

[iceknyght]

Glad you're okay!

I drove in the fog a few times over the past few months (we get really bad fog here, where you can barely see the car in front of you)... I don't like it! The visibility is bad and the condensation from the fog makes me have to wipe my visor once every 30 seconds or so... It's annoying!

[EthioKnight]

Originally Posted by iceknyght

The visibility is bad and the condensation from the fog makes me have to wipe my visor once every 30 seconds or so... It's annoying!

I have found that tucking in fully during foggy weather helps keep my visor condensation free...try it

[kcaja1]

Oh, and I will be fixed today (vasectomy at age 40) so two major things happening today. Two of my main manhood are scarred (ego) and gone (procreate). A day I'll surely remember!

[iceknyght]

Originally Posted by EthioKnight

I have found that tucking in fully during foggy weather helps keep my visor condensation free...try it

I'll need to get a double bubble windscreen to do that (fully tucked, I still see over the windscreen... I don't know how you people can do it! Am I really that fat?! Don't answer that... LOL!), but if I get one, I'll try it!

[iceknyght]

Originally Posted by kcaja1

Oh, and I will be fixed today (vasectomy at age 40) so two major things happening today. Two of my main manhood are scarred (ego) and gone (procreate). A day I'll surely remember!

Ouch!

That's what I call a bad day...

[akima]

Originally Posted by kcaja1

It is a very foggy morning today in DC and when I was about to turn left out of my street, this white van suddenly appeared. I panicked and locked my front brake! I fell and the bike tail pinned my left foot. Trying to recall what happened, I think I was not in my full attention at that time and did I mention it is hell foggy. First fall after 7k miles and hopefully my last. It was also on my freakin' street!
The left fairing was cracked and the lever was bent. I straightened the lever, check for other damages and I still rode to work.

Eep. It looks like isolated damage at least. I guess you'll need a new left fairing: not bad damage for a crash though. Is your left foot ok?

As for not being at full attention. I normally take awhile to get full focus for my ride. To help with that I tend to make putting my gear on like a pre-ride ritual. I start thinking about my bike and I stop thinking about everything else unrelated to my ride ahead. Works out pretty well for me. I also spend the first few minutes of my ride going really slowly (I know that wouldn't have helped you!): I think this is good for the engine too: keeping the revs down while everything warms up. During the slow period, I take little side streets where there's little or no traffic.

What do you think you will do differently if this same event happens again? I had a little think about it, and the best thing I could think of would be to fully commit to the turn and accelerate away from the van. I figure that you have better chances of not getting hit than either:
A) slamming on the brakes so hard that you crash to the ground.
B) braking hard and potentially stopping right in front of the van.
I guess it might also help to sound your horn as well - a very useful tool in foggy weather... what people can't see they can hear. It might even be a good idea to cover the horn with your thumb when you're approaching a situation where you know the fog-induced low-visibility could make it difficult for you to escape from danger. Shame that so many people -- in Britain at least -- interpret the horn sound as "f**k you". I'd use it far more if it wasn't for that. My dad is an advanced [cage] driving instructor: he sounds his horn when in blind situations where there could be danger. Quite useful on single lane (for both directions) country lanes where there are tight corners.

[ProdigyRacingLA]

Originally Posted by kcaja1

It is a very foggy morning today in DC and when I was about to turn left out of my street, this white van suddenly appeared. I panicked and locked my front brake! I fell and the bike tail pinned my left foot. Trying to recall what happened, I think I was not in my full attention at that time and did I mention it is hell foggy. First fall after 7k miles and hopefully my last. It was also on my freakin' street!
The left fairing was cracked and the lever was bent. I straightened the lever, check for other damages and I still rode to work.

Yeah fog is a tricky one, got a lot of good feedback from the fellas on this thread.
Is also like to add, glad your ok.
But most of all, you rode to work. You got back on and went for it.
When I got into my low speed accident where a car turned right in front of me. It was bad, but I got up quick saw the damaged, cried on the inside. Started uo the bike and went to work.
Saddest day, but a lesson learned. Never be over confident always be alert.
Best of luck to you mate!

*Dress for the slide not the ride.