I Fell Off My Bike Today!!

[gsfrontera]

Ive been riding now for about 4 years, and never seen the tarmac (so to speak). Saw the sun today and thought "Ill go for a spin". Got to a left hander doing about 30mph and before i know it im on my arse skidding down the road. My back wheel spun out on some diesel or oil which was disguised by the shade from the trees at the side of the road.

When I came to a stop, I got my self up and wheeled my bike to the side of the road.

Now...... Im ok, scuffed leathers and boots etc. The bikes ok, the crash bars took most of the impact so it is still fully ridable.

BUT.....

What really pissed me off... was the guy behind me in his car. He must have seen the whole incident. As im sat in the middle of the road on my arse i would have at least have expected him to wind down his window and shout to see if im still alive, no ok then... what about help me pick my bike up, bear in mind id just fell off, and its a BMW R1150GS so is a massively heavy bike. No not that one either. The guy just sat there in his car, and waited for me to move my bike. As soon as I moved it he just drove round me as if nothing happened, didnt even acknowledge me... Thanks mate.

So... if you own a black car, and you were the chap who saw me today in Glossop, as you were heading along Victoria Street then FK YOU.

[alfa daley]

Bad luck, he was probably worried he would get oil on his Gucci shoes on some such. Unhelpful get. Glad to hear you were straight up and no injuries.

The weather's great at the moment but I don't think the roads are matching up quite as well.

[TvrJohn]

Hard luck mate, think i would of approached the guy and asked for a lift.
Daily commuter myself, -3 this morning, must get some heated grips

[Rubin215]

Sorry to hear about the tumble!

I had a minor off in January when I hit a patch of ice on a bend. Only doing 15 mph, but when the front goes it isn't coming back (and no, ABS wouldn't have stopped it happening...).

Although no one was immediately behind me when it happened, at least five vehicles drove past without stopping while the bike was still on its side. Thanks...


However, the main reason for my post is to pass on the advice I was once given by a solicitor who specialises in litigation.
Never give help at a road incident unless there is another, independant, witness. Who is to say the owner of the damaged vehicle won't turn round and say you caused the incident in the first place?
Apparently its much more dificult for you to prove you weren't involved than it is for a smart solicitor to imply that you were (Why were you there? Why did you stop if you weren't involved? Why did you give assistance if you weren't involved? etc).
Bearing in mind this guy was wearing an extremely expensive suit and watch and drove a brand new Merc, I'm fairly confident he knew what he was talking about...!

However I'm just as stupid as everyone else and as soon as I see someone on trouble I'm over there to help, even though I now "know better."

[rumpelstiltskin]

I can never believe just how slippy diesel is.I was out with my students one day(Im an instructor)and we came down to this small roundabout,i couldn't belive it!The three guys in front of me all fell off!I didn't know whether to laugh or panic!

[y2blade]

bad luck mate...glad you were unharmed

Edited by y2blade on Tuesday 19th February 07:40

[Wyvern971]

Sorry to hear you came off your bike, at least you weren't hurt and the bike doesn't seem too bad. Someone I know came off recently and wasn't so fortunate, his pride and joy which he had restored over quite some time was wrecked and he bust his foot. (In this case he was knocked off, and the van driver who crossed from the outer lane to the petrol station said, "it's your fault I was indicating&quot

Rubin215 said:

However, the main reason for my post is to pass on the advice I was once given by a solicitor who specialises in litigation.
Never give help at a road incident unless there is another, independant, witness. Who is to say the owner of the damaged vehicle won't turn round and say you caused the incident in the first place?
Apparently its much more dificult for you to prove you weren't involved than it is for a smart solicitor to imply that you were (Why were you there? Why did you stop if you weren't involved? Why did you give assistance if you weren't involved? etc).
Bearing in mind this guy was wearing an extremely expensive suit and watch and drove a brand new Merc, I'm fairly confident he knew what he was talking about...!

Not being funny, but that's a really stty state of affairs. I couldn't give a monkeys, I'd be stopped and helping. (If I came off I know I'd really appreciate it)

[SplatSpeed]

sorry to hear that

i am paranoid about diesel

[Steve_T]

There are s everywhere, no getting around it. Glad to hear that neither you nor your bike were badly damaged.

You have probably seen this before, being a beemer man, but for the benefit of everyone else, here are some tips for picking a bike up single handed.

http://www.dps.state.mn.us/mmsc/latest/MMSCHomeSec...

Steve.

[y2blade]

Steve_T said:

There are s everywhere, no getting around it. Glad to hear that neither you nor your bike were badly damaged.

You have probably seen this before, being a beemer man, but for the benefit of everyone else, here are some tips for picking a bike up single handed.

http://www.dps.state.mn.us/mmsc/latest/MMSCHomeSec...

Steve.

good find

i was looking for a video on those techniques

thats the way i was taught to lift a fallen bike

[IsMad]

I am sorry to hear about your off. Glad you are ok, I too had a small tumble a while ago and again no one stopped.

Rubin215 said:

However, the main reason for my post is to pass on the advice I was once given by a solicitor who specialises in litigation.
Never give help at a road incident unless there is another, independant, witness. Who is to say the owner of the damaged vehicle won't turn round and say you caused the incident in the first place?
Apparently its much more dificult for you to prove you weren't involved than it is for a smart solicitor to imply that you were (Why were you there? Why did you stop if you weren't involved? Why did you give assistance if you weren't involved? etc).
Bearing in mind this guy was wearing an extremely expensive suit and watch and drove a brand new Merc, I'm fairly confident he knew what he was talking about...!

However I'm just as stupid as everyone else and as soon as I see someone on trouble I'm over there to help, even though I now "know better."

That is so sad, because on the whole it is just not true, I would hope. I know it does happen but not to the point that you should not stop and help, or even just ask if the other person is OK. If they wanted to cause issues they could just take your reg and then say you did not stop. Same difference. A biker who has fallen off is not in the best shape to forming a scam. A car driver I would be suspicious of but not a biker.

[SplatSpeed]

y2blade said:

Steve_T said:

There are s everywhere, no getting around it. Glad to hear that neither you nor your bike were badly damaged.

You have probably seen this before, being a beemer man, but for the benefit of everyone else, here are some tips for picking a bike up single handed.

http://www.dps.state.mn.us/mmsc/latest/MMSCHomeSec...

Steve.

good find

i was looking for a video on those techniques

thats the way i was taught to lift a fallen bike

thanks for that i now understand the look of surprise when i nearly binned the bike on a uturn and jumped astride it and wrestled it back up before it hit the floor

[rsv gone!]

Rubin215 said:

However, the main reason for my post is to pass on the advice I was once given by a solicitor who specialises in litigation.
Never give help at a road incident unless there is another, independent, witness. Who is to say the owner of the damaged vehicle won't turn round and say you caused the incident in the first place?
Apparently its much more difficult for you to prove you weren't involved than it is for a smart solicitor to imply that you were (Why were you there? Why did you stop if you weren't involved? Why did you give assistance if you weren't involved? etc).

What a stty civilisation we've become.

I've read before that giving medical assistance to people is unwise as if you do anything wrongly, you're quite likely to be sued.

I have asked my employers for first aid training as I'd hate to be in the situation of thinking "but for a day's training I could have saved them...."

[Fats25]

Wyvern971 said:

Rubin215 said:

However, the main reason for my post is to pass on the advice I was once given by a solicitor who specialises in litigation.
Never give help at a road incident unless there is another, independant, witness. Who is to say the owner of the damaged vehicle won't turn round and say you caused the incident in the first place?
Apparently its much more dificult for you to prove you weren't involved than it is for a smart solicitor to imply that you were (Why were you there? Why did you stop if you weren't involved? Why did you give assistance if you weren't involved? etc).
Bearing in mind this guy was wearing an extremely expensive suit and watch and drove a brand new Merc, I'm fairly confident he knew what he was talking about...!

Not being funny, but that's a really stty state of affairs. I couldn't give a monkeys, I'd be stopped and helping. (If I came off I know I'd really appreciate it)

I have stopped 3 times in the past to help bikers that have come off - luckily for me other people have been on the scene already dealing with the biker (as I am not good at stuff like that) - but people normally have no idea how to lift and move a bike. So I have stopped and helped out to get it out the road.

However after what happened the other week - similar to how Rubin explains above - I am not sure if I would again.

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

I think I will - as I am a biker. But for anyone else, not so sure I would stop in future.

[black-k1]

rsv gone! said:

I've read before that giving medical assistance to people is unwise as if you do anything wrongly, you're quite likely to be sued.

My wife is a nurse and refuses to assist at any accident for exactly that reason. She is an Oncology Nurse (and has been for many years) but she would be legally judged incompetent if her response to an accident was not that expected of an A&E nurse. She hasn’t done A&E for 20 years so there is no way she would be up to that standard. Her profession & livelihood is too important to risk.

What a wonderful culture we live in where those who could help don't in case they get sued for trying!

gsfrontera said:

Ive been riding now for about 4 years, and never seen the tarmac (so to speak). Saw the sun today and thought "Ill go for a spin". Got to a left hander doing about 30mph and before i know it im on my arse skidding down the road. My back wheel spun out on some diesel or oil which was disguised by the shade from the trees at the side of the road.

When I came to a stop, I got my self up and wheeled my bike to the side of the road.

Now...... Im ok, scuffed leathers and boots etc. The bikes ok, the crash bars took most of the impact so it is still fully ridable.

BUT.....

What really pissed me off... was the guy behind me in his car. He must have seen the whole incident. As im sat in the middle of the road on my arse i would have at least have expected him to wind down his window and shout to see if im still alive, no ok then... what about help me pick my bike up, bear in mind id just fell off, and its a BMW R1150GS so is a massively heavy bike. No not that one either. The guy just sat there in his car, and waited for me to move my bike. As soon as I moved it he just drove round me as if nothing happened, didnt even acknowledge me... Thanks mate.

So... if you own a black car, and you were the chap who saw me today in Glossop, as you were heading along Victoria Street then FK YOU.

Sorry to hear about your off but I'm very glad you walked away in one piece.

[cdarnell]

i glad you haven't hurt yourself mate. I suppose your only injury will be in your wallet.

[Steve_T]

rsv gone! said:

Rubin215 said:

However, the main reason for my post is to pass on the advice I was once given by a solicitor who specialises in litigation.
Never give help at a road incident unless there is another, independent, witness. Who is to say the owner of the damaged vehicle won't turn round and say you caused the incident in the first place?
Apparently its much more difficult for you to prove you weren't involved than it is for a smart solicitor to imply that you were (Why were you there? Why did you stop if you weren't involved? Why did you give assistance if you weren't involved? etc).

What a stty civilisation we've become.

I've read before that giving medical assistance to people is unwise as if you do anything wrongly, you're quite likely to be sued.

I have asked my employers for first aid training as I'd hate to be in the situation of thinking "but for a day's training I could have saved them...."

If you're helping as a passer by, that is different to someone medically trained getting involved as far as I understand things. It therefore makes sense in today's litiguous society that those who are professionals are more wary than they would have been in the past.

[Hooli]

is a shame people are like that so you cant help without worry nowdays. id still stop for a biker though. car driver - depends really.

[Hyperion]

I once stopped to help an old lady who I had just seen fall over.
I pulled up along side and jumped out to assist - the person behind tooted his horn as he drove passed and shouted something at me

I believe in Karma.