Knocked off, the nasty way
 

Hi Guys,

last Monday we came back from nearly 4K of touring Ireland and the UK. And to show off Cornwall to my German friend i thought i treat him to Looe, Polperro to Fowey. Only 10 miles from home. As it got tighter and narrower and the roads were wet with the usual gravel in the centre we slowed right down to walking pace at a corner and probed our way around it. I saw a car coming towards me, so pulled to the left and stopped to let the car pass. To my horror the car never even slowed down, just kept coming and hit me right on the leg. I was thrown back from the bike and as i was lying there in the mud i saw the bike being pushed towards me. He still hadn't stopped! Luckily it never got to me in the end. The little man then got out of his car with a fresh fag in his mouth and kept going on about that he didn't do more than 20mph. As if it mattered. He couldn't stop so even that was too fast. He then asked me if i wanted to call somebody, he's got a mobile in the car. Not my first concern really as i couldn't move my leg and it was leaking somewhat inside my trousers. A couple who got to the accident afterwards then sort of convinced him that it would be a good idea to call an ambulance. As we were waiting it started raining and the little man thought it good idea to cheer me up a bit by cracking some jokes about the weather while i was lying in the mudd getting soaked and still leaking . It was my friend who took off his jacket to cover me.
I know **** happens and you can miss a bike at times, but missing two? And there was enough room to get past anyway without slowing down. Looking at the photos from his direction he could see us from some distance away.
I am not a bitter man and give people all the benefits of the doupt but in some cases you just cannot. As a friend once said: Some fathers never drowned anything.
Anyway, the damage to me:
8 stiches to the leg which sort of exploded. I didn't realize how thick the fat layer was around the top of the calf until i saw it hanging out. The whole leg bruised and so swollen they could not assess the damage. No bones broken. Bruised right arm and back. Now it got infected and i got Morphine for the pain. Goog stuff!
The damage to the bike:
Well, disappointing really. Without measuring things the only damage the garage could find so far is a broken screen, scratched hand guard and rubber grip. I suppose he me rather than the bike and wedged the handlebars between the car and a wall when he pushed it back. It never really hit the road. Bars are not bent either. I will hear more today.
Next time you follow that little Fiesta or Corsa going slowly along country lanes and p.....g you right off, just think: He will probably stop in time before hitting something or somebody. It seems that it is almost always somebody in a big 4x4 who thinks he is invincible, that he ownes the road, who expects you to get off the road out of his way although he is the one with the off road vehicle. I know i am pidgeonholing here but we all know there is a pattern.
And another thing:
I spend as much on protective gear as i can afford. And good thing i did. It has to work only once and it certainly did. Never drive in anything less!!! God only knows the mess i would be in otherwise.

Thanks for your time.

Rob

Blimey, awful tale, so pleased to hear that you are ok and the damage was fairly limited cos he could easily have killed you. I was knocked off back in 2005 by a woman driver in Daddy's Merc and I ended up in hospital for 6 weeks and I had 4 operations and about 2 years of physio and stuff to get over it so count yourself fairly lucky!!!

Quite. It seams many drivers consider speed to be absolute, and never think "can I stop in the distance I can see to be clear"

In fact many driver, and motorcyclists alike have little or no idea how quickly they can stop their vehicle, many motorcyclist can't even use their brake to the best effect!

Only the clean ones.

Glad to see you are on the mend, at best the other driver should have been arrested at the scene on suspicion of careless driving. I would be pushing the Police to charge him with something.

But yet again, the Tenere proves itself in crashes.... not many bikes come out of a crash this well.

sorry to hear about that mate, glad you are in 1 piece.

Get well soon muppdog, hope you will be up n around shortly, don't let the ba***rds get you down

Thanks for the support. And it has already started. The phones keep ringing with all sorts of 'No win no Fee' solicitors. Even my insurance's solicitor is one! Annoying.
And i am bored already.

Rob

Not good, sorry to hear that, get well soon.

I am appalled at the lack of care, responsibility for a careless act and the 'f*** you Jack, I'm allright' attitude shown towards you. Is the bloke a moron, or just a b*****d?

This, imo, is (luckily) a fairly non-typical display of ruthless incompetence. I am really glad things weren't worse, and hope things improve for you fast. I agree that the fool should be charged with something...

Jeez....glad it wasn't any worse Rob. Hope your leg heals real quick.
Driver wasn't drunk was he? Or just plain incompetant/couldn't give a sh*t?

We can only hope that next time he rounds a corner too fast he'll meet white van man coming the other way. "That'll learn him"!! (well both of them probably!).

I'm doing my best to restrain myself from ranting about motorists who just don't give a damn about anybody else - cos at the end of the day it's more important to be at peace with the world to ensure safe and enjoyable motoring.

Rick

Too true GULG and glad to hear you're OK. As for the little man just be sure to follow this through and have him for driving without due care etc etc as you have a witness.. Good luck.