Have you seen a dead biker on the road?

Before I ever got my first bike.
I set out from my condo on a summer day in Chicago once, heading up the block on foot to a nearby supermarket. I came to a busy intersection, (Ridge and Devon) and saw a policeman talking to the driver of a small pickup parked by the curb. As I passed them I saw a man laying with his face down in the gutter below the curb, as if he were sleeping. There was a large bike laying in the middle of the road.
My guess now would be that he was killed in the classic way bikers are, by a driver waiting at an intersection for a break in the oncoming traffic, so they can turn left. Ignoring the oncoming motorcycle, and turning suddenly in front of them.
Finding or seeing dead, injured or mentally disturbed people is not uncommon in a big city.
This is a grim subject, however I think it will do us some good to remember this sort of thing happens.

 

And a Merry Christmas to you too, Proto. :cry:

 

just on ridetodie.com
its pretty gross some of the thing you see, they have this .gif video taken from a street light, where a motorcycle is waiting at a stop light and a pick up truck drives right over him, another one is where the bike ass packed a semi, and he flew into the semi, his head punctured the rear gate and he was hanging from the trailer by his head

 

i see quite a few in bars, some times ya see them in trees
and a happy new year

 

no. ive never seen a dead biker...

but being a photographer in the Air Force and working for a PD ive seen suicide victims and homicide victims...

neither are very nice...

 

Lets just have a gentleman's agreement here not to post gory photos of deadly accidents. Years ago I stopped visiting another bike site because the jerks there would post the most horrific accident photos without warning just for kicks. You'd be reading a thread about wheel balancing and all of a sudden you would see a photo of a riders body that had been ripped apart by traffic. It took me long enough to get over seeing a close friend die on a bike before my eyes just to have to relive those memories just so some jerks could get their jollies.

Sorry for the rant but I have some strong personal feelings about this.

 

Haven't seen a dead motorcyclist but I have helped one DOA and one that the emergency personel were doing CPR on into a helicopter for a ride in the Malibu hills one day... Pretty much ruined everyones ride for the day since it happened while we were going for breakfast.

Sean

 

sorry to hear about your friend TSizemore


i have not personally seen it but i have met a guy that died this way about a week after i met him

he was a salesman for motor city harley davidson in farmington hills mi. my boss has two harleys so we are in there every now and then

i remember beeing introduced to him and a week later he was sitting at a light and some lady pretty much stoped her van on top of him a friend of mine knows two other riders who were there in their car they actually jacked the van up off of him but it was to late (go figure the lady in the van tried to leave)

these are the times when you find out how tight of a community we are everbody in this area that i talk to that rides knows the story they all know who he was and where he worked, even the guys who had never met him looked like they knew him for years when they told the story

 

i saw a guy once, he may have been dead, and from his own poor judgement and actions. he was going about 60 on a road where 60 is acceptable, except for the really curvy part where the speed limit goes from 50 to 30. he came VERY wide around a corner and smashed into the SAAB 3 cars ahead of me (head on). he had no helmet. the bike was reduced to bits. it was a v-twin of some sort. he was SHREDDED and came to rest motionless. lots of blood. he had several riding buddies at his aid, and there were other people who were out and stopping traffic from the other direction. other witnesses were crying or puking. i turned around and went up to the last intersection and pulled my truck and trailer across to block the road until the sirens came. at that point i detoured and went on with my business and i never heard anything else of it. the saab was towed to my friends shop, and it was totaled. the front end smashed in, both a-pillars wiped out as well as the roof panel. windshield and side windows gone. airbags deployed. bent unibody.....he hit that thing HARD. if he lived, he cant be "normal".

wear a helmet, drive defensively, and DONT BE A JACKASS.

 

Unfortunately I have seen an accident involving a metal freeway divider that resulted in the separation of a motorcyclist and his head (still in helmet).

Last weekend however I was fortunate enough to see the lucky side of an accident. My younger brother, after setting out from me with a brief ATGATT lecture (he was in jeans, t-shirt, sneakers & helmut) had a car pull across at a set of lights (see OP) and he hit the rear quarter trying to get around it. He was thrown around the back of the vehicle and slid 35m down the centre of the road. Luckily, he had my helmet on his arm and slid a good 25-30m leaning on it and his leather belt/arse. He got away with very minor grazing and some busted pride. The brand new bike (300km on the clock) which was our oldest brothers was toast, as was the car he hit. He wrote them both off and walked away relatively unscathed.

I appreciate the sentiments of the posting, but I hope life provides us with more of my second experience and less of my first. A hard lesson, and one that must be learnt, but hopefully without loss of life.

Rubber side down all.

 

While I was in the Navy stationed in Orlando for Nuclear Power Training School, would have been 1983 and sports bikes were just getting popular.

A classmate bought one for his first bike, he liked going fast. He ended up hitting the 12 foot security fence going in excess of 100 MPH. From what I understand, having not been there, he juliened himself.

The Navy cut out the section of fence and made a display out of it...kind of a warning. From the end looking down you could see the outline of the bike's front end.

 

yes. But worse yet, I have seen two of them in the funeral home and one was a very close friend. Both were long-time, experienced riders who let their guard down for a split second and got squashed by a truck (two different accidents, years apart, both involving a TRUCK.) The circumstances of both of their accidents remain forever burned in my brain and help keep me from repeating those same mistakes myself. In neither case was it the motorcyclists' FAULT; however both could have been prevented by staying 110% aware. Hindsight though is always 20-20. Ride aware; BE safe; ATGATT. (All The Gear All The Time.)

 

I almost became a dead biker about 5 months ago

 

i know of several, none seen.
I came close before to being a statistic, but out of mechical error.

dont let your guard down...EVER

 

As much as I hate these types of questions, I have unfortunatley seen a motorcyclist that had been killed. I was posted to Barrow, England back in 99. I was heading down south to Portsmouth, and trafic came to a sudden stop just outside of Manchester on the M6. Not unusual, but as we got closer people were getting out of their cars and running forward. We stopped to see a car half way between lanes, with the front driver side quarter panel wearing a crotch rocket. It wasn't pretty when we saw the driver of the bike. He was already dead, and people had the sense to cover him up. Not something you like to see at anytime in your life. But it stresses the point of the old saying. It not only your driving that you have to worry about, its everyones that is on the road with you..
But on a more pleasant note, Happy holidays to all, and a happy and safe New Years.
Cheers Mac

 

Well it was 20 years ago.
I had the V65, I raced a guy off the light.
Little did I know there was a Honda CRX in my lane without tail lights.
By the time I saw he was there, I was well over a hundred.
I tried to get around him but caught the last 6 inches of the bumper.
The CRX did 360's in the road crossed 2 lanes and burst into flame when it hit the gaurd rail on the oppisite side of the road.
When I hit I flew forward smashing out the back window of the CRX, retained control of the bike smacking the guard rail twice.
When I laid it down I was just about at a stand still as the bike and I were feet apart.
Well from what the police and doctors said I was dead several times.

I think of this everytime I do something stupid.
Not really stupid but you know what I mean, take your time and get there safe.
Peace and good will to all XJer's.

 

Sounds like you had someone looking after you hound. I have been lucky, while I have had some near misses I have never so much as dropped a bike. I'm sure my time is coming but I'm doing all I can to avoid it.

 

Like they say, "It's not a question of 'If', but 'When'."

 

See them all the time, except that they aren't dead yet.
Every time you see some young guy doing two or three times the speed limit on a crotch-rocket wearing shorts and a wife-beater, stunting through traffic? There's one.

Every long-time biker I know has had at least one close call(some closer than others). The difference seems to be riding-style. My dad, who is very aggressive and used to ride in snow has had a couple pretty rough accidents. My uncle on the other hand, who's a more laid-back rider and doesn't take unnecessary risks, has a much better record.

 

Perhaps the worst thing to realize is some fool - drunk driver (both) is heading north in your southbound lane on the freeway; straight for your bike. If you can, pull off onto the shoulder.

Happened twice in Nevada; both times I escaped. Twenty years later our DOT Trucking Academy pounded it into us - Stay Away From Other Drivers Blind Spots e.g their rear quarter and behind their vehicle.
By the way, after passing one too many fatal accident scenes I decided against big rig driving as a career.

Here's a site with great advice for motorcyclists.

http://www.motorcyclebasics.com/blind-spots.html

Now I ride a lot more carefully; always watching, always scanning and staying well clear of any trucks or cagers.
Holiday driving and riding requires heightened vigilance - stay sharp and focused.