General Chat

Brought off my motorbike this morning by a driver changing lanes without checking his mirrors. Lots of damage to the bike, clothing and helmet damaged. Badly bruised/strained left hand. So PLEASE look before manoeuvring ! But it could have been a lot worse.

brian,ime so glad your okay matey,it could have been so much worse. a few months ago,the london ambulance service,had to put out a tv commercial,just to ask drivers to move over,when an ambulance is trying to get through...even though they're using blues and twos. cars have a blind spot,sometimes,a motorcyclist can be missed in the mirror...but drivers have to realise,that they are in a lethal weapon,and as such,should take every precaution. bruises will heal soon..not so sure about your confidence,wish you all the best..............bryan.

Brian I am glad you are ok, some people just never no what is going on behind them, I think they use the mirrors for width guilders in the car park lol. My hubby is bike mad and one thing he taught me was look at the car drivers eyes if you can not see them then he can not see you, I even do that in the car, I have the greatest respect for motor bikes I always know they are behind me and will all ways move over. Take care Deb.

Glad to hear you survived, Brian, though I'll bet you were shaken up and have some bruises. Hope you'll soon be back on your wheels. :-)

So glad you are still with us - as you say, it could have been a lot worse! Magsxx

Glad to hear you are ok Brian, get a few narrow misses on my bike, and i'm on a cycle lane!..it certainly shakes you up.

Brian, sorry to hear about the bike and hope you are OK. Actually some of you motorbike enthusiasts to tend to weave in and out of the traffic sometimes at horrendous speeds, and dispite mirror checking you are not seen at the correct time. Jo.

Glad it was not more serious Brian. In addition to using mirrors well before making lane changes also use indicators BEFORE changing lanes or turning. Too often drivers only indicate as they make a turn or move over - too late then!! Kathleen

Brian So glad to hear you're OK. Bikes and equipment can be fixed or replaced - not so easy with people! I am sooo aware of bikes when I'm driving. My husband was hit by a car 9 years ago whilst on his bike. In fact he wrote the car off with his left leg! (Car was pulling out from the kerb on the wrong side of the road, whilst looking behind him and there was nowhere for my husband to go to escape.) Husband was very lucky to keep his leg, but is now on crutches permanently and hasn't been able to work since. Bike (a 1958 Triumph) was OK though - just a dented tank, bent handlebars and a few scratches! The majority of bikers are sensible and very aware of other road users- most pizza delivery drivers excepted! LOL. I wish the same could be said for the rest of the drivers! Take care Sue

brian hope your o.k.my father was knock of his bike 4 years ago and fractured his shoulder.some drivers are very inconciderate when it comes to cyclist.xxxxx(:

Glad to hear you are okay as well Brian.My lad was cut off his bike two weeks ago on a roundabout by a driver who failed to look right ,despite the obligatory lights and a yellow jacket [she never saw him] only his pride was hurt but his pride and joy [his new kawasaki] is a write off.Hope you were as lucky as my lad ,three witnesses,and a policeman on the scene within two minutes,who after hearing the people who viewed the proceedings told the lady she would likely be charged for dangerous driving.Fred.ptfg.

Thanks for your thoughts and good wishes. The hand is now very swollen but hopefully that will diminish over the next few days. Now to sort out insurers, repairer etc. !

So sorry to read about this. What a shock for you. Look after yourself. Joy

Sorry to hear about your accident but pleased that it wasn't more serious. The car driver should have been aware that youwere approaching if you were going slowly but if you came up behind our car fast and overtook in a line of traaffic (i.e. between two lines of cars, and we wanted to pull out into a space, despite using mirrors and looking behind over shoulder, there is still a blind spot caused by the door pillar. Hope you get your insurance sorted OK, were the police involved? Ann glos

Just a quick update and thanks for replies. It's now a week after the event. The left hand has been painful if clenched or stretched and I've got through nearly a bottle of Ibuprofen. On Saturday the swelling got worse but started to go down again on Sunday. We managed to take the caravan down to Canterbury though, and spent Saturday morning and Monday morning in the Cathedral archives, meeting up with another GR member and partner for a drink and chat on Saturday evening, very enjoyable. Just now the hand seems to have become more flexible, so hopefully it's on the mend. The insurers are getting the bike sorted, but because it's so old probably won't cover the full cost of repairs and some solicitors are looking into the clothing damage, extra expenses and injury compensation aspects, so might have a result in a year or so! Using the train to get to work whilst the bike's off the road, but £75 for a week's ticket is a bit of a shock, doesn't usually cost that for a month's petrol.

Bless you.... I am glad you are ok!!