I had a crash...a big one!

[trevor]

On Monday Sept 7th it was a beautiful evening, so after dinner I decided to take my Bandit 1200 out to fill it up. I had a friend coming in a couple of days to visit and I had planned a big ride up island overnight for 10 of us on the following Friday.
After getting gas I decided to take a ride around the peninsula near my house like I have done a thousand times, before heading home.
It was a holiday Monday here just after 7pm and not much traffic at all. I came up to a 4 way stop...as always I was scanning the intersection on my way to the stop sign. I noticed a car approaching to my right that would reach it's stop sign before me, so I slowed and watched him go straight through the intersection. I noted that there were no other cars approaching from the other directions as I hit my stop sign, then I started on my way across the crosswalk and into the intersection....and bang! I got hit by a Ford 150 that had run his stop sign from my left...I didn't see a thing until being between his front bumper and his front wheel.
The impact was brutal. It threw me off my bike spinning in the air...my bike was sent flying at least 30 yards...I struggled to my knees and couldn't breath and took my helmet off right away. I tried to get up but knew there was something wrong with my right leg/hip.the driver of the truck and his wife came up to me and he said "I'm sorry"...I couldn't breath but managed to say "you blew the stop sign"...he said nothing to that.
The next minutes I remember people stopping to help and all I could say was "call 911"...I could not get enough air...I knew right then that this was serious...very serious. A woman that came on the scene that I later found out lived close by and is a nurse and she got me on my back and secured my head and neck....I remember being relieved that I could move my legs.
I remember there was a lot of chaos in the intersection with people stopping to offer help.
I finally heard sirens off in the distance. They got me on to a board and it was so painful..When I was in the ambulance they cut off my leather jacket and jeans all while talking to me and asking me questions...I asked them for something for the pain but they said they couldn't give me anything but "laughing gas" which I tried but I couldn't inhale enough to make it work. The ride to Victoria General seemed to take forever. I have never been so scared in my life. All I could think about was my wife and how she would have expected me home by now. How am I going to get the news to her?
While all this was happening my wife had been texting me.."Hello"? And she went on facebook and she's in a group called "Lower Island Riders" and the woman/nurse that had helped me posted there was a rider down but didn't want to post anything else...my wife contacted her and that was how she found out it was me...she made her way to our nearby small hospital but I wasn't there...and then the ER called her....
I was so relieved to arrive at VGH and felt safer now. They gave me fentanyl for the pain.
They took me in for ct scans....and by that time my wife was there...the look on my wife's face..I will never forget.

14 broken ribs
collapsed lung
fractured right hip
broken left collar bone
Fractured finger

The good news was no head, neck or spinal injury. I guess some would say I was "lucky".
I spent the next 11 days in hospital...had surgery on my hip the first morning where they put 3 screws in.
I got out Thursday the 17th


I am very happy to be here...it's going to be a long road to recovery.

 

[Sandy]

Holy shlt!!! Probably take a while but heal up my friend and hopefully no permanent damage. That's a big hit you took.

 

[Rob S.]

I was beginning to wonder where you'd been. How long till you can stand/walk?

Best wishes for a full recovery.

 

[trevor]

I was beginning to wonder where you'd been. How long till you can stand/walk?

Best wishes for a full recovery.

I started walking a few days ago with a cane.. but only a short distance.. I can?t put my weight on my right foot for 6 weeks.
I have rented a hospital bed and it?s in our living room as I can only sleep in a more upright position.
it?s been brutal.

 

[storm 64]

Wow, sorry to hear about this my friend. As bad as this is, it sounds like it could have been much worse. I think about your poor wife and what she must have went through... You take it easy and get well soon.

 

[roeme]

Jesus F$!ck man, all the best. Considering the ridiculous vehicle sizes in N.A. and given the F150, yeah, I'd say "lucky" applies.

At the least, should be a clear-cut case insurance-wise...

 

[Guest]

Jeeze . Best wishes from down here old mate .

Cheers , Simon .

 

[Brendan W]

Get well soon Trevor. Best wishes from here.
I would most likely be getting angry and other pointless stuff.
With all the possible futures available at the point of impact you got a good one. Karma paying you back?
I like to think I have experience and so on to keep me safe but here you have things coming at you out of a clear blue sky.
A lesson for us all.
As a friend once remarked, ' I see they're fishing in our pond now'.
Anyway, six weeks, so that Halloween BBQ at your place is still on, right

 

[Baatfam]

What the....? D@mn you 2020....

Very sorry to hear this.
Glad it wasn't even more serious, but that doesn't really help, does it?
Looks like you need to review the movie thread...

Reach out if there is anything I can do from here...

 

[cowboyup3371]

Crap. I’m very sorry to hear this and hope you heal up well. Do you know if the other driver received a citation or anything? It sounds like he was speeding if you’re saying he wasn’t there a few seconds before. I assume the Bandit is insured but they should still be taking care of the rest of your stuff.

 

[steve murdoch]

Obviously the crash stinks but glad to hear you are already on the recovery trail.
You have vast knowledge on the potential perils of pain management. Take care.

 

[bwringer]

Very sorry to hear this. Heal fast, and INSIST on top-notch physical therapy once you're healed a little more. You want to find the people professional athletes use to recover as much function as possible.


Been there, done that... in 2011 I collected a broken femur, wrist, and ankle thanks to an unlicensed left-turning triple-faking phone poker, with witnesses, and she did not receive a citation, not even for not having a license. I've never been able to figure that one out.

And yep, I see people running stop signs and red lights nearly every day. It's one of the reasons dual-sport riding is so appealing; fewer people equals fewer encounters with the vast hordes of the utterly brainless.

 

[Nessism]

Wow that sucks! Hope you heal up fast Trevor.

So two drivers blowing through the stop sign in rapid secession? What's up with that? Reminds me of driving in Thailand and Taiwan where people treat traffic laws as mere suggestions.

 

[roeme]

(...)


(...) and she did not receive a citation, not even for not having a license. I've never been able to figure that one out.

And yep, I see people running stop signs and red lights nearly every day.(...)

Wtf? Around here, if you get caught driving without a license, you're facing jail, and if the authorities aren't convinced you'll refrain from doing so in the future, your vehicle(s) will be confiscated (or the plates, and if you get caught driving without plates, thats an even worse offense: no plates mean an "potentially unsafe, uninspected vehicle put onto public roads" and that's straight to jail). And on important crossings in cities, there are combined red light/speed radars, and oh boy you don't wanna be caught by them (First time is "merely" a hefty fine, repeat offenses will escalate quickly however).

Many complain about the 'draconian' traffic laws around here, and I often don't like them as well, but as a bi- and motorcyclist, I prefer it that way. Still more than enough idiots on the streets.

This reminds me to research some small cameras I can put on my bikes...

 

[Grimly]

I noticed you weren't on this past week or so, just assumed you'd been out and about.
I'm assuming you were ATGATTed up, so the injuries would have likely been much worse otherwise.
Was just thinking the other day, it's a pita to get all geared up just to go down the shops and nearly didn't bother. Only goes to show, the local roads are the more dangerous for a couple of factors - frequency and familiarity.
I've had a few close encounters with texting / drinking fools around here, but so far have escaped collision, and that's mainly due to half-expecting asshats around every corner.
You'll find the major injuries will heal, but your broken finger - pay attention to how that sets; small ones like that get overlooked and it might set crooked.
Heal soon, buddy.

 

[allojohn]

Ugh! Sometimes there's just nothing you can do to avoid idiots. Here's to a speedy recover mate.

 

[dorkburger]

Holy S. Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery.
That's a pretty spectacular damage list. As you noted, thankfully the neck / spine are ok.

Another bright side is that at least it wasn't one of your classic bikes.

 

[gbw]

Holy cow! That's terrifying. So glad you are able to tell us about it. Take it easy. Hope you recover quickly.

 

[Redman]

Wow! Oh, Man!

. . . . . . .
I am very happy to be here... . . . . .

Yes.

Good that no head or spinal injury. Good that you didnt get out front of the truck.



Each injury you listed will take a good amount of recovery.

Just one or two broken ribs is enough, but 14, man, that is every one on one side and more.
Collar bone, .... hip
.... and the bruising and the surgery.

Take care, And do the PT(when you get to that).

Thanks for update.

So it sounds like part of what you are telling us is: at an intersection, dont look only at the cars at the intersection, also look a ways down the road from the intersection.

 

[kerrfunk]

Good golly. Hope the rest of your recovery goes well. Thankful for gear doing its work.