Crashing Thai Style

[canuckamuck]

So today I was heading down to get some lunch, and a tourist steps right in front of me looking the other way. I did what I could to avoid her but alas, those crappy IRC tires just slipped out like I hit a banana peel. I made it past her, but my bike didn't and she got taken out at the lower legs.

She was in a hurry to catch a bus, and being North American she looked the wrong way when she ran in to the street. Now I imagine she is in a lot of pain, I saw the bruises, but I expect she made her bus.

I got a sprained ankle and a bunch of road rash, lost the mirrors on the bike and twisted the foot peg.

There was some scratching too on my custom paint, but surprisingly little.

The incident got me thinking, driving here is full of these surprises, but eventually a close call is going to steal some of your paint, if not worse.

What is the most probable way to crash a bike in Thailand?

[wolf5370]

I has a similar one in the UK once. Driving through London on my old Bandit 6, around Traffalgar Square (before it was mostly pedestrianised) when some group of tourists walk across the road in front of me. I had no where to go, so hit the brakes. I stopped between this guys legs - he was facing me and his nuts/stomach (he was very thin) were pressed up against the front faring - must have made his eyes water. He was middle eastern looking, but his face had gone white as a sheet. I called his some choice words as he untangled himself and joined his equally alarmed idiot friends. Another inch and it would have had some serious injuries I reckon - and free flying lessons into the bargain.

The most likely here I thing is people pulling across in front of you at junctions - there is one road I go down often that is Y shaped. Two roads running into one. There are no road markings, no lights and no signs and no one even slows down and looks if there is something coming down the blind fork - I have had a few close ones there even at very low speed and watching all the time - they just come out so fast, side on, there's bugger all you can do other than hope. It is quite a busy road too. It makes me wonder what the statistic are on that stretch!

[ttakata]

My 3.5 accidents in the past year have been low speed and very unexpected.

1. Pattaya on my scooter with stock tires going ~15 kph uphill taking a left turn. The front wheel slipped out on oily pavement. Scraped my leg and had to throw away my helmet later even though the foam looked good inside.

2. BKK in Chinatown. On my scooter I clipped the rear of a tuktuk at ~10kph that stopped while I was looking to merge into the next lane. The bike went down but I jumped off and was standing.

3. BKK in a Tesco garage. On my D-Tracker with stock tires I was turning and going slower than walking pace. The front tire slipped out on what I believe was a piece of tape or just the smooth concrete. Once again the bike went down but I was standing in amazement that this just happened.

3.5 I was stopped in a parking lot and the truck in front of me decided to back into me. Idiot.

I never dumped a bike in the US where I rode a lot faster for 7 years.

So keep in mind accidents happen when most unexpected.

Once I almost lost it in a puddle on the upper platform of the Chaeng Wattana Govt Bldg. (stock tires again).

Seriously I was going ~5kph and had to hold my scooter upright with my leg to keep it from falling down because the platform is slick concrete.

You might be thinking stock tires are complete junk.

I agree with the Nouvo Elegance tires but I took my D-Tracker to Bangkok Racing Circuit on the stock IRC tires and they held up well enough to scrape the footpegs and not crash.

[thaicbr]

d-tracker tyres are IRC export tyres not Thai market tyres so they have a little more grip than the Irc's on cbr150's etc

[Prudent_rabbit]

U turns....thats where

[JSixpack]

Tourists around PTY are a hazard. I've almost hit several. Turn a corner and there they are walking in the middle of the street! Inebriation makes the practice more likely.

Few months ago, Indian lady stepped out in front me on 2nd Rd. across from Central not looking 'cause her head was turned around talking to her friend. I just missed her; bet she'll never do that again.

[Mario2008]

6 off topic posts have been deleted. This thread is not about America(ns)

[canuckamuck]

U turns....thats where

There is a u-turn near my place on a ring road. it is located just after a curve so you have to guess whether there is a car coming or not. We have no choice but to use it daily.

[billd766]

I was in the local village about 3 years ago and made a u-turn on my wife's Yamaha Mio Fino scooter.

I was 1/2 way around and for an instant I thought I was 17 again and whacked the throttle wide open with the predictable result that the back wheel just slid away on the grit and gravel.

I was probably doing 10kmh or so when I fell off.

Fortunately I had my hekmet on but I scraped my right knee and right arm.

Some Thais saw it happen and helped me up.

I scraped some paint off the front mudguard, bent a mirror a bit and when I got home and told my wife all she cared about was the scooter.

Captain Peacock's expression sprang to mind.

"Stupid boy, Pike".

[Prudent_rabbit]

U turns....thats where

There is a u-turn near my place on a ring road. it is located just after a curve so you have to guess whether there is a car coming or not. We have no choice but to use it daily.

I know what you mean, every time I see a U-turn sign, I mentally prepare for the (un)expected!

[Prudent_rabbit]

[quote

"Stupid boy, Pike".

Surely Captain Mainwaring, Captain Peacock was "Are you being Served?"

[Garry]

Tourists around PTY are a hazard. I've almost hit several. Turn a corner and there they are walking in the middle of the street! Inebriation makes the practice more likely.

Few months ago, Indian lady stepped out in front me on 2nd Rd. across from Central not looking 'cause her head was turned around talking to her friend. I just missed her; bet she'll never do that again.

Have to agree. I was driving down to the bus station from the Clock Tower in CR in my SUV awhile back. Fortunately I was only traveling at about 30 kph, when these two brainless women with backpacks on just walked straight out onto the road from the opposite side in front of me without looking. I slammed on the brakes, the ABS kicked in and I stopped dead about 3 feet from them. They turned with absolute shock on there faces and up comes the sorry hands wave from both of them. When I they both moved out of the way, I moved down near them, rolled the window and very politely said: are you both f#cking blind!!!! Not a word spoken from both of them. Okay I wasn't polite....I just can't abide stupidity on something so easily preventable. Oh yes, they both coincidentally were blonde's.

[canuckamuck]

Blimey, l hope Lickey doesn't read this cos your in for a rough ' ride ', you should have been driving on the wrong side of the road like him and it would not have happened.

I know, what was I thinking? I was driving down the middle of my lane at a safe speed wearing my helmet. I should have been up on the sidewalk making everyone jump out of the way while texting and eating a bowl of noodles. And of course have some girl sitting side saddle holding an umbrella over my head over my head with one hand one holding a sleeping baby in the other. Than I would have been just fine.

[spud1]

If I were to crash Thai style I'd be pissed up,not looking and certainly carrying my helmet on my arm.The consequences would probably be fatal.Or it could be the scenario where I don't stop at some bent coppers shakedown

and they start throwing bottles of water at me has I pass.

[wolf5370]

While my bike was playing up I rented a scooter from a shop (CM). Driving through the night bazaar the thing suddnly just slides under itself side ways whilst doing about 5 mph. I was joining the traffic waiting for the lights, but as I was in the left turn lane most of this traffic was still moving slowly. As it was a rental, I stayed under the bike rather than let it go. This saved the bike from being severly scraped, but not so my knee and leg. Turned out the front inner tube had suddnly popped! I hate those horrobly little hairdryers on wheels - wish I still had my street machine 800 from the UK (hand built bastardised from a dozen bikes - ZZ900 frame, rebored GPZ 750 engine, Harley King/Queen seat, custom cables/gearbox/light/accessories/leather saddle bags, K&N pods, Stage 2 dynojets, slash cut straight through (illegal) pipes) - loved it

[wolf5370]

While my bike was playing up I rented a scooter from a shop (CM). Driving through the night bazaar the thing suddnly just slides under itself side ways whilst doing about 5 mph. I was joining the traffic waiting for the lights, but as I was in the left turn lane most of this traffic was still moving slowly. As it was a rental, I stayed under the bike rather than let it go. This saved the bike from being severly scraped, but not so my knee and leg. Turned out the front inner tube had suddnly popped! I hate those horrobly little hairdryers on wheels - wish I still had my street machine 800 from the UK (hand built bastardised from a dozen bikes - ZZ900 frame, rebored GPZ 750 engine, Harley King/Queen seat, custom cables/gearbox/light/accessories/leather saddle bags, K&N pods, Stage 2 dynojets, slash cut straight through (illegal) pipes) - loved it

Fond memories eh.

Yeah (selective too - totally ignoring the fact she was a real pig to start in the damp cold winter months!)

Edited September 8, 2010 by wolf5370

[Zzinged]

I lowsided while taking a u-turn under a bridge. The aggregate on the road was so worn down that it was glassy and smooth! And as for all you people who talk about people stepping in front of your vehicle, there's your excuse to put a loud aftermarket exhaust on =)

Edited September 8, 2010 by Zzinged

[wolf5370]

I lowsided while taking a u-turn under a bridge. The aggregate on the road was so worn down that it was glassy and smooth! And as for all you people who talk about people stepping in front of your vehicle, there's your excuse to put a loud aftermarket exhaust on =)

I always wanted to do like they do on the movies - spinning endo and knock them out of the way with a pat on the rump

[Valdezugar]

While my bike was playing up I rented a scooter from a shop (CM). Driving through the night bazaar the thing suddnly just slides under itself side ways whilst doing about 5 mph. I was joining the traffic waiting for the lights, but as I was in the left turn lane most of this traffic was still moving slowly. As it was a rental, I stayed under the bike rather than let it go. This saved the bike from being severly scraped, but not so my knee and leg. Turned out the front inner tube had suddnly popped! I hate those horrobly little hairdryers on wheels - wish I still had my street machine 800 from the UK (hand built bastardised from a dozen bikes - ZZ900 frame, rebored GPZ 750 engine, Harley King/Queen seat, custom cables/gearbox/light/accessories/leather saddle bags, K&N pods, Stage 2 dynojets, slash cut straight through (illegal) pipes) - loved it

That's real mongrel of a ride you had there.

Back on topic . . . . I took a spill trying to avoid a food cart that some Thai lady lost control of. I was doing about 15km/h, some nice roasties on my left shoulder, arm and hip, healed up quick though.

I took a tumble doing 160km/h around a bend in my home country, trying to keep up with a 999 on a 636 Ninja. Bike write off; helmet and jacket in the bin; one bruise to the left knee! This after I took out two chevron signs on my way to landing in some grass. I was well kitted. It wasn't my ride . . . .

In March this year I also fell avoiding some kids while riding around Ahmedabad, India. The bike was a rat-bike, I have no idea what damage was done. No damage to me except hand sore and my ego bruised.

Edited September 8, 2010 by Valdezugar

[floridaguy]

I have had 1.5 accidents here. First, a delivery truck merged into my lane without looking. Knocked me sideways a bit, but I managed to keep it under control. No damage to me, but a nice nasty gouge on the truck door. My second was, I GUESS, my fault. The a$$ in the next lane decides to come over into mine, I managed to give him enough room to do so, and would have been ok, but then he slams on the brakes. Well, I locked up the front wheel and the bike took a bit of a nap. I managed to just stand up, landing on my feet. The bike took a little scraping on the tank, and a little bend of the handle bars. Right as rain after a quick trip to the local mechanic for a straightening and a carb tune up. It would have been very funny to see me riding down Sukhumvit in BKK with the handlebars cocked, so it looked like I was making a hard left turn, but the bike was driving straight as an arrow.

To the OP's question, my biggest concerns are the cagers turning right across my path. Hard to see sometimes, and they always want to turn out in front of you.

[canuckamuck]

What burns me is the guys who race to get in front of you just to turn left 10 seconds later, of course they have to stand on the brakes to do it.

[Valdezugar]

While my bike was playing up I rented a scooter from a shop (CM). Driving through the night bazaar the thing suddnly just slides under itself side ways whilst doing about 5 mph. I was joining the traffic waiting for the lights, but as I was in the left turn lane most of this traffic was still moving slowly. As it was a rental, I stayed under the bike rather than let it go. This saved the bike from being severly scraped, but not so my knee and leg. Turned out the front inner tube had suddnly popped! I hate those horrobly little hairdryers on wheels - wish I still had my street machine 800 from the UK (hand built bastardised from a dozen bikes - ZZ900 frame, rebored GPZ 750 engine, Harley King/Queen seat, custom cables/gearbox/light/accessories/leather saddle bags, K&N pods, Stage 2 dynojets, slash cut straight through (illegal) pipes) - loved it

That's real mongrel of a ride you had there.

Back on topic . . . . I took a spill trying to avoid a food cart that some Thai lady lost control of. I was doing about 15km/h, some nice roasties on my left shoulder, arm and hip, healed up quick though.

I took a tumble doing 160km/h around a bend in my home country, trying to keep up with a 999 on a 636 Ninja. Bike write off; helmet and jacket in the bin; one bruise to the left knee! This after I took out two chevron signs on my way to landing in some grass. I was well kitted. It wasn't my ride . . . .

In March this year I also fell avoiding some kids while riding around Ahmedabad, India. The bike was a rat-bike, I have no idea what damage was done. No damage to me except hand sore and my ego bruised.

Sounds like 4 wheels is your destiny.

Thus far I have only owned one car . . . a 2002 BMW 1971 model; awesome left hand drive beaut (we drive right hand drive cars at home on the left - just like in Thailand ) My younger brother crashed it on his prom night. My other vehicles have all been motorcycles. I don't have the patience for a cage

[Knakpattra]

Having a bike now for 1 month, got used to the left side driving , got used to the crazy traffic (not that difficult after living 10 years in India/Bangladesh) but i still fear the tiny tires while going faster than 40km/h

My mountainbike (bycicle) back home almost has the same thickness/width like the ones the Skydrive has. Scary to drive through sandy roads, bad asphalt...

Im driving slow all the time (when possible ofcourse), this way i hope to avoid big issues if they arise. Better to go and slide with <50 than >70

[moe666]

Making a left turn on bike a girl in her jeep talking on her phone goes for a rolling stop then sees me slams on breaks as I complete turn mention to her where she can put the phone where the sun doesn't shine. This was in the states, stupidity is world wide.

[wolf5370]

My worst one was in London. Metal Box drivers poodle along through the (so called) rush hour traffic with newspaper on their steering wheels, books on their laps, texting their shrinks and even putting lippie on in the rearview mirror while moving forward! Driving down a three lane road (Victoria Embankment) coming up to rush hour. Traffic was moving nicely, but was thick. Doing around sixty (ahem that's 30 officer) on my Bandit, not overly fast as the traffic was matching me an a couple of nut jobs shot past on their R1s. On my right are two buses - a single Decker and a double Decker (14.5 tons), when the &lt;deleted&gt; in the middle lane decides there is a space in my lane (me being invisible) and yanks his wheel over. So, in a bout 100th of a second I either take a chance and swinging around the front of him and hope to not be crushed between him and the double Decker, let him run over me or try and hook up between the buses. I took the latter by instinct (it probably save my life - but I also instinctively knew I wasn't coming out unscathed) - 60 to nothing in about 3 meters - erm, ain't happening. I hit the back of the bus, empty except for the driver, pretty much square up his arse. Again instinctively I let go of the bike and pushed away from the bus with my right hand....I woke up a couple of minutes after staring straight up with an ambulance driver smiling at me. Strapped me to a board and blue lighted me to the hospital.

While they were strapping me down I risked a head turn and saw bits of my bike everywhere. Paramedic asks me the name of the Prime Minister (I remember stopping myself at the time say 'Margaret Thatcher' as I knew that was wrong (by the better part of a decade) and he asked the day - which I couldn't remember). I did get a curious look in ambulance when I suddenly shouted out "Tony Blair" to a completely different set of quite worried paramedics. In the ER they cut off a grands worth of leather and body armour and set about prodding me until they found something that made me scream. Meanwhile the worlds ugliest nurse cut off my underwear and I put on a really not too impressive full frontal to all and sundry meandering through ER at the time.

The doctors were quite excited though. I had managed to smash every bone in my right wrist, pulverise the cartilage and dislocate every tendon - they kept calling in their mates to look at the X-ray! Basically, so they told me, if it wasn't for the skin and muscle, my hand came off and had to be wired back. Cops turned up just after my full frontal display and moaned that my tax disk was out of date - erm no officer its in my backpack (where ever that had gone) because I only got it back that day following a balls up at DVLA when they put the price up while my cheque was in their in tray. Copper was a biker too, and was very impressed that I was not "brown bread" as he described it - he said in 20 years of road duty in London it was the first 2-wheels Vs 14.5 ton double Decker where the biker didn't end up looking like toothpaste. Nice. Anyway, he says, not going to charge you over the tax disk (er, hello? It's in my bad - check with the bloody DVLA they issued it) as you seem to have been punished enough as it is. Yep, thanks officer, punished for what? Not wanting to be run over be a cage driving &lt;deleted&gt;? To cap it all - the hospital gave me MRSA firm not cleaning the wires properly before they put them in my arm (so I was told, unofficially, with full plausible deniability in the small print) and the driver claimed whiplash (erm bike plus rider = 600Kg ish - bus = 15 tons - must have moved it all of a millimetre!).

Oh cop also said I left a four inch hand print in the rear of the bus and a smaller helmet nod and I landed the better part of 20 feet behind the bus with the bike crashing through me (according to witnesses) - legs were bruised and took a few days before I could walk, but no permanent damage except for wrist which still has limited movement (and no discernable bones - just one mass). Still just enough to twist a throttle with a little movie-time elbow dropping - I reckon I subconsciously put a lifetime of strength into handing off that bus!

People say Thailand is dangerous because the drivers don't pay attention - I believe they pay far more attention than they do in my old home town!

[wolf5370]

TV is having a burping fit again - double post (and three attempts before I could edit it without the screen going nuts)

Edited September 15, 2010 by wolf5370

[Garry]

My worst one was in London. Metal Box drivers poodle along through the (so called) rush hour traffic with newspaper on their steering wheels, books on their laps, texting their shrinks and even putting lippie on in the rearview mirror while moving forward! Driving down a three lane road (Victoria Embankment) coming up to rush hour. Traffic was moving nicely, but was thick. Doing around sixty (ahem that's 30 officer) on my Bandit, not overly fast as the traffic was matching me an a couple of nut jobs shot past on their R1s. On my right are two buses - a single Decker and a double Decker (14.5 tons), when the &lt;deleted&gt; in the middle lane decides there is a space in my lane (me being invisible) and yanks his wheel over. So, in a bout 100th of a second I either take a chance and swinging around the front of him and hope to not be crushed between him and the double Decker, let him run over me or try and hook up between the buses. I took the latter by instinct (it probably save my life - but I also instinctively knew I wasn't coming out unscathed) - 60 to nothing in about 3 meters - erm, ain't happening. I hit the back of the bus, empty except for the driver, pretty much square up his arse. Again instinctively I let go of the bike and pushed away from the bus with my right hand....I woke up a couple of minutes after staring straight up with an ambulance driver smiling at me. Strapped me to a board and blue lighted me to the hospital.

While they were strapping me down I risked a head turn and saw bits of my bike everywhere. Paramedic asks me the name of the Prime Minister (I remember stopping myself at the time say 'Margaret Thatcher' as I knew that was wrong (by the better part of a decade) and he asked the day - which I couldn't remember). I did get a curious look in ambulance when I suddenly shouted out "Tony Blair" to a completely different set of quite worried paramedics. In the ER they cut off a grands worth of leather and body armour and set about prodding me until they found something that made me scream. Meanwhile the worlds ugliest nurse cut off my underwear and I put on a really not too impressive full frontal to all and sundry meandering through ER at the time.

The doctors were quite excited though. I had managed to smash every bone in my right wrist, pulverise the cartilage and dislocate every tendon - they kept calling in their mates to look at the X-ray! Basically, so they told me, if it wasn't for the skin and muscle, my hand came off and had to be wired back. Cops turned up just after my full frontal display and moaned that my tax disk was out of date - erm no officer its in my backpack (where ever that had gone) because I only got it back that day following a balls up at DVLA when they put the price up while my cheque was in their in tray. Copper was a biker too, and was very impressed that I was not "brown bread" as he described it - he said in 20 years of road duty in London it was the first 2-wheels Vs 14.5 ton double Decker where the biker didn't end up looking like toothpaste. Nice. Anyway, he says, not going to charge you over the tax disk (er, hello? It's in my bad - check with the bloody DVLA they issued it) as you seem to have been punished enough as it is. Yep, thanks officer, punished for what? Not wanting to be run over be a cage driving &lt;deleted&gt;? To cap it all - the hospital gave me MRSA firm not cleaning the wires properly before they put them in my arm (so I was told, unofficially, with full plausible deniability in the small print) and the driver claimed whiplash (erm bike plus rider = 600Kg ish - bus = 15 tons - must have moved it all of a millimetre!).

Oh cop also said I left a four inch hand print in the rear of the bus and a smaller helmet nod and I landed the better part of 20 feet behind the bus with the bike crashing through me (according to witnesses) - legs were bruised and took a few days before I could walk, but no permanent damage except for wrist which still has limited movement (and no discernable bones - just one mass). Still just enough to twist a throttle with a little movie-time elbow dropping - I reckon I subconsciously put a lifetime of strength into handing off that bus!

People say Thailand is dangerous because the drivers don't pay attention - I believe they pay far more attention than they do in my old home town!

How long back did this happen and how's the healing up going mate? That is one prick of an injury to recover from. Hope you heal fast and get good mobility back again in your wrist.

[wolf5370]

My worst one was in London. Metal Box drivers poodle along through the (so called) rush hour traffic with newspaper on their steering wheels, books on their laps, texting their shrinks and even putting lippie on in the rearview mirror while moving forward! Driving down a three lane road (Victoria Embankment) coming up to rush hour. Traffic was moving nicely, but was thick. Doing around sixty (ahem that's 30 officer) on my Bandit, not overly fast as the traffic was matching me an a couple of nut jobs shot past on their R1s. On my right are two buses - a single Decker and a double Decker (14.5 tons), when the &lt;deleted&gt; in the middle lane decides there is a space in my lane (me being invisible) and yanks his wheel over. So, in a bout 100th of a second I either take a chance and swinging around the front of him and hope to not be crushed between him and the double Decker, let him run over me or try and hook up between the buses. I took the latter by instinct (it probably save my life - but I also instinctively knew I wasn't coming out unscathed) - 60 to nothing in about 3 meters - erm, ain't happening. I hit the back of the bus, empty except for the driver, pretty much square up his arse. Again instinctively I let go of the bike and pushed away from the bus with my right hand....I woke up a couple of minutes after staring straight up with an ambulance driver smiling at me. Strapped me to a board and blue lighted me to the hospital.

While they were strapping me down I risked a head turn and saw bits of my bike everywhere. Paramedic asks me the name of the Prime Minister (I remember stopping myself at the time say 'Margaret Thatcher' as I knew that was wrong (by the better part of a decade) and he asked the day - which I couldn't remember). I did get a curious look in ambulance when I suddenly shouted out "Tony Blair" to a completely different set of quite worried paramedics. In the ER they cut off a grands worth of leather and body armour and set about prodding me until they found something that made me scream. Meanwhile the worlds ugliest nurse cut off my underwear and I put on a really not too impressive full frontal to all and sundry meandering through ER at the time.

The doctors were quite excited though. I had managed to smash every bone in my right wrist, pulverise the cartilage and dislocate every tendon - they kept calling in their mates to look at the X-ray! Basically, so they told me, if it wasn't for the skin and muscle, my hand came off and had to be wired back. Cops turned up just after my full frontal display and moaned that my tax disk was out of date - erm no officer its in my backpack (where ever that had gone) because I only got it back that day following a balls up at DVLA when they put the price up while my cheque was in their in tray. Copper was a biker too, and was very impressed that I was not "brown bread" as he described it - he said in 20 years of road duty in London it was the first 2-wheels Vs 14.5 ton double Decker where the biker didn't end up looking like toothpaste. Nice. Anyway, he says, not going to charge you over the tax disk (er, hello? It's in my bad - check with the bloody DVLA they issued it) as you seem to have been punished enough as it is. Yep, thanks officer, punished for what? Not wanting to be run over be a cage driving &lt;deleted&gt;? To cap it all - the hospital gave me MRSA firm not cleaning the wires properly before they put them in my arm (so I was told, unofficially, with full plausible deniability in the small print) and the driver claimed whiplash (erm bike plus rider = 600Kg ish - bus = 15 tons - must have moved it all of a millimetre!).

Oh cop also said I left a four inch hand print in the rear of the bus and a smaller helmet nod and I landed the better part of 20 feet behind the bus with the bike crashing through me (according to witnesses) - legs were bruised and took a few days before I could walk, but no permanent damage except for wrist which still has limited movement (and no discernable bones - just one mass). Still just enough to twist a throttle with a little movie-time elbow dropping - I reckon I subconsciously put a lifetime of strength into handing off that bus!

People say Thailand is dangerous because the drivers don't pay attention - I believe they pay far more attention than they do in my old home town!

How long back did this happen and how's the healing up going mate? That is one prick of an injury to recover from. Hope you heal fast and get good mobility back again in your wrist.

ABout 7 years ago give or take - nah, wrist is knackered - but I'm alive. To tell the truth the MRSA infection from the hospital did more damage than the accident - they had to take out all the metal work and leave a hole in my wrist the size of a ten baht coin right down to the bone so they could keep washing it out (hurt a wee bit did that!) - could see the tendon in my wrist moving as I tried to move my hand - like a cyborg. At first I could even pick up an empty coke can - now my fingers work fine, but the grip will never be as strong as it was (can still crush a can, but would be a pussy in a handshaking contest!) - gets me out of doing stuff though, if I work it too hard (decorating etc) it swells up at the joint and is useles the next day - living here is much better though as its warm, aches like a bitch in the damp/cold London winter (autumn, spring, summer).

[LivinLOS]

Got MRSA from a london hospital too.. Then went to Holland where they had a very low incidence of it, and were not so up on how to treat it..

Nearly lost my leg (they told me at 2 different points about 6 months apart, that it would probably have to come off above the knee) and spent 2 years on crutches with a shin that would bend in the middle.

In the end total of 7 ops and 2 plastic surgeries to that one.

[Garry]

My worst one was in London. Metal Box drivers poodle along through the (so called) rush hour traffic with newspaper on their steering wheels, books on their laps, texting their shrinks and even putting lippie on in the rearview mirror while moving forward! Driving down a three lane road (Victoria Embankment) coming up to rush hour. Traffic was moving nicely, but was thick. Doing around sixty (ahem that's 30 officer) on my Bandit, not overly fast as the traffic was matching me an a couple of nut jobs shot past on their R1s. On my right are two buses - a single Decker and a double Decker (14.5 tons), when the &lt;deleted&gt; in the middle lane decides there is a space in my lane (me being invisible) and yanks his wheel over. So, in a bout 100th of a second I either take a chance and swinging around the front of him and hope to not be crushed between him and the double Decker, let him run over me or try and hook up between the buses. I took the latter by instinct (it probably save my life - but I also instinctively knew I wasn't coming out unscathed) - 60 to nothing in about 3 meters - erm, ain't happening. I hit the back of the bus, empty except for the driver, pretty much square up his arse. Again instinctively I let go of the bike and pushed away from the bus with my right hand....I woke up a couple of minutes after staring straight up with an ambulance driver smiling at me. Strapped me to a board and blue lighted me to the hospital.

While they were strapping me down I risked a head turn and saw bits of my bike everywhere. Paramedic asks me the name of the Prime Minister (I remember stopping myself at the time say 'Margaret Thatcher' as I knew that was wrong (by the better part of a decade) and he asked the day - which I couldn't remember). I did get a curious look in ambulance when I suddenly shouted out "Tony Blair" to a completely different set of quite worried paramedics. In the ER they cut off a grands worth of leather and body armour and set about prodding me until they found something that made me scream. Meanwhile the worlds ugliest nurse cut off my underwear and I put on a really not too impressive full frontal to all and sundry meandering through ER at the time.

The doctors were quite excited though. I had managed to smash every bone in my right wrist, pulverise the cartilage and dislocate every tendon - they kept calling in their mates to look at the X-ray! Basically, so they told me, if it wasn't for the skin and muscle, my hand came off and had to be wired back. Cops turned up just after my full frontal display and moaned that my tax disk was out of date - erm no officer its in my backpack (where ever that had gone) because I only got it back that day following a balls up at DVLA when they put the price up while my cheque was in their in tray. Copper was a biker too, and was very impressed that I was not "brown bread" as he described it - he said in 20 years of road duty in London it was the first 2-wheels Vs 14.5 ton double Decker where the biker didn't end up looking like toothpaste. Nice. Anyway, he says, not going to charge you over the tax disk (er, hello? It's in my bad - check with the bloody DVLA they issued it) as you seem to have been punished enough as it is. Yep, thanks officer, punished for what? Not wanting to be run over be a cage driving &lt;deleted&gt;? To cap it all - the hospital gave me MRSA firm not cleaning the wires properly before they put them in my arm (so I was told, unofficially, with full plausible deniability in the small print) and the driver claimed whiplash (erm bike plus rider = 600Kg ish - bus = 15 tons - must have moved it all of a millimetre!).

Oh cop also said I left a four inch hand print in the rear of the bus and a smaller helmet nod and I landed the better part of 20 feet behind the bus with the bike crashing through me (according to witnesses) - legs were bruised and took a few days before I could walk, but no permanent damage except for wrist which still has limited movement (and no discernable bones - just one mass). Still just enough to twist a throttle with a little movie-time elbow dropping - I reckon I subconsciously put a lifetime of strength into handing off that bus!

People say Thailand is dangerous because the drivers don't pay attention - I believe they pay far more attention than they do in my old home town!

How long back did this happen and how's the healing up going mate? That is one prick of an injury to recover from. Hope you heal fast and get good mobility back again in your wrist.

ABout 7 years ago give or take - nah, wrist is knackered - but I'm alive. To tell the truth the MRSA infection from the hospital did more damage than the accident - they had to take out all the metal work and leave a hole in my wrist the size of a ten baht coin right down to the bone so they could keep washing it out (hurt a wee bit did that!) - could see the tendon in my wrist moving as I tried to move my hand - like a cyborg. At first I could even pick up an empty coke can - now my fingers work fine, but the grip will never be as strong as it was (can still crush a can, but would be a pussy in a handshaking contest!) - gets me out of doing stuff though, if I work it too hard (decorating etc) it swells up at the joint and is useles the next day - living here is much better though as its warm, aches like a bitch in the damp/cold London winter (autumn, spring, summer).

Got MRSA from a london hospital too.. Then went to Holland where they had a very low incidence of it, and were not so up on how to treat it..

Nearly lost my leg (they told me at 2 different points about 6 months apart, that it would probably have to come off above the knee) and spent 2 years on crutches with a shin that would bend in the middle.

In the end total of 7 ops and 2 plastic surgeries to that one.

dam_n guys, my commiserations for what you have both gone through

Edited September 16, 2010 by Garry