Crashes

[macknife]

Glad to here you're ok. Yes, when the rains first come down it is the most dangerous time as all the oil and diesel rises to the surface.

It's good that your gear worked well. I have a rev'it Jacket as well, and when I came off doing around 50-60 the armour saved my elbow from shattering to just some swelling. The jacket itself was completely unmarked.

[seedy]

Good to hear you made it OK !

[robblok]

@wantan.. just be happy you always gear up.. I don't always put my kevlar pants and jacket on as i use the scooter. On the bike sure ..but scooter quite often not.

Good reminder.

[AllanB]

OP:

>Feel free to share your stories of crashes and near misses so that we can all learn from it.

OK, i feel free today. I had the chance to test my safety gear today and i can tell you, it worked, even riding on a scooter

Some of you may remember my basic scooter gear i always wear on scooter rides longer than, lets say 5km. Looks like this in the dark:

Its an unexpensive full face helmet, a RevIt-jacket with back protector, RevIt gloves, work boots and 5.11 Taclite Pro pants.

Was a bit in a hurry today and it started raining. Instead of stopping and taking my rain gear out i decided to go on, hoping rain will stop soon. Of course rain got stronger. When i passed an overfly it happened. I was going downhill on the bridge when suddenly my wheels lost traction. Funny feeling, like scating on ice, left and right and left... Whoever rode a bike/bicycle on ice knows how it feels and how bad you can go down. Of course i werent able to keep it upright and went down really hard and at a speed of maybe 50kmh. First sliding face down and head in front, then my helmet somehow hit the curb and the body turned and the slide moved on feets to the front.

OK, nothing bad happened as i am able to write it down the same evening, yep, i was very lucky. No discussion needed, 100% my fault, i should have known better. Cheap scooter tires, already 3 years old, rain starting on Bangkok streets, maybe even i was overconfident in my nice gear? I got not even a scratch, just a very small bruise on my left knee, some pain in the chest where i hit the street, a bit pain here and there, but really all very minor.

Taclite Pro pants:

Did a very good job and are in no way damaged. Of course the street was wet and it was just 50kmh, but still very impressive. I can highly recommend these pants, they are superstrong quality. I am wearing them a lot since two years, when riding scooter and when hiking. Still look like new.

Gloves:

The old Revit gloves got broken. OK, time to replace them after 3 years of nearly daily use. Did a great job as i already said, no scratches on my hands. Nada!

RevIt jacket:

Without this jacket i would have bad bruises and road rash for sure. I remember i came down hard on my elbows. The protectors did a great job. No scratches, no pain. Nada! Damage on the jacket is minor, only the logo on the front is scratched. I will clean the jacket and keep on using it.

jacket_front01.jpg

jacket_front02.jpg

jacket_logo.jpg

Bilmola Eclipse:

My hero, saved my face and maybe my life today. Nothing broken on the helmet, visor and helmet did a good job. 2000 Baht well spent. Of course i will replace it soon, but maybe still good for 7eleven rides?

helmet_front.jpg

helmet_side.jpg

Sorry, pictures are bad, but i guess you get an impression. And sorry, no heroic high speed crash, just a typical stupid accident on a scooter that happens many times every day in Thailand. Maybe someone reads this and remembers it next time rain starts. One moment you feel safe and the next moment the street turns into ice. Maybe it was Diesel? Maybe oil? Bangkok dirt? Maybe old cheap tires? Or just all these somehow combined and going too fast...

Nothing heroic about a high speed crash in the rain, just stupidity, great to see the damage to your riding gear... and not to you.

Keeps us all thinking, so thanks for the pictures.

I know people on this forum think that watching accident compilation videos are a no-no, but I watch them on Youtube from time to time, to keep me reminded of what not to do. Complacency is a real danger for bikers everywhere.

[wantan]

4 days later and all the little pain is gone. Payed a visit to Panda Rider today to replace the scratched helmet and broken gloves. Not i am the proud owner of a Caberg "Duke". Never had a flip-up, but should be good for commuting in Bangkok. We will see. My basic scooter gear now looks like this:

If i see all the thais riding their big bikes without gloves and wearing a t-shirt i feel slightly overdressed on my Nouvo SX

Safe and happy ride for all...

[coley]

Had my first 'off' a couple of weeks back. Pulling away from the kerb outside a bookshop. Had to cross the road to the left side. Traffic a bit heavy and saw a space. Opened the throttle and off I went on my right sideways. I had forgotten to take my wheel lock off! Its a versys and has engine bars etc so bike ok. I did feel like a complete dick though. Had armoured jacket so just hurt ego.

[martyschwartz]

Friend told me a story that happened to him about a year ago. He was driving in bangkok in a heavy traffic and there was a construction going on on the road. He was on the right lane and a taxi was winkering to the right to make a u-turn there, speed was around 20-30km/h. He didn't know what happened to him but he tried to get past the taxi from the right side where it was turning, really stupid move. He hit the taxi with about 10-15km/h with the left foot peg and got a slight push and speeded away to the traffic, leaving the taxi there. The peg had bended about 20 degrees but nothing else. He didn't get caught or anything with it although he had the license, insurance, taxes everything in order with the bike. The question is how possible you think that this kind of behaviour will get caught? In a big city like bangkok does the police have resources to investigate this kind of stuff? I mean I'd guess the only way he'd get caught was if the taxi driver had gotten his license plate. But maybe the damage was so minor that the taxi guy didn't feel the need to make any hassle about it. I've heard that the Thais like to do this kind of stuff on a regular basis as they do not have any insurances or maybe even licenses.

Your thoughts?

[DILLIGAD]

Forget it, it's an hourly event in BKK. Tell "your friend" to ride safe and concentrate on today, not yesterday!

[JonnyF]

Agree with DILLIGAD. I've been on both sides of this type of incident and just ignore it as if I never noticed and continue on my business. If everyone stopped and waited for insurance for these type of minor scratches in downtown BKK then the city would grind to a halt (even more than it has).

I just accept I'll get some little dings/scratches. Very cheap to repair here.

Only once I put a serious dent in someones car and then I stopped, negotiated and paid up on the spot and left.

[NoshowJones]

Only had one in regular motorbike riding in eight years, I was riding at about 40Kph, when the bike just went out of control, as I don't

know exactly how it happened, I don't know what to look out for to avoid it again, no damage to me or the bike.