The Full Crash Story

[Jamz]

First off, I'm still not dead, and am not intending to be!

I'm in a fair old bit of pain, but my insurance company (Carole Nash) seem to be doing a great job of sorting everything out! When my bike got stolen a few years ago, my insurance company then treated me like a -ing criminal!

I'm sat here at the moment waiting for a Suzuki Bandit 650 to be delivered to me until my claim is sorted out!

So what happened?

I was riding happily into work, and there was something going on that left huge tailbacks of traffic along my normal route.

I rode past about 10 cars who were stationary in the traffic, and was dawdling along approaching an island, when suddenly a car around 10 yards away powered out in front of me, doing a u-turn!

f*** knows where he was going, because he works about 2 miles further on, and he'd have had to go back 10 miles before there are any turns that could have took him there by the long route!

Anyway, I was doing 10-20mph, but even at that speed 10 yards isn't enough distance to stop - especially on a wet road!

I remember seeing him pulling out across me, and think I was already on the brakes...

...then I felt an impact on my right side as I hit the road...

...then I was sliding on the opposite side of the road on my back.

I quite enjoyed that bit. I mean, it's not every day you get to slide along the road on your back is it? Might as well enjoy it when you can!

What I didn't enjoy was feeling my helmet scraping along the road. I tried to lift my head up, but then just though "f*** it" and let myself slide. I think I might have been sliding head-first, so the deceleration forces made it too hard to keep my head up.

I knew the bike would be totalled, so didn't even bother looking for it.

When I came to a stop, I lay still for a few seconds just to wait for any pain, or any signs that some of my limbs had popped off, and it all felt ok - albeit in that surreal stillness that you find yourself in after something nasty has happened.

I went to get up, but I still had my rucksack on, and it stopped me. My arms sort of flapped out and I fell back down onto my back again. I though how strange that must have looked to all the people sat watching in the row of cars. It probably looked like a death-twitch, or like I was really badly injured.

So I did it again with the same result! Hehehe! Can't beat a bit of drama!

The third time, I rolled the other way and got to my feet as everyone was getting out of their cars.

I think my first words were to the driver who'd killed me: "Did I hit your car?"

He said not to worry about that. He had a point. I guess I was already worried that I'd have written his car off, and have to pay loads of money... it's odd what goes through your head sometimes!

As I'd been lay in that stillness, I heard my bike's engine still running for a few seconds before it died.

I walked up to my bike, brushing people off who were trying to do 'stuff' to me, and reached for the keys to turn off the ignition and hit the kill switch.

A man who'd got out of a van called the car driver a twat for doing a u-turn, and asked him if he'd seen my lights? The driver answered "No."

I knew I was a bit damaged, so asked a few of the people to pick my bike up so I could get it off the road onto a nearby driveway - which they very helpfully did for me!

I had no idea what to actually do next! What are you supposed to do when you've had an accident?

The car driver didn't really know what to do, either, so we just exchanged names and addresses and reg numbers (I blatantly had a good look at his to make sure he wasn't giving me fake details). Then he gave me a lift home...

So the more boring stuff...

I got a recovery company to bring my bike back, and they managed to drop it off at some random garage 15 miles away - so they had to try that again. Durr-brains!

I went ot the hospital later when the adrenaline wore off and the pain came.

They hooked me straight up to a heart monitor incase I was dead from the chest injury, and had a good poke at my suspected broken ribs and why my leg doesn't work so well anymore.

So now it's a few days after, and I'm getting the odd headache when my painkillers wear off, my ribs are definitely a bit Wrong, and my leg still won't move much.

You can be sure when this hire bike arrives I'll do a full-on Kaiser Sozek and walk up to collect the keys without the slightest sign of a Gimp Limp, though!

[masterofinsanity]

bruised ribs are bad news mate! lets hope the insurance co dont mess around, was it a company car?

[Jamz]

He didn't say, but I get the impression it's his!

He's fully comp and phoned me later that day with all his policy details...

[masterofinsanity]

don't think you'll have any probs, lets hope they sort it soon.

[rover220]

broken ribs are a bitch. i broke 2 playing football and it was agony trying to sleep at night. last about 2 weeks too.