The (very) fine line between life and death

Regarding breath tests when not your fault .......

Ten years ago I rode down to Bristol on a GS500 ( my everyday transport ) to meet a mate ....... We visited a city centre pub , and then another , and then ..... you get the picture .......

My mate necked it down like there was no tomorrow , I`m always more circumspect ...... but probably had about four pints of " flat " cider .....
About three hours later it`s time for the return trip back home , about 8 pm and dark by now ....... on the GS500 .........

Irresponsible ? ..... Yes , maybe , but there you go .......... " A man`s gotta know his limitations " , as Dirty Harry once said ...... and I reckoned I knew mine , rightly or wrongly .........

Anyway , approaching Over Lane where it joins the A38 just north of Bristol , I noticed a car waiting to pull out ...... I am always cautious here , because it can be busy , visibility is limited to your left , and there is often traffic approaching from the opposite direction , waiting to turn right , in front of you ......

I slowed to 30 mph as I approached the junction , keeping my eye on waiting man ....... As I was just about level with the junction , waiting man decided to slowly pull out into my path ...... At every junction , I prepare for this sort of thing , looking out for an escape route , if need be .......

My escape route took me to the right , and into the central reservation dividing the carriageway , and a keep left bollard ........ unfortunately waiting ( now moving ) man seemed to have the same idea , and GS500 impacted front offside wing ...... GS500 demolished the keep left bollard ( plastic ) , and I ended upon the ground ......... Waiting man also stopped ( the GS had managed to dislodge his front bumper ) .......

Someone in a house nearby heard the crash / bang / wallop ......... A police car arrived almost immediately ......... there`s a traffic division HQ nearby ..........
The two youngish occupants of the police car were fairly relaxed about the whole thing ..... ( I was on my feet with helmet removed ; waiting man was staring at the damage to the front of his car ) ......... However , mindful of my previous cider consumption , I was worried about the possibility of a breath test ......... I answered their questions , but at the same time didn`t launch into my life history , kept my distance without making it too obvious I was trying to avoid close contact , and took great gulps of the cold night air whilst their backs were turned talking to waiting man ...... ( whether that would have made any difference I don`t know , but anything was worth a try .... ) .....

The policemen said waiting man told them he did not see me because his side window had misted up ..... ! ......

Anyway , as I said , they seemed pretty relaxed about the whole thing once they realised it wasn`t a hospital case , and no breathaliser came out ....... The only worry was that their radio check revealed the GS500`s MOT had expired a couple of days earlier... :oops: ...... ( the pitfall of owning one bike too many ...... I knew it was due soon , but ....... ) ..... , but that didn`t seem to particularly worry them either , so they climbed back into their patrol car and drove away ......

The GS500 was bent , but rideable ........ waiting man drove off , and that was that .......... I felt pretty much ok , but some aches and pains developed the following day , plus an area of spectacular bruising to my right hip and leg like you would not believe .... looked much worse than it was .........

BTW ....... Never let your MOT expire ...... It will invalidate your insurance ...........
 
Last edited:
pf1 said:
Does it invalidate your insurance? I'm not sure about that.
Click to expand...

....Well ......... The RAC send me reminders when the MOT for each vehicle is due , telling me that would be the case ..........

Never checked with my insurance company itself , but I don`t want to give them the impression I might do such a thing ........ Insurance companies are more slippery than a box full of eels ........ any old excuse etc ......... They would certainly demand that any vehicle they insure should be in a roadworthy condition ...... lack of a current MOT certificate would definitely kick the ball back into your court , I would think ........
 
Last edited:
OneThinBloke said:
Not having an MoT DOES NOT invalidate insurance. I once had a KTM Duke stolen, it was 4 years old and had never had it's 1st MoT, the insurance paid me out less 5% for absence of MoT
Click to expand...
Just out of interest I read the policy terms and conditions which my insurance company provided me with .......

Under General Conditions ( Note 9 ) .......
" You shall at all times maintain the Motorcycle in an efficient and roadworthy condition and take all reasonable steps to safeguard the Motorcycle from loss or damage . Where required BY LAW , the Motorcycle MUST have a current Department for Transport test certificate ( MOT ) or be in the course of a journey for a pre-booked MOT test " .

Failure to comply with this condition may or may not invalidate my insurance claim , but who in their right mind would take that risk ?

......... This applies to my own insurance policy of course , so this is what applies as far as I am concerned ........ your policy may be more ambiguously worded ........ although I would think that all insurance companies would take a similar approach .........

I highlighted BY LAW , as I guess historic registered vehicles would be ok , as they are not required to take the MOT test by law ..... ( although I would reckon it`s a good idea to have it done now and again ........ second opinion , fresh pair of eyes , and all that ... ) .....

It may all depend on the way your own insurance company lays down it`s terms and conditions , and the way they consider individual claims .......

...... Personally I wouldn`t take the risk of playing fast and loose with the rules , whether those rules are the ones laid down by my insurance company , or the ones laid down by the Department for Transport .......
 
Last edited:
Glad you"re OK Andy, horrific, reminds me of Cris ex ILOC committee getting hit full on by an oncoming vehicle and being flown to Oban hospital, pinned with metal and a long recovery but OK thankfiully, however he sold all his bikes after that and later on Motorworks to his staff.
 
Did I understand you correctly that the person who caused the accident was fined for dangerously overtaking the unmarked police car?

Then the accident with you would be an additional case. If you were to report it in writing now, the authorities would have to deal with a vehicle owner who had two charges brought against him in one day.

And I would also lodge a written complaint about the improper recording of the accident in your case.
 
Jo said:
Did I understand you correctly that the person who caused the accident was fined for dangerously overtaking the unmarked police car?
Click to expand...
No, I think Andy is expressing anger and frustration because the cops have given a far more severe penalty to a (different, unrelated) driver whose offence didn't compare with that of the idiot who could have killed him.
 
I think Jo makes a good point, although he may have misunderstood the comparison I made regarding the other unrelated incident, but I am still waiting to obtain further details of the charges that have or maybe brought against the car driver, whose details, incidentally, I still haven't been provided with yet.
 
Glad you're still alive to tell the tale Andy. I'm sure we'll all be interested to hear how the battle with IOM bureaucracy turns out.

It actually reminds me of an almost identical crash a mate of mine (Ian) had about 20 years ago on his old bevel Ducati Dharma 900. Oncoming car doing a stupid overtaking move on a blind curve. Ian took to the verge on his bike to avoid a head-on crash. He missed the car but came off the bike, which proceeded to slide down the road in a shower of sparks then burst into flames. The tank ruptured when it hit the tarmac and the sparks ignited the spilling fuel. Ian was OK but the bike was a write off (see photo below).

Unlike Andy's case, the other driver stopped and gave their details. However, when the police interviewed the car driver, he denied any fault and said the bike rider just went off the road all by himself. The car being overtaken didn't stop so there were no independent witnesses. It was just Ian's word against the car driver's. And since he didn't actually hit the oncoming car, there was no proof that it was involved. The police consequently determined it to be a single vehicle accident. That meant the car driver got off free and clear, and Ian could make no claim against him for his injuries and loss of bike.

Ian McDonald's 1982 Ducati 900SSD (26-2-2006).jpg
 
As by way of an update, I now have a list of damaged parts, but as you can no longer order parts in the UK I will have to start scanning sites in Italy etc to see if I can find what I need.
Before Paul Dedman started the assessment he jet washed the bike to get the crud off the outside of the bike from the excursion into the ditch. He said after he removed the fairing lowers, he had to get the jet wash out again to then remove even more crud that had accumulated inside the fairing and plastered the motor. No wonder I was having so much difficulty controlling the bike when I returned to ‘dry’ land.
I managed to speak to a more senior officer last Monday, who agreed with me the penalty the driver got seemed a bit lenient, but as the offence was 'disposed of on the spot' and not referred to a supervisor, which is normally the case in accidents involving injuries, there was nothing that could now be done about it, unless the other driver doesn't pay the fine. He also agreed to make inquiries as to whether any further charges were being investigated regarding not stopping at the scene of any accident, however, he said it may be a matter of him claiming he didn't know I had crashed - as if!!! However, I was also informed the information I was given about the points on his licence was wrong, it was 5 points rather than 3, but I still think he got away with a far too lenient penalty.
The copper also agreed to contact the DOI and arrange to have the impounding and storage fee refunded given that I had been able to prove I had paid to tax the bike in June, so at least that is one positive.
I now also have details of the driver, and from my searches, it looks like he is a youngish male, driving his big Audi A3 like he owns the road, and clearly has a brain smaller than his balls.
I've totted up the cost of replacing my helmet etc, which comes to around a grand, but my insurance only covers half that, so the extra amount will have to be recovered from the other party along with the claim for my injuries and policy excess. Hopefully, I won't have to go to court to get the money back and his insurance coughs up.
 
A further update on this story.
I’ve had the payout from the insurance company for my bike and kit written off in the crash but I’ve still got my PI claim to conclude, partly because I’ve been assessed (twice) as suffering PTSD type symptoms resulting from the incident. I have been recommended to have CBT sessions to try and overcome some of my anxiety issues when I’m thinking of going for a ride or when I’m actually on a bike.
This was not improved yesterday. I took my replacement ShouldabeenaJota for a short leisurely ride, which incidentally was my first ride this year on the road on anything other than a scooter or my LZ50, taking the same route towards Ramsey (I.e. backwards along part of the TT Course) as I did in October 2024, but only planning on going as far the Bungalow and then turning around and returning home.
As it was just a shakedown I was just cruising. All went well for the first part and I picked up a bit of traffic around the the 32nd and followed it through Brandywell and towards Hailwood Heights. Then as I approached the left hander at Hailwood Heights I nearly jumped out of my skin as this impatient and ignorant twat in his Lambo or similar came past me like a complete loony and swept past me and the cars ahead, obviously on the wrong side of the road at virtually the same spot as the impatient twat had taken me out in 2024. 🤬
Like the guy in 2024, there was no way he could properly see if there was a bike or anything else for that matter, coming the other way. I certainly couldn’t see if the road was fully clear round the bend, and I was a lot higher up than he was in his low down ‘Supercar’. If I had met him in 2024, rather than the guy in the Audi, who was going a lot slower, I doubt I would have lived to tell the tale.
Somewhat unnerved by what I had just witnessed I rode home and reported him to the police.
 
I watch those Dash cam videos, and maybe 1/3 are not poor decisions or simple mistakes, they're completely feral maniacs who must be driving off their heads in stolen cars. It's like they think they're in a video game that resets after a crash. They're the horror ones, and then you just get tpical agresive take no prisner types in big utes bulying there way through traffic. I am so happy I am out of that 6am to 730 am traffic shitfight around here.
 
Seems youve been through the mill with this Andy. The fact that its still ongoing isn't helping closure.
Hope you can get back out there and build your confidence back up.
Catch up with you later in the year.

Rob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top