Lucky to escape the grim reaper on Sunday.

If the rental car was not broken down, the driver was breaking the law being stopped where he was, it is essentially a "clearway" and he should shoulder some of the blame. I am a sales rep and spend a lot of time driving in the region that Marks accident took place and tourists seem to think because they are on Holidays they can completely ignore other road users and basic common sense.
 
lucky escape

bike looks totalled glad to hear you are relatively ok
unless you purchased it as a policy add on i understand CN don't automatically provide a protected NCB.
I presume you have the information on the offending tourist car?
these events are rarely completely black and white and you would do well to take professional advice.
at least you are up and walking.
mind yourself Mark
 
What speed do you ride around blind corners at?

There is no such thing a a blind corner unless your headlight suddenly fails on a very dark night. There is always a given distance which you are able to see the road ahead, 20 meters or 50 meters etc, as a driver (motorcyclist) it is your responsibility to make a judgement on that visibility, the prevailing road conditions and adjust your speed at which you are travelling.

For example I can remember very easily (my bike on a dry road) 40 kmh/14meters, 50kmh/16meters, 60kmh/20 meters. I don't have to consult the back of the highway code, its my lifesaver. I use it to make my judgement if its wet I simply double it 28/32/40. After 60km/h it gets to difficult to judge accurately and there are so many other variables.

I actually had a great example yesterday, country lane near Nuremberg, 50kmh round a corner when my line of sight was blocked by a big hedge, just on the exit there was a large hedge cutting tractor, I braked hard and slowed sufficiently to take a long look before pulling out to overtake. If there had been another vehicle approaching I think I would have come to a halt safely.
 
I was thinking about this last night and it was the thing that kept coming into my head - road markings. They knowingly stopped on a bend with solid lines. Idiots.

Other than some major emergency they had no cause to stop there. What if you had been replaced with a coach or a truck, the outcome would be much much worse ( thankfully you're ok ). Im sure the cops would be pointing the finger at the tourists who are complete t!ts if they had of caused a huge accident with a coach full of ppl or a truck. the fact you're a bike ppl automatically think you were speeding. Dont be judged by one or two comments here either, ignore them.

As also said, ( which I didnt want to say yesterday ), ABS is not a get out of jail card, if anything when you need full anchors in the dry, you can outbrake ABS and stop quicker.

Do not let this go, i think you should definitely pursue it. Draw a diagram and go through it step by step.

Its all fine ppl saying you should have been able to stop but thats why this is an "accident". They do happen and there is sweet FA you can do if something comes into your path in an instant.




As above.

Take this chap's advice and you'd end up in court for Due Care in the UK (would you employ a solicitor with a username like that? :p)

Any magistrate will ask the question - what if it had been a broken down vehicle? The reason it is stopped is irrelevant to your circumstances (although it may end up in a completely separate case against the tourist) - you failed to negotiate your way around a stationary vehicle - you are NOT going to come out of this well if you press to test...

Be glad you got away with the injuries you did and move on.
 
Glad you are here to tell us the story. Lots of sympathy as despite best intentions and education we have all been in similar situations or been very lucky to escape them. Stones, glasshouses etc.
 
In this country there could be anything around a bend, a spread of cowshit, a little bank of gravel, a dog, a cow or someone picking blackberries. I know I should always allow for this and have heard over the years of some poor sod of other being wiped out by some old fella on his Massey ferguson coming out of a field etc. however it's easy to just forget about all of that at times when the engine is on song and the sun is shining on a nice twisty road. I think it just human to take chances now and again, despite us Knowing that logically it's not the thing to do. Glad this tale didn't end with another RIP.
 
Really glad you're able to walk away from this one. It's a crying shame about the bike but they can be replaced.
 
Yep, you did something most, if not all of us have done/will do at some time or another-you were just unlucky, quickly followed by being lucky to walk away from it.

As others have said, glad you walked away and did not become another stat.
 
Ride irresponsibly, suffer for it.

It matters not one single jot how much of a knob the tourist was being (and yes, he was also bang wrong)......YOU rode into him, it's YOUR fault.

It's no consolation to a dead guy that the other party was also at fault......who cares, you're dead.

Yes, he should be prosecuted for his own actions, but as has already been said, it could have been a kid wandering in the road, a stray cow, an ambulance and fire engine attending a FATAC or anything else.

Sorry, but that's the bald truth. :comfort
 
Accident

I have been riding bikes for 40 years and this is my first accident ever ! And that includes riding bikes in India for 7 years.

I am no gobshite. Some of the more "understanding" guys should travel these roads as much as I do. The only way I would have avoided the car was if I was driving at less than 20 MPH throughout the whole route. In Ireland we call this cycling. Local guys will tell you of the huge number of blind corners on this route which also included the gap of Dungloe. might as well give up motorcycling and ride a pushbike. I know I hit the car and not the other way round. Law of averages with the amount of miles I do on these type of roads it was possible that such an event would occur. It is no excuse but in my current condition I could without some of the pontification that is going on.

Anyone else driving 40 years on Irish back roads should consider themselves lucky not to have had a few lucky escapes. Hindsight is a great thing. Incidentally I am not going to pursue this legally although the Guards say I could have grounds to pursue it based on dangerous parking. Their words not mine. I am just happy to be still here.
 
Well said Mark. I know the area well, you couldn't have been going too hard anyway.
 
You still don't seem to get it. You have an opportunity to learn from this, or you can just blame it on something else - your choice. The reason the car stopped is not relevant to the accident. Of course your evidence would help the police convict him of dangerous parking or whatever, but the truth is, you failed to avoid a stationary vehicle safely. Either accept that it was because you were riding too fast for the conditions, or blame it on the inanimate object. I'm sorry you got injured, but blaming the car being there is like blaming the road for being too twisty - YOU are the one who had control of your bike - and you are the one (unfortunately) that ended up in hospital - learn a lesson from it...
 
You still don't seem to get it. You have an opportunity to learn from this, or you can just blame it on something else - your choice. The reason the car stopped is not relevant to the accident. Of course your evidence would help the police convict him of dangerous parking or whatever, but the truth is, you failed to avoid a stationary vehicle safely. Either accept that it was because you were riding too fast for the conditions, or blame it on the inanimate object. I'm sorry you got injured, but blaming the car being there is like blaming the road for being too twisty - YOU are the one who had control of your bike - and you are the one (unfortunately) that ended up in hospital - learn a lesson from it...

In a nutshell

If it wasn't a car, it could have been a wall or telegraph pole instead
 
Accident

Of course I get it. I hit the car on the wrong side of the road. I am not flocking stupid. I was just informing everyone of the circumstances I encountered at the time.
Regardless of how wrong the other parties were its was ultimately down to me to be in a position to avoid the accident. These things always bring out the Bloody barrack room lawyers and forensic critics. Even got castigated by someone on this site whose favourite trip as per their profile was to drive through the Sahara drunk. Keep watching "murder she wrote" and "Quincy" for your entertainment.
 
Jaysus lads will ye pull easy. The man is after being in a serious accident and has sustained some pretty serious injuries. He came on to tell us about his incident and had some queries. Doubt if lectures are what's needed at this moment in time or are of any real value. Marcopol: Hope you are feeling better today... and the insurance / legalities will sort itself. As for those who think ABS isn't a good idea...
 
Jaysus lads will ye pull easy. The man is after being in a serious accident and has sustained some pretty serious injuries. He came on to tell us about his incident and had some queries. Doubt if lectures are what's needed at this moment in time or are of any real value. Marcopol: Hope you are feeling better today... and the insurance / legalities will sort itself. As for those who think ABS isn't a good idea...
plus 1 to the above.
 
Of course I get it. I hit the car on the wrong side of the road. I am not flocking stupid. I was just informing everyone of the circumstances I encountered at the time.
Regardless of how wrong the other parties were its was ultimately down to me to be in a position to avoid the accident. These things always bring out the Bloody barrack room lawyers and forensic critics. Even got castigated by someone on this site whose favourite trip as per their profile was to drive through the Sahara drunk. Keep watching "murder she wrote" and "Quincy" for your entertainment.

i posted cos i was shocked how many of the initial posters said it was all the car driver's (parker's) fault.

you don't have to be a barrack room lawyer or forensic critic to realise that if you hit a parked car, it's your fault. i thought it was obvious, but your compatriots have proven it otherwise.

ps. get well soon :D
 
This is just soooooo typical of Internet forums - someone mentions that something has happened, makes a technical observation, voices an opinion or whatever - all harmless stuff THEN all the bloody wierdos, old farts and/or sad loners without a girlfriend come out of the woodwork and slag them off.
 
This is just soooooo typical of Internet forums - someone mentions that something has happened, makes a technical observation, voices an opinion or whatever - all harmless stuff THEN all the bloody wierdos, old farts and/or sad loners without a girlfriend come out of the woodwork and slag them off.

I was wondering when you'd climb out from under your bridge.
Tell me, have you just discovered sex after a long dry spell? You seem determined to mention that you have a girlfriend in every other post... :p
 


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