From: Phil Osborn (philosborn2001@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Aug 19 2002 - 00:56:04 MDT
I posted this on ASKME tonight. Enjoy.
Last night on the 55Fwy NorthBound just at the new 405
construction, where concrete barriers leave no place
to get out of traffic, one of my nightmares as a
Motorcycle driver finally came true. The engine died
on an uphill climb with nowhere to stop the bike that
wasn't in the traffic.
I suspect that I simply ran out of gas in the main
tank, which is when I reach down and twist the valve
over to reserve. But when I did it this time nothing
happened. The motor didn't catch, in time anyway. If
I had been in neutral, coasting, then I might(?) have
made it thru to where the next exit was, but that
would have meant downshifting several times and then I
definitely would have had trouble restarting the motor
without gas in the line, and it might not have worked,
leaving me in worse shape.
Normally, in this situation, you have about ten
seconds while all the carbs run out to switch over to
reserve and then the motor catches almost instantly.
This time there was some hesitation, perhaps because
there was major police / accident (?) activity ahead
of me and I couldn't find the valve as quickly as
usual due to the distraction.
So, I almost made it to the exit anyway, but about
20-50 feet short, my luck ran out when this Dodge RAM
rear-ended me going probably 20-30 mph faster than me.
I saw him coming up in the rear-view and kept
thinking, "brakes, man, hit the damn brakes!" But he
may have been looking at the same distraction a mile
or so down the road, and not paying attention to right
in front of him, so he didn't hit the brakes in time
and plowed into me, folding the bike seat frame up to
a near 90 degree vertial angle, dragging me and the
bike for I have no idea how far and then sending me
rolling at high speed down the now exit ramp which we
were in finally.
I was up on my feet in less than 2 seconds, as I knew
that other vehicles might be slamming into him hot and
heavy. He stopped just long enough to look me over
and then drove on down to the end of the concrete
barriers and parked in the area shielded by them to
the side. Several other vehicles quickly joined him
and some people rushed over to me and insisted that I
climb over the barrier. I felt like the bike should
be moved as first priority before someone else
crashed, but one of these guys grabbed me and
physically dragged me over.
At that point, I took a quick assessment of myself.
Both my legs were bleeding from superficial wounds and
I had pain in my ribcage on the right side. I didn't
notice that my right boot had been torn off for
several minutes.
As the Dodge RAM had pulled away, I was thinking that
he might try to simply leave, as there was hardly any
detectable damage to his vehicle, so I wrote down his
plate #. One man said that he had seen the whole
thing and that I had definitely been moving when I was
struck. This contradicted what the driver of the RAM
was now saying, which was that the accident was my
fault and that I had been stopped on the fwy. I would
have known that if it were true, and it was legally
irrelevant anyway so far as I knew.
So, then the CHP arrived and started taking names.
They first asked if we wanted a report. I said
definitely and so did the RAM driver. About then,
however, I heard the RAM driver tell one of the CHP
that he was one of them, a "sergeant." So the CHP
spent some time talking privately to him. Then, when
he returned to where we were all standing.
(Oh, and at some point the CHP advised me to move the
motorcycle if I could, and with some help from them
lifting it up, I was able to push it down to the safe
area behind the concrete.)
I then asked - I believe for the 2nd time - for the
RAM driver's license and insurance papers so that I
could take the information down. He refused, telling
me that the CHP had the information and I should get
it from them. So, not feeling like it was safe to
make a major confrontation in my state or a citizen's
arrest, which might have gotten me beaten up - he was
also about twice my size with a weight lifter
physique, I went to the CHP and asked them if they had
a report. They replied that they did. I then asked
for the license and insurance info, and they admitted
that they had not taken that information. I requested
that they proceed to do so, as I needed it for my
insurance. They agreed to do so and I saw them talk
to the RAM driver and take some info.
One of the CHP then took my info and copied down the
reg., lic, ins., etc. As the RAM driver was driving
off, the CHP officer then told me that I would have to
submit a request to the CHP for a copy of the report.
They refused to give me the critical information then
and there, and instead gave me a little card with some
numbers for the report number and an address to send
$6 for a copy of the report. My first guess is that
the info on the card is bogus, but it will probably
take weeks to ascertain that.
The CHP refused to allow me to push the bike off the
fwy, but said that if I could get it started, I could
drive it off the ramp. I managed to finally do that
just as 2 tow trucks showed up, and made it to my
storage office in Santa Ana, where I parked the bike,
took pictures of it and summoned a neighbor as a
witness to time, etc., and to take pictures of my
injuries. Then I left a message with my MC insurance
company. Then I called Blue Cross and asked a nurse
for advice, which was to go an emergency room.
Unfortunately, Blue Cross has just terminated its
contractual relationship with a whole lot of local
hospitals, and she could not find a single ER locally
with 30 miles that she could say would accept my
insurance, so I crashed out instead.
I believe I have both the minimum liability and the
uninsured motorist coverage. Of course, I definitely
have the liability, but my card doesn't list the
details, and I will have to verify the matter.
Meanwhile, what am I leaving out? What can I do here?
Is this a legal hit and run? All I have to go on at
this time is the license plate number and make/model
of the truck that hit me. Thanx.
*****
So, keep this little cautionary tale in mind. Some
little flake of material temporarily blocks your
reserve tank flow at exactly the wrong time, and it's
potentially all over, no matter how good you are.
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