Post ESTN accident report.

[SWriverstone]

Our fantastic weekend at ESTN ended abruptly Sunday afternoon. We were a group of four bikes: I was lead (on my VFR), then Holly (Ducati 748), followed by Eric (EJWorthen) and Pam 2-up on their FJR, and Frank (FJRski) rode sweep.

We'd just left the Blue Ridge Parkway near Lynchburg, VA and headed east on Rt.130 in Amherst County. After countless miles of twisties and sweepers, the road became arrow-straight and flat for a half-mile.

I noticed a truck in our lane a hundred yards ahead. It appeared to be traveling the same speed we were, about 55-60mph. All of a sudden I closed on the truck at a terrifying rate of speed. At some point my brain registered that the truck had stopped---but I never saw brake lights (and neither did anyone else).

When I found myself about to rear-end the truck at 50mph, I grabbed a fistful of front brakes (didn't even think of the rear) and angled right toward the grass shoulder.

Meanwhile, Holly (who was a few bike lengths behind me) also grabbed a fisful of brakes and went into a near-vertical stoppie. I didn't see this, but Eric, Pam and Frank did. They said Holly went vertical, then modulated the brake to bring the rear down, but then squeezed again---sending the rear back up again.

At about this time, she struck my left rear Givi hardbag---a glancing blow. It was a hard enough impact to knock the VFR from under me and onto its side on the grass shoulder. I looked to the left in time to see Holly and her bike fly past me. The bike slammed down on its side and slid down the pavement, coming to a stop several feet short of the stopped truck. Holly tumbled and pulled into a fetal position and came to a stop on her back, groaning.

Eric and Frank both had time and space to stop safely and pull onto the right shoulder. I ran to Holly to check on her. She seemed okay and was angry at not stopping safely. We asked her if everything felt okay (no severe pain, no difficulty moving anything, etc.) and when she said yes, she got up and moved to the side of the road, where she kneeled in the grass.

Frank helped me pick up her bike and roll it to the side of the road. Bits of mirror, turn signals, brake lever, were scattered everywhere.
Someone called the police while we picked up the pieces.

ANALYSIS

1. We were traveling east at 3:40pm on a clear day with the sun on our backs---meaning bright sunlight on the truck ahead of us.

2. Our speed was initially in the 60-65mph range, and as soon as we saw the vehicles ahead we slowed to 55-60mph.

3. I don't know exactly what the distance between bikes was, but we were spread out, at least 3-4 car lengths between us (e.g. not bunched up tightly). Had we applied the 3-second rule, we might have failed---I don't think we were that far apart.

4. There were actually two vehicles ahead of us, both in our lane. The first vehicle was a compact car that was completely obscured from view by a larger pickup truck behind it. Apparently the compact car braked suddenly to make a left turn. The truck was probably surprised and braked hard too.

5. Nobody saw brake lights on the truck, period. We're not 100% certain whether this was because of direct sunlight on the back of the truck...or because the truck had no brake lights. What is certain is that we had zero warning of the stopped vehicles.

6. I am now a worshipper of ABS brakes. If anyone tells me they have a problem with them, I'll openly declare them an idiot. I know from experience now that in a panic situation, there is no such thing as "carefully modulating the brakes." If you think you're going to rear-end someone at 40+ mph and you have less than a second to stop, you WILL grab that front brake for all you're worth. The result? Of 4 bikes, 3 had ABS brakes and one didn't. Guess which bike ended up doing a stoppie and falling?

7. ATGATT. Holly's gear did its job. She was wearing a Shoei RF-1000 helmet, Held Profi gloves, a Tourmaster Transition jacket, and Cortech overpants. Her Transition jacket was abraded in a few spots, but not worn through anywhere. The inseam on her overpants blew out in one spot, but otherwise the pants are fine. And the Shoei got a heck of a scrape, but Holly's head is fine. (She remembers taking a hard knock to the head on the pavement.) It's worth noting that the only place Holly had a little spot of road rash was on her lower back---where the jacket obviously rode up. A good argument for jackets that attach to pants.

8. The two other vehicles that stopped suddenly ahead of us (including the truck with possibly no brake lights) fled the scene of the accident. They appeared to stop briefly to be sure Holly wasn't severely injured (though I don't know how they thought they could tell), and then high-tailed it out of there. We were too shocked by the whole thing and concerned for Holly to get a license tag number.

9. Holly was not cited for anything by the Amherst County police officer who arrived on the scene. He asked about our speed, and we told him "no more than 55," which is likely the truth. The officer was obviously impressed by our full gear and said as much. (We probably didn't strike him as a bunch of squids.)

---

FOLLOWUP

Holly went to the ER at Lynchburg General Hospital, where she got a full set of X-rays and CAT scans. She has a stable hairline fracture in her C6 vertabrae, but is fine other than being bruised and sore and stiff.

The bike was towed to a local garage to the tune of $200. (Insurance should cover it---we hope.) After Holly was released from the emergency room at around 9pm Sunday, we called a taxi to drive her to a hotel. We followed the taxi over, got Holly checked in, then went out for fast food and had a nice feast in Holly's room.

Eric, Pam, Frank and I then hit the road at about 11pm and rode the 180 miles back to my house in Harpers Ferry, where we all crashed. The next morning, Eric, Pam and Frank hit the road for home (PA), and I drove back to Lynchburg to pick up Holly.

We rented a U-Haul flatbed trailer with a ramp, retrieved the bike, and drove it DucPond Motorsports in Winchester, VA. Donnie Unger, owner of DucPond and a longtime veteran superbike racer, generously met us at the shop even though the shop is closed on Mondays. He looked the bike over and said he'd repaired other 748's with similar damage. He said there are ways he can get creative and get the bike looking good again without paying top-dollar for replacement Ducati parts. (e.g. Ebay, etc.)

We were happy leaving the bike with Donnie---he's one of the best Ducati mechanics (and riders) in North America and knows the 748 inside-out, so the bike is in very capable hands! (BTW, if you haven't seen DucPond since they became a full-blown Ducati dealer, you need to---they are probably the premiere Ducati dealership in the Mid-Atlantic region now. We got the private tour of the showroom from Donnie.)

In closing, Holly was lucky it wasn't worse. She's upset with herself for not allowing greater following distance, and while that played a role, it wasn't the sole cause of the accident---which was also due to a suddenly stopped vehicle with no (or non-visible) brake lights.

She might keep the 748...or we might sell it. Holly is realizing that she doesn't really need a superbike these days...and is thinking maybe something a little more moderate might suit her for the kind of riding we do now.

Scott

PS - It's ironic---and a valuable lesson for us all---that this accident occurred on a straight, flat stretch of road after safely riding hundreds of miles of some of the twistiest, most technical roads in the U.S.!

PPS - The rest of the ESTN weekend---before the accident---was fantastic! I'll post pics later.

PPPS - Holly and I owe a huge THANK YOU to Eric (EJWorthen), Pam, and Frank (FJRski) for being such great friends and riding partners through the accident and the endless hours of waiting around at the ER afterward. You guys are all great!

---
Here's a photo (below) of the scene a few minutes after the accident. We'd picked up Holly's bike (the yellow Ducati); that's Holly sitting on the shoulder, with Pam standing beside her--- :eek:and that's my VFR (still hadn't picked it up yet)...



This photo (below) tells it all: vehicle skid marks, with a yellow stripe from Holly's fairing right next to them...



And here's Holly's Shoei RF-1000 helmet, below...



(I can post close-ups of the abraded parts of her Transition jacket if anyone's interested.)

[DredheadV2.0]

Holy crap

I'm happy everyone's alive 'n' kickin.

[Mr Sunshine]

Damn....that sucks!  Glad everyone is up and about.

You accident sounds exactly like one I *almost* got ito last year on the way to the WCRM 3.5.

[Scratch33]

CRAP!!!

Glad everyone fared relatively well - please give Holly my best wishes.

[AlanD]

Nice write up. I also have a Transition jacket and am happy to hear that it held up well. The helmet picture should be a warning to all the fools who don't wear a helmet.

[Holly]

Oh... and here's a snap shot of the internal damage:


Donnie Unger of Duc Pond Motorsports http://www.ducpond.com/, btw, is AWESOME!  Though his shop is traditionally closed on Monday's, he help me out by "taking delivery" of my dead Duc (I guess its a lame Duc, since the motor is still runnin' strong... lol...).  He also gave Scott and I a quick tour of his shop.  Thank you Donnie!

Thank you Pam, Eric and Frank for your patience, caring and understanding.  I could ask for better friends and riding partners!

Best,
Holly

[dm_gsxr]

Good analysis, thanks. Glad to see everyone's ok. Holly must have been hitting it hard to do two stoppies!

Carl

[dm_gsxr]

Oh... and here's a snap shot of the internal damage:


Donnie Unger of Duc Pond Motorsports http://www.ducpond.com/, btw, is AWESOME!  Though his shop is traditionally closed on Monday's, he help me out by "taking delivery" of my dead Duc (I guess its a lame Duc, since the motor is still runnin' strong... lol...).  He also gave Scott and I a quick tour of his shop.  Thank you Donnie!

Thank you Pam, Eric and Frank for your patience, caring and understanding.  I could ask for better friends and riding partners!

Best,
Holly

Looks like a Hippo  What are we looking at, MRI?

Carl

[Rincewind]

Very sorry to hear of your accident.  Best of healing to you and your bikes.  

[Holly]

Looks like a Hippo  What are we looking at, MRI?

Carl

The "hippo" is actually a snapshot from my cervical CT scan (and you're right... it DOES totally look like a hippo!  ).  The fracture is in the right (as you look at the image) boney process.  I love it when they give me my CT scans on CD.  Wanna see the titanium plates and screws in my checkbones from my 2005 hang gliding accident?  Those are shown in Sunday's CT scan as well .

Holly

[bsd43]

Wow, sorry to hear of the accident, but glad that everyone is mostly intact.

SW, did you feel the ABS kicking in? Or just a "it must have, since I stopped without a stoppie?"

[SWriverstone]

Wow, sorry to hear of the accident, but glad that everyone is mostly intact.

SW, did you feel the ABS kicking in? Or just a "it must have, since I stopped without a stoppie?"

Good question BSD. First, I should emphasize that it never occurred to me for a second to use the rear brake too. That's what we're taught in MSF (use both), but when the sh*t hit the fan, all I thought about was the front brake! Maybe I don't have enough training at emergency stops (using both), and for all I know, I might have stomped the rear too?

As to your question, no---all I remember was squeezing the front brake HARD...and coming to a fast, controlled, smooth stop. I never lost control of the bike, never felt a tire skid or slip, nothing. And I was steering for the shoulder at the same time I was squeezing with all my might.

So I give all the credit to ABS doing its job!  

Scott

[bizarro]

Very glad to hear you're alright Holly, and everyone else too. Big bummer no one got a plate number on that truck.

[servicerifle]

I'm sorry to hear about all the troubles, but I'm glad everyone is still more or less ok today!  I enjoyed meeting you guys, and I hope Holly heals up well!  

[SuperHans]

I had been riding behind Holly and can say I thought she was going to save it at one point. It didn't appear as if she had actually locked the front tire. The rear of the bike came up to about the 11 o'clock position and then came back down slightly. It then came back up and back down slightly again as if she had been modulating the brake to prevent a full forward flip. In a conversation with her later she said she was modulating the brake once she realized the back tire was in the air. I think once she made contact with Scott all bets were off and the bike did an endo.

It was pretty sickening to see her go over the bars and the bike come crashing down on her. Something I don't want to witness again. I seriously thought she had broken her neck by the way it had bent when the bike came down on her. We were all glad to see her up and talking after the incident.

It all happened pretty fast as these things usually do. I never saw any brake lights on the stopped truck and had actually wondered why Scott was stopping. I agree with Scott on the ABS doing its job. I had been riding two up with bags loaded and once I hit the brakes we came to a stop without incident. I don't know if the ABS kicked in but I'm glad I had it for instances like this.

Some pics of the scene.

[SWriverstone]

I'm sorry to hear about all the troubles, but I'm glad everyone is still more or less ok today!  I enjoyed meeting you guys, and I hope Holly heals up well!  

Thanks Steve---ESTN was such an awesome event that, on balance, we still have good memories of the weekend in spite of the accident!  

[BlueRidgeKat]

6. I am now a worshipper of ABS brakes. If anyone tells me they have a problem with them, I'll openly declare them an idiot. I know from experience now that in a panic situation, there is no such thing as "carefully modulating the brakes." If you think you're going to rear-end someone at 40+ mph and you have less than a second to stop, you WILL grab that front brake for all you're worth. The result? Of 4 bikes, 3 had ABS brakes and one didn't. Guess which bike ended up doing a stoppie and falling?

You will get no argument from me on that one. Theres a reason that more and more makes and models come standard with or offer the option of ABS.


 

[Green01SprintST]

Yikes!  That is some scarey stuff right there.  Good to know everyone is OK.  It's a safe bet the driver of the truck knows he doesn't have any brake lights, otherwise there would have been no reason for him to flee the scene (except maybe not wanting to face the wrath of 5 angry bikers!)  Kudos to all for being good friends and responsible riding buddies.  Heal well Holly!  

[SWriverstone]

The earlier pics of the bike are deceptive---it looks okay from a distance! Here are more details of the various rashes, broken parts, and ground-down places...

















Still waiting on the damage report from Donnie Unger...which I'm sure will be: $ $ $

Scott

[Holly]

Still waiting on the damage report ...which I'm sure will be: $ $ $

Scott

Sadly... this isn't the first, though it was certainly the worst, get off I've had on the 748, I am already all too aware of how expensive plastic and other bits are for my bike... upper fairing ~= $400, lower ~= $450, tail section ~= $1000, rim ~= $800 plus mirrors, turn signals, clutch cover (hopefully, the clutch is okay since I *just* replaced it last fall!), etc, etc, etc.  But like Scott said before... Donnie has some experience keeping bikes from getting salvage titles, so my fingers are crossed....

Holly

PS.  The two previous incidents were a tip over when I went wide in a right hander just east of Julian, CA and the other was when I dropped it in a parking lot .  After each of these, I simply picked the bike up and road home with nothing more than a bruised ego and a need for some minor plastic repair.  Gosh... when I put it that way, should I still consider myself a rider or a hazard?