next »

[ratchet]

wow benny.... get better dude.

Take good care of those wounds man... road rash can get infected easily.

[xDaveManx]

You've done some good.  I will never get on my bike in regular jeans again.

[ducatiman]

hang in there, mgbenny. you are young, a long life ahead. there will be more bikes, women and roads ....NO DESPAIR!

[JiuJitsu]

This is a very sad story. As I sit here reading this story and looking at the horrific photos I can only imagine what is going through your head.... And her's.....

First of all, get better no matter the cost... I would also suggest you sit down alone in the room and put your thoughts into a letter for this lady friend of yours... Whether she accepts the letter or not she deserves it as she will have scares now to remember this unfortunate mistake for the rest of her life....

One thing I like about being here in Canada is if this happened to me I would get full treatment in the hospital with the biggest cocktail of pain kills free of charge... I wish you and her had the same fortune.

Best of luck with the recovery and my prayers go out to her and you for the emotional strength you both need right now...

[xDaveManx]

Actually, after thinking about it, I wouldn't have written anything down, period.  Certainly not a letter to her detailing how guilty you are.

Oh, and we should seriously sticky this and directly link all new members to it as a warning about gear.

[JiuJitsu]

Actually, after thinking about it, I wouldn't have written anything down, period.  Certainly not a letter to her detailing how guilty you are.

Oh, and we should seriously sticky this and directly link all new members to it as a warning about gear.

There is a difference between a guilty letter and an apology letter...

[phred]

Ben, was the bike insured?  Even if you aren't personally, the bike's insurance may cover some medical for both you and her...  You still should get those rocks dug out at the ER...  

Get well soon.  

[newton2]

Actually, after thinking about it, I wouldn't have written anything down, period.  Certainly not a letter to her detailing how guilty you are.

Oh, and we should seriously sticky this and directly link all new members to it as a warning about gear.

+1 on getting it stickied.

I've been squiding it recently also. i ain't gonna do dat no mo, sir

[crzyworm623]

Shit, def makes me re think every time I've gone out without full gear.  I really hope you and your friend get better.  I'm sure she'll come around in a few days, and realize it was just a mistake and how lucky you both are to still be alive and walking.

I can't believe the hospital didn't treat you, insurance or not.   My buddies dad works in the hospital around here, and its amazing how many illegals they treat, since they can't turn away someone in need of care, and they walk out no bill in hand.  

I still suggest you get checked out and cleaned up by medical personnel.  Free clinic maybe?  and if you do end up in the ER make sure no one co signs the papers, you can prob fight a good deal of the absurd charges.  Also like someone else mentioned check with your insurance company (of the bike) you prob have some sort of medical coverage.

I really appreciate you putting this up, it's a huge eye opener.  Most crash stories revolve around the condition of the bike, which is trivial when it comes down to the human body.  These pictures will be in my mind every time I'm about to hop on my bike without gearing up.

Best of luck and feel better  

[ShadesOfGray]

Gimme yo address, byatch, I'm writing you a get-well-soon card!

[SCkid23]

Actually, after thinking about it, I wouldn't have written anything down, period.  Certainly not a letter to her detailing how guilty you are.

Oh, and we should seriously sticky this and directly link all new members to it as a warning about gear.

There is a difference between a guilty letter and an apology letter...

Not to a lawyer.  Don't put anything in writing.  Glad you both are alive.  Realistically, you BOTH assumed the same risk when you BOTH got on the motorcycle.  You didn't force her to get on the bike with you.  I make sure all my passengers know they can die riding with me.  If they're cool with it after that, then we're good.  I usually don't have passengers anymore though.

[stek]

unreal.  hope you feel better soon and get lots of pain meds. 

[Kahooli]

Yeah if infection strikes I'm definitely going to bite the bullet and get looked at.  As far as she goes, they gave me a ticket for leaving the scene of an accident but I intend to defend myself there.  We'll see what happens.

Depending where you live there are free clinics, and most general antibiotics have a generic version you can get at walmart for 4 bucks. Get well man.

[stormcat]

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, but in regards to blame, guilt, etc., your passenger was responsible for her own safety. She had to know that motorcycles are indeed dangerous and she made the independent decision to not wear gear. The bike was not at fault for this, the rider was. But the passenger was responsible for whether or not she chose to put on protective clothes/helmet. That said, she is also culpable for her injuries (e.g. the head wound would have been averted if she simply wore a helmet).

[ShadesOfGray]

I don't really agree with that. If someone gets on the back of my bike, I consider myself 100% responsible for their safety and well-being, and I won't let them get on unless they are sufficiently geared up. You can't expect every person who jumps on the back to understand what they're exposing themselves to. Hell, those passengers are probably in some cases the very same people who're asking if you wear a jacket because you get cold when you're riding.

If it's a seasoned motorcyclist riding passenger, then maybe it's different, but you can't expect every random person who asks for a ride to have a good understanding of the danger that they may be exposing themselves to.

[ShadesOfGray]

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, but in regards to blame, guilt, etc., your passenger was responsible for her own safety. She had to know that motorcycles are indeed dangerous and she made the independent decision to not wear gear. The bike was not at fault for this, the rider was. But the passenger was responsible for whether or not she chose to put on protective clothes/helmet. That said, she is also culpable for her injuries (e.g. the head wound would have been averted if she simply wore a helmet).

If I take you for a ride in my car, and then drive off a cliff, you're not going to hold me responsible?

[SCkid23]

I don't really agree with that. If someone gets on the back of my bike, I consider myself 100% responsible for their safety and well-being, and I won't let them get on unless they are sufficiently geared up. You can't expect every person who jumps on the back to understand what they're exposing themselves to. Hell, those passengers are probably in some cases the very same people who're asking if you wear a jacket because you get cold when you're riding.

If it's a seasoned motorcyclist riding passenger, then maybe it's different, but you can't expect every random person who asks for a ride to have a good understanding of the danger that they may be exposing themselves to.

Yeah, people really don't understand the concept of riding down the road with no cage around them could be dangerous and life threatening?  Give me a break.  If you're dumb enough to think that it isn't risky, then I don't really feel bad when you learn the hard way.  Gear up or see said example in this thread.

[horseygort]

sending good healing vibes your way man...

[stormcat]

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, but in regards to blame, guilt, etc., your passenger was responsible for her own safety. She had to know that motorcycles are indeed dangerous and she made the independent decision to not wear gear. The bike was not at fault for this, the rider was. But the passenger was responsible for whether or not she chose to put on protective clothes/helmet. That said, she is also culpable for her injuries (e.g. the head wound would have been averted if she simply wore a helmet).

If I take you for a ride in my car, and then drive off a cliff, you're not going to hold me responsible?

If I get on the back of your bike, it's my decision whether or not I wear gear. The rider can only take so much responsibility when it comes to injury prevention. Like I said, this event was the rider's fault (not the bike), but her injuries could have been reduced had she decided to wear her gear regardless of whether or not he wore his.

[Stuka87]

Dude,

I wish you and her a speedy recovery!   Ouch!!!!!!

-Stuka

[highender]

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, but in regards to blame, guilt, etc., your passenger was responsible for her own safety. She had to know that motorcycles are indeed dangerous and she made the independent decision to not wear gear. The bike was not at fault for this, the rider was. But the passenger was responsible for whether or not she chose to put on protective clothes/helmet. That said, she is also culpable for her injuries (e.g. the head wound would have been averted if she simply wore a helmet).

The passenger is responsible for their own safety, up to a certain point.

In his OP, MGBenny wrote:
 " . . . and I wasn't careful enough."
". . . Like I said, this was all a result of many bad decisions on my part, and I completely accept that)."
"You had damn well better be prepared for that responsibility."
" I took responsibility for another person and failed miserably."
" But someone I care about is in even worse shape, and I am 100% responsible."
" . . . she liked the thrill of leaning and I wanted to impress her."

She may have liked the thrill of the lean, but he took responsibility for another's well being, and, from his words, "wanted to impress her" and "wasn't careful enough."

Yikes!  I'd say there is liability.

And I truly wish him well in his recovery . . . both physically and mentally. 

[Pogo]

We should stop shitting up Benny's accident thread. The topic of a passenger's responsibility vs. the rider's responsibility should be discussed in a new thread.

[xDaveManx]

These are things he should know and think about, pleasant or not.

[brandochav]

I'm a little confused. You ran out of lean? Were you leaned really far over or did one of your tires just lose grip on some slippery junk on the road.

I know how you feel about hurting your passenger. That's one of my biggest fears in life. Anyway, thanks for the post. It's pretty timely actually, because I've been getting a bit reckless and feeling invincible lately. It sounds weird, but this was sort of sobering for me.

Same here man...getting all the gear for me and my girl now (we have solid helmets and gloves, but that is just the basics)

Man don't beat yourself up, we learn from mistakes, w/o them how could we ever advance in life? You don't know that maybe if this didn't happen you two would have gone out again tonight and hit a lean much harder right into a caravan of drunken teens and been killed or something of similar severity! Or if this didn't happen and you didn't tell this story, that maybe someone on here, me included, may have continued a gradual progression of recklessness and had a worse accident...you could be saving several to many right now at yours and her physical sacrifice...so thanks for telling it. Time heals almost everything, and this is one that time will heal the exterior and interior wounds. She will talk to you again, and you two will both be better off b/c of this in some unforeseen way. You have already learned alot and made a progression in yourself...that's big man.
~Peace be the journey.

[mgbenny]

I don't really agree with that. If someone gets on the back of my bike, I consider myself 100% responsible for their safety and well-being

These are things Benny has been thinking about. incessantly.  and I subscribe to the SOG school of thought.  Period.  She could have made the decision to ride backwards, on her head, in a bikini, and I wouldn't give a shit if she understood the risks, it's my call to say hell no.  extrapolate that down to my situation, it was still my call.  Period.  End of debate.