Said Goodbye....looking forward...

[ksgsd]

On Jan 15th, my daughter borrowed by RSTD to go for a relaxing ride. Little did either of us know that it wouldn't be very relaxing thanks to a 15 yo boy driving without a drivers license or permit. He ran a light and hit her head on at 40 mph in the middle of an intersection. She came off the bike, hit his windshield and broke it and then went over the car and ended up laying face down in the middle of a very busy intersection. She was wearing leathers, but no helmet. Thankfully, she is fine...though it took the ER $25,000 in medical bills to decide that. And thankfully there were witnesses willing to go on record to say that she had the green and the 15 yo had run the light, and the 4 boys in the car were all lying and saying it was her fault while they were putting her in the ambulance. Grrr! The cop said that with out the witnesses, they would have ticketed my daughter as there were 4 boys in the car and it would have been their word against hers, but the 3rd party witnesses confirmed my dd's story. I guess that my daughter just kept telling everyone that it wasn't her fault and that she needed to get the bike cause it was her mom's. LOL The officer felt it was important enough to tell me that there was nothing my dd could have done...she had no where to go and couldn't have avoided the accident in their opinion. The eyewitnesses also agreed. The other driver got 3 tickets for inattentive driving, failure to yield and driving without a license. I hope they cancel his parents insurance too, as not only did he lie to the officers that night, but they also refused to cooperate with the insurance companies and haven't done anything since the accident to try to get the situation settled. I'm thinking we'll end up in court. My dd was only in the ER for 3 hours, they did CTs on her body and xrays and sent her home with Tylenol and told her to go back to normal activity. The doctor didn't do a head CT, which shocked me when I found out a few days later, and we ended up having to argue with the dr.s to get one as she was having dizziness and head aches. She did injure her right hand/thumb, but that is better now, and she's seeing a chiropractor for whiplash, but all in all, she was very lucky and walked away with no permanent injuries. My bike did not fair so well. She was totalled....broke both the front forks, moved the tank back 2 inches and bent the mounting bolts, and put the tire back into the radiator. Really, she held up pretty well considering the hit she took, and the fact that my dd is OK I attribute at least partially to how well the bike was made. Oh, it totalled out the Toyota Camry that the kid was driving, which comforts me a bit anyway...well, it gives me some personal satisfaction at least. So, State Farm (the other car's insurance) has admitted fault and we're now waiting for dd's medical treatments to be finished so we can talk settlement, but my insurance has paid for the loss of my bike. So, now I'm shopping for another RSTD or perhaps a Venture. Anyone have any suggestions or bikes for sale?

[Freebird]

Sounds like you have been through quiet an ordeal. I'm so thankful that it turned out as well as it has. You, your daughter and family have much to be thankful for.

[bryan52577]

I am SO HAPPY your daughter made it through with as few injuries as she did. I also hope that it didn't scare her away from riding and I hope you find the next bike of your dreams.

 

Bryan

[etcswjoe]

Glad to hear your daughter is going to be ok. I hope and pray all goes well.

[ragtop69gs]

Your daughter is OK that's all that matters. The hardware can be replaced.

[Freebird]

Hey, one more thing. Be sure to check our classifieds. There are several bikes listed here for sale.

[ksgsd]

Scare my daughter away from riding? Are you kidding? She was back on a bike the next day..well, on the back of a bike...she wasn't able to ride herself until her hand healed up, and she still can't ride for more than about 30 min at a time, but she's a tough one...and ain't nothing going to keep her from riding. She does admit that oncoming headlights at intersections make her pause a bit...but she's getting over it a little at a time. I'm glad she was on the RSTD, as her bike is a Vstar 650 and I think she'd have been hurt alot worse if she'd been on it. She's planning to also get a Royal Star of her own this year, as she says mine has spoiled her for other bikes. LOL

 

Thanks for all the well wishes and thoughts...it's been an ordeal for sure, and not one I want to repeat ever, but I'm truly thankful it wasn't worse. Now I just have to deal with the insurance companies and lawyers...what fun. Course, a new bike to ride will make that much easier to deal with.

[Mike G in SC]

Thank God she is okay,, buy a new bike,,,, and I have never said this before,, get her a helmet.

[cecdoo]

Really glad to hear your daughter is ok, hope she continues to heal up without any problems. with the Ins Co.

 

Craig

[playboy]

Glad she is ok gave me a chill reading it. Sounds like some negligent parents are involved.

[BG Hawks]

Thank you for sharing and glad to hear your daughter is ok. Tell her to take it slow. I was hit by a drunk driver 7 years ago. I was in my car thank God as he was doing over 90mph. Took me a long time to recover and sometimes today I still feel it.

 

Glad to hear somebody stepped up and did the right thing. Not blaming the kid for taking the car; I know alot guys who did it when I was their age. Lying about it however shows you were our society is. I will step down off the soap box.

 

Keeping you and your daughter in our prayers for a speedy recovery.

[Rosie1965]

I went through the same thing with my son a couple years ago on my Madura. Really scary getting that phone call. Some gal in a hurry to get to WalMart cut him off in intersection. He was wearing a helmet luckily but was really bruised in the groin area. Pics show damage to the tank from his body.

Bikes can be replaced, loved ones can't.

http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x337/steve_roseman/th_IMG_0930.jpg

http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x337/steve_roseman/th_IMG_0929.jpg

[XV1100SE]

Glad your daughter is ok. That is the important part of all this.

[rickardracing]

Most important, she is ok. Now lawyer up and take them for what they got. And make sure she wears a helmet next time.

[CaptainJoe]

Your daughter really lucked out on this one. Really happy for her. Just goes to prove the more flexable one is, the less chance of injuries.

 

I'd buy her a Full face.

 

As for the bike she was riding, I have to agree, she probably would have been worse off on the 650 Vstar. The seat on a 650 is lower and more layed back while the handle bars are higher. On your bike and a RSV your sitting "higher" and can luanch you off easier. Given the two choices, I'd rather take my chances with leaving the bike and not having to deal with a sudden stop.

[Marcarl]

Glad to hear that it all turned out a lot better for you all, then what could have been. Guess the most help we could be, is to ask our Creator for safety and guidance for you all.

[Phoneman1981]

Hello: Thanks for sharing. Happy your daughter was not injured more severely than she was.

[Rickster]

Glad to hear your daughter will be ok , she is very lucky.

[PBJ]

As a father with a daughter that also rides I'm glad to hear that your daughter escaped with few injuries. I'm also impressed my a mom who lends her daughter her venture for a pleasure ride.

 

Just to let you know there is a 2004 Venture like your for sale at Pioneer Yamaha in Chaffee N.Y. Look them up and give them a call if you re looking for a similar bike. I saw it last week and when i saw yours It brought that to mind. I'm sure members here wouldn't mind ferrying it across country for you. best wishes to your daughter again.

[GolfVenture]

Glad to hear your daughter is find and will soon be 100% again.

 

I don't know what the laws and processes are in Kansas, but this is what I've done in past couple of car accidents that were not my fault, and if you can afford to wait to settle the medical.

 

In Washington if it is 2 seperate insurance company I have 3 years to settle. I keep going to the Dr and/or Chrioprator for anything that I think is accident related and until the Dr and the Chiropratic and physicial theropy released me. I wait till the other insurance company makes an settlement offer. I counter with a hugh counter. they up their settlement but we never come to an agreement but I get a letter from them for their final offer.

 

Now I take the letter to an athorney and tell the athorney that they can have their normal 1/3 of anything above the last offer. They revierw the case to decide if it is worth their time, and normally it is. The insurance co up the offer another 30% and I got 2/3 of that. It mounted to several more thousands of dollars.

 

In my case the other driver had no insurance and so it went against my uninsurance motorist which then extends the 3 years to 6 years. it has been 10 years since my accident and I've not seen any significant hike in my preinums.

 

This suggestion was given to me by a friend who spent his entire 30 years in the auto insurance co business.

 

Another thing is never settle the medical till near the end of the time period. He shared a couple of stories where the person settled and a year later a brain injury developed and the Dr related it to the accident. Once settled and signed there is no recourse.

 

Good Luck.

[RandyR]

glad to hear she's going to be ok. as you said, she's a tough cookie.

[Blooz]

Glad your daughter is ok!!

[Yammer Dan]

Glad Daughter is doing OK. "PLEASE" talk to her about a helmet. Modular if you can.

[darthandy]

Very happy your daughter came out OK. Freedom of choice is nice but a well protected head is better. Tell her to get a good helmet.

 

Andy

[sarges46]

The best news is that she is alright! Wow....her angel was riding close that day for sure!