ATGATT - Aftermath of a friend's collision with a deer at 70 mph

ABout 3 weeks ago, a friend of mine hit a deer at about 70 mph while riding her Triumph Tiger. She is a MSF instructor, and one of the best riders I know. It was dark, and she was following her husband, also on a Tiger. They were on a 4-lane divided highway in eastern Kansas. Her husband saw the deer approach from his left, but the animal was not in the cone of light from his headlight; it was just to the left. He slowed and moved right, and the deer went just to his left. He said he was surprised the he didn't hit the deer with his left saddlebag. He was still braking, and looking in his left mirror when he saw his wife's headlight hit the deck, followed by sparks and stuff flying everywhere. He turned around most rickey-tick and headed back.

She hit the brakes and stayed straight, but tagged the deer on its right rump. She came off the bike to the left, landing on her left hip, mostly. She rolled to her right, and skidded to a stop. She managed to not get run over by the motorcycle. After her husband got to her and did an initial assessment (he's an Army combat veteran), he called 9-1-1. When the EMTs got there, they were surprised to find that the victim was 1) alive and B) alert, talking, and generally in one piece.

She sustained a broken collar bone, a few broken ribs, and multiple contusions on her left hand, right heel and other places. She only lost a tiny bit of skin on her right thumb, where the glove wore through slightly. That's the one element of her gear that she's re-evaluating. verything else did what it was supposed to do.

Here are the photos she posted of her gear after the crash. Her husband is modeling the jacket. She's about 5'-7", 160 lb, athletic. Mid-40s. Like I said before, she's a motorcycle instructor, and a damn fine rider. She's been back to work, but not riding yet. She still has a lot of pain in her hand, and the doctor hasn't cleared her because of the collarbone. She's not sure she can get a jacket on and off by herself. Her husband is still putting the motorcycle back together. I haven't seen any photos of it, but he described to me in detail the damage. Most of the impact was taken by the tubular steel frame that supports the instrument cluster and headlights.

Jacket left side:


Jacket right side. The outer shell is worn through to the armor, but the armor took the abrasion.


Pants. Fairly well chewed up, but intact.


Scorpion helmet. People who wear pudding-bowl helmets must already be so ugly that 150' of road rash would be an improvement.




Heel contusion. Nothing broken, just banged up.


Swollen left hand.


Broken left clavicle:


ZOMG ROAD RASH!!!!111111111EleventyBazillion

The scratches on the helmet looks like it saved her a lot of hurt.

Gear works! Glad she is going to be ok!

Gear is important.

Ask me how I know

And that, folks, is why you wear a full face helmet!

The rash on the chin and screen of the helmet are the most telling. I cringe at the thought of riding without a full face. Skin meat is tender and soft. Hey, but to each his own....

Wow. Glad she was wearing that.

+1

The broken clavicle has to hurt like hell though...ouch!!

I'm barred by mother and wife from even looking at a motorzed two wheel transport :-)

this picture needs to be in a helmet ad.

Everytime you breathe, everytime you smile, it feels like a dagger.

Wow, glad she wasn't more seriously hurt.

What kind of pants was she wearing? I have helmet, gloves, jacket, mc boots, but only own a pair of Kevlar reinforced jeans.

I'm thinking I need to start wearing pants too.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

they look like some sort of firstgear overpants

+2

Swingset ought to be in shortly to add his approval also.

Those are First Gear pants- my First Gear jacket didn't hold up that great; I won't be buying any more of their gear.

ETA- I still wear a pair of Sliders Kevlar lined cargo pants around town, but real riding pants with padding in the hips and knees is a big improvement since those areas always seem to take hard hits, especially in a high side. Most of them have zippers in the back to attach to your jacket too; ironically I can't reach it by myself anymore since breaking an arm in a highside getoff.

+87. My Harley and cruiser riding friends scoff at my ATGATT. I always reply cheaper than skin grafts. BTDT on the roadrash when I was young and stupid. On my commute to work today I was thinking about the deer thread I read last night. I will be getting off the Versys, and start riding a cruiser or FJR soon. I will still be riding in full gear and full face. I always look at the guys in jeans, t-shirt, skid lid and think, man they look comfy. My textile pants are hot, I have to find some mesh pants I can afford. I have 3 jackets, one being mesh. I am thinking my mesh jacket, mesh pants, ,full face,boots, gauntlets or shorty gloves with protection. I still need to get a good pair of street boots, my old Tech 8's would be odd.

What are you guys that ride cruisers for commuting wearing?

I wear a Shoei Multitech modular helmet, Icon mesh/leather gloves (summer), Army issued winter gloves (winter), Icon orange reflective vest...and Army issued ACU/A2CU and boots.

I know that I should wear an actual riding jacket (I have two, one leather and one mesh), but the stupid uniform policies make that difficult. I simply cannot bring myself to wear a skid lid...so I split the difference with a modular.

As others have noted, those are First Gear pants. I think the jacket is a Hein Gericke, but I'm not sure.

Here's the Tiger:

good for you for wearing gear.

It is good for me, but this story is about my friend Teresa!

Meh they are cheaper nylon

I consider that stuff a one shot deal
it appears they did their job

I know that if I ever crash my Aerostich, I can get the damage repaired pretty reasonably. There's a reason the ballistic panels are all sewn on from the outside.

Yep, I bought it when I needed something on a budget. I replaced it with a Scorpion XDR Master- love it. I've worn it all over Laos and Malaysia as well as around North and South Carolina.

And this is why when back in my late teens and early 20's when I rode my R6 I always wore full kit and and full face helmet. My buddies used to give me shit till one of us went down hard and he was wearing only chest cage (think motocross) kevlar jacket, knee pads, and elbow pads...... He had road rash all over the fucking place and that was from only a 50MPH fall, needless to say when I arrived to make sure he was ok and see what he wanted me to about getting the bike fixed he told me to take his thrashed gear and get him full kit like i had.

He then proceeded to regale us with how they "clean" out road rash...... A stiff nylon brush, hydrogen peroxide, and alcohol antiseptic sounds like a shitty way to spend 2 hours in an ER

This and then some.

ouch glad she is ok. yep that is why a full face. what was the jacket? i am needing a light weight summer jacket.
Ronald

Thanks

Like I wrote earlier, I think it was a Gericke, but i'm not certain. I don't know what she got to replace it. I will update if I learn any more.

Glad it was not any worse than it was.

Kudos to her for having on appropriate gear.

May she recover quickly.

This is eyeopening to me

I seriously ride with tennis shoes, shorts, t-shirt and a half face helmet on my '73 CB350. I'm not joking here, thats how I roll(ed).

Man, I need to find good riding gear. Preferably gear that fits my classic bike's style but not mandatory. Any advice would be appreciated.

Op, glad she is okay and will recover.

I ride full gear with the exception of pants. Vanson jacket, Shoei RF1100 face helmet, cruiserworks boots, mc gloves.

This thread will push me to get a Cortech kevlar jeans and some slip over pants.

lucky.

AfreakinMEN. Ow!

Most of the big names (Alpinestars and Dainese come to mind) make some "vintage style" jackets.

Yep. Get a copy of Motorcycle Classics (or any of a dozen others) magazine and look through the ads. If you're not over 6'-0", you can easily find armored jeans. There are several places making armored jean jackets, but plenty of other options in leather and even textile. Boots are easy. Lots of cool boots to choose from. Bell has some vintage-looking graphics on their Vortex (and other) helmets.

That's why it's always a good idea to ride with a full face helmet...those little skull caps don't do a thing if you do down.

Good to hear your buddy is ok for the most part.

Thanks to both of you. I'll look into it!

I'm 6'2". It's hilarious to see a tall guy on a small bike, but I love it so much.

Nothing is more old school than a nice leather jacket. I just noticed your location, a nice kevlar mesh may be better in your hot weather. If it's not comfortable you won't wear it.

I find the mesh to be more comfortable in hot weather than just a t-shirt. It keeps the sun off you so it's like riding in the shade.

I'm 5'11, and I think I have more fun on my wife's CB350 then I do on my Yamaha 600.

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.