Kickstand Conversations Episode 009: Our Motorcycle Accident Stories, and How They Changed the Way We Ride

Goofy opened this episode of Kickstand Conversations by calling accidents the taboo subject of motorcycling, the thing nobody wants to talk about even though every rider knows it can happen. So the four of us (me, Trekkie, Goofy, and Scott) traded motorcycle accident stories. Some were funny, some were scary, and a couple were a little of both.

It’s not as grim as it sounds. The conversation kept circling back to how a crash or a near miss changes the way you ride afterward, and how a guy who once ignored slush and rain now stays home over a snowflake. Goofy also brought some numbers, and we finished with the safety tech we think might actually help.

If you’d rather hear the whole conversation, including the parts that only work out loud, the full episode is right above. Here’s the recap.

Trekkie’s Two Big Crashes in London

Trekkie went first, and he had the two best stories of the night. Both happened in London in the mid 90s on his KMX125, a bike he called cursed but clearly loved.

The Roundabout and the Silver Mercedes

Trekkie was in the straight-ahead lane of a huge multi-lane roundabout in Wandsworth (he walked us through the lane rules, and I got lost somewhere around lane three). A silver Mercedes next to him decided at the last second to turn left, cut across traffic, hit him, and drove off.

He ended up on the ground in the middle of the roundabout, badly concussed, with his vision gone white and his ears ringing, and two lanes of cars coming at him. A stranger stopped his car to block traffic, helped him to the side, walked the bike over, and stayed until Trekkie was okay. The bike wasn’t damaged. Trekkie rode straight home, still shaken, and it’s the worst concussion he’s ever had. He was wearing a knockoff jacket, jeans, good gloves, and a cheap helmet, and he figures the low speed is the only reason that was survivable.

The Driver Who Looked Right at Him

The second one happened on his early morning commute, in the dark. An older driver in a white car sat waiting to turn right across Trekkie’s lane. Trekkie could see him looking straight at him. When Trekkie was a few feet away, the driver pulled out.

Trekkie hit the driver’s door, flipped over the car, and landed on the pavement on the far side. He wasn’t hurt, but the forks were bent. A friend with a fork-straightening rig fixed them. The driver’s explanation was that he simply didn’t see him, even with a headlight pointed at his face. Trekkie’s conclusion is that drivers look through motorcycles because they expect a wider vehicle or two lights.

Trekkie’s takeaway was retro-reflective gear. Goofy pushed back that a reflective vest won’t matter if your headlight is already on the driver and they still don’t see you. Trekkie agreed, and then admitted that 25 years later he still rides around in all black.

Getting Rear-Ended at a Red Light on the MT-09

My story is the tamest of the bunch. Mine happened on the MT-09, and I wrote up what the repair cost separately, so I’ll keep that part short.

I was stopped at a red light on Route 422, traffic not moving, watching what was ahead of me. Then there was a big jolt, I saw sky, and the bike went out from under me. I jumped off and never actually hit the ground. I was in gear, which is why the bike lurched, and my first thought was that the clutch cable had snapped.

The driver was a grandmother with her grandson in the car. She kept telling a witness that her husband (who rides too) was going to be furious with her. The kid, maybe eight or ten, tried to smooth things over by telling me she’d only been texting. A guy standing next to me suggested the kid stop talking.

The best part was where it happened. We were right in front of a random house, and the homeowner came out with water (I was standing there in full gear on a warm day), helped me get the bike off the road, and offered to haul it on his motorcycle trailer. I’d already called for a tow truck because I didn’t plan on paying for the repair, but I really appreciated it. That’s two of us who got help from a stranger at the worst possible moment.

The repair ran about five thousand dollars, and the bike was down for a couple of months waiting on parts. Trekkie pointed out the supply chain mess around that time. What stayed with me is how I feel at a stoplight now. I’d checked traffic behind me several times while waiting on that light, and she still hit me during the one moment I wasn’t looking.

Lane Filtering and Why Drivers Don’t See Motorcycles

Trekkie asked whether the US should let riders filter to the front of traffic like they do in Europe. I don’t think filtering would have prevented the accident, since she was on her phone and would have hit whatever was in front of her. But I get the appeal of not being a sitting duck at the back of the line.

Trekkie said that in the UK, riders are allowed to filter to the front at lights, there’s often a space for motorcycles to gather, and drivers don’t get upset. Motorcycles are everywhere in London (couriers, delivery riders, commuters), and drivers have to show they’re looking for them as part of the driving test. He compared it to California.

Goofy wasn’t buying that it would work in Pennsylvania. The driver at the front would be rolling down his window and yelling, and a new rule would only reach new drivers, while the long-time drivers who make up most of the road are the ones likely to run you over. Trekkie added that with far fewer motorcycles here, restriping intersections for them isn’t a realistic fix. Goofy said he’d seen more bicyclists than motorcycles on his ride that day.

Motorcycle Accident Stories From Goofy and Scott

Goofy’s was his first real crash, when he was 19 or 20 and riding with his brother-in-law on back roads in Jersey. He took a right curve, didn’t lean in enough, locked the rear brake, and slid across the oncoming lane into the weeds. He was wearing a twenty-nine dollar helmet, jeans, a t-shirt, and brand new Nikes, and no gloves. He walked away with a scratched stomach from the handlebar, a lightly sprained ankle, and scuffed shoes, which he says was the worst part. His point, tying back to the previous episode on new riders, is that you don’t realize how inexperienced you are until something happens.

Scott hasn’t had a bad crash, only small drops. His perspective comes from work. His company has a towing division, and after about twenty years of seeing motorcycle wrecks, he said it has desensitized him a bit. It’s a big part of why he’s so firm about wearing gear and not riding too fast.

How Getting Older Changes the Way You Ride

Trekkie said he used to ride in slush and pouring rain on knobby tires without a second thought. Now a single snowflake and he’s staying home. He rides more carefully at intersections too, since that’s where most wrecks happen. Goofy takes unfamiliar roads easy the first time, especially when he’s alone, and watches a driver’s wheels at stops because once they roll, he knows they’re coming.

Trekkie also hates heavily tinted windows, since they take away any chance of making eye contact with a driver. Tint is still illegal in the UK where he’s from. Goofy admitted to owning a vehicle so dark he had to roll the windows down to see out of his own driveway.

Trekkie shared one more near miss from Route 100, just past Route 23. He came around a corner and found a line of stopped traffic that’s never normally there. He picked the right side by the wall and the little ditch instead of oncoming traffic, and stopped even with the last car. His heart was pounding, and now he wonders what’s around that corner every time he rides it. About halfway through the episode, I asked if anyone else felt uncomfortable and wanted to drape a rosary over their motorcycles. Goofy already had rosaries on his bike.

The Numbers Goofy Brought

Goofy came with 2024 statistics, and I’m reporting them as he read them. Motorcyclists made up roughly 16 percent of US traffic fatalities while accounting for about 3 percent of registered vehicles. He said motorcyclists were nearly 27 times more likely to die per mile traveled than people in passenger cars. He said most motorcycle crashes are single-vehicle crashes. He also said that among fatally injured riders in states with universal helmet laws, 89 percent were wearing helmets, compared with 40 percent in states without them.

Trekkie remembered his Total Control instructor saying more than half of motorcycle accidents involve alcohol. He wasn’t sure the number was solid, but he noted it would fit with so many crashes being single-vehicle. Goofy’s point on that is that you have to balance the bike, so any impairment gets exaggerated on two wheels. Scott added that balance goes too.

I made the obligatory joke that 87 percent of statistics are made up. Trekkie added his old 90s “stat” about Volvos, and the BMW drivers got roasted for a while, which is much funnier in the video (Scott, a BMW rider, defended his turn signals). Goofy summed up the serious side as “speed kills.”

Safety Tech We Talked About

Airbags, Helmets, and MIPS

Trekkie ran through the usual list: ABS lets you brake and swerve, traction control helps keep you upright, and airbag vests or neck rings can deploy by tether or by motion. Goofy’s concern was the cost of repacking one after it goes off. I figure if it’s deployed you won’t care, unless you hop off the bike and forget to unhook the tether.

That led to the question of how many of us replace a helmet after dropping it. Goofy buys new ones often enough that he says it doesn’t matter. Mine blew off the seat in the wind and has a scuff in the shell, and I didn’t replace it.

MIPS came up next, and Trekkie said he’s glad to see it spreading. Scott wears a Bell MX-9 with MIPS and says it makes him feel a little better, though he rides the same as before and doesn’t see it as a complete shield. He’s noticing more mid-grade and higher-end helmets adding it.

Blind Spot Monitors and Bikes That Think

I wondered how much car tech will end up on motorcycles. My MT-09 has a six-axis IMU that knows how the bike is leaning, and modern cars all have blind spot monitors. Goofy mentioned the new Indian baggers have them, and Trekkie said some Ducati touring and adventure models do too, with a few adding radar.

The disagreement was about how much help is too much. Trekkie wondered how soon until bikes get some level of collision avoidance. Goofy was clear that he wants warnings but doesn’t want the bike taking over for him. Scott said he’s waiting to see the little yellow blind spot light on a motorcycle mirror, like on his wife’s new Jeep. Trekkie also mentioned Honda’s self-balancing concept, based on the same kind of tech as a Segway.

We closed on speed wobble. Trekkie described what he took from a video he watched, which is to hold on but not tight, acting like a light steering damper. Goofy’s version was to let it shake until it slows down enough to correct itself. Trekkie has seen a speed wobble crash in California, and said correct tire pressure and unworn tires help.

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You can also check out the co-hosts’ channels. Trekkie’s is TrekkieMoto, Goofy’s is Goofy Bastard, and Scott’s is Scott’s Moto Adventures.