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Crashed, Clavicle Fracture, and Concussion

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subarashii

subarashii

New member
Joined
May 16, 2011
Location
Bay Area
Moto(s)
Honda NC700X
Name
David
I had a crash yesterday morning round 9 AM on Page Mill Road. The road condition was excellent, dry, and no other substances on the surface. Had all the protection (helmet, protective jacket/pants, gloves, and boots) when the crash happened.

Due to the concussion, I don't have any recollection of what happened. I only remember standing on the side of the road with my bike, and a cyclist telling me that I crashed. I don't remember anything about the turn and how I approached the turn.

Bike damage: scratched windshield, front fender, rear mirror (left), left crutch, and left luggage. It's operational, and I rode home myself after the crash.

Since I don't remember anything, I went back to the place this morning and took some pictures. What I guess the possible causes of the crash:
1) going too fast knowing that it's the route I ride all the time and lost control
2) trying to avoid some car, bike, or bicycle and lost control

Location from Google Map:
http://goo.gl/maps/QSs6
BikeAccident06302012.1.jpg
Page Mill Road, going downhill.

Location:
BikeAccident06302012.2.jpg
Looking uphill where the crash happend.

Where my bike ended up:
BikeAccident06302012.3.jpg
I only remember standing here (after the crash). The bike was up already. Maybe with the help from the cyclist?

Location:
BikeAccident06302012.4.jpg
From a different angle (looking downhill).

Helmet:
BikeAccident06302012.5.jpg
Visible damage on the sides, front, faceshield, and chin area.

Jacket:
BikeAccident06302012.6.jpg
Damaged pretty bad on the shoulder area.

XRay:
BikeAccident06302012.7.jpg
The fractures .... As what the xray technician told me, "one bone became two".

What should I do next time?
Since I don't know what I did this time, not sure exactly how I can answer this one. But I guess the general rules always apply and I should focus on every single turn and ride at the pace that I am comfortable.

Perhaps, some fellow barfers had similar clavicle fractures before. Would like to hear about your experience and what you suggest about recovery from this injury.

Thank you and ride safe.
- David
 
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Looks like you were close to the double yellow before going down so perhaps there was an oncoming vehicle with wheels on the double yellow that panicked you?

Work on late apex cornering?

A friend broke his clavicle in April of 2011 and the VA doctors chose not to operate, (the x-ray looked almost identical to yours).

Evidently it's rare to operate on regular folks, though it's common amongst professional motorcycle and bicycle racers.

Never knitted back together so he can't lift as much weight on that side as he used to.
 
Thanks for posting such a detailed account, David. I'm glad you're OK.

I've broken a clavicle in a motorcycle crash. At first it was sort of scary. I rode the bike home and was obviously dejected, then did the self-evaluation and found two bits where there used to be one and went "uh oh". Unless it's an unusual fracture, it's probably going to heal up in 6 weeks. You have to keep it immobilized with a sling; there's not much else they can do. Sleeping was the biggest PITA for me. I was able to get through my day-to-day existence without help. I wrote code for a living, so it was just a matter of finding a seating position that allowed me to type while keeping load off the bone.

From the photos of the crash site, I would guess that you thought you were a little too hot into the turn, braked, and lowsided. I'm inferring that from the pavement marks, which appear to be a skidmark and metal scraping. At first it's rubber only--the brake locks up. Then, the metal scraping appears toward the inside of the turn--contact as the low side touches down. And finally, the rubber disappears--you release the brake as you fall--and there's only metal where the bike left the road. The jacket damage confirms a low-side on the left (not to mention the clavicle).

The turn appears to tighten up as you get into it. So a little more speed than usual, or a distraction that took your mind and eyes off your intended path, could have startled you and caused you to apply brake.

You're apparently not the first to go off in that spot. Where the bike ended up is where 20ft of fence is missing.
 
Since it's a blank slate, I'm going to toss out some thoughts.

Obviously it was a lowside on the left. Close to the double yellow and just before you'd start your turn-in.

I will say that being a cruiser, you might have been giving a cyclist some extra room and got too close to the paint and maybe used rear brake. Rear and front tried to swap places, lowside results.

or

Front over paint, last minute corrections for cyclist, front end washout.

Going down hard and openfaced like that comes (front of shoulder and faceplate impact) from a dramatic front or rear washout. Limited reaction time and G force directional change straight down.

I wish you a full recovery.
 
I am guessing that you highsided. The leather jacket damage is on the front left and not on the outside. I am guessing that you hit your clavicle on the handlebar during a highside. Is there damage only on one side of the bike or both?
 
GAJ said:
... there was an oncoming vehicle with wheels on the double yellow that panicked you?
Work on late apex cornering?
Click to expand...

Don't remember if there was an incoming vehicle. Not really working on late apex cornering either.
 
DataDan said:
Thanks for posting such a detailed account, David. I'm glad you're OK.

I've broken a clavicle in a motorcycle crash. At first it was sort of scary. I rode the bike home and was obviously dejected, then did the self-evaluation and found two bits where there used to be one and went "uh oh". Unless it's an unusual fracture, it's probably going to heal up in 6 weeks. You have to keep it immobilized with a sling; there's not much else they can do. Sleeping was the biggest PITA for me. I was able to get through my day-to-day existence without help. I wrote code for a living, so it was just a matter of finding a seating position that allowed me to type while keeping load off the bone.

From the photos of the crash site, I would guess that you thought you were a little too hot into the turn, braked, and lowsided. I'm inferring that from the pavement marks, which appear to be a skidmark and metal scraping. At first it's rubber only--the brake locks up. Then, the metal scraping appears toward the inside of the turn--contact as the low side touches down. And finally, the rubber disappears--you release the brake as you fall--and there's only metal where the bike left the road. The jacket damage confirms a low-side on the left (not to mention the clavicle).

The turn appears to tighten up as you get into it. So a little more speed than usual, or a distraction that took your mind and eyes off your intended path, could have startled you and caused you to apply brake.

You're apparently not the first to go off in that spot. Where the bike ended up is where 20ft of fence is missing.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advices.
 
Snapping Twig said:
Since it's a blank slate, I'm going to toss out some thoughts.

Obviously it was a lowside on the left. Close to the double yellow and just before you'd start your turn-in.

I will say that being a cruiser, you might have been giving a cyclist some extra room and got too close to the paint and maybe used rear brake. Rear and front tried to swap places, lowside results.

or

Front over paint, last minute corrections for cyclist, front end washout.

Going down hard and openfaced like that comes (front of shoulder and faceplate impact) from a dramatic front or rear washout. Limited reaction time and G force directional change straight down.

I wish you a full recovery.
Click to expand...

Thank you.
 
Hank Wong said:
I am guessing that you highsided. The leather jacket damage is on the front left and not on the outside. I am guessing that you hit your clavicle on the handlebar during a highside. Is there damage only on one side of the bike or both?
Click to expand...

The damage for both bike and myself is only on one side (left).
 
Subarashii, I'm glad to hear that your injuries weren't as bad as they could have been.

Let's try and figure out what took place that day:
Have you ever ridden Hwy 9 through this particular curve before the day of your crash? When you ride roads like these, do you typically ride at the speed limit? Where do you look as you ride through curves/corners?

If you are able to answer these questions, we may be able to narrow down the most likely contributors to you crash.
 
Enchanter said:
Subarashii, I'm glad to hear that your injuries weren't as bad as they could have been.

Let's try and figure out what took place that day:
Have you ever ridden Hwy 9 through this particular curve before the day of your crash? When you ride roads like these, do you typically ride at the speed limit? Where do you look as you ride through curves/corners?

If you are able to answer these questions, we may be able to narrow down the most likely contributors to you crash.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

The route I took on that day: Page Mill (from PA going uphill), 35 (going south), Bear Creek Rd (going west), 9 (going north), 35 (going north), and then Page Mill. Yes, I had ridden 9 earlier on that day.

I usually go a little faster than the speed limit.

Don't remember exactly where I was looking at the moment. In most cases, I try to look at the direction I am going, instead of looking at the corner.
 
speaking for your clavicle fracture only. It seems these days, they only give you a sling for a clavicle fracture, which to me, is not enough. the bones are pushed in after the break, and I personally, would use a figure-8 sling. It pulls your shoulders back, and in essence brings the two broken ends back to as close a normal position as possible. just my thoughts on it. :)

pain killers, take them. could be as easy as Ibuprofen/Motrin or Tylenol. the pain in the first few days is greater, cause the bones are so loose. take some pain meds 20-30 min before doing anything strenuous and it should help loads.

At costco, they sell a supplement called "Noni Juice" (also comes in capsules). It's supposed to speed up the process of bone mending (calcification). I was pointed towards it when I broke my clavicle, by an AFM racer, and it seemed to work for me.
pro tip: get the capsules, 2 a day, cause the juice tastes NASTY! :laughing

clavicle fractures aren't normally operated on, unless they are in multiple pieces, you have a nice ortho surgeon, you got tons of money, or make your money as a moto racer (to name a few).
 
machete said:
speaking for your clavicle fracture only. It seems these days, they only give you a sling for a clavicle fracture, which to me, is not enough. the bones are pushed in after the break, and I personally, would use a figure-8 sling. It pulls your shoulders back, and in essence brings the two broken ends back to as close a normal position as possible. just my thoughts on it. :)

pain killers, take them. could be as easy as Ibuprofen/Motrin or Tylenol. the pain in the first few days is greater, cause the bones are so loose. take some pain meds 20-30 min before doing anything strenuous and it should help loads.

At costco, they sell a supplement called "Noni Juice" (also comes in capsules). It's supposed to speed up the process of bone mending (calcification). I was pointed towards it when I broke my clavicle, by an AFM racer, and it seemed to work for me.
pro tip: get the capsules, 2 a day, cause the juice tastes NASTY! :laughing

clavicle fractures aren't normally operated on, unless they are in multiple pieces, you have a nice ortho surgeon, you got tons of money, or make your money as a moto racer (to name a few).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips!
 
Wow, sounds like you got very lucky! Glad you're in 1 piece and still sucking wind.

But, I want to admonish you a bit about one thing. You stated you had concussed, plus, cant remember the crash, then drove home. I'm sorry, but WTF are you thinking?

:shocker Never Never NEVER get back on a bike after this type of an event. Go straight to the ER and get your noggin scanned and checked out along with your body and innards. Even what you consider to be a drive away crash gets thrown out the window once concussion and memory loss occur or broken anything. That game changer is very dangerous, and you up'd the ante by getting back on the bike. It is likely you were still in shock which means your reasoning capabilities are garbage. This is real simple 1 + 1 math, ready? CRASH + CONCUSSION (or) BROKEN BONE = AMBULANCE RIDE.

Sorry to be a dick about this, but seriously, that was a really bad (actually STUPID) decision getting back on the bike after. You are in no shape to ride a bike after what you described at all. You place yourself and others around you in fatal danger when you saddled back up. There's plenty of folks who would have come and got you and your bike here on teh barf and took you straight away to Stanford or ECH to get you checked out.

I hope this critical post crash mistake will wake others up to call for help next time and please get checked out asap by a Hospital as quickly as possible. If you cant get any help, please just dial 911 and say you've crashed your bike and need medical help asap. If someone drives by and stops, ask them to call for you and stay as still as possible. Forget about the bike and any yard sale you left on the street, it means nothing compared to your life. We have all been painfully reminded to many times that injuries post the crash event can lead to possible death. Do whats best for you and get Emergency Responders and ER help asap next time.
The last thing anyone wants is to read about you in the paper the next day.
 
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Papi said:
Wow, sounds like you got very lucky! Glad you're in 1 piece and still sucking wind.

But, I want to admonish you a bit about one thing. You stated you had concussed, plus, cant remember the crash, then drove home. I'm sorry, but WTF are you thinking?

:shocker Never Never NEVER get back on a bike after this type of an event. Go straight to the ER and get your noggin scanned and checked out along with your body and innards. Even what you consider to be a drive away crash gets thrown out the window once concussion and memory loss occur. That game changer is very dangerous, and you up'd the ante by getting back on the bike.

Sorry to be a dick about this, but seriously, that was a really bad decision getting back on the bike after. There's plenty of folks who would have come and got you and your bike here on teh barf and took you straight away to Stanford or ECH to get you checked out.

I hope this critical post crash mistake will wake others up to call for help next time and please get checked out asap by a Hospital as quickly as possible. If you cant get any help, please just dial 911 and say you've crashed your bike and need medical help asap. If someone drives by and stops, ask them to call for you and stay as still as possible. Forget about the bike, it means nothing compared to your life. We have all been painfully reminded to many times that injuries post the crash event can lead to possible death. Do whats best for you and get Emergency Responders and ER help asap next time.
The last thing anyone wants is to read about you in the paper the next day.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I guess I wasn't thinking at all...
 
Hey guys, I think that we've covered the post crash injuries pretty well, let's bring this back to crash analysis, leaning towards prevention of the crash in the first place.
 
Bummer David, glad yer o.k. Miss riding with you. :ride
I too broke mah clavicle in a bike crash :twofinger Tim!

Looks like you apexed way early, and locked/lost the front. (I think I see a skid mark right outside where the scrape begins?)
My guess is that you went into the 1st right hand corner hot, way hot, which set you up to apex way too early for the 2nd left hand corner where you prolly applied a little brake, 'n lost the front and bailed.
You don't wanta be that close the the DY going into a corner.
This here picture is most telling...

BikeAccident063020122.jpg


My :2cents
 
Banjoboy said:
Bummer David, glad yer o.k. Miss riding with you. :ride
I too broke mah clavicle in a bike crash :twofinger Tim!

Looks like you apexed way early, and locked/lost the front. (I think I see a skid mark right outside where the scrape begins?)
My guess is that you went into the 1st right hand corner hot, way hot, which set you up to apex way too early for the 2nd left hand corner where you prolly applied a little brake, 'n lost the front and bailed.
You don't wanta be that close the the DY going into a corner.
This here picture is most telling...

My :2cents
Click to expand...

Thanks Andy!
 
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