When I took the Motorcycle Safety Training class, we were told over and over again: when approaching a curve—slow down and look. But what do you do when there is no warning of a curve and you can't see one coming?
Jynean and I were riding in Central Alabama on an unfamiliar road that parallels with U.S. Highway 82. At one time the road we were on was the main road between Columbus, MS and Tuscaloosa. When the 4-lane highway was built, the engineers straightened out the many curves and left open the remaining sections of the old highway, now named Pickens County Road 30.
Pickens County is one of the poorest counties in that almost all of the secondary roads are unpaved and the paved ones are not maintained. On one rare mowing of the roadside, the mower cut down the sign that warned drivers of an impending curve. A sign with a bold forward-pointing arrow and totally faded red symbol appears just before the road drops and curves to the left and a busy 4-lane highway about 50 yards away awaits the unwary.
I was leading and Jynean was far to my rear when we went for a ride on this seemingly serene, beautiful road. Suddenly, I was on my brakes and downshifting and before I had a conscious thought, I could hear Jynean’s tires squealing, then a loud crash. In shock I pulled my bike (we were both riding Yamaha 650s) to the side of the road, hit the kill switch, turned the key and got off. I turned around and saw her lying on her right side in a fetal position, head first against an embankment; I ran to her and heard her moaning and could get no response. I needed to call 911 immediately, but I'd left my cell phone at home. I picked up hers and found it crushed and unusable.
I turned and ran to the four-lane highway and stood holding the phone open and pointing up the hill. The scene could be observed if a passenger or driver turned his/her head, but no one stopped for the longest time. Finally several cars pulled up and some people came running; I asked someone to call 911. Another woman (Angela) told me she was a nurse and took over until the EMTs arrived, and another woman handed me an unfamiliar phone to use to call family but I had to ask her to make the call for me. After the EMTs came, Angela (Angel) told me she had just attended her mother's funeral and now had to leave.
I could go on and on with this saga, but the summary of her injuries is four broken ribs, a broken collar bone, a broken shoulder blade, lacerated liver, damaged kidney and adrenal gland, concussion, and a partially deflated lung. She has a sprained wrist and road rash where her leather jacket sleeve was pushed up; those were the only visible signs of the crash. She was unconscious for hours and couldn't answer simple questions for two days. She still has no memory of the accident. I'm happy for her because I certainly do.
I'll leave you to your own conclusions of what would have happened if she hadn't worn a 3/4 helmet with face shield, a leather jacket, jeans, and high boots. After a week spent in ICU and Critical Care, she was sent home where the real job began. Having to be fed, wiped, waited on hand and foot is not for the faint-hearted. At least not for those who have & the drive to be in constant motion, like Jynean.
Jackson
