09-27-2017, 05:22 AM
First, I'm glad the OP is ok!! That is scary stuff.
So...just adding to the discussion, not trying to start a tussle, I promise! My motorcycle safety instructor insisted the "lay it down" thing is actually not a valid way to avoid a collision. He explained it this way...if momentum is still carrying you and your bike forward, but your tires are no longer able to apply braking force and traction against the street because you've laid it down, then hard (and smooth) parts of your bike are essentially taking the place of your tires. These hard parts are much more likely to slide farther than the bike would have traveled had it remained in an upright position with appropriate braking technique. Not only that, but now the rider has voluntarily placed their own body on the pavement while in motion, and he simply couldn't endorse that under any circumstances. His theory was the rider should always stay with the bike and use the controls, don't take the chance that a bike (and rider) sliding across the pavement is ever a valid way out. In the circumstance described here, he might have said, "so the front tire came to rest just under the car's side panel, ok, but that tells me had you stayed in the saddle and kept the bike under control, then there actually was time and space to avoid the car after all."
Personally, I'm very lucky to never have been in this situation (knock on wood), so I can't say I'm an expert. What the instructor said seemed to make sense to me, though. One of many things I remember from class.
So...just adding to the discussion, not trying to start a tussle, I promise! My motorcycle safety instructor insisted the "lay it down" thing is actually not a valid way to avoid a collision. He explained it this way...if momentum is still carrying you and your bike forward, but your tires are no longer able to apply braking force and traction against the street because you've laid it down, then hard (and smooth) parts of your bike are essentially taking the place of your tires. These hard parts are much more likely to slide farther than the bike would have traveled had it remained in an upright position with appropriate braking technique. Not only that, but now the rider has voluntarily placed their own body on the pavement while in motion, and he simply couldn't endorse that under any circumstances. His theory was the rider should always stay with the bike and use the controls, don't take the chance that a bike (and rider) sliding across the pavement is ever a valid way out. In the circumstance described here, he might have said, "so the front tire came to rest just under the car's side panel, ok, but that tells me had you stayed in the saddle and kept the bike under control, then there actually was time and space to avoid the car after all."
Personally, I'm very lucky to never have been in this situation (knock on wood), so I can't say I'm an expert. What the instructor said seemed to make sense to me, though. One of many things I remember from class.