Carrying a light small back-pack(enough to cover ur back) has always helped me in accidents . The back pack takes the assault of tarmac during the sliding phase ....
Looks very silly to carry the empty back pack where ever i go , but this is what i learned from earlier experiences .

Often, riding skill has little to do against accidents and we may speak of various techniques. They are good.. to some degree. As military experts say regarding war. Amateur talk about strategy. Experts talks about logistic.

In a way, while riding/driving, its less to do with technique and skills. Its a lot to do with attitude. One reason why we see fewer older people inolve with accident than youngsters. Been driving/riding for almost 20 years now. At the risk of being sounding arrogant, let me say, I've "been there, done that" and I live to say nothing beats 'slow and steady' when it comes to safety.

Keep the bike Straight when you know you are going to hit

While accidents keep the bike straight and apply on-off braking(it means not to hold your brakes for long, rather grab and realease the brake), it will mean the bike has less chances of skidding. Do the on-off braking till bike is under a controlable speed.
Have a mind set of hitting the obstracle(unless its a 4 wheeler ), it helps you keep your bike straight and its the best chance you have to stop your bike, if the bike is tilted it will fall down for sure.

Riding within limits and avoiding temptations of racing against others, lots of anticipation of people suddenly crossing or cutting preparing for this when you see things developing early rather than when you are almost on them, I have managed to ride without any falls for over 20 years, well this does not means riding slowly but fast when conditions are favorable. A visit to hospital for a broken leg with long rest in bed is sure thing to make things in right perspective. I had a fall from a cycle accident with car landing on concrete resulting in shattered knee.
So enjoy the riding rather than competing which we leave to tracks, I feel top speed does not equate thrill but taking curves with right attitude

Crashed Yesterday...and I am paying for it...

Was riding along a lane which has bikes parked on the side with very little space (only one lane of traffic)...saw that is empty, revved up a little and crashed into the right of an oncoming Indica. Bike not damaged much. GEAR saved me!

Owned up for the accident and offered to pay the damages.

Lessons learnt - When faced with a risk, dont BRAKE instantly, first look for an alternative route (i got target fixated actually - major mistake)

Pump brakes

Most importantly --- when you know you gonna crash, loosen up your body, you will avoid major damage!

It's taken 4 months for me to recover from a crash and riding will never be the same for me again. Here are a few things I've learnt from not only my crashes but also from the ones I've seen on the road during the last 4 months.

1. dealing with shock: many people find it hard to comprehend that they've crashed and often go into shock. It's best to stabilize the situation before going ahead with anything else. I've seen how people in shock with heavy bleeding trying to dust it off and continue riding despite what others say. Some/Many are often embarrassed with whats happened to them and will do anything to avoid help. handle them carefully by telling that its ok and it happens everywhere and that it's unavoidable.

2. Internal Injuries: Internal Injuries are by far the worst ever. I've seen people with torn ligaments riding off thinking its going to go off in a day or two only to end up in acute pain some time later. Look for signs of internal bleeding or coagulation(clottting). Next check for fractures. a fractured part feels hot and swells like hell. If its anything Internal, Park the vehicle nearby if possible and take a ride to the nearest doc.

3. External Injuries: External Injuries such as cuts, bruises and wounds can be dealt with by washing the wound with water first. Next job is to assess the damage of the wound.If its a wide gaping cut with lots of blood running out of it, applying a tourniquet well above the wound helps.

First thing that we should always keep in mind is to never ride more then 70% of our capability. If you are doing panic braking very often and have few close shaves then its quite evident that you are riding way above your skills and inviting a crash.

No matter how much we read about crashes but our mind and body will react spontaneously in those milliseconds , it is noticed that body has its own self defense mechanism, for example we close our eyes instanly when ever something is coming straight to our eyes.

It is mandatory to go and see a doctor even if you "feel" everything is ok and you escaped with minor bruises , at times internal bleeding don't bother much for first few hours but can be fatal if not detected at the right time.

Never ever ride after the crash even if you are confident enough of your well being, call a friend/relative and let them help you out.

If it is your fault and you have injured someone , do offer all the help, but DO NOT keep apologize . Try to solve it on your own, out of the court.
Even if it is not your fault try to get it setteled out of court , in accident cases 99% times accuse pleads guilty and let go with a small fine. But it stays on his records forever, its not worth going to the court and try to get it setteled out of court.

Last but not the least if
-You are have to do panic braking all the times.
-If you thank god and your stars all the time for saving you .
-If you get a Tetanus shot after every six months.
Then you have to understand that riding is not for you, take public transport use your car , hitch hike but do not ride.
It is not end of the road give yourself some time and then come back.

plz don't drop our confidence

hey

all we know that most of the bikers DRIVING IS CARELESS .

it doesn't mean that they should post there ACCIDENT , OR ANY bad EXPERINCE because it will depress us .......buddy

BAHUT MUSKIL HOTI HAI CONFIDENCE KO LANA SO PLZ POST BY WHICH OUR CONFIDENCE WILL GROW MORE N MORE

THANKS

saying about external injuries, afer some initial cleaning go to the nearest clinic/hospital . Get the wound cleaned properly and thoroughly, even the smallest ones.Some times in casuality they won't give enough care while cleaning( if they got a more serious case as happened to me). Insist on thorough cleanig.coz sometimes some sand or dust particles are embedded believe me,it can cause a lot worse.
I'm saying this coz i got a wound infected due to improper cleanig FROM HOSPITAL. embedded particle caused infection and had to peel skin from ankle , more than wounded area. It took me over a month to heal the wound, which would've needed couple f days otherwise.

Not a necessary rule. My accident with another bike caused my right arm a fracture...

I believe if I would have leaned I wouldn't have crashed so damn hard on the road. In fact, I rode straight without leaning, and was catapulted over the bike at god knows what height, straight onto the !!HARD!! road.

Leaning would have caused some different ragdoll physics & might have saved my right arm...

@ pickandwhammy: I could recall only 3 stages:-->

1. Accident Stage, when you're almost shocked and unconscious...
2. Regain senses, & understand that you had an accident...
3. Account & count your injuries, that's when you know if you have a fracture or not...

a very and a very useful tread... i say this should be made sticky... bery important for every rider, no matter you ride a 100cc or a 1000cc... thanx guys... thanks a lot for all of your inputs...

eating food is for kids.. you eat shit....take that...
.....ahhh just kidding

What i've learnt after my crashes....
relax and take your time to get up...
no point in being macho and such...
Even if there are not much external signs there might be a internal injury, trust me this one's a lifesaver...
Always study the turn with full concentration and know your and your bike's limits on an elusive curve, always anticipate the situation thoroughly...

My instincts so far :P -

1. Never lock the break, thoguh I use both breaks simultaneously 98% times(front and rear, so I'm pretty much comfortable with the breaking distance and limitation of the bike, I ride much like what OP has posted.
2. Don't try to cut unless I have almost 50% chance of getting away safely(ie I would rather hit the thing headon with whatever speed I could reduce in that time and prepare for the next thing).
3. Never speed when a pilion is there, I can't take the blame of hurting someone else.
4. you don't feel the pain.
5. Sccoters are really very safe but more prone for accidents(old type Bajaj, vespa etc.) ~40km/h accidents have been on my dads bajaj and uncle's vespa.

Done almost 13k on my Uni, only once had a very small accident where bike slipped during rain while taking a turn. Their were a few times when I almost hit the person on the road, but the point 1 and 2 made them jump off from my way in time.

Guys, i just saw an accident infront of my eyes today... it was so so so terrible... i guess the guy is no more...

incident happened around 11pm on 1/6/2011 at the single lane bridge in the middle of shapuipara and jadavpur thaana...

i was riding back home from shapuipara and i was taking the bridge... i suddenly heard a screeching sound and a big bang...

all the cars and trucks stopped in my lane and there was no car on the other... overtook the truck slowly and 2 more cars then suddenly saw a discover125 lying with nothing left in the front...

rolled a bit ahead and saw a guy lying quite far off in the middle... fair, average height, the helmet was also completely shattered... he was wearing a green tee shirt and a cargo three quarter pant and a kito on foot. He was lying facing the road and blood was rolling down from his forehead. i was actually frozen because i knew he was dead. i wanted to help but the localites said they have informed at jadavpur police station so i took off from there.

From the scene, i assume he was trying to overtake and then got hit by some car, head on which resulted in complete shattering of the bike's front and him being completely thrown away from the bike. I also think his helmet was not strapped properly as the helmet parts were lying far off the rider, but atleast I'm happy that the localites took the initiative so soon and so spontaneously. Now atleast i can have a hope in my heart that if someday somewhere i meet some major accident, atleast i will get some help from the localites.

Guys, please never overtake or if required, only when the road is completely clear, when you're riding on a single lane two way bridge or road with no divider in between. Please don't take risks. Always wear your safety gears properly and please ride safe. Remember, there are many people who depend on you. Thanks guys.

Take care, safe riding.