Post by jacklero on Sept 21, 2007 23:50:16 GMT 8
To all PinoyMTBiker friends who have asked where in the world I have been the last couple of months not being able to visit the boards or rides well here is the long and short of it, last June my girlfriend, myself, her mother and her sister met a vehicular accident along SLEX near the Carmona exit. We were on our way to San Juan Batangas to drop off my GF's mom and sister while we head on to Laiya to tackle some trails when unfortunately we met the accident. As you may concur we had our bikes in tow. While I've learned the value of seat belts first hand I've also realized the very reason I invested in a good bike rack.
For those who know me or have seen me and my GF in rides or events you may have noticed also the bike rack we use to transport our bikes. I have had countless people inquire about the stability, safety (both bike and vehicle) and other pertinent issues regarding my choice of rack. Up until last June I never had much empirical proof about the claims of the Thule 9103 clip-on high in terms of safety...looking back I'm glad I did buy the rack and this is why...
I got hit coming from a full stop from 80 km/h on the fast lane of SLEX when a pickup in front of me made an emergency full stop after the vehicle in front of him swerved. While I managed to avoid hitting the pickup in front, I was not as lucky.
Considering the speed we were traveling, I'm surprised that the glass did not shatter but that is also primarily due to the bike rack taking the brunt of the impact. But if you think I had it bad... take a look at the vehicle that hit me.
You would notice the bikes were lying on the ground right after the incident...my first though after the safety of the people in the car...MY BIKE!!!! P0TVH!!!!
The picture here is the distance the vehicle at the back moved upon impact, interestingly, we felt the car get wedged up from the back and then come back down right after the bikes fell.
My first thought would be that the bikes would come flying through in a shower of bike parts but interestingly I lay there as one unit: bikes on the rack intact.
To give you an idea of the extent of the damage, the other vehicle had to be towed going to the SLEX TMG Office while we were driving on normal pace and had our bikes temporarily hitched to the tow truck
Interestingly the outcome was diplomatic and my GF and I test rode our bikes at the SLEX TMG compound and the bikes seemed ok, I was also able to temporarily rig the bike rack to the hatch despite the damage and limp our way to the house of a friend in Laguna where we left the bikes and the rack, went to San Juan to drop off my GF's mom and sister and headed back to pick up the bikes and the rack to transport home inside the car...
While the Hyndai Getz proved to be a very sturdy car (the service sucks it has been three months and I have not gotten my car back yet!!!) suffering only minor chassis damage, the bike rack stood up pretty well. I had the bike frames checked and my mechanic said apart from the paint chips on my bike, the bikes were sound and true. Interestingly I just had a new set of cranks installed on the freaking bike...grrrrr....
While I know if a (God forbid) bus or flathead trailer hit us from the back the outcome may have been totally different and I would probably be writing this post in a chair with my thumb, but the fact is it could have been any vehicle with a nose and the bikes would have survived nonetheless.
Lesson learned:
1. Always wear your seatbelt, helmet or other necessary safety devices on your person
2. Invest in good bike transport, the benefit far outweighs the cost (trust me...plus Thule has a really cute sales girl and I had another excuse to visit Thule Greenhills after the crash)
3. Ride safe, drive safer!
For those who know me or have seen me and my GF in rides or events you may have noticed also the bike rack we use to transport our bikes. I have had countless people inquire about the stability, safety (both bike and vehicle) and other pertinent issues regarding my choice of rack. Up until last June I never had much empirical proof about the claims of the Thule 9103 clip-on high in terms of safety...looking back I'm glad I did buy the rack and this is why...
I got hit coming from a full stop from 80 km/h on the fast lane of SLEX when a pickup in front of me made an emergency full stop after the vehicle in front of him swerved. While I managed to avoid hitting the pickup in front, I was not as lucky.
Considering the speed we were traveling, I'm surprised that the glass did not shatter but that is also primarily due to the bike rack taking the brunt of the impact. But if you think I had it bad... take a look at the vehicle that hit me.
You would notice the bikes were lying on the ground right after the incident...my first though after the safety of the people in the car...MY BIKE!!!! P0TVH!!!!
The picture here is the distance the vehicle at the back moved upon impact, interestingly, we felt the car get wedged up from the back and then come back down right after the bikes fell.
My first thought would be that the bikes would come flying through in a shower of bike parts but interestingly I lay there as one unit: bikes on the rack intact.
To give you an idea of the extent of the damage, the other vehicle had to be towed going to the SLEX TMG Office while we were driving on normal pace and had our bikes temporarily hitched to the tow truck
Interestingly the outcome was diplomatic and my GF and I test rode our bikes at the SLEX TMG compound and the bikes seemed ok, I was also able to temporarily rig the bike rack to the hatch despite the damage and limp our way to the house of a friend in Laguna where we left the bikes and the rack, went to San Juan to drop off my GF's mom and sister and headed back to pick up the bikes and the rack to transport home inside the car...
While the Hyndai Getz proved to be a very sturdy car (the service sucks it has been three months and I have not gotten my car back yet!!!) suffering only minor chassis damage, the bike rack stood up pretty well. I had the bike frames checked and my mechanic said apart from the paint chips on my bike, the bikes were sound and true. Interestingly I just had a new set of cranks installed on the freaking bike...grrrrr....
While I know if a (God forbid) bus or flathead trailer hit us from the back the outcome may have been totally different and I would probably be writing this post in a chair with my thumb, but the fact is it could have been any vehicle with a nose and the bikes would have survived nonetheless.
Lesson learned:
1. Always wear your seatbelt, helmet or other necessary safety devices on your person
2. Invest in good bike transport, the benefit far outweighs the cost (trust me...plus Thule has a really cute sales girl and I had another excuse to visit Thule Greenhills after the crash)
3. Ride safe, drive safer!
I guess it's the same as in all other equipment, be it helmet, bike rack, etc, you really do get what you pay for. 
We also couldn't get a stolen shot either. Let's just ride to Thule Ghills and I will introduce you as a very wealthy customer! 
