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Puddle Mishap


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This may be obvious to all, but be very careful riding throug a puddle if the water is murky enough that you can't see the bottom!

 

Last weekend we were riding back from the Fl. Keys with 2 other bikes through a monsoon-like rainstorm.

 

We pulled into a gas station in, I think it was Long Key, for a fuel stop and I heard an engine behind me rev up really high...my wife yelled out from behind me "Karen just went down, go see if she's okay!". I carefully parked our 06 Midnight Venture and turned around to see Karen, her husband and a bystander lifting Karen's RSTD up off it's left side.

 

Turns out Karen had ridden into a large puddle filled with water so murky she couldn't see how deep it was. Unbeknownst to her the puddle was over a foot deep and had a VERTICAL 12 inch dropoff. As soon as her front wheel went over the edge there wasn't anything she could do-of course her feet wouldn't reach the ground at that point- so she went over.

 

Fortunately she wasn't badly hurt. Her right wrist was banged up, but after putting a brace on it she was able to complete the remaining 375 miles or so back home. And the engine and saddlebag guards must have done their job because the bike wasn't scratched.

 

But obviously it could have been much worse.

 

Like I said, it seems obvious, and we've probably all done it and never had a problem.

 

But if you can't see the bottom of a muddy puddle...go around if at all possible!

 

Oh and the gas station mgmt was totally unsympathetic. Couldn't even be bothered to go look at the puddle, much less put a cone in front of it. We watched several cars plunge both front wheels into the abyss before we left. Definitely a serious accident waiting to happen!

 

Ride Safe!

 

1/2crazedbikr

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I'd be holding Hess Express fully responsible for damage and injury. They do have a responsiblity for the safey of the public and their customers.

 

I'm not a sue happy person at all but I'm tired of companies ignoring the issues on their property.

 

I've been seeing trends lately in the retail field that tick me off. Remember hearing "Clean up in isle seven" once in a while over a PA system? Getting to be thing of the past. Companies no longer want an announcement made over a public system. Granted they are protecting themselves from the settlement chasers that will run over and "slip" in the puddle but it also slows down the time for removing the hazard.

 

But then again, some companies just don't care and "deniabily" is a favorite word with them.

 

Hope she heals well and quickly.

 

Mike

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