This really bites! N/A

Frank Browne

Frank Browne

Final Approach
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A couple of months ago I posted on the red board about a guy that I have worked with for 30 years being killed in a motorcycle accident. Well, now one of our press room guys that I have known for 20 years at least has sustained life threatening head injuries in a motorcycle accident. The last I heard was that if he shows signs of surviving the head injuries he will loose a leg.:(:(

To those of you that ride, for God's sake please be careful out there. And to those that don't, please be mindful of motorcycles on the road. And to everyone, don't assume that the other guy is going to do what they're supposed to do. Many moons ago when I used to ride, I had a few close calls, and was once snatched of of my Kawasaki by a telephone wire that was knocked down by a drunk driver, but riding today is different. With cell phones, those little personal electronic doo dads, and worst of all, the lack of personal discipline behind the wheel, it's a whole different environment on the roads these days.
So just everyone please be cautious when driving, and watch out for the other guy. Sorry for rant ya'll but this is painful watching people I know and care about getting hurt so bad on motorcycles.
 
sorry about your friend. I heard during Bike Week this year in Daytona 18 people died - a new record. a number of them due to drivers not seeing them. lotsa bikes + old people who can't drive to begin with = disaster.
 
woodstock said:
lotsa bikes + old people who can't drive to begin with = disaster.
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Right on Elizabeth. When I went to visit my grandpa one summer I saw this little old lady hit a guy riding a schwin. I know different kinda bike, but same story.

Both my parents ride and own thier own motorcycles, and its not their that scare me, its the other people. What is cool about thier little motorcycle group is that they have safety seminars and tech sessions every now & then. Kind of like the aviation safety meetings AOPA and the ASF provide for us. I know Kawasaki does the same for people who ride motorcycles.

Frank, what kind of Kawasaki did you have? My dad owns a concourse. My mom a honda.
 
HPNFlyGirl said:
Frank, what kind of Kawasaki did you have? My dad owns a concourse. My mom a honda.
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I rode a 1977 KZ1000. It overlapped with the old 900 "Gorilla" for one model year. Loved that bike! I ended up selling it to my brother who rode it for several more years after me. That was my last motorcycle. Below is a picture of me on it. But please don't laugh at the hair! :hairraise: That was after all, a long time ago.

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?p=71505#post71505
 
Frank, sorry about your coworker. Hope he pulls through. Please please please tell us he was wearing a helmet. I know it's not the law down there and I see too many folks w/o them, even the bicycling fellas too.

Thanks for the reminder to keep our eyes open. I most certainly did after taking a motorcycle safety course. I sure learned a lot, but when they said something like >70% of the car drivers in car-bike accidents said "I didn't see the guy until it was too late" that didn't encourage me. Don't like them odds.

Plus, I learned on a closed course. Got the willies when I went on the road and noticed gee all these cars around me look verrry BIG!

Gave up my short-lived motorcycle career and took up flying instead!!!! And people think flyin's the more dangerous one :)


-Rich
 
I sold my bike a few months ago (1972 BMW R75/5 that I bought new in Munich) because I hadn't ridden it in a few years. My experience agrees with what others posted, if you don't ride real defensively, some moron is going to do something stupid like pull out in front of you.

It's not just bikes, either, that these jerks don't seem to be able to see. I came very, very close to broadsiding a Volvo yesterday when the guy pulled out from a side street right in front of me. And I was driving a full size pickup (F-150). That Volvo wouldn't have saved him either. The winch drum on the front of my truck would have gone right through his window...
 
rpadula said:
Frank, sorry about your coworker. Hope he pulls through. Please please please tell us he was wearing a helmet.
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That was the first question I asked when I was told and it turns out that he was in fact wearing a helmet. And once again, it happened on a county road out in the sticks. So you just cannot ever let your guard down when on a motorcycle.
 
Sorry about your friend, Frank.

Nice picture, velour and all.
 
Hi Frank,

I remember that thread as well.

My condolences again, and I hope your other friend pulls through. My prayers are with him and his family and friends at this time of need.


Regards,
Joe
 
Dang. Sorry about your friend. :( The motorcycle community is a lot like the aviation community. You're connected to them even if you don't know them personally.

Frank Browne said:
To those of you that ride, for God's sake please be careful out there.
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Agreed. That's default behavior here. When I mount up, it's just like flying. I drop absolutely everything else that's going on in my life and operate at 100% mental and physical efficiency. Anything less is unacceptable and completely unsafe.
If you ride, maintain high level proficiency skills (as in tactical maneuvering then braking in that order) and practice those skills on a regular basis in a controlled environment. Preflights and routine inspections are mandatory. Helmets are not even an item for discussion, if you have to discuss it, you shouldn't be riding at all. (Top end ATGATT is in the works here) Always maintain a constant high level of paran, no, wait, it's not paranoia, they really are out to get us and it's not funny in the least.

My motorcycle is currently undergoing it's annual inspection. Among other things, I'm getting ready to install a headlight modulator and a home made version of hyperlights (essentially brake light strobes in addition to the normal brake light) on the back of my motorcycle. I'm seriously thinking about more running lights. Anything to stand out of the background so the blind cagers can see me. (I really wish the idget auto manufacturers had never started putting automatic-on headlights in cars. That's now background noise and that's the one thing above all else that motorcycles use for preventative anti collision measures..and it's no longer effective)

Frank Browne said:
And to those that don't, please be mindful of motorcycles on the road.
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Yes! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be VERY mindful and predictable about what you're doing when on the road and we shall thank you for it. Giving us a little more separation on all sides to maneuver and a little more clearance when you turn across our paths (ahead and behind) without risking getting flattened would be greatly appreciated too. Put all the toys down and drive like you fly or stay at home. Most people out there treat their urban assault vehicles like it's their private non moving living room and consider running someone down no worse than what happens on their wide screen tv. This is not about an insurance card in your pocket and being inconvinenced a couple days while a minor dent on the side of your cage gets fixed. This is about lives. Hitting us, even a slight touch, results in us going down and most likely being on the receiving end of serious physical injury or worse, not fiscal and minor social inconveniences that you have to deal with. Remember that our skills and crash gear protects us from our own blunders and straight down motorcycle only crashes, NOT from being run down or high kinetic energy transfers by a steel box.

Put your drinks down and watch this. This is very important. This is what we have to actively think about every single time that we raise our kickstands:
http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/motorcycles/media/howclose.mpg

I would say rant-off at this point but this isn't a rant. This is about survival.
 
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Frank Browne said:
I rode a 1977 KZ1000. It overlapped with the old 900 "Gorilla" for one model year. Loved that bike! I ended up selling it to my brother who rode it for several more years after me. That was my last motorcycle. Below is a picture of me on it. But please don't laugh at the hair! :hairraise: That was after all, a long time ago.

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?p=71505#post71505
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hey Frank, you look really good in that photo! cute guy.
 
Cute, huh? Maybe I should post a pic of me back in '74 with my first bike, a 1948 Indian Roadmaster. Except I was soooo skinny you'd just mistake me for a sissy bar!
 
Frank I'm really sorry to hear about your friend, he will be in my prayers also.

As a survivor of a serious automobile crash caused by a drunk driver who ran a red light and hit me in the drivers door at 55 Mph, I would also like to ask everyone to please please please not get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking and urge everyone you know not to drink and drive.

I suffered a severe head injury, a broken neck, several broken ribs, punctured lung, broken shoulder and list goes on. I was extremely fortunate not to have had a severed spinal cord and to have recovered from the head injury without serious deficits. It took four years of my life for that recovery and the back and neck problems I have as a result will go on forever. But I often think what I went through is nothing compared to the suffering I see in the eyes of the parents I've met who have lost children because of a drunk driver.

As they used to say on Hill Street Blues; "Let's all be careful out there."

Jeannie
 
An Update.

After 2-3 weeks of no news I just got this update. Apparently my friend is doing much better now. I just found out that he is awake and talking. Initially the doctors had decided to wait before removing his leg because they thought he may not survive his head injuries. They had to remove a portion of skull to allow for swelling and now it appears that his injuries are starting to heal! I even heard that he may be able to keep his leg!:):)

I am very happy about this news! :yes::)
 
Frank, that's great news. Here's hoping for a quick & successful recovery.
 
Frank - that is very good news! Always keep hope alive and expect a miracle!
 
Frank Browne said:
A couple of months ago I posted on the red board about a guy that I have worked with for 30 years being killed in a motorcycle accident. Well, now one of our press room guys that I have known for 20 years at least has sustained life threatening head injuries in a motorcycle accident. The last I heard was that if he shows signs of surviving the head injuries he will loose a leg.:(:(
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Frank, came to this late, but I feel for you and your friends, one rider to another.
 
Thanks for all the kind words everyone! It really means a lot! :yes: I hope to hear some more good news in the coming weeks. Ride safely. Ride to live. :yes:
 
fgcason said:
Agreed. That's default behavior here. When I mount up, it's just like flying. I drop absolutely everything else that's going on in my life and operate at 100% mental and physical efficiency. Anything less is unacceptable and completely unsafe.
If you ride, maintain high level proficiency skills (as in tactical maneuvering then braking in that order) and practice those skills on a regular basis in a controlled environment. Preflights and routine inspections are mandatory. Helmets are not even an item for discussion, if you have to discuss it, you shouldn't be riding at all.
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Absolutely. Training, MSF basic and experienced, take track courses, Reg Pridmore's CLASS, Keith Code, etc., learn what that bike will do.

Your kit, dress for the crash. For me, white full face helmet, MC gloves and boots, and Aerostich Hi-Vis (http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/HiViz-Motorcycle-Suits-sp-19.html), no matter how warm. Yes, I look like a geek, but I've gone down at 60mph in one of these suits, and they work.

Ride often, just like flying, the more you ride, the better you get. Rust is just as dangerous.
 
Glad to hear that your friend is doing better.

I rode for 5 years when I was in college and have the screws in my left ankle to prove it. An idiot in a 1968 Ford Mustang ran a stop sign and hit us (my wife on on the back) broadside. We put his radiator back into the fan. That was in 1973 and we still pay for it today.

Folks, if you don't ride, please look! Having ridden I have no trouble seeing motorcycles, but to others it's like they're invisible. Not perceived as a threat, so they disappear.

Riders, wear a helmet. My track history is limited, but through high school and college I knew 4 people who needed them (my wife and I included). 3 had them and are alive today. One didn't and he died at the scene. Limited sample, but 100% correlation.
 
Ghery said:
and have the screws in my left ankle to prove it.
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BTDT, 10 screws and two plates in my left radius.
 

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Ghery said:
Ouch. You're even more likely to have problems at airports than I am. :D
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It's all Ti hardware, it does not trigger the wands.
 
Bill Jennings said:
It's all Ti hardware, it does not trigger the wands.
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That's what I found with my plate (titanium also), but I was surprised it didn't set off the detectors. Does this mean that you could smuggle a small titanium knife or even a gun through "security"?
 
lancefisher said:
Does this mean that you could smuggle a small titanium knife or even a gun through "security"?
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Give it a shot, Lance, and let us know how it goes :D
 
Bill Jennings said:
Give it a shot, Lance, and let us know how it goes :D
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Sure thing, I could use the three squares/day (assuming I didn't get shot).
 
After at least three months of no news, I just found out that my buddy Rick is doing miraculously well! The section of skull that was removed to allow for brain swelling has been replaced and they are weening him off of the seizure medications now. The leg that they were waiting to amputate (pending survival of the head injuries) was saved and he now is getting out of the wheelchair and walking with a cane. I was even told that he wants to come back to work in March! Our company policy is that after 12 weeks of disability youy employment is terminated, so I don't know how that will work, but the fact that he wants to come back is very exciting news!
I hope ya'll don't mind me reviving an old thread, but I am ecstatic about this news!!!! :yes::D:yes:
 
That's food news Frank. I rode motorcycles for years, but gave it up several years ago when people started to look me in the eye and still pull out in front of me. I see a lot of Baby Boomers buying Harleys and think, man they don't know what they are getting into.

Cars and bodies don't mix well.
 
GOod news, Frank!

Does this fall under FMLA? If so, the company may be on the hook to take him back. I'm not an expert, though.
 
Frank Browne said:
A couple of months ago I posted on the red board about a guy that I have worked with for 30 years being killed in a motorcycle accident. Well, now one of our press room guys that I have known for 20 years at least has sustained life threatening head injuries in a motorcycle accident. The last I heard was that if he shows signs of surviving the head injuries he will loose a leg.:(:(
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I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway. Praise God, my pressroom friend Rick, just ducked into my office on his first day back at work! He is walking...slowly, but on both legs! We talked briefly about the power of prayer, and how good it was for him to be back. My week has been made! :):):):)
 
Frank Browne said:
I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway. Praise God, my pressroom friend Rick, just ducked into my office on his first day back at work! He is walking...slowly, but on both legs! We talked briefly about the power of prayer, and how good it was for him to be back. My week has been made! :):):):)
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Excellent news! Treat him to a good lunch!!!
 
Reading this thread brought up a somewhat related but otherwise useless contribution of mine.

Years ago I investigated a traffic accident in which KT Oslin nailed a motorcyclist in a Nashville suburb.

:target:
 
Frank - great news! Glad to hear he's on the mend!

Richard, when was that crash with K.T. Oslin?
 
"allowed to say it" since when??? I'll echo it - praise God and Amen! That's awesome news!!!
 
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