Days without an accident - RESET
 

I'm not looking for symapathy here, but maybe reading about my recent accident can save someone else some pain.

On my way to pick up groceries on a beautiful Easter Sunday, I was gliding by the local skateboard park when a 10-12 year old appeared from behind the fence, entering the sidewalk without looking first. As soon as he saw me, he jumped off his board to avoid a collision, which propelled it right in front of my left wheel. The Seg and I went over the curb into the street. I'm not sure how either of us landed. It suffered only scratched fenders, but I have a shoulder with very limited motion, a badly twisted knee, swollen leg, a brightly-colored tailbone, and bruised elbows.

Despite my pain and having my vision impaired by dancing color patterns, I managed to find my infokey about 20 feet away, took a few seconds to catch my breath, assured the young man I'd be okay, and glided the few blocks back home.

Fortunately, no bones are broken, but I'll need MRIs once things stabilize a bit to determine if there's any soft tissue damage, torn ligaments, etc. I don't see any marks on my helmet, but the headlight that's mounted there is scratched and came loose, so I'm glad I was wearing it.

Skateboarders are everywhere, and love to show off and take chances. I'm way past the days when I was invincible, and consider myself pretty safety conscious. I try to slow down when nearing blind corners, not take other vehicles for granted, etc. But as soon as you think 'What are the chances...', fate is only too willing to show you.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune....Hope you heal up well!

Yea, blinded corners or riding to fast for any condition is always a wake up call.

Thanks for the reminder, its always good..

Best of luck, and heal fast! :)

Yes, no matter how careful we are, unforeseen things can still get in the way. Hope all your injuries turn out to be mothing more than bruises and sprains and you heal quickly!

We never get on the Segs without our helmets either - I know there are many who seem to think it's not necessary, but I never rode a motorcycle or a bicycle without wearing one and we firmly believe in doing anything which might minimize our injuries when that day finally comes, if it does

Get well!

Don

Self balancing a segway that is on a skateboard does sound challenging.

Do people use wrist guards, knee pads, or elbow pads? Some people on the fast electric unicycles wear motorcycle jackets with built in armor. They even use motorcross helmets for the face protection.

I have a mesh jacket that is one big vent so its back, shoulder, and elbow armor can be worn in the summer. The upside of extreme sports is the wearable protection is way better than we had in the 80's.

As of this morning, I have gone 424 days without a Segway accident. After the previous one, I started putting a post-it note on my board at work every work day listing how many "days since my last Segway accident," similar to how the company posts "X days since an injury" on the walls in the breakroom to help remind the worker bees. When I see it, it reminds me to glide a bit slower, pay more attention, and watch out for others. That's in a high-density traffic area at work. Since that time, I have had no close encounters thankfully, so I think it helps me look out more. Out in the open gliding on my own with the sun shinning and the birds singing, i just enjoy the ride. But around others, you have to be careful. Even then, it may not be enough.

Sorry to hear about that.

Where I live, there is a commuter rail station where they had to install some extra guard rails just because so many skateboarders were taunting the train and causing near-misses. The worst part is that some people seem to assume that Segway riders are the same way.

Man, that is one practice that just defies any kind of sensibility IMO. Playing "chicken" with a train.

Update
 

After a CT scan of my head, MRIs of upper leg and knee, and xrays of chest, knee and ankle, I finally have a tally of damage done.

Grade 3 MCL tear, grade 2 MCL tear, 5" diameter hematoma, and a badly sprained ankle. Fortunately, what they originally thought was a broken shoulder has healed nicely. But I'll be wearing a knee brace 24/7 for at least a couple months, and have difficulty walking due to the sprain and a knee that won't bend much. The partial MCL tear should heal in 3-4 months, but the full tear will never heal. Starting PT tomorrow.

I've decided I can't afford to risk another fluke Segway accident - something that worried my wife every time I took it out - pretty much daily. (I can't blame her after two car-Segway collisions.) So, after 14 years and some 34,000 miles, many great memories of people I've met and places I've explored, I'm reluctantly selling my two i2s. :( It's been a heck of a lot of fun - life-changing, even, and I still consider the Segway to be one of the coolest machines ever invented. This forum has been very helpful to me over the years, and I'll probably continue to monitor it out of habit.

Stay safe, everyone.

Sorry to hear of your decision, but I fully understand what led to it

I've got a pretty bad case of glaucoma and after nearly 40 years of motorcycle riding, I had to give that up also - Fortunately, before I had an accident. I liked to ride aggressively, but keeping it to about 8/10ths of my capabilities and never had a serious accident . . . . not counting my youth when due to my lack of basic intelligence, I considered myself unbreakable. Once I realized how compromised my vision was, I never swung a leg over another bike, despite the fact that I still owned 4 at the time . . . . and still have 2 now

It was really tough stepping away from bikes, but it needed to be done and I knew it. Shortly after, we discovered Segways and my son commented that I had found a 'slower, safer alternative to riding motorcycles' - I disagreed at first, but he's right. I'm sure one day we'll have to give them up too, but like you, we'll probably wait until after the first major 'incident'. Hopefully since it will happen at 12 mph or less, it won't be as hurtful as a bike crash!

Don

terryp, thanks for the report and the update. We'll remember.