A friend had a one year old Turtle 2 for sale and this latest incident convinced me to move on it. Brought it home last night.
Smart move. UP's accident didn't turn out perfect, but it did minimize some of the pain and suffering he's gone through. It's been a year now since my accident in Northern California.
My dash cam on that bike took pictures at 30
frames per second. Not per minute. Let that settle in for a moment. It only recorded 4 frames after I hit the metal pole. The first was me landing on the ground with my Hit-Air MLV-P airbag vest fully deployed. I still can't fully understand the level of violence that happened just then. I hit the ground. Somewhere in that timeframe, my helmet hit with part of it crushed internally from the force. And my 500 lb motorcycle was catapulted in the air behind me about 35 ft away pointing in the opposite direction.
The ER doc told me that he's normally sewing the accident victim's liver back together from an accident like mine. With me, they kept me for about 3 hours for observation and then let me go. No pain meds, nothing.
I feel like the good Lord sent an angel to protect me. I also credit that airbag vest for doing its part. Normally, one of those airbag vests will inflate, cushion the fall, and then slowly deflate. Mine hit so hard that it had about a 4 inch jagged tear in it from where it popped on impact. Yet it saved my life. I probably would not be alive if the airbag vest hadn't done its job.
It is one of the best investments in riding gear I've ever made.
Chris
