I was hit by a Chevy Malibu a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately, I wasn’t seriously hurt.
The scene: Marsh St. in SLO is a 3 lane, one-way street. I’m in the left lane, about to pass a Chevy Malibu in the center lane. Without signalling, slowing, or looking, the Malibu turned left across my lane, presumably to turn into the bank driveway to the left. I began to swerve, but it was too late: I struck the Malibu’s front driver-side door. It happened so fast, I did not have enough time to fully react. The impact sent me into that bank driveway, where I brought the bike to a “panic” stop on the sidewalk. The bike didn’t go down — whew!
Damage to me: a minor bruise on my right knee. My knee armor absorbed most of the blow from the Malibu’s door. (This is why we wear armored gear.)
Damage to the bike: The right control pod was rotated up about 20-30 degrees, with a bent brake lever. (Apparently my hand wasn’t on the brake at the moment of impact, or I would have four broken fingers.) The handlebar was bent, and the front end was knocked out of alignment. The right highway peg was slightly bent. The windshield popped off, but I was able to reattach it. Total repair was about $300, which is being covered by the Malibu’s insurance.
Damage to the Malibu: a deep gouge at the bottom of the door from my highway peg. Another deep gouge at the top of the door from my handlebar and brake lever. At least two big dents at the center of the door, probably from my tire and my knee. Oh, and a cracked window. Heh, I guess I made an impression on that car. 
I guess I got lucky in this collision, since I got bounced up a driveway rather than into a curb or a parked car. It could have been much worse. OTOH, if I had been at that location 2 seconds sooner or later, the Malibu would have missed me. 
The Malibu just happened to make her move just as I passed through her “kill zone”.
What really helped however was emergency braking. I’ve spent time this summer practicing the “panic stop” MSF drill. After the collision, I stopped the bike automatically, without even thinking about it. That braking practice really paid off! Now I just need to practice reading driver’s minds a bit better.
I put this page of pics together for the insurance people, mostly because my camera is digital. Click on the numbers (pic names) to see the pics.
Tags: crash, insurance, motorcycle, oops