So why did I black out and crash………..

wphillips007

wphillips007

Joined
Sep 6, 2012
Messages
118
Location
Sanford, FL, USA
I’ve never had the problem of blacking out before or since the wreck. The hospital did some brain scans and the docs said they saw no issues although plenty of my friends say I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer so maybe they know something the docs don’t :) But then I saw this video from Fortnine and I began to wonder………….

 
Thought provoking but...

I ride all year round with a chin curtain in place. Approximately 15,000 miles per year mostly, until I retired, in city stop go traffic. When stopped, I always open the visor, even if just to crack it open when it's raining. Now, when stopped in the rain, I do feel a little "uncomfortable" breath-wise if stopped for a while and will open the visor further. When in motion, I have absolutely no problem what-so-ever as the video below can attest. Unless you were stopped for quite a period with the visor closed, I think it might be a contributing factor but not the reason. As you're in FL could the heat or hydration also have been contributing factors?


 
Wendell’s accident was in May in Tennessee and it was not hot. Also if I remember correctly his group had not been riding that long before the accident happened. Frankly I don’t think Wendell blacked out causing the crash. He crashed on a very sharp curve. Due to the seriousness of the crash it would not be surprising that he would have memory loss as to what really happened. We/He will probably never know for sure what the cause was.
 
Interesting video but like all scientific tests, it needs to be repeatable. And maybe it is. I would assume the effect would vary with the person's face size and shape and helmet. And local wind speed at a stop. There is another factor. Inside the helmet unused volume and lung capacity. How much exhaled air is exhausted to the outside and how much new air is brought in when you inhale?
It would be fun to do this experiment, actually, although I suspect I would have no issues even though my LS2 Valients have curtains on their chin bars. But they do fit tight. When its cold, the main visor and bar would be down. But due to fog, at stops the main visor would be cracked. When its hot, I dont pull own the chin bar.
luke 1.JPG
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Would love to have that meter for when flying on aeroplanes...where you breath other peoples expulsions......Gonna google it. Flying to the left coast for a trip to Alaska in 11 days.
alaska 17 small.JPG
 
I opted in for an expensive one that also does PM2.5 and also has an app. you can watch $25. You can get cheep ones for $16.
www.ebay.com

6 in1 CO2 Meter Temperature Humidity Air Quality Monitor Carbon Dioxide Detector | eBay

CO2 detection range: 400-5000PPM charging. Four-color alarm: There are four different colors to show the different quality of the air being monitored: green for good air quality, and colors from yellow to orange to red for poor air quality.
www.ebay.com
 
I also doubt a blackout caused the crash, I think the crash caused the blackout. I wiped out in a corner a few years ago and was left with one doozy of a concussion. I don't remember a few hours prior to the wreck location or the following 24hrs. I only can recall a few hours before hospital discharge the following day. The EMS response, CAT scans, tests etc.. I remember none of it and never will.
 
Coyote Chris said:
I opted in for an expensive one that also does PM2.5 and also has an app. you can watch $25. You can get cheep ones for $16.
www.ebay.com

6 in1 CO2 Meter Temperature Humidity Air Quality Monitor Carbon Dioxide Detector | eBay

CO2 detection range: 400-5000PPM charging. Four-color alarm: There are four different colors to show the different quality of the air being monitored: green for good air quality, and colors from yellow to orange to red for poor air quality.
www.ebay.com
Click to expand...
Don't get one! It will just give you something else to worry about..

;)

Mike
 
mikesim said:
Don't get one! It will just give you something else to worry about..

;)

Mike
Click to expand...
Play with! I like playing with things...not like Frosty of course but still.....a ppm 2.5 meter will come in handy out here with my COPD. The fact that this has an app means I can take an old junk phone and put it in the tank bag window and see the co2.....then play with the beathing, visor position, etc.
This could explain why I pass out on the bed after a bit meal and 2 margarittas.....🤔
 
NewTo700V said:
I also doubt a blackout caused the crash, I think the crash caused the blackout. I wiped out in a corner a few years ago and was left with one doozy of a concussion. I don't remember a few hours prior to the wreck location or the following 24hrs. I only can recall a few hours before hospital discharge the following day. The EMS response, CAT scans, tests etc.. I remember none of it and never will.
Click to expand...
That makes the most sense to me and matches what a few I've talked to have experienced.
 
I’m going to open my visor a little wider and more often from now on. But I really don’t like it when I get a bee inside my helmet.
 
There's enough airflow going into the helmet.. in summer there are two vents, chine and top that push air in the helmet and rear vents that allow it to go out so none of that stuff makes any, or enough, sense to me.
 
I think it may depend on your brand and model of helmet. Some have better ventilation (air flow) than others. I tend to keep the vents on the top of my Schuberth open. They are fully open in the summer, and cracked open "a touch" in the winter. The vent on the chin bar of my helmet is always open at speed under 50 mph.

To be on the safe side, crack your visor open at slower speeds and open it fully (weather permitting) when stationary.
 
I'll never know what caused my wreck, but getting greedy with lean angle or maybe a bit of gravel or oil spot is most likely. The idea I might have blacked out and went down never crossed my mind and is way down near the bottom of the list of likely scenarios.
 
NewTo700V said:
I'll never know what caused my wreck, but getting greedy with lean angle or maybe a bit of gravel or oil spot is most likely. The idea I might have blacked out and went down never crossed my mind and is way down near the bottom of the list of likely scenarios.
Click to expand...
A friend of mine, Max, 70 something.... was riding and he had a friend behind him...a retired state trooper motor unit guy....he is a friend of mine also....Rod.....Max was a Idaho SP motor unit oh so many decades ago and a long time rider....
They were on a 30 mph road and there was a curve and Max went straight into a basalt wall (angle hit) He was pretty lucky to get away with really very little damage to himself..messed up his bad leg again.....he doesnt remember what happened but Rod thinks he blacked out. Max now no longer rides due to this but he drives a car and a four wheeler on mt. trails... He wore a full faced helmet...
I got my meter....it is interesting in that it has negative hystorisis. Two sides are vented...blow into one side and within 3 seconds the alarm goes off and the reading goes up above 2k. Now, hold the meter next to a fan to blow air through it and it take 3 min for the reading to drop back to low 400s. My guess is that a more expensive sophisticated meter would be more useful for testing. Any exhale into this puppy and the reading will shoot way up....
 
JQL said:
I think it may depend on your brand and model of helmet. Some have better ventilation (air flow) than others. I tend to keep the vents on the top of my Schuberth open. They are fully open in the summer, and cracked open "a touch" in the winter. The vent on the chin bar of my helmet is always open at speed under 50 mph.

To be on the safe side, crack your visor open at slower speeds and open it fully (weather permitting) when stationary.
Click to expand...
ITA. In warm weather, you dont want to be in a long light/traffic jam with your visor down anyway...in cold weather, I would fog up if I didnt crack my visor, which has a variety of notches....
 
JQL said:
I think it may depend on your brand and model of helmet.
Click to expand...
Definitely...
I recon my GPA ISR lid giving the absolute "coolest" appearance and appeal, whilst offering the worst ventilation with chin parts and visor closed... ;)

vintage-gpa.jpg
 
It's interesting reading all the comments and there is probably a bit of truth to all of them. What I do remember, (which might have nothing to do with reality) Is that this was not a technical road (ie: Tail of the Dragon) and we were only going about 35 mph. I remember going around a curve and just fading out. I was told that I answered some questions to the medics but remember none of that. It was later that afternoon that I "came to" and recognized my family in my hospital room. Its strange that to this day I can remember the sensation of just fading out (but of course that memory might be totally bogus). How come at a car accident, all the bystanders remember six different colors of the car in the wreck??? Strange stuff............
Wendelll
 
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