What if I lay hurt, hidden in a ditch and nobody knew?

[Freddyfruitba...]

Spent most of yesterday making the most of the good weather, out and about in the Peak District - my first really decent ride of the year so far, and I had an absolute ball.

While tooling along one of many completely empty roads though, I got to thinking - what if I were to overcook a corner here, and end up injured/immobilised at the bottom of a ditch out of sight of the road? Yes, I've got a phone in my pocket, but even if it was still working and I was in a position to access/use it, there's a very good chance there's be no signal out there in the sticks. I ride solo, nobody would even miss me for at least another 8 hours, after my son returned from work and (maybe) wondered where I was (which was simply "off out on the bike for the day"). So even if I was reported missing, the odds of my being located in my ditch before eventually expiring could be very slim.

Back home I did some googling and discovered that I'm not the first to be concerned about this, since as well crash-detecting phone apps, there are evidently quite a few bespoke GPS gizmos out there which summon assistance variously, eg by texting your nearest and dearest or by calling an ambulance directly.

Wouldn't want to rely on a phone app for the reasons described above. Does anyone use one of these devices and can recommend it?

EDIT: having just posted the above - thinking about it further, presumably any such device is going to have to be dependent on a mobile phone signal , as they all need to have a method of summoning help? Duh. So maybe an app is as good as anything else?
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KC100->CB100N->CB250RS--------->DL650AL2->R1200RS->R1250RS

[.....]

DitchPal™

[chickenstrip]

Can I have your bike?

Too soon?
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[Dave....]

[Bloggsy]

The Foxes would eat you, yum yum
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If It Aint broke Don't Fix It

[Monkeywrenche...]

https://eatsleepride.groovehq.com/knowledge_base/topics/what-is-crashlight(r)

https://www.bikersos.com/en/

https://phantomtracking.com/crash-detection-technology.aspx

https://www.ridersmate.com/biker/

and on and on....
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2001 Aprilia RSV Mille R -dead, 2016 XSR 700-gone, 2018 Dorsoduro 900

[davethekwak]

If you're really concerned about this you can buy a Personal Locator Beacon. These connect to low orbit satalites and notify nearest rescue center. Does require you to activate it so no good if unconscious. They have built in GPS to guide rescue to you so hidden in ditch not a problem.
Don't come cheap (around £240) but in interested do a search on PLB.
Mainly used for maritime rescue but ok on land based as well.
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ZX6R G2 (1999) & ZX6R F2 (1996). I like ZX6!

[Rogerborg]

Just wait a few years, Brussels will mandate them.

Not even JK, m8, mandatory for all new cars and light commercials from March 2018.

"MEPs also secured an obligation for the European Commission to assess, in the three years after spring 2018, whether eCall devices should be included in other vehicles, such as buses, coaches or trucks"

...or Motorrads, perchance.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Azoth]

Good question. In the Lake District, you would probably be in luck if a local passed by, as they would notice out of place things like tyre tracks and a break in a hedge or stone wall. Hikers, fell-walkers, boulderers and climbers sometimes get caught out, and when they do, it's weather changes that get them into trouble. If the weather suddenly changes, you have limited energy and mobility resources (particularly if you're injured) and this means limited time, so it's vital to know where you are, either to call for help or to pick the direction with the shortest distance to civilisation. The personal locator beacon thing sounds good, but a low-tech solution might be to inform people where you're going and when you'll next be back or in touch by phone.
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Safety in numbers

[kgm]

The SPOT systems are quite good for GPS tracking and have an SOS button. Could set a check in time with relatives and they can check your position of you don't make it. Widely used in light aircraft and operate on batteries. Everything is done by satellite so no need for phone signal. No automatic crash detection though.

[owl]

My biketrac system has bike down function, if the bike goes down it sends alerts to specified contacts. Alerts might be sent through gsm though, should probably find out

* edit: will breadcrumb like mentioned below
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Observation is the greatest source of wisdom.

[bamt]

I did consider a SPOT for cycling - one of the other features it has is tracking (sending an update every so often that can be tracked on a website). The advantage there is that if you are truly incapacitated (or damaged the SPOT in the accident) then there is a breadcrumb trail that stops. When someone notices you are missing, they can see where you rode and where you disappeared, which at least gives searchers a start.

Obviously mobiles could be used for this too, but with the same caveats about not having a signal - OK if you are somewhere with generally good coverage and a few black spots, not good if there is no coverage for many miles.

[suburban myth]

There was a story a few years ago about a guy who had a BMW s1000RR (?) on demo and pitched it into a ditch, killing himself. He was reported after a few hours when BMW didn't get their bike back and was still there for a couple of days I believe.

Something like a Breitling Orbiter watch might work, but you gotta get your gloves off, jacket/leathers up high enough to activate it. Not gonna happen with two broken arms, or even the wrong broken arm. Something like an auto-detecting mobile app is probably the way forward, but you're relying on having signal.

The solution? Suck it up and take the risk. Biker brethren have been doing it for years without really worrying about it.

[JonE]

One of my instructors suggesting carrying a loud whistle on your self/keys as an option for this sort of thing, obviously only any good if there are people around to hear it though.

[Ed Case]

The councils call it 'fly tipping', they'd charge your nearest and dearest for carting your corpse away !.

[ZX-7R]

I'd rifle through the pockets of your rotting corpse.
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Current Bike - 2000 ZX-7R

[grr666]

One of the lads on here went like that a while back didn't he? A soldier iirc?
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Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[Itchy]

Um or you could tell somebody what you're doing. Unlike say Aron Lee Ralston. If he had simply told somebody where he was going then they might have been concerned after not turning up later that day.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[CaNsA]

[grr666]

<Shudder>
I'm a pretty callous bastard but I wouldn't wish that on anyone, dying alone and in pain like that.
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Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[CaNsA]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

Guy local to me spent three days in a ditch after crashing his bike:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/biker-crashes-survives_n_1894019.html
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[grr666]

[chickenstrip]

[Nobby the Bastard]