[dhgeyer]

1. When I was 21 and stupid I had some clothes tied on the back fender of my Ducati 250, because I didn't have any other way to attach them. They came loose and jammed the back wheel. I was doing 45 maybe 50 on a back country road. If I'd had the training then that I have now, I'd probably have been able to bring it to a stop. As it was I got it down to 20 or 25 before I went down. Minor damage to the bike, and I had a sore back for a while.

2. Three years ago my wife and I were riding two up on my Kawasaki Concours C10 sport touring bike. We were going 50 to 55 on a good 2 lane US route. It was 4:00 PM on a perfect June day, with absolutely no impediment to anyone's vision. A young lady coming out of a side road didn't see us and pulled out at exactly the worst possible moment. I swerved violently and almost missed her. She actually hit us. My right hard bag took off her front license plate. It wasn't a severe impact, but it was enough to knock us off the bike. I tumbled and rolled about 100 feet down the road. I paced it off later. I'm pretty sure ATGATT saved my life. I got up and walked away with minor injuries. My wife broke 20 bones in 26 places including most of the ribs where they attach to her spine in the back, had two punctured lungs (they burst from the pressure, but with lungs that only makes fairly small holes), severely damaged her left shoulder, and suffered a traumatic brain injury. I'm absolutely sure that ATGATT saved her life. We were wearing full face DOT and Snell approved helmets, and if she suffered a brain injury with that on there's no way she would have survived without it. She never recovered completely, and never will. It ended her career. She is now on long term disability from her insurance company and the Social Security Administration. The case has not settled yet, but it will within the next few months.