"There are no provisions for you to ride a motorcycle here"

[sctt2525]

A little background: I used to post here on a regular basis, but about a year ago I got a second job.....and never got rid of the first one. This has led to seventy (+) hour workweeks, seven days a week since then.

 

The second job is at the airport, and offers a lot in benefits etc. (thus I'd like to keep it) Things had been as well as can be expected till last week. As I was leaving the employee parking lot (Where the MARKED motorcycle parking spaces are at), the parking gate- the striped black and white "arm" that controls traffic in and out of the lot- landed on me. It caught me in the left arm leaving a bruise the size of a baseball on my bicep. Luckily the Ballabio was unscathed, and I managed to not drop her.

 

Much worse than the event itself has been the airports reaction to it: They flatly refuse any responsibility citing the small sticker on the machine that does say autos only, no motorcycles trailers etc. I'm having a hard time with this tho', as the MOTORCYCLE SPECIFIC parking space are in the same lot. Also, when I started the job, I was told "If you ride a motorcycle, you HAVE to park in that lot" as the only other employee lot requires tags that hang from the rearview.

 

I met with the parking manager and was told (more yelled at) "I don't want to hear it, you can't sue because of that sticker". Incidently, I hadn't threatened to sue, at this point I hadn't even spoken to the man. Oddly he went on to tell me his advice on how best to make it through the gate, "goose it" he said. He also told me this has happened several times before, and he doesn't much care.

 

I met with one of the admin. staff and was told "Unfortunately there are no provisions for you to ride here". He then tried profusely to change the subject into when he used to ride in the seventies etc. (went nowhere).

 

I meet next week with the president of the airport. Any advice from you guys?

 

Oh, before anyone suggests it, the "arms" are too long to just ride around them- I had already thought of that.

 

Scott

[stogieBill]

Scott,

 

You didn't say how the arm is activated. At my place of employment, we use a magnetic ID scanner to access the parking lot/building. This way, it doesn't matter if you're riding or driving.

 

Of course suggesting a solution that is going to cost money to implement is going to be dicey with management. You could point out the safety factor and put them on notice that there is a potential for injury. Sometimes, management actually wants to provide a safer workplace, including parking areas.

 

Good luck.

[dlaing]

Thanks for the warning, those things come down fast.

I'd ask the president for permission for you to hack off just enough to get through.

If it is a metal one, you should do something about the end so that nobody gets hurt because of your actions.

The wood ones should not need capping off. Plastic ones you can get a PVC Pipe end cap.

If they don't let you hacksaw it, maybe you can wrap a few feet of it in pipe insulation foam so that next time it will leave a smaller bruise

Or maybe there is another safer route in, like up and down a staircase

[Guest ratchethack]

Scott, you've been unfairly wronged here, my friend, and you most certainly have justification to be mightily PO'd. I sure would be.

 

I'm no lawyer (where's Bill?).

 

Just a coupla thoughts from another civilian rider, FWIW.

 

At first blush, under the circumstances you describe, IMHO it would seem to be easy to find competent legal representation to go to court. With the massive flood tide of this class of personal injury cases still going strongly in favor of the plaintiff for many decades, the case would seem to be pretty much a slam-dunk.

 

The behavior of the idiot parking-lot Nazi, "I don't want to hear it, you can't sue because of that sticker" would be the equivalent of waving a red flag in front of a bull to some. Frankly, I'd be tempted on this alone.

 

HOWEVER: In considering what to do about this (if anything) you have to ask yourself what your objectives are, line those up against the probabilities of what's actually possible to achieve, and decide what level of effort you're willing to expend to achieve those objectives. I can't imagine a good Personal Injury lawyer who wouldn't be willing to give you a good perspective on this on his dime.

 

Would you be seeking restitution for damages due to injury? If so, a bruise on your arm ain't much to go after.

 

Seeking action by the employer to improve the parking gate arm timing system? Admirable and certainly reasonable.

 

Seeking restitution for the risk you've obviously been subjected to? Seems to me this is where the real money is, and it's also where the waters get deep, and quick. Airports typically have the very best legal representation money can buy. Your counsel would have to be up to the task, or you'd be wasting your time.

 

How much do you value your job? Are you willing to subject yourself to the possibility of various forms of harassment and/or termination (temporary or permanent) in pursuit of justice?

 

Working 70 hours/week, how much time do you have available to spend with an attorney, in deposition, and open to schedule a court date?

 

You've evidently been successful at avoiding a problem with this gate for a year. I'd be pretty keen on understanding exactly how you've managed to accomplish this. Seems to me that this would be the hinge upon which your entire case swings. It'd be my starting point, and I'd be well prepared to answer this Q to the best of my ability before meeting with the Airport Prez. . .

 

Now this is just me, mind you, but I'd avoid lawyers altogether, pursue my grievance politely (with neither anger or malice) with the Airport Prez as planned, set my expectations of any policy change by the airport very low, keep a close eye on the parking arm, make every effort to avoid the arm coming down on me in the future, be prepared to fend the thing off as necessary, and direct my energies elsewhere.

 

Good luck, my friend.

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV

[Garsdad]

I'm for hacking the end of the arm off. The sticker doesn't mean crap. If you force someone to use a table saw for work, don't allow them to provide a safety guard, but put up a sticker instead saying "this equipment is not safe without guard" are you off the hook when a finger gets cut off? I don't think so. Same thing here- they force you to endure an unsafe situation with no alternatives- a warning sticker won't cut it.

 

If it were me, I would want three things from this:

 

1) a safe way to leave the lot

 

2) reimbursement for medical expenses, or for lost time from my other job if the injury caused me to miss work

 

3) an apology from the parking nazi

 

I think you will find upper management to be a little more reasonable. If you go in with reasonable demands, and they understand their responsibility, you will get what you want. Just keep it civil and reasonable.

[sctt2525]

Thanks all, for the level-headed response that I've come to expect from this group.

 

To get back to a few of you:

 

Stogie, the "arm" is operated by a magnetic card; there are also 2 sensors, like at a red light, that senses a vehicle. The first of which must "sense" a vehicle, or the card reader will not work. The second, a bit further, tells the arm when the vehicle has left, and time to drop. I think it was the second that missed me.

 

Make no mistake- I'm not looking for a payout here. ALL I want is to see the situation fixed before someone really gets hurt bad. I'm convinced if this thing had gotten me in the neck, I'd be hurt bad or even killed. No med. expenses THIS time, I've had worse.

 

I don't expect an apology (might be nice tho') from the parking guy- he's already set his reputation around there.

 

 

 

Ride safe Y'all,

 

Scott

[Steve G.]

A little background: I used to post here on a regular basis, but about a year ago I got a second job.....and never got rid of the first one. This has led to seventy (+) hour workweeks, seven days a week since then.

 

The second job is at the airport, and offers a lot in benefits etc. (thus I'd like to keep it) Things had been as well as can be expected till last week. As I was leaving the employee parking lot (Where the MARKED motorcycle parking spaces are at), the parking gate- the striped black and white "arm" that controls traffic in and out of the lot- landed on me. It caught me in the left arm leaving a bruise the size of a baseball on my bicep. Luckily the Ballabio was unscathed, and I managed to not drop her.

 

Much worse than the event itself has been the airports reaction to it: They flatly refuse any responsibility citing the small sticker on the machine that does say autos only, no motorcycles trailers etc. I'm having a hard time with this tho', as the MOTORCYCLE SPECIFIC parking space are in the same lot. Also, when I started the job, I was told "If you ride a motorcycle, you HAVE to park in that lot" as the only other employee lot requires tags that hang from the rearview.

 

I met with the parking manager and was told (more yelled at) "I don't want to hear it, you can't sue because of that sticker". Incidently, I hadn't threatened to sue, at this point I hadn't even spoken to the man. Oddly he went on to tell me his advice on how best to make it through the gate, "goose it" he said. He also told me this has happened several times before, and he doesn't much care.

 

I met with one of the admin. staff and was told "Unfortunately there are no provisions for you to ride here". He then tried profusely to change the subject into when he used to ride in the seventies etc. (went nowhere).

 

I meet next week with the president of the airport. Any advice from you guys?

 

Oh, before anyone suggests it, the "arms" are too long to just ride around them- I had already thought of that.

 

Scott

 

Keep the M.G. for pleasure riding. Get a big D.P. bike and ride over the frickin' curb, or anything else that's in the way!!

Ciao, Steve

[sctt2525]

Keep the M.G. for pleasure riding. Get a big D.P. bike and ride over the frickin' curb, or anything else that's in the way!!

Ciao, Steve

 

 

 

 

Funny, I'm going to look at a KLR650 tomorrow. Keeping the Ballabio.

 

 

S

[joe camarda]

I met with one of the admin. staff and was told "Unfortunately there are no provisions for you to ride here". He then tried profusely to change the subject into when he used to ride in the seventies etc. (went nowhere).

 

Sounds like you work with a bunch of fools.

 

You might point out that they do indeed make provisions for you to ride there.

 

In fact they have provided you with parking areas dedicated specifically for motorcycle parking.

 

Further they require to park in those spaces.

 

Further they provide the mandatory-use parking gate. This is a part of their facility which they provide for all employees using the parking areas, including the motorcycle dedicated spaces. This parking gate created the unsafe condition which directly caused your injury.

 

For the sake of all motorcyclists everywhere, rise up in rebellion. Or maybe not.

 

Good luck. Best keep a level head, no sense throwing out the baby (your job) with the bathwater.

[jrt]

Ditto with Joe.

 

If you are a member (or even if you are not), contact the AMA and ask their advice. They are a supposed motorcycle advocacy group and probably deal with this all the time.